Miracle Girl of Mumbai

Her tale is one of agonizing loss and dramatic recovery

Sudha Chandran, aged 36, is an actress and dancer, being one
of the world’s best-known women. Her television serials are
screened in 54 countries. In India, more than forty million
viewers watch her every day on the small screen. Everyone,
from the humble rickshaw puller to the Mumbai business
magnate, knows her and fondly refers to her as Sudhaji. Our
Government had included her story in primary school
textbooks to provide youngsters a role model. What is it about
this woman that has captivated so many millions of people?

Sudha is much more than an actress or a dancer; she is a

living legend. Rather than resigning herself to fate, this
sparkling beauty conquered her apparent destiny through
sheer willpower. Her story is her message. Sudha was born in a
middle-class family. Her father worked as a librarian at the
American Consulate in Mumbai. At the age of three, Sudha was
initiated into Indian classical dance. In no time she became one
of the most promising pupils of Bharata Natyam, a dance in
which facial expression and ankle movement predominate.

Sudha, whose name means "nectar of the moon," had just

turned sixteen when she and her parents set off on their
vacation in South India. Every year the family used to visit a
temple 200kms from their holiday spot to make ritual offerings
to the Gods and seek their blessings. That year was no
exception. But the journey was jinxed from the outset. When
they reached the railway station, there were no seats available.
They were on the verge of going back home, when an young
boy offered them seats in a bus, which they accepted. After
worshipping, the family boarded the bus to return. While all the
passengers were sleeping, a truck hit the bus head on. When
Sudha woke up, she found herself in a public hospital. She had
a fractured femur and a barely visible cut in the ankle. They put
her leg in plaster and she stayed in bed for a week. Her
parents, who had lost consciousness at the time of the
accident, escaped with minor injuries. As soon as they were in
a position to leave, Sudha's father arranged to transfer her to a
private hospital in Madras. That was the beginning of their
nightmare.

The doctor who examined her said that Sudha was running high
fever. Her foot had turned blue--she had gangrene!. The
gangrene was due to negligence on the part of the hospital
staff at the public hospital. The plaster had been put on
without attending to the wound in the ankle and hence the
infection. "We will have to amputate, it is a question of limb or
life," said the doctor. "I just cannot express what I felt like at
the time," said Sudha. "All of a sudden there was no future. I
felt as if my world had crashed, my existence had come to an
end. I was young. I had dreamt of becoming a great dancer,
getting married.... All of a sudden the light seemed to have
died out of my life. I tried to delay the operation, but it was too
late. My parents had already given their consent", she
regretted. Eventually the operation was performed.

During the six-month recuperation period after surgery she

became obsessed with the idea of walking again but without
crutches. By chance she picked up a magazine and read about
Dr. Sethi and his famous Jaipur foot and immediately made an
appointment to see him. This was in December1981.

The first question she asked of him was 'will I dance again?'.
His reply without hesitation was 'why not?'. They tried out
various options including a spring-loaded ankle fitting for more
flexibility essential for the intricate footwork required in
Baratha Natyam. The spring was not successful as it kept
jamming during practice. For the next round of fittings Sudha
brought her dance teacher along. For twenty days Dr Sethi and
his team watched the two working together. In the end they
fitted her with the same Jaipur foot and limb that was given to
any other amputee who came to the rehabilitation centre at the
SMS Hospital in Jaipur.

The minute she returned to Mumbai, Sudha determinedly began

to prove to herself and the world that she could dance. She
spared no effort to turn her tragedy into personal victory. With
the support of her mother, and without telling her father, she
resumed dancing lessons. She also went to see a
physiotherapist every day to gain precision in her movement.
She had to relearn how to keep her balance, walk, bend,
stretch, turn with the artificial foot and coordinate with the
other foot and the rest of her body. It was the coming together
of science, music and art, and they did a good job of it. For two
years, this impromptu team worked hard to see that the child
prodigy recovered her flexibility. It was a gradual process. In
the end, tenacity, courage, knowledge and hope finally won the
day.
One day Dr.Sethi got a call from Sudha saying that she was
staging a public recital on the 28th of January, 1984 and that
she would not perform unless he attends. He told her that he
would not be in India on that day but she said that if he is not
there she would not dance. She was insistent and so Dr.Sethi
made it and was in Mumbai on 28th. The person most stunned
by Sudha's performance was her own father, who found out
only the night before. "Are you mad? How are you going to
dance?" he asked her incredulously.

