Freedom from poverty

They share an intangible bond. Two women bound by a common cause. Simone Khan-Arora and Zarina Screwvala knew each other socially but connected instantly after a random conversation. Physically they are poles apart. Zarina is petite with dark eyes that mirror every emotion. Simone is 5 ft 8 inches tall with sharply-defined features. Simone chooses to play the role of a narrator ensuring that the focus remains  on Zarina. “She is the star of the entire programme. Ronnie and Zarina are founders and trustees of the Swades Foundation. This initiative needs to be highlighted, because more people can get inspired to work on causes that need attention or they can contribute towards this foundation,” says Simone.

Zarina returns the compliment by adding, “We met for coffee, and I was telling her about Swades. She instantly decided to host a dinner to introduce the Foundation to 100 ladies on her birthday. It was magnanimous of her as I only knew 30 women in that gathering.”

Zarina left her thriving career as the chief creative officer with UTV to don the mantle of managing trustee of Swades Foundation, which works towards rural empowerment in India. She co-founded UTV along with her enterprising husband, Ronnie Screwvala with a paltry sum of '37,000. The origin of the name Swades has an interesting narrative behind it. Zarina revels in sharing this story “Swades was earlier called REACH. Once, I was talking about how I want the best of talent from colleges like Harvard to visit India and teach my people. A friend who was part of the conversation blurted out, ‘Hey man! Your story sounds like Swades.’ That’s when Ronnie and I decided to rename REACH as Swades. Ronnie called up Shah Rukh and Ashutosh to informed them of our decision and they were very happy for us,” says Zarina.

Swades is not just a celluloid success, but its impactful narrative seems to have found resonance in the life of this couple who began their journey with small steps. “We didn’t talk about it earlier as we didn’t require any participation. We used to have a small creche at the UTV office. We decided to head to the villages as we wanted to focus on educating the girl child. I cannot explain why we are so attracted to villages… none of us can remember how it began. We were two media people trying to figure out what to do. We met the people at a Konkan village. They told us that while they would like to send their daughters to school, they need them to fetch water and if their sons don’t go to school, their families would starve. So we began by providing drinking water to 39,000 people. We didn’t have much money then, so we did whatever we could. The good thing is there is no dowry in the Konkan coast,” says a passionate Zarina. If Swades is making the right moves, it’s because the Screwvalas believe in the concept of collaborative effort.

“We have built a relationship of trust over the past decade. We are lucky because we went with the right attitude and met the right people,” she adds 

Simone underplays her role in this interaction generously lauding Zarina for her efforts. Says Simone, “I’m here for Zarina in whatever way I can, and want to serve as a catalyst. If their goal is to empower one million people in five years, all we have to ensure is 1,000 people from a privileged background take care of 1,000 underprivileged people and this will enable Swades to reach the one million mark in five years. I believe that charity is the best form of prayer.” 

Simone is the creative head of D Décor and is in charge of product development. She began this company with her husband Ajay Arora 15 years ago and today it is the third largest exporter of upholstery fabrics. “I’m a creative person, and passionate about what I do. I got married at 21 and have two sons aged 18 and 17 and they are studying in America, I have a 10-year-old daughter. I am blessed in many ways and want to give back to society.” 

Swades is a dream project built out of compassion and love. The Screwvalas have invested '350 crore into their dream project after they sold UTV. “We need to lift a million people out of poverty in five years. That is Ronnie’s vision and I find it compelling and challenging. We were very clear about targeting rural poverty as we believe urban poverty finds its roots in the villages.  The villagers come to the city and live in the most deplorable conditions. A few Sundays ago, I asked 250 men at an eye care camp, if they were given a choice to stay back in the city or head to the village, what would they choose? Not one hand was raised for the option of staying back. That’s when I realised how heartless Mumbai is.” 

Zarine also highlights how toilets are a woman empowerment issue.  She says, “For a woman the degradation of having to wake up early, walk through the fields before sunrise to go to the loo and then wait till sunset to relieve herself is appalling. Our toilets have lasted for 10 years. Each toilet cost  '17,000. We get funding for  '10,000 and make the government and villagers pay the rest. We want to create a sense of ownership which will motivate them to take care of their property.”