Weaving towards a Padamshree

AWARDED FOR EMPOWERMENT: Gopinath has brought light into the lives of thousands of women in rural Kerala.

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Poovathur (Kerala): He is perhaps one of the greatest Gandhians of our times. Sixty-year-old Padmanabhan Gopinathan is a man who spent his entire life trying to salvage the lives of others, turning a blind eye to his own suffering.

He was recognised with the prestigious Padmashree title for his five-decade long work of empowering women through handloom weaving.

His humility reflects even when he is asked about the Padmasree awarded to him.

"I think it's going to help these women more than me as this should be a great inspiration for many like them to come forward and help others," is all he has to say about the award.

Born to a poor family in Poovathur village on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, Gopinathan witnessed women suffering from a very early age.

It inspired him to start a Mahila-Samajam on borrowed money. Now there are over 27 such Samajams in the village, sustaining close to a thousand families.

"It was a feudal society after the British left and the biggest challenge we had at that time was to overcome this and empower the womenfolk," says he.

And they are sure enjoying fruits of that labour.

Says a woman who works in the Mahila-Samajam, Padmavatti, "Master has given a meaning to all our lives, by empowering us financially. There are lot women who lead a settled married life after joining for work here."

Gopinath has brought light into the lives of thousands of womenfolk and for the same reason, the Padmasree award itself this year shines more like never before.