Women's Day 2026: Burned At 10 Months Old, Balasore’s Premalata Barik Illuminates Lives Of 700 Women Through Tailoring Training
The 68-year-old Odisha woman, disabled since infancy, trained hundreds of women in tailoring, offering free lessons to the poor and made them financially independent.
Published : February 28, 2026 at 4:01 PM IST
|Updated : March 8, 2026 at 9:16 AM IST
By Jeevan Jyoti Nayak
Balasore: At 68, Premalata Barik remembers the fire incident when she was barely 10 months old. The kitchen fire badly burned three parts of her tiny body before she had any knowledge on how it would impact her life. But with no remorse or grief, she lived life to the fullest, and is today helping many other women stand on their own feet. The story unfolded in Nuagaonbad village under Oupada block in Balasore district, where Premalata, despite living with disability and decades of hardship, has trained over 700 women in tailoring and is helping them become self-reliant.
"My life is a proof that adversity can be stitched into opportunity and I would want to tell women that taking every disadvantage in the stride can help ward off problems," says Premalata.
The fire accident at infancy left Premalata physically challenged at a tender age. As if that were not enough, she lost her father a few years later. With five siblings to care for, her mother left her at her uncle’s house so she could survive and continue her studies.
Despite interruptions, Premalata passed her matriculation. During that time she learned sewing, a skill she did not realise then, that would eventually redefine her destiny.
She later passed her Hindi examination and on March 17, 1980, got a job in a watch company while preparing for higher education. However, when the company shut down, she returned to Khaira in December 2000. A poultry venture which she started with a loan also failed to yield profits. Once again, life tested her resolve.
Premalata had purchased a sewing machine in 1980. She decided to make truce with life through the machine and stitch the unfinished dreams. She convinced her uncle’s son and brothers to help her set up a small house and shop.
In 2006, with just one machine, she began stitching clothes to earn. She first trained a young woman named Gudi who proved to be an expert in a few months. The word of her skill spread quickly. Soon, women and young girls began gathering outside her small shop expressing their desire to learn.
That marked the beginning of a revolution that has made hundreds of women self-reliant.
In the last 20 years, Premalata has trained nearly 700 women in batches of 15, about 90 percent of whom are now financially independent.
“My dreams in life remained unfulfilled but I made sure that about 700 women gave wings to theirs,” she says emotionally. "If these women can stand on their own feet, that is enough for me. I will teach sewing as long as I can,” she adds.
She accepts whatever fee trainees voluntarily offer and trains poor women completely free of cost. Beyond tailoring, she also crafts traditional applique work canopies inspired by the famed Pipili Chandua, selling them at local fairs when her health permits.
Among many successful women she has trained is Tilottama Behera. “I was sitting idle at home but after I trained under Premalata madam, today, I earn enough to sustain myself. At least I can support my household expenses,” says Tilottama who learnt tailoring for two years.
Another woman Koushalya Das had long dreamed of learning tailoring but never got the opportunity. After a decade of marriage, she found her mentor in Premalata. “Though she is disabled, she does every kind of work. She has been the reason why many of us earn and manage our children’s expenses,” Koushalya says. She specializes in stitching school uniforms and making decorative canopies.
Age may have slowed Pramalata's pace, but her undying spirit continues to inspire many. Premalata is currently constructing a house on a small plot near her home. Her life proved that a fire scarred her body at infancy but the fire within her illuminated hundreds of other lives.
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