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Lucknow boatwoman rows against hardship in male bastion to keep her family afloat
The sole breadwinner of the family, Lucknow’s Parul Shukla earns a livelihood on the river while caring for two sons and an ailing husband
Amid dozens of boats waiting for passengers on the Gomti banks, one stands out every morning —not because of its size or speed, but because of the woman steering it, navigating her life in a profession dominated almost entirely by men after having battled scepticism and taunts in the early years.
The journey of Parul Shukla, 36, on the river is more than a daily routine; it is a story of grit and resilience.
A resident of IIM Road in Lucknow, she rows her modest wooden boat through the gentle waters of the river, determined to keep her family afloat despite mounting hardship.
The mother of two young sons is the sole breadwinner of the family, supporting them along with her husband Dheerendra, who has been unable to work after a severe leg infection left him disabled in 2023.
For Parul, rowing a boat is not just a livelihood; it is a skill she inherited from her father nearly three decades ago.
“I was just eight years old when my father began teaching me how to row and swim in the Gomti,” she recalls.
What began as childhood curiosity gradually turned into a life skill that would later become the backbone of her family’s survival.
Despite growing up around the river, Parul pursued higher education, completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication from Makhanlal Chaturvedi University in 2010 and later earning a B.Ed degree from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut in 2014. With these qualifications, she had hoped to build a career beyond the riverbanks. But family constraints and her parents’ reluctance to let her work outside Lucknow meant she eventually continued her family’s traditional profession.
Today, her small, weather-beaten boat is a familiar sight along the Gomti ghats.
“People would stare or laugh when they saw a woman rowing a boat,” she says.
“Some boatmen doubted whether I could handle the work.”
But Parul persisted. Her confidence in the water is rooted in strong swimming skills taught by her father. On several occasions, she has helped more than four dozen people in distress in the river; these experiences strengthened her reputation among locals.
Her swimming ability once earned her an opportunity to participate in a swimming competition in Karnataka, which she describes as one of the proudest achievements of her life.
Nevertheless, Parul’s earnings remain uncertain and modest. Usually, she earns barely ₹5,000 a month, though during festivals and tourist seasons, her income may rise to ₹20,000. The arrival of motorboats on the Gomti has further reduced passenger demand for traditional rowboats, intensifying competition for livelihood. “Sometimes there are days when I return home with almost nothing,” she says.
The financial pressure increased dramatically after her husband fell seriously ill in 2023. With medical expenses and household needs piling up, her responsibilities multiplied overnight.
“I have two children to raise and educate. I cannot stop working,” she says quietly. Despite her academic qualifications, Parul has repeatedly tried but failed to secure a stable job. She says she has approached authorities and organisations seeking any form of employment—government or private, permanent or temporary—but has yet to find an opportunity. Still, she refuses to give up.
“My only dream is that my children should study well and have a secure life,” she says.
As the sun sets over Lucknow and the Gomti’s waters begin to shimmer in the fading light, Parul continues rowing, against the current of circumstances and the weight of responsibility.
Parul’s struggle inspired another woman Suman Mishra on the same ghat. She learned how to row a boat a few months ago and now she is also rowing a boat like Parul. There are more than 15 ghats on the banks of Gomti, including Kudia Ghat, Kala Kothi Ghat, Mehndi Ghat, Gau Ghat, Daliganj Ghat, Jhoolelal Ghat, and others. More than 50 boatmen have been rowing for many years.
