Suraj Bai Meena was born in a village close to Ranthambore the place it was unparalleled for ladies to pursue a profession or schooling. At the moment, she is Ranthambore’s first girl naturalist. Watch this video to see her journey.
Suraj Bai Meena was born in a village situated close to the Ranthambore Nationwide Park in Rajasthan. She recollects, “Right here, women weren’t allowed to go to highschool or research. Their solely position was to cook dinner, clear, and reproduce. The truth is, if a lady was educated, the dowry her dad and mom needed to give could be doubled.”
However Suraj was decided from childhood to not be amongst them, impressed by her brother Hemraj.
With Hemraj’s assist, she enrolled in a Hindi-medium college in a close-by village, and on the age of 16, began working as a naturalist within the Ranthambore Nationwide Park, following in her brother’s footsteps.
At the moment, she is Ranthambore’s first girl naturalist.
Expectedly, all the village was in opposition to her choice, and a few even stated the corporate of overseas vacationers on the park would “corrupt” her. Nonetheless, her data of the animals and birds within the space was unparalleled, and Suraj fought in opposition to all odds to make a reputation for herself.
Her solely limitation was that she knew solely Hindi, however she picked up English very quick. She went on to do a BA, MA and BEd over time.
Now 33, she is usually invited to talk in colleges within the space, and has obtained awards like ‘Finest Girl Information’ from the Maharaja of Jaipur, amongst others. “Nothing makes me happier than to inspire youthful women,” she says.
Suraj is now a veteran in figuring out calls and monitoring footprints of the animals, however says that it’s nonetheless as exhilarating to identify an animal as on day one.
Edited by Divya Sethu