Amita Gopesh is a Professor of Botany at Allahabad University. A social activist. She had been involved in several movements related to women's empowerment. She is also, a renowned story writer and had been attached to the theatre groups of Allahabad. Her story mainly revolves around women and their day-to-day life and difficulties.
Amita Gopesh as a single woman has taken the concept of being Gulaab Tiwari as a lady cremator as a revolutionary act in terms of feminism. She has met Gulaab Tiwari at some point in her life and mostly she talked about the points which prove how this whole idea is a medium for her to reach towards a discussion about women empowerment and that discussion came out to be very interesting.
Interview highlights
• I Have a very old connection with this Ghaat. I have attended cremations of loved ones and many famous people here.
• When my dad died, I was told that women can’t go to the cremation ground but I wanted to go.
• And then I realised that everything is so anti-women in this society.
• And then I saw Maharajin Bua in the bazaar and then someone told me about her that she is a cremator and I was shocked that in our religion women are not even allowed to enter cremation ground and she stays there.
• Even I have seen that women are doing big things for a long time in my city.
• She was a rebel against society and religion. She was very manly. She overheard what I said one thing that this is a male-dominated society and I think I am alone after the decision of not marry and he said in Allahabadi- why are you scared, do whatever you want. Where they came from and they abuse it. It was such a biological fact. And then I adapted it.
• I didn’t know her personally, but I wanted to meet her and know what all problems she faced while getting into this kind of work.
• And in our Hindu Dharam, it differs from the concept of death, it ends the fear of death.
• Maharajin Bua on Ghaat was like she was celebrating death and she used to uplift everyone. She could transfer everyone’s mood to a light one.
• But we need such Maharajin Bua’s, everything is against women in this religion, and we need to understand that we need to change these myths.
• In every religion, women are treated as a second generation. I teach biology and I always teach that science and religion are at crossroads. If u want to understand religion, see blindly but in science, we believe what we see.
• I don’t do any formalities but I know God won’t be sad with me. There shouldn’t be gender discrimination.
• There is prominent gender discrimination and they give us fear. We prepared everything for the cremation and when the time comes pandit says that take the girl away. I reject that side of the religion.
• I went to a monastery in Thailand, and the main priest came and met everyone. I was clicking photographs so I was left behind. So ran and came for the photographs and they said “no women”.
• Youth should change the bad in the religion, and equality should be there.
• There is a big difference between Banaras and Allahabad. What could be the reason? Many single women were already there even before me.
• When Ramkumar Verma died, Rajalakshmi Verma said that I will do his cremation, and I am there. This city has changed due to its history, this city was called the city of literature. I am lucky that I wasn’t born in Banaras.
