Leading a change in non-ordinary things, standing apart from the rest, while showing courage, determination, and shunning the shackles of stereotypes, are actually the principles that lead the nation towards progress.Yashoda Lodhi, popularly known as the Dehati Madam on YouTube, is one of those special inspiring women who lead this change.There’s a certain irony in the word “dehati”, often used dismissively to mean unrefined or rustic. But for Yashoda Lodhi, a homemaker from a small village in Uttar Pradesh, that same word has become the identity of a growing YouTube career.
Meet Yashoda Lodhi: The ’Dehati Madam’, who herself is educated till class 12th and teaches English on YouTube
With barely a Class 12 education, no formal training in English, and a smartphone that cost just Rs 10,000, Yashoda has built a channel with lakhs of subscribers while teaching spoken English to people who, like her, were once told the language wasn’t meant for them.Yashoda belongs to Lodhan Ka Purwa village, in the Sirathu Nagar panchayat of Kaushambi district, Uttar Pradesh. According to VillageSquare, her life took a difficult turn four years ago when a road accident left her husband bedridden, stripping the family of its main breadwinner overnight. Having stopped her education after Class 12, Yashoda had no college degree and no formal training to fall back on. But rather than being weighed down by the situation, she decided to teach herself something new.
Yashoda began learning english through YouTube
With limited options, Yashoda began exploring how she could earn a living using just her phone. She had already tried her hand at content creation before, but her earlier YouTube channels failed to grow. Instead of giving up, she decided to teach English to fellow villagers and homemakers who had never had the chance to learn it formally.She launched her channel on 26 December 2023, and it has since crossed over 3 lakh subscribers, with individual videos, such as one on practising English while cooking, getting over 4 lakh views. Dressed simply in a saree and bindi, Yashoda records her lessons from her own home, breaking down grammar and daily conversational English styles in easy, simple ways that seem helpful rather than academic.
She proudly owns her identity
Her confidence in owning her rural identity has been much appreciated by the viewers. According to StoryPick, Yashoda said, “The fact that I am a villager should not mean that I cannot speak English. “I too fumble when I talk in my videos, but I have improved only through practice,” and this is partly why her content feels so relatable to her audience.Today, Yashoda’s videos have collectively earned her close to three crore views, and she reportedly earned up to Rs 15,000- 20,000 a month through the channel, according to VillageSquare in 2024.Her audience largely consists of young women and homemakers, many of whom she actively encourages toward financial independence.