What is so dehati about this UP woman's English lessons online? Her story

In an exclusive interview with India Today Digital, Yashoda Lodhi of 'English with Dehati madam', spoke about getting a shout-out from Priyanka Chopra Jonas, why she chose to embrace the word 'Dehati' and how she wishes to inspire young women.Yashoda Lodhi, the face behind 'English with Dehati Madam'. (Photo: India Today)New Delhi,Oct 18, 2026 13:50 ISTAsk people to picture a woman from a small village, chances are the image will be shaped by familiar stereotypes: modest in her demeanour, working in the fields or tending to the kitchen. Yashoda Lodhi, however, is rewriting that picture, one English lesson at a time. With her fluent English, crisp enunciation and impressive vocabulary, Yashoda can give many city-bred people a run for their money. What makes her story even more striking is that she studied only till Class 12, in a Hindi-medium school. A resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district, Yashoda is renowned for her English-speaking videos that she regularly shares on her Instagram account ‘English with Dehati Madam’ which has over 725k followers. In fact, she is so popular that one of her latest videos was also shared on Instagram by global icon Priyanka Chopra earlier this month. In an exclusive interview with India Today Digital, Yashoda spoke about how she found her footing on YouTube, why she chose to embrace the word ‘Dehati’ and what she hopes other women from rural India will take away from her journey. Yashoda remembers struggling to get through the script of her first YouTube video. She would stammer, lose her words and struggle to express herself. Today, Yashoda teaches children how to speak with confidence, using the very skill she once found difficult to demonstrate in front of a camera. A Class 12th pass from a Hindi-medium school, Yashoda grew up in Punjab after her parents moved there from Uttar Pradesh for work. She now lives with her family in a small village in the district, where her days are divided between teaching English online, looking after her household and helping with agricultural work. Her journey to becoming a YouTube educator was neither carefully planned nor straightforward. It began with a smartphone, financial difficulties at home and a question she could not stop asking herself: why should a woman not be able to support her family financially?When life demanded more than household dutiesYashoda's childhood was shaped by financial constraints. Although her parents ensured she received an education, she grew up without access to many of the facilities that could have made life easier. As an adult, the financial pressure on her family became more difficult to manage, particularly after her husband's accident.“My husband would earn only Rs 250-300, and it was very difficult to manage expenses with that. Finding a job in a village is not easy either, so there was always some difficulty or the other. We managed somehow, but it was a struggle,” she told India Today Digital.And then, when the ration was running low, her husband's accident became a turning point. The family was already dealing with financial commitments, including debt taken on for their wedding. His medical treatment added to the burden, while a fire in their wheat field caused further losses. Living in a large family meant that the consequences extended beyond just the two of them.“My life changed and as a woman, I began to wonder why shouldn't I be able to feed my husband or support him financially? Why should a woman not be able to help her family? It affected our entire family because we are a big family, and things became quite difficult,” Yashoda said.The question stayed with her. She wanted to contribute financially but needed a way to do so without stepping away from her responsibilities at home. The answer, unexpectedly, came through a phone she received on Diwali in 2021.A smartphone, a first channel and a different dreamWhen Yashoda first began using her phone, YouTube was not a career option she had considered. She watched videos to learn everyday skills, from cooking to sewing, knitting and embroidery. Gradually, she came across videos explaining how people could earn money through the platform.“I had no idea about YouTube or how people made money from it. I started using the phone to learn ordinary things, and slowly, I realised that I should explore something of my own. I wanted to know how I could earn money while sitting at home, and YouTube helped me understand that,” she said. Her first attempt was a channel called ‘Re Motivation’. She uploaded short videos featuring motivational speakers and personalities, including Sonu Sharma, Khan Sir and Sandeep Maheshwari. Her contribution was largely limited to voiceovers, and she soon realised that the work did not give her the satisfaction she wanted.“I always wanted to do something different, something that would set me apart. I never wanted to be part of the herd. I thought about what I could do while living in a village that would be different from what everyone else was doing,” she said.That search eventually led her to English-language content. In December 2022, she began working on the channel that would become her identity online.The beginning, however, was far from polished. Yashoda recalls struggling to speak smoothly in her first video, often stammering because she could not properly articulate what she had written in her script. The woman who now teaches children to communicate confidently had to learn to overcome her own hesitation first.Her videos have a pristine touch of the green fields where she works to cultivate crops along with sowing the seed of curiosity and confidence in young minds.Why she chose to be called ‘Dehati Madam’The name ‘English with Dehati Madam’ is central to Yashoda's identity as a creator. The word ‘Dehati’ is often used dismissively to describe someone from a village, sometimes carrying an implication that the person is unsophisticated or uneducated. Yashoda chose to make it a source of pride instead.“The word ‘Dehati’ represents me. It represents our village community. These days, nobody wants to be called ‘Dehati’ or ‘gawar’ because the words are used as insults. But I wanted to represent this word as my strength. I wanted to show that a woman from a village can do a lot, too,” she said.For Yashoda, the name is more than a catchy label for a YouTube channel. It allows her to challenge the assumptions attached to her background without having to hide where she comes from. Her education in a Hindi-medium school and her life in a village are not things she feels compelled to distance herself from in order to teach English.When Priyanka Chopra gave her a shout-outHer growing presence online has also brought unexpected recognition. When actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas reacted to her content, Yashoda did not immediately know about it. Her students were the ones who told her. “I have so much work throughout the day. Apart from taking classes, I have to do household chores, sweep and mop the floor, wash utensils and sometimes help with work in the fields. My students were the ones who told me about Priyanka Chopra ma'am's reaction,” she said.The moment was particularly striking because it reached her in the middle of an ordinary day, one still filled with the domestic and agricultural responsibilities that have long been part of her life.A lesson beyond EnglishYashoda's journey did not mean leaving her old responsibilities behind. She continues to balance her online classes with the work that needs to be done at home. But YouTube has given her a way to build something of her own while remaining connected to the community she wants to represent.She hopes other women in villages will see that possibility for themselves, especially those who feel that a lack of money or formal education has closed off their options. “If a girl or woman from a village comes to me and says she has no money or degree and feels trapped, I would tell her to use her smartphone. You have to work on your skills. As women, we sometimes forget our dreams, but you can learn and teach so many things, whether it is cooking, sewing or anything else,” she said, adding, “Through hard work, we can move ahead in life at any stage.”For someone who began by learning everyday skills on a borrowed window into the digital world, the advice comes from experience. Yashoda did not begin with a roadmap to becoming an educator or an audience waiting to hear her speak. She began with a need to earn, a willingness to learn and the belief that her circumstances did not have to dictate what she could attempt.Yashoda Lodhi still has a household to run, chores to finish and fields to tend to. But somewhere between all of that, she has built a life around her own voice. The woman who once struggled to get through a script now teaches others to speak with confidence, all while proudly calling herself ‘Dehati Madam’.- Ends