From a bouncer to a tattoo artist, Team Viva tracks down women who are making their presence felt in male-dominated professions
Gone are those days when women thought of taking up conventional professions. In the present era, they are stepping out of the boundaries and choosing a profession which was once considered male oriented. They are not only stepping out of their limited sphere and options available, but they are actually already nailing all the fields where they have stepped in.
We talked to some of them, who are have opted for unconventional jobs and are turning heads for their daring choice.
Ride it
How many times have you seen a woman locomotive driverIJ We know chances of your answer being affirmative are very few, but lakshmi lakra, who has been driving goods train in the Delhi area since 2015 has been surprising a lot of people now and again. “I gave the exam of RRB (Railway Recruitment Board) in Chandigarh but got selected for Delhi. And since then, I have been working here.”
She added, “The time when I joined, everyone advised me to take a transfer to another department because driving a train is a male-oriented job. But I told them that ‘If you can drive then why can’t IIJ’ Since my childhood, I was intrigued by how an engine worked and that is when I thought of doing something where I can learn about it.”
lakra accepts that she likes to face challenges and that is the reason why she decided to drive a train when people did not support and appreciate her.
Woman on guard
When we think of a bouncer, we imagine a bulky man standing at the gate of a bar, doing his duty of throwing everyone indecent outside the premises. The profession, for years, have been dominated by men who appear enough to scare you away solely through their looks. But as time has changed, so as the image of a bouncer. Though they look tough as usual, but the profession has been perfectly taken over by women who are doing a great job. We spoke to Mehrun Nisha who works at the Social, Hauz Khas Village, and she told us why she chose this profession. “I wanted to join the Army but my family did not allow me to. So, when I got a job as a security guard (part-time) in a company, I saw how bouncers stopped men from entering into any pub or cafe. That was the time when I decided to become a bouncer. Four years ago, I did an event for a university and then I was also asked to work on Shah Rukh Khan’s event. That is how it all started, and after this I joined Social.”
She added, “I wanted to be equal as men and that is why I took this job. There are times, when men tell me, ‘ladki hai humen kya rokegiIJ (She is a girl, how can she stop us) but my reply to them is, ‘I am a bouncer and not a girl.’”
The woman bouncer who hails from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, told us very casually, “I am not afraid of anyone. I don’t mind dealing with boys when I am on my job and I can handle them very easily.”
Ink her way
When you walk into a tattoo parlour, you expect to be greeted and welcomed by tough looking men, with almost every inch of their visible skin inked. But walk into Bodycanvas Tattoo Art and along with a bunch of young male tattoo artists, you will find Priyanka Gawand, a 24-year-old girl, making her way into a profession mostly dominated by men.
Every since she was young, she had a flair for sketching. “It was related to art and I was fascinated by that. Art is important to me,” said Gawand. Her attraction towards tattoos came with the realisation that tattoo was the only branch of art that was permanent and very personal. “Once you get inked, it stays with you till the end. It is a sensitive emotion and is related to art and that’s the best thing. That is why I wanted to become a tattoo artist,” she pointed out.
She was 21 when she stepped into the world of tattoos after completing her graduation. “My parents never objected to my love for the arts and my dream to pursue that. But my mum wanted me to complete my graduation so I graduated with Accounts,” laughed Gawand who added that her parents have always been supportive of her pursuits.
Although she undertook no profession art lessons, she made sure to watch every tattoo related video on YouTube and every show on TV. “I freelanced for a while before joining Bodycanvas. Whatever I have learnt of art I have learnt at the studio,” she said.
According to her, people are more challenging than the profession she is in. She feels that in India, people have a tendency to follow one another and it is a tough job to convince them to do something original. “I do not like spiritual stuff. I am more interested in geometrical art, making outlines and old-school European art. But now people’s mindset are changing and perhaps that is why I have not done a butterfly in the last one year,” Gawand shared.
On her wheels
Pallavi Kuchroo, owner at Frugurpop, told us that when she started, people had no idea about popsicles. “It was more like creating awareness about the product and we had to be very careful while choosing the location. Gurgaon is a vast area so we chose it keeping all the logistics in mind. It was a funky way of selling a product, door to door. What we started, nobody was doing that in India.”
Talking about her experience on the road, she told us that it was a niche product. “People wanted to understand the product and as an owner, I was on the road myself to explain to them what it was. I haven’t had any bad experiences because I think time has changed. And, men are helping now and being the niche product, it was an amazing experience to get the response from our consumers directly,” she added.
Though she accepts that she was apprehensive at first, but her dedication and support from our clients made it possible. “I got a lot of appreciation from people on road because they got to interact with the founder and learn about popsicles,” she pointed out.