When "Nectar of the Moon" saw two thousand people in a

theatre meant for five hundred, she had a terrible case of stage
fright. "I just can't go out there and dance," she told her dance
guru. Sudha's guru had not taken a drop of water for a week
before the recital. "When Sudha’s guru heard her say she
couldn't do it, guru talked to the stage manager and said, 'If
you can't get this girl on the stage, I am quitting my profession
right now." "All of a sudden, I found myself pushed onto the
stage in front of a welcoming audience, "I don't know how I
danced. But I realized towards the end that I had done it ",
recalled Sudha.

The performance went on for three hours. As it came to an end,

the audience rose to their feet and gave Sudha a thundering
ovation. Dr. Sethi was overcome with emotion: "Sudha had
painted her toe nails and was wearing bracelets and jewellery.
No one could tell the difference between her real foot and the
artificial one. After the performance, people clambered onto
the stage and asked Sudha to tell them which was her artificial
foot."

The next day, The Times of India, the country's most respected
paper, ran the following headline: "Loses a Foot, Walks a Mile."
It was the same in all the other newspapers. "Sudha Returns to
the Stage Better than Before;" "An Unforgettable Recital;"
"Sudha Dances again with the Jaipur Foot;" "20-year-old Sudha
Chandran Shows the World the Power of the Mind," etc. By
rediscovering the dance she loved, adored and practiced to
perfection, Sudha proved to the world that the loss of a foot
was not an impediment to a full life or, for that matter, to being
a dancer.

All the media attention could not fail to catch the attention of
the film world. After all, India is the largest producer of films in
the world. A shrewd producer from Hyderabad asked Sudha to
tell her story on the screen. She starred in a feature film
‘Mayure’ her life story and it was an instant box office
‘Bollywood’ hit. Other offers of stardom and many dance
recitals followed. She acted in many films and was invited to
perform all over the world, living proof that the Jaipur foot
works and became its most ardent ambassador.

When she was asked for a message for people who have had
similar experiences, she offered, "In most cases, it is not the
disabled but their families who need rehabilitation. If you think
there is nothing you can do, you will do nothing. This is a very
negative attitude; it prevents people from moving on and
makes them resigned to their fate. You have to fight against
this. Finally, when she was asked as to how she felt about
being so popular, with her story about to appear in textbooks,
she said "I enjoy the affection. People stop me on the road and
ask me, 'How are you, Sudhaji?' I think I have shown the
disabled that the doors of the arts are open now for them.
People see me as a role model. 'If Sudha can do it, why can't
I?' they ask themselves. This makes me happy, because I feel
my life has a meaning.”

Sudha now lives and works in Mumbai. From cinema she

moved to television. Her heavy work schedule as leading lady
and star of numerous TV soaps leaves very little time for
dancing. She can only manage one or two dance recitals a
year. In an interview with Javier Moro, Madrid, Spain, she said
that she did not enjoy socializing; she is married and likes to
stay within family circle. She has been married six years ago
to a Mumbai film director. They live in Bollywood, where most
film stars live. Sudha likes to live in simple comfort. There is
nothing extravagant or pretentious about her house. The
interviewer said he found her to be easygoing and lively,
speaking with conviction and assurance.

What a great recovery? She has come a long way from the
young girl wanting to end it all to a matured woman who had
overcome the fateful accident with her qualities of courage,
endurance and stern frugality.

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Note:

The next ‘week starter’ issue would be about the great two
people Dr. Sethi and artisan Mr. Ram chandra, who have
invented the Jaipur Artificial Foot which has literally lent
support to thousands of handicapped people with mutilated
limbs not only in India but also in other parts of the World to
lead a normal life.

Please await next issue.