Two months back I was in Jaipur for a conference with my fellow speaker RJ Divya of Radio city , radio channel. Divya wanted to interview a lady sarpanch and keep mentioning about her work and dedication that I was intrigued with her narration and stories . She insisted me to meet her and I was like Neki aur pooch pooch.
Before meeting her Divya was trying hard to fix an appointment and always murmur " she is in her village soda and very busy" . " Her phone is not connecting as she is in interior of the village"
With her murmuring I was imagining a lady with traditional rajasthani costume with husky voice . I really dnt know what made me even imagine the voice too. Anyway finally she managed to fix an appointment with Chavi Ranawat who is known as the youngest sarpanch in India . We went to hotel "Kailruggi" to meet her . In the heart of the noisy city I found a peculiar calmness as soon we stepped into the hotel. I was informed that all the cooks working in the hotel kitchen are women from Soda village and most of the ingredients used are also from her village . When we reached I saw a beautiful young girl in her mid 30s wearing blue denims and light blue kurta with a dupatta around her neck. She was Chavi Ranawat who welcomed us and made us comfortable . I was speechless for few seconds . I found her very humble and warm . Graduated from Lady Shriram college in Delhi and topped her MBA in Indian Institute of Modern Management , Pune and later at London school of economics , she gave up her plum job abroad and decided to serve the underprivileged of her ancestral village "Soda" , Rajasthan.
I found her a true example of beauty with brain. Soda is 60 km away from Jaipur with a population of 7000 , had been officially declared as most backward area by the govt . As soon as she got elected as sarpanch she has laid down her priorities to sanitation, forestation, self employment for women , adult education and vocational training. Being a foodie I was also keen to know about her hotel Kailruggi . She told me because of lack of sufficient funds , she devotes some of her time in her family run hotel to support her projects . Named with her parent"s names Kailruggi is a beautiful hotel with 24 rooms and a cafe with Indian and International cuisines . Most of the ingredients are local and grown in the fields of her village Soda . She has engaged her village women in her kitchen giving them employment . It is a vegetarian cafe where you will not miss nonveg atall.
Life of this sarpanch is not easy as she had been attacked physically in the past . But her dedication to serve her people hasn't moved her away. After a certain period we all look for a break and holiday to travel around , but this beautiful young sarpanch never travels for her holiday . Or you can say there is no holiday for her . She is a dynamic and determined personality who is not attracted to any plush holidays or entertainment . She has recently adopted a girl's school in her village which is in bad shape with lack of funds. I am so fortunate that she could spare some time for us . We exchanged our cuisines, food thoughts and discussed alot about food of our regions and convinced her to visit Northeast with me .
I am dedicating this year's women's day to Sarpanch Chavi Ranawat , the youngest sarpanch in India as the world knows her like that .
I also want to thank RJ Divya Vasudeva for introducing me to Chavi .
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