Meet the ‘power’-puff girls

The first ever batch of female electricians from the city is set to graduate next month. We a look at their power-puffed journey

Handyman — that is how the Oxford dictionary describes a person “employed to do occasional domestic repairs and minor renovations.” Chores such as fixing light bulbs or a broken fan are often relegated to the man of the house. A small bunch of students in Thane however, is changing that perception. A batch of 13 girls from Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Kopri (Thane) will graduate in August this year, making it the first ever all-women batch of electricians from the city.

Dressed in their pink and black uniforms, they are busy working on a DC motor operated conveyer belt or fixing a broken mixer when we enter their class. The proud principal of the institute, Jyoti Lohar, admits that veering away from interior design and fashion related-courses to a hardcore technical course wasn’t an easy decision. “As a girls’ institute, we have had typically women-dominated streams such as sewing and stitching, fashion related courses and interior design. We were not sure if a technical course in electrics would find many takers, but we did! Since we could only admit 21 in one batch, we had to put others on the waiting list,” she informs.

So what is it that makes these young girls pick up the screwdrivers Most of the students here come from the interiors of Maharashtra to secure a ‘safe’ government job, we’re told.

27-year-old Bhusawal resident Sonali Taide for instance, wants a job with the Indian railways. “I completed my graduation and decided to pursue this course. My parents were initially sceptical to send me away, but I convinced them that I’ll apply for jobs in the government sector — railways specifically,” says the B.com graduate.

The youngest in her class, 18-year-old Madhuri Patil took it up for other reasons. Daughter of a farmer, she says, “I have always seen men repair machines with their tools. It fascinated me a lot. I wondered if I could do something of this sort too. Everyone is of the opinion that only boys have the capacity to fix things; I wanted to show them that it’s not the case. I would fix tube lights and bulbs at home, but after joining the institute I have learnt wiring and even fixed a switch board.”

While 21 students were rolled into the two-year course in 2014, but only 13 will appear for the final exams. Retaining students is a task, admits their course instructor, Dipak Sonar. “Age is not a bar for this course. We started with 21 girls but some left due to family issues, someone’s husband got transferred. We have a strict attendance policy with 80 per cent minimum attendance requirement but not all girls are able to follow through due to family duties.”

The institute on its part does its best to retain them, he adds. 26-year-old Meena Subhash Pawar is the result of this effort. “She is the only married girl in the current batch. Her five-year-old son recently passed away and she was going through a lot of turmoil. She didn’t attend lectures for over a month. But we knew that we had to somehow bring her back. We counselled her and convinced her to resume. She agreed to join,” he adds.

The enthusiasm however, is on both sides. 19-year-old Karishma Sunil had to try hard to convince her parents. “All the (male) members in my family are somehow associated with the field. When I said that I want to be a part of it, they had their set of doubts,” she says. It only grew when she accidentally, got an electric shock while repairing a machine. “My mother was scared when that happened and she asked me to drop out of the course. But a few days later when our mixer broke down and I was able to successfully fix it without injuring myself, she was in awe. Our safety lessons in college helped,” she beams.

Not just mixers, microwaves are fixed too. Interestingly, most of the girls hadn’t used one before they repaired it. “I still remember the day in our practical class, when I saw a microwave oven for the first time. Sir later taught us how to repair it and now I can fix one. I understood that electricity is now a basic necessity wherever you go you will need it. Then why not learn the art of its maintenance ” asks 20-year-old Priti Ramesh.

A licence to practise as a trained electrician is still underway, but for now these young minds are busy preparing their final exams this month.