“I was born in Kuchaman City in Nagaur district in the state of Rajasthan. My mother Smt. Bhanwari Devi was a manual scavenger. I did not do any manual scavenging work at my birthplace.

I got married in 1990 to Sh. Kaluram, resident of Sikar (Rajasthan). The financial status of my in-laws was bad and my husband was unemployed. After giving birth to two sons and one daughter I was compelled to engage in manual scavenging. It was heinous but there was no other option.

I was a manual scavenger from 2008 to 2014. During this period, Sohanlal Sarwan and Pawan Nakwal, Social Activists of Safai Karmachari Andolan, met my husband. They made us understand that we had the right to live with dignity and they encouraged us to live a dignified life. Their thoughts impressed us. So we (my husband and I) decided to do something else.

First we began to sell green vegetables, but it did not run smoothly for various reasons. Then I decided to open a readymade garment shop at the main market. Taking loan from government was not easy, so it was difficult for us in the beginning due to lack of money. We took some financial help from someone.

Anyhow, we finally managed to set up a readymade garment shop named after my son Manish. Now it is the main source of our livelihood. Our family is grateful to SKA for showing us a new dignified direction.”