Meet Neelam Ji: Our First Wonder Woman

Who is this incredible human being? 

Lovingly called Neelu, Neelam ji is the head tailor for Swara’s Rajasthan chapter (we sometimes like to call her the ‘big guns’). Neelam ji lives in Dungarpur, Rajasthan and has been with Swara from the very beginning. She and her husband are both breadwinners for their family of five – including their two daughters and her mother-in-law. Neelam ji is close with her mother-in-law who she describes as a very nice woman. Neelam ji has been interested in tailoring since the age of twelve or thirteen and adores wearing sarees! She designs, sews, and trains many of the new people who join Swara from Dungarpur - in short, she does it all. As if this was not enough, Neelam ji also holds a bachelor’s degree in the arts, history and public administration.

What does she do in her free time? 

Like so many of us, Neelam ji likes to unwind by drinking a cup of tea, eating green-chilli pakoras (fritters) and watching her favourite films and comedy series on television. 

How did she deal with the pandemic?

During the times of COVID, she faced problems with getting the material and delivering orders, however she is thankful to her Swara family, especially Asha (our founder), who has been an incredible support system. She speaks of Swara as a ‘first of its kind’ initiative, and expresses her gratitude to it for providing her and other women a source of employment. Her only hope for the time to come is that they get more orders so that she can keep working and welcome more women into Swara's fold! Neelam ji believes that through Swara the women in her community move towards progress and towards sustaining themselves. She says, “Umeed karte hain bohot mahilaon ko saath lein aur joodein, unki taraqi ho.” (We hope more women join us, and can move forward as well). Neelam ji isn’t just a Swara ‘Wonder Woman’, no, she is the Swara clan leader!