Synopsis

Synopsis

		Sceptic Singh: In 1994, I wasn't very well-known, but I had almost 150 certificates with me. I kept all my certificates on Dr Manmohan Singh’s table. I told him I wanted to buy a car and needed excise duty exemption that was available to me. (Dr Singh was the finance minister then.) I think he had a tough day at Parliament. He asked me if these were indeed my certificates. I said yes. He then shot a question, "How can I believe that these are yours?" I was outraged. I become livid if anyone questions my honesty or hard work. And to think that this question was being raised after I had travelled for 46 hours in a train that was so unfriendly to the differently-abled that I couldn't even use the toilet! You can imagine my mental state then.I looked him straight in the face and said, "How can I believe, Sir, that you are Manmohan Singh?" He was taken aback. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

		Acerbic Alva: We went to meet Mrs Margaret Alva, who was the Sports Minister then. She was upset and disappointed because our athletes had failed to perform in the regular Olympics. They had not even reached the finals, not even P.T. Usha. We requested her to clear the papers as we had only two days left to travel. All of a sudden, she asked me, "Do you think you are P.T. Usha?" This, when I was in a wheelchair! I replied evenly: "Kindly don't compare me to P.T. Usha or anybody else. P.T. Usha is P.T. Usha. Malathi Holla is Malathi Holla. Neither can P.T. Usha sit in a wheelchair and race, nor can Malathi Holla wear spikes and run.” Anyway, at the Paralympics, I was the only one from our team to reach the finals of the 200-metre wheelchair race. I set a record of 56:10 seconds. It is the best by an Indian female athlete, and that record still hasn't been broken. I'm proud of that.

		Wedding scene with Dr. Raj: They dressed me up like a bride and made me sit on the floor. "You will have to carry her and walk around the fire seven times," the director told Dr Rajkumar. I was nervous, because it's very difficult to carry people like us. Besides, Dr Rajkumar was not young then, and I didn't want him to strain himself. The first time he lifted me properly, but stepped right into some props, so the shot had to be taken again. I told him, "Why don't you put me in a chair? It will be easier to carry me." "Howdu, swalpa bennu novu agtha ide (yes, my back is hurting a little)," he said. Finally, he went around the holy fire five times, and the director said, "Fine, we've got the shot." But the perfectionist that he was, Dr Rajkumar insisted on doing the seven rounds. "Seven rounds mean seven. Who knows, she may get a nice husband in real life," he joked.
		Travel trauma: Travel, especially by train, is a huge problem for the differently-abled. Trains aren't wheelchair-friendly at all and we just cannot even think of using the toilet during our journeys. So, we are forced to control our bowel and bladder movements! Infrastructure in India is very bad for the differently-abled. Those on wheelchair suffer the most. I'm not even talking about restaurants, cinema halls or shopping complexes.

		Earlier I used calipers and crutches. I've fallen down so many times even in front of my clients in my bank because of slippery floors. It's embarrassing, but nothing can be done as the place was never built keeping the differently-abled in mind. Such incidents can lower your self-esteem and lead to an inferiority complex.
		Motherly teacher: My teacher Kaveriammal was a very nice lady who remained unmarried. She was very fond of me, because I always stood first in her class. She often brought food and give it to me secretly so others wouldn't know. From whatever she had in her lunch box, be it rasam rice or curd rice, she gave five or six handfuls of it to me. She brought only little food everyday, but she found enough to share with me.

		Dad’s darling: When I received the Arjuna award, my father was very proud. Mr L.K. Advani came up to him and said, “Aap bahut dhanya hain (you are very lucky)." Tears rolled down my father's cheeks and he replied: "My daughter has brought glory to our family name. Even with all her disabilities, she has done what no one else has." A ‘road’ named after me: In 1989, I went to the World Masters Games in Denmark. The apartment that we stayed in had two steps. One of the organizers had made a ramp so that we could get in and out easily. He named the ramp Krishnamurthy Road!

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