Zhoka

“Zhoka”, translating to a swing in Marathi, is an ongoing documentary series documenting the feminist roots of a one-of-a-kind all women founded and owned housing society in the small town of Solapur, Maharashtra, India.

“Zhoka”, translating to a swing in Marathi - a language predominantly spoken in the Indian state of Maharashtra, is an ongoing documentary series documenting the feminist roots of a one-of-a-kind all women founded and owned housing society in the small town of Solapur. Growing up I spent many summers here, visiting my grandparents for vacations. Captured on a recent trip to visit family and old friends, the pictures are an attempt to grow closer to the defiance this community embodies.

A stark contrast to the predominantly patriarchal models of ownership, Indira Mahila Jeevan Vikas (Indira Women Life Empowerment) housing society was developed in 1968 as a residential colony of nearly 180 independent houses owned and run by women, that can only be inherited by the female members of the family. This was a monumental step towards women liberation at a time when women in India were not even given the right to equally inherit property as their male siblings. It is only as recently as 2005, that this discriminatory clause was constitutionally modified in consonance with the right to equality. Named after the country’s only female prime minister Indira Gandhi, the housing society has been catering to the needs & affordability of families from different income groups, religions, caste and linguistic backgrounds for more than five decades, and continues to do so under the aegis of its all women managing committee.

For me as a young impressionable child, my now late grandmother’s household was a microcosm of the values of the housing society at large. She lived her life on her own terms- fiercely independent and a revered matriarch. In many ways these principles seep into the way I navigate my life as a woman now. Indira Nagar not only felt like a refuge, a relief but also a hopeful proposition for vibrant community building. Documenting the society, so deeply personal to me, was an exercise in familiarity and discovery. A homecoming - that laid bare all the beautiful ways we can walk through this world.