Brick-By-Brick: Meet Anita Gandharva, Chhattisgarh's Mason Who Broke Stereotypes

Bilaspur: Masonry is not something you associate with a woman. This is, however, not the case with Anita Gandharva. Like males, she has a natural aptitude for building with brick or stone, often using mortar to create structures.

Popularly known as 'Rani Mistri' and sometimes as 'Lakhpati Didi' Anita Gandharva who took up masonry as a profession is a household name in Chhattisgarh now. She needs no introduction today. During his Bilaspur visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Anita from his dais during a speech. He mentioned her as an example of women's empowerment.

Locals said they are amazed to see the precision with which she places bricks on the wall and plasters it. Anita was assigned the task of constructing toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission. She built toilets in the village with success.

When the ETV Bharat team went to meet Anita, she was found engaged in the construction of a house. Interacting with ETV Bharat, Anita said that earlier people did not give her work but the situation changed gradually. "When I got work, I ensured houses were made durable. Naturally, I gained trust and appreciation. Now, I get so much work that I do not have enough time to breathe at times," Anita said.

She got support from her husband, father-in-law, and village headman. They told her that she could do the work of a mason very well and did not need to worry about society and the village.

The district officials who were involved in Bihaan Yojana also supported Anita, who was assigned the work of constructing toilets. She built the toilets in the village with great hard work and proved to be unmatched in strength.

Seeing Anita working, many female porters have also started dreaming of becoming like her. Rani Mistri is also encouraging everyone to come forward to pursue the work of their choice. Anita has also opened a small hotel near the village. Anita said whenever he gets work, she tries to do justice to her job.