With over 3 lakh subscribers on her YouTube channel, this “Dehati Madam” from Uttar Pradesh is teaching English and rewriting her destiny using a budget smartphone, mobile data and a strong desire to learn.
Yashoda, a 29-year-old homemaker from Lodhan Ka Purwa village in Uttar Pradesh, turned a new chapter in her life four years ago. A road crash left her husband incapacitated, confining him to bed and leaving the family bereft of its primary breadwinner. But Yashoda, who never went to college after completing class 12, was undeterred by adversity.
She embarked on a journey fuelled by an indomitable will to learn and adapt. Today, from a homemaker, she is the celebrated “Dehati Madam who teaches English”.
Yashoda acquired proficiency in the language, and launched her YouTube channel @yashodamaiyavlogs5205 on December 26, 2023. It has more than 3 lakh subscribers now, with vlogs like the one titled “Practice English speaking while cooking food…” garnering over 4 lakh views.
This isn’t Yashoda’s maiden voyage into digital content creation. Her previous channels faced stagnation.
Armed with a Rs 10,000 smartphone and mobile data, she targets young women, especially homemakers, encouraging them to be financially independent.
“My journey is not just about teaching English, but it’s a journey of learning the language myself. I didn’t have knowledge of anything. I only had a passion to start something,” Yashoda reflected.
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Residing in a family of 10, the homemaker describes herself as an average student with a hunger to learn, an opportunity that eluded her.
It’s scary speaking a foreign language in front of strangers, considering the peril of using the wrong word and being misunderstood. But to learn a new language out of necessity, using the language is the only way. And that takes small doses of pure courage.
The one lesson that seems to ring true is that almost everything gets easier with practice. The payoff? Yashoda’s YouTube income, ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 a month, mirrors her online acclaim, a realm distant from the comprehension of her fellow villagers in Lodhan Ka Purwa of Kaushambi district.
“People in the village don’t understand the importance of what I do. They only think I make videos and earn money. In a village, if you work all day in the field, they will say the girl is hardworking. If you work on your phone, they will say it has no value,” she said.
Despite challenges, she finds solace in the support of her husband, who, though unfamiliar with social media, remains her unwavering pillar.
The key to her linguistic prowess? She credits her “guru”.
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“YouTube became my teacher, and the phone became my tool. I kept learning and making videos. When I made videos, I practised what I learned. People liked it. I got motivation and kept making videos,” she shared.
Through a blend of solo videos chronicling her language-learning journey and collaborative discussions with diverse people, Yashoda imparts English language skills seamlessly, resonating with a predominantly female audience from rural and small-town areas.
Her channel experienced remarkable organic growth. Her videos unfold against diverse backdrops — sometimes her kitchen, at other times the unplastered roof of her house. While her articulate expressions in English demonstrate her proficiency, subtle imperfections reveal the language as a learned skill.
“People wonder what is so difficult about learning English. I watched many videos to understand the problems people face while learning. People hesitate for interviews. They often get intimidated when people around them speak English. It affects their confidence,” she explained.
Yashoda’s future is open-ended: for now, she aspires to keep making videos on her smartphone. Collaborating with other YouTube channels and learning new skills, her story epitomises the transformative power of digital platforms, where accessibility to mobile data has empowered her to redefine herself from a homemaker to the dehati madam who teaches English and contribute meaningfully.
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The lead image at the top shows Yashoda, who is better known as “Dehati Madam who teaches English”. (Photo by Unnati Sharma)
Unnati Sharma is a Village Square Fellow ’23. She works as a journalist, writer and translator.
