Homely, outside home

Making a hostel a home or a mere lodging depends on those who run it and on those who choose to make it their dwelling. MALATHI RANGARAJAN visits some working women's hostels and writes...

IF YOU think walking into a working women's hostel, shooting a volley of questions in your capacity as a scribe and eliciting responses are easy tasks just try it... you could be promptly shown the door. Can't blame them though. It is caution or even precaution. When the safety of so many women is concerned, naturally the people in charge have to be careful. Wardens as a rule are wary.. and extremely strict too. "Not always..." says one, "When we have to enforce discipline we do it...and when they need help we are there for that too", she says.

"I came to Chennai six months ago with a lot of apprehension. But I am happier than I was even in my own home", says Jayashri. She is an accountant with a private firm and comes from Thiruvannamalai. Thakkar Bapa Working Women's hostel, where Jayashri stays, goes out of the way to make the atmosphere as homely and friendly as possible for the girls residing there. "We try to make it a home away from home for them" says W.C. Saroja, honorary superintendent of the home. "But there are rules and responsibilities too".

Probably that is one reason why Surya preferred finding a small flat for herself and sharing it with a friend. She laughs, "Not entirely... I did try for accommodation at some hostels, but wasn't very keen. I tried staying as a paying guest, and also with some relatives. Finally I settled for my own place." Is it the freedom and breathing space that is all hers that made her prefer being on her own? "You've said it... I sleep, get up, cook and move as I please. It's sheer freedom..." I don't have to stick to schedules. But the safety angle? Surya feels it depends to a great extent on the locality you choose to live in.

A clean, hygienic ambience, palatable, healthy food and completely safe surroundings - all these at very nominal rates make it a godsend for working women from outside Chennai. "Our hostel mainly caters for the middle income group and we have a wide spectrum of career women, from doctors and engineers to computer professionals and we live as a harmonious, homogeneous group", says S. Janaki, the warden of Thakkar Bapa Hostel. Those who leave this hostel, do so only if they get married or get transferred to other places. "They never prefer another hostel to ours. Such is the ambience we provide", adds Janaki with pride.

"There are women who have been living in my hostel for nearly a decade", says Sarala Jayaram who runs the Ladies Hostel for Working Women in a busy part of the city. It is mainly for the low income group. "We provide the best possible life yet the girls hardly reciprocate. They think just because they pay they need not cooperate, especially when it comes to using water and electricity", says Sarala. "But we do have understanding inmates too. They have been staying here for years and are more like family members." Speaking under condition of anonymity, one of those long time residents concurs with the view that the hostel is a safe and secure place and the food is good. "The warden is a soft spoken and kind person who makes me feel at home", she goes on.

"It's not like it is in places like Delhi", says Smitha, a newcomer to Chennai. "People here are very helpful and kind". She is a paying guest with a family, and feels it is a second home to her. "My family knew these people and adjusting was no problem." But earlier she had stayed in a hostel in Delhi for about a week. There the rules are meant more to be broken than followed, she says, so nowadays, those in charge are very careful when taking in a person. "I find the girls here more straightforward and friendly", she says.

Kanchan had come down to Chennai all the way from Baroda. And as long as she was in the hostel, the warden was more a friend. "I still keep in touch with "Chechi" as we call her. I had a wonderful time there and made good friends too", says Kanchan, who is now married and has settled down here.

The honorary secretary of Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi Trust which runs the working women's hostel in the premises, V.K. Sthanunathan, says "the safety of working women in our hostel is our priority". Also the quality of food provided and hygiene are of utmost importance", he says.

The striking factor about these hostels is the communal and religious harmony that is all-pervading. Who you are is not the criterion, how you behave is. "We have a girl from Kashmir living with us. Whether one is a Christian, Muslim or Hindu is immaterial. Even our morning prayer, which is part of the daily routine, is an all-religious one", says Janaki. The secularim in practice here is a heartening factor. So from Krishna Jayanthi to Christmas, from Deepavali to Ramzan the hostel celebrates all festivals.

Eventually, of course, making the hostel a pleasant home, a haven or a mere lodging is in the hands of those who choose to make it their dwelling place.

No place can be a complete bed of roses. Pluses and minuses are inevitable. As Sarala Jayaram puts it even with her experience in running a working women's hostel for nearly 30 years, sometimes things get tough. According to her many of the young girls of today are petty and selfish. If on a certain day they feel like skipping dinner, they would still go to the dining hall, fill up their plates and throw away the food. "Will they do it in their own homes", she asks.

The squabbles that arise among the inmates are many, but some of the wardens feel it is better they don't interfere. "Don't bring these personal tiffs to me, I tell them", says a senior warden.

Checking out on the authenticity of an inmate does prove difficult for the wardens at times. The applicant should bring her father or mother, give the address of a local guardian and letter of proof from the office she works in. "Once a woman managed to get in with false certificates and details. Such situations have to be handled with a lot of discretion and patience. Without confronting her with the truth, we managed to cajole her into vacating the premises", says a warden in one of the city's busy working women's hostels.

But what do the inmates have to say about the problems in their hostels? Understandably, none of them would utter anything even slightly critical. After all when there is so much demand for accommodation they cannot afford to jeopardise their position in any way.

Food is homely in the hostel, says Jayashri. "Especially after my bout of typhoid a couple of years ago I cannot take anything hot. Here, the preparations suit me just fine." All the same Archana, who helps her mother in running a working women's hostel says, "Initially they all rave about the food we give. But after a few months they begin to complain. Even at home, when we want a change, don't we eat out? That is what the girls should do".

Sending the girls for employment far away from home may not be an easy decision for many parents. "No, no..." says Radha, who has just helped a relative of hers gain admission to a working women's hostel. "This girl's parents are broad minded and bold, though they live in a town down south. They feel that as long as their daughter is in a safe place there is no cause for worry." These days women are extremely career minded. With job opportunities in towns being limited, lucrative jobs in a big city naturally attract them. "In fact it is no more a bold step but only a stepping stone to a successful life," says Radha. Cloistered upbringing and a sheltered life are obsolete terms to most parents and daughters of today.

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Ifs and buts

The rules in most of the hostels are quite stringent. After a day's work in the office when you wish to unwind and relax, if you have to again adhere to a time schedule for even the day-to- day chores - eat your dinner or wake up to the ringing of a bell that tells you what to do and when, it could prove a drudgery. But no organisation can function without a code of conduct either. There are hostels which warn you that if you are not an early riser, you could try accommodation elsewhere. And daily prayer is compulsory in some hostels, optional in some and are never heard of in a few. Lights have to be put off at a certain time and the inmates have to be in by 7-30 p.m. or so, unless there is a valid reason and prior intimation. There are other such rules that are common to most hostels.

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