Malvika
Iyer. At one point in time, for many, who live out of Chennai this
might have been just another name. But that did not keep this gritty
girl from reaching out to the world – literally. Malvika’s story is one
of grit and determination, to make a difference to self and others.
For this Kumbakonam born girl, life changed forever in the town of Bikaner in Rajasthan, where her father was posted. A few days before, in May 2002, the army’s ammunition depot caught fire and shells, hand grenades landed all over the city. One such piece of ammunition landed in the backyard of Malvika’s house. She picked up what she though was a defused shell and tried to hammer a metal sticker into her jeans – and it blew up.
In a matter of seconds nothing was left of her hands, both her legs had severe injuries, nerve damage and multiple fractures. She was rushed to the hospital with zero pulse and 80% blood loss. Two years later and after multiple surgeries and months of intense therapy, Malvika was able to walk with restrictions, but her hands were simply not there. Though it was heart breaking, her family found a German prosthetics company in Chennai and she got a pair of bio-electric hands.
Soon, Malvika decided to continue her academics and set about by learning to write with her new pair of hands. She prepared well by engaging the services of a coaching center near her home, and topped the board exams, in the private candidate category. She joined one of India’s best known college, St Stephens, New Delhi and later went on to do her Master's in Social Work from the Delhi School of Social Work. It was here during her field training that she worked with differently-abled children like her and that opened a world of opportunity.
Her family’s support was crucial, so was her circle of friends and Malvika began gaining confidence to something better. It was a TEDx Talk that changed Malvika’s life – from a shy girl, she metamorphosised into a confident motivational speaker at various foras. Malvika now gets invited to talk at colleges and schools or to corporates in Chennai and other cities. Last year, she was invited to host the India Inclusion Summit in Bangalore, where she donned the role of a emcee and had the opportunity to meet a lot of differently-abled people.
Malvika is now a Junior Research Fellow doing her PhD in Social Work at the Madras School of Social Work. She is studying the experience of inclusion; how differently-abled people feel in society and what is society's attitude towards them. She also been experimenting with clothes to suit her needs with help from her mother, so that it’s not just fashionable but also forms a part of her personality. Malvika also did a ramp walk at a NIFT show last year, with customised set of dresses. She still has problems walking but that has not let down the gutsy young lady from dancing on stage at the Bangalore Run last year.
Malvika’s attitude comes out clearly with this statement “I would not have wanted to live a mediocre life. I have always been scared of mediocrity and I am not sure how my life would have turned out if it were not for this accident.” One thing that Malvika hates is pity, and she has been very clear that she is a person who will take life as it comes. Life has been good and last February, she got engaged a wonderful man, a design engineer. “There is a lot to look forward to in life rather than just sitting around thinking of what could have been.”
How many of us who are lucky to have all our limbs in place, can say that?
Thank you, Sangeetha Raman for letting me know about this gem of a young lady.
For this Kumbakonam born girl, life changed forever in the town of Bikaner in Rajasthan, where her father was posted. A few days before, in May 2002, the army’s ammunition depot caught fire and shells, hand grenades landed all over the city. One such piece of ammunition landed in the backyard of Malvika’s house. She picked up what she though was a defused shell and tried to hammer a metal sticker into her jeans – and it blew up.
In a matter of seconds nothing was left of her hands, both her legs had severe injuries, nerve damage and multiple fractures. She was rushed to the hospital with zero pulse and 80% blood loss. Two years later and after multiple surgeries and months of intense therapy, Malvika was able to walk with restrictions, but her hands were simply not there. Though it was heart breaking, her family found a German prosthetics company in Chennai and she got a pair of bio-electric hands.
Soon, Malvika decided to continue her academics and set about by learning to write with her new pair of hands. She prepared well by engaging the services of a coaching center near her home, and topped the board exams, in the private candidate category. She joined one of India’s best known college, St Stephens, New Delhi and later went on to do her Master's in Social Work from the Delhi School of Social Work. It was here during her field training that she worked with differently-abled children like her and that opened a world of opportunity.
Her family’s support was crucial, so was her circle of friends and Malvika began gaining confidence to something better. It was a TEDx Talk that changed Malvika’s life – from a shy girl, she metamorphosised into a confident motivational speaker at various foras. Malvika now gets invited to talk at colleges and schools or to corporates in Chennai and other cities. Last year, she was invited to host the India Inclusion Summit in Bangalore, where she donned the role of a emcee and had the opportunity to meet a lot of differently-abled people.
Malvika is now a Junior Research Fellow doing her PhD in Social Work at the Madras School of Social Work. She is studying the experience of inclusion; how differently-abled people feel in society and what is society's attitude towards them. She also been experimenting with clothes to suit her needs with help from her mother, so that it’s not just fashionable but also forms a part of her personality. Malvika also did a ramp walk at a NIFT show last year, with customised set of dresses. She still has problems walking but that has not let down the gutsy young lady from dancing on stage at the Bangalore Run last year.
Malvika’s attitude comes out clearly with this statement “I would not have wanted to live a mediocre life. I have always been scared of mediocrity and I am not sure how my life would have turned out if it were not for this accident.” One thing that Malvika hates is pity, and she has been very clear that she is a person who will take life as it comes. Life has been good and last February, she got engaged a wonderful man, a design engineer. “There is a lot to look forward to in life rather than just sitting around thinking of what could have been.”
How many of us who are lucky to have all our limbs in place, can say that?
Thank you, Sangeetha Raman for letting me know about this gem of a young lady.
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