A village afternoon that felt like a turning point

Under a shade of bamboo and neem, with half-built brick homes behind us and the day’s work humming in the lanes, we gathered with a small circle of women in Hiran Chapada, a tribal hamlet in Madhya Pradesh. Some sat on the woven cots, others on the packed earth, green odhnis framing curious faces. A little nervous laughter gave way to focused silence as we opened our first page: “Bank khaata kyun? Aur UPI kaise?” (Why a bank account and UPI how?)

This was not just a workshop. It was the next step in a campaign we’ve been building since early June meeting women where they are, in their language, at their pace to replace fear of online banking with confidence.

Why this mattered here?

Many women in Hiran Chapada handle daily purchases, run small home enterprises, or manage SHG (self-help group) savings but digital banking felt distant. We heard familiar concerns:

• “Phone pe galat dab gaya toh?”
• “Paise kahin atak na jayein?”
• “OTP aur PIN ka farq?”

These aren’t just questions; they’re barriers to income security.

Our goal is simple: financially literate women who can independently use digital banking tools from balance checks to UPI payments and bank transfers.

What we carried in and why it worked?

• Smartphone & Laptop: Live demos, screen mirroring, and one-on-one practice
• Visual Aids: Posters and handouts in simple Hindi with icons (PIN ≠ OTP, do’s/don’ts)
• Voice-based Guides: For participants with low literacy
• UPI Apps (PhonePe/Paytm), RTGS overview, Mobile Banking: Real-time practice

The Demo Day

The first demo was ordinary and, therefore, monumental. Balance check. Mini statement. A one-rupee transfer from my account to a volunteer’s and back again. When Shanti bai’s transfer made that little ping, she covered her mouth and then laughed out loud, a sound that moved around the circle like a breeze. It wasn’t the rupee; it was the proof. Fear loosened its grip.

The heart of the session was not information; it was rhythm. Try, see, repeat. We mirrored the phone screen for the group, then put the same steps back into their hands. Scan. Confirm. Enter PIN in private. Wait for the chime. We kept the steps short and the stakes tiny. No one had to be brave; they just had to be curious for a few more seconds than their fear. “Aaj se main karungi,” said a younger participant as she finished her first mobile recharge. “Bhaiya ko bolne ki zaroorat nahi.” It wasn’t rebellion. It was relief.

We talked about safety, not like a warning but like a routine. PIN and OTP are never shared. Unknown links are never tapped. Customer care numbers come only from official apps, not from a forward or a search result. If money is stuck, we don’t panic; we follow the in-app help, raise a ticket, and wait for the bank’s process to finish. To make it stick, we chanted the rules together and laughed at our own seriousness.

What changed in two hours was small on paper and huge in spirit. Before we began, fewer than half could clearly explain the difference between PIN and OTP; by the end, almost everyone could repeat it back and show it on the screen. Every participant completed at least one real task—checking a balance, sending a test rupee, or doing a small recharge. No one left with a confused face. Many left with a new habit: asking the right questions before pressing the next button.

Running this kind of learning day is simple and surprisingly affordable. A few posters, mobile data, a bit of travel, and we are ready about a thousand rupees for an entire village visit, funded from our own pocket for now. The cost is light, the outcome is heavy!

People often think financial inclusion is a government scheme or a form you submit. We have learned it’s closer to learning to ride a bicycle. Someone holds the seat, you pedal on a quiet lane, and one morning you look back and realise you are moving on your own. Hiran Chapada was that quiet lane for us- a small afternoon that will ripple for months.

If you were there, you would have seen it: the moment a one-rupee chime turned into a sentence-Main kar sakti hoon.

And once that sentence lands, the rest is just practice.