MY Role Model - Sudha Chandran

“Role model, who is a role model? A person looked to by others as an example in a particular role or situation to build on an expected character version.
The molten gold drips from the sun
The silver drops plop from the moon
The yonder sparkles twinkle down
Compiled to make a face...From the above lines most of you would have found out who my role model is?
Yes! She is “SUDHA CHANDRAN” a determined dancer.

Sudha Chandran is an Indian actress and former classical dancer,born in 1964 andis who turned to acting following the loss of one leg in an accident in 1982.The 1984 Telugu film Mayuri in which she plays herself was inspired by her story.The 1986 film Naache Mayuri was a Hindi remake of the Telugu original, in which the cast was changed except for Sudha to suit the North Indian sensibilities.She was awarded the 1986 National Film Award - Special Jury Award for her performance in the film Mayuri.

She is one of the world's best known women--Sudha Chandran, at the age of 30, was an actress and dancer. Her television serials are screened in 54 countries. In her own country, 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. Recently, the Indian government decided to include 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? Even I have read the lesson in my 6th standard which makes me inspire her.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 form of religious origins 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 visited a temple 200km from their holiday spot to make ritual offerings to the Gods and seek their protection. That year was no exception.But they meet with an accident, while all the passengers were sleeping; a truck hit the bus head on. Sudha recalls, "I woke up in a public hospital. You have to see these hospitals in India to believe them. I had a fractured femur and a barely visible cut in the ankle. They put my leg in plaster and I 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 his daughter to a private hospital in Madras. That was the beginning of their nightmare. All of a sudden there was no future. I felt as if my world had crashed, my existence had come to an end. she was young. she had dreamed of becoming a great dancer,.... All of a sudden the light seemed to have died out of her Six months after the accident, the time came for Sudha to return to Mumbai. "As I was leaving the hospital, the doctor warned me that people would stare at me. I would just have to get used to it." Her doctor also advised her to use an artificial foot. Sudha says, "It was very badly made but it helped me hide my infirmity. I made up my mind to return to Mumbai the same way I had left it six months earlier--walking. Everyone was awaiting her but they would pity her she did not want that to happen .she wanted to prove herself to be a best dancer ,one day at the orthopedic clinic where she had gone to get her artificial foot repaired, she saw one that looked very natural. She was told it was the Jaipur foot.

Miraculous feet: An article she had read in India Today when she was bedridden came back to her. A certain Dr. Sethi in Jaipur had been awarded the Magsaysay Prize for having invented the Jaipur foot, a solid, flexible prosthetic foot. The minute she laid her hands on it, she wrote to Sethi, without any real hope of a reply. The Magsaysay Award is like the Asian Nobel Prizeand the winners are much sought after. Much to Sudha's surprise, ten days later she received an answer: "Expecting you next week. Sethi." Sethi has spent 40 years of his life helping his patients--the poorest of the poor--stand up on their own feet again. The doctor's silver hair and sallow complexion give him an air of seriousness. A brilliant man, he has the humility of the wise and a soothing presence. Sudha after seeing him got a new hope in dance .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 we did a good job of it," recalls Sudha. 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 I got a call from Sudha," recalls Sethi. "She told me that she was staging a public recital on the 28th of January and that she would not perform unless I came. I told her I would not be in India on that day but she said if I was not there she would not dance. She was so insistent that I was in Mumbai on the 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 I heard Sudha say she couldn't do it, I talked to the stage manager. He 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 a welcoming audience," recalls Sudha. "I don't know how I danced. But I realized towards the end that I had done it."The performance went on for three hours. As it came to an end, the audience rose to its feet and gave Sudha a thundering ovation. Dr. Sethi was overcome with emotion: "Sudha had painted her toe nails and was wearing bracelets and jewelry. No one could tell the difference between her real foot and the artificial one. After the performance, people clambered onto the stage and asked the dancer 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. The film was a roaring success. Sudha's fame spread to the four corners of India. From cinema, she moved to television. I interviewed her in a studio where she was shooting for six sitcoms in which she is acting simultaneously. Easygoing and lively, she spoke with conviction and assurance. She said that she did not enjoy socializing; she is married and likes to stay within the family circle. She has been married now for three years 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. In fact, it is rather spartan."I have never been very ambitious," said Sudha. "I have all I need and I'm happy. I want to concentrate on my career." I asked if she would like to help others with the same disability. She said, "Not directly. My life is my message. When I have more time, I'll open an institute or something like it." When I 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, I asked how she feels about being so popular, with her name about to appear in textbooks: "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." This was why even I suggest this modest model.

-R.Uma Mageswari

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