EVERYDAY HEROES
It was just an argument that lasted for a minute at a traffic signal. I needed to take a right turn but the signal only allowed me to go straight, so I decided I’d take a U-turn and go my way. At the junction where I was meant to take...
I was born as Manjunath in the small town of Gadag. It was in 2004 when I was in Class 7 that I started feeling utterly uneasy, awkward and trapped within my own body. At the onset of puberty, when my classmates were dreaming of girls, I liked doing girlie...
If you have watched Malgudi Days, then we have already met! Hello, I’m Master Manjunath, the child actor of the days of yore. My first brush with the film industry came when I was 3 years old. My parents’ colleague was also moonlighting as a production manager and was scouting...
My life is like a fairy tale although very different from most. If I told you that I was born in Calcutta, married to a handsome man, and had four children, you might think that my life is a dream come true. But If I tell you that my mother,...
I am from Thrissur. In 1978, soon after my 10th, I took a train to try my luck in Bangalore. In 1988, I got married. I worked for 10 years as a tailor before joining a hotel. I worked in another hotel but when the management changed, we weren’t treated...
At 4, I told my teacher that I would be running Koshy’s. At 21, I did not want anything to do with Koshy’s. At 35, I didn’t have a choice but to run the place. It’s been over 25 years since and I love every bit associated with Koshy’s. Everyone...
Her mother had asked a friend of mine to help find a match for her. The year was 1950. My friend invited me over and I ended up playing three games of dice with her. I lost all three. At the end of the evening, my friend asked if I...
After my grandfather’s death in 1930, ajji (grandmother) Subbamma came to Bangalore from Kallur with her 3 sons. To provide her children with education and shelter, she worked as a maid and a cook. She stayed in different houses since she didn’t have a house of our own. The money...
I grew up with three older siblings in Bavaria, a conservative town in Germany. Though I was not inclined towards Christianity, I was a part of all church activities since it kept my parents happy. It was much later when I became more aware of my sexuality that I got...
20th November 2014. I was walking to my hostel room with a group of my friends. I tripped and fell down the stairs of my hostel. Everything from there is a haze. I was taken to a hospital nearby but they weren’t equipped to handle my case. So I was...
I was 8 when my teacher put me in the back row of the dance team because of my complexion. I was 10 when the dramatics team told I was too dark and unattractive to be on the stage. At 14 when I told my friends I wanted to be...
I separated from my husband when my daughter was a little over three years old. I moved, found a new job in a radio station, and began to find my bearings as a single parent. It was not an easy task to be a single mother, it has its own...
I fell in love with Savi the day I saw her. It was 20 years ago and we were traveling in the school bus. I was 15 and she was 14 years old. Soon, we became good friends. As we grew older, our bond grew deeper.After high school, I moved...
I was born in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, into an orthodox Muslim family. My father works as a lorry driver. Once my father went to the bank and had to wait for full three hours for someone to fill out his challan. He felt very humiliated and vowed to make his kids...
When the Corona cases started rising, I felt a strong urge to help people in some way. That’s when I heard of this NGO called Help For Needy and started volunteering with them. The fact that the NGO was operating on ground zero is what appealed to me. In fact,...
Family abandons the body of a 70-year-old man fearing Corona infection. A 65-year-old woman waits for over 8 hours to get help for taking her husband’s body to the crematorium… these are a few of the heart wrenching scenes I’ve witnessed in Belgaum over the past few months. The narratives...
I was the third child and only boy born into a middle class family in Tollygunge. My birth was celebrated and I was a pampered child; the undue advantages of being born male in our society. Even as a child, I was very fond of girls’ clothing and games. I’d...
I, Mohammed Ibrahim, grew up believing Amar, Akbar, Antony to be equal and got an opportunity to apply it in real life when I performed the last rites of a Hindu man for the first time.On 24th July, I got a call that the 34 year old Sudeep Saha, who...
I was never interested in academics and barely got through Class 10. I started with promotional work, tried my hand as a DJ and soon dived headlong into event management. It was a huge success. I was one of the most sought after production manager and worked with all the...
The moment I saw Leelavati Dadi, I knew I had to help her, come what may. On 30th May, a friend forwarded a video clip of Barkha Dutt interviewing a 70 year old woman. It broke my heart to see her crying helplessly at the Bandra (Mumbai) railway platform. She...
The Quran and the Bhagvad Geetha talk about selfless love and helping people in need. And it is this love for humanity, which has motivated Arun and me, Shabbir, to distribute over 10,000 rations kits, meet over 5000 patients and help over 15,000 migrants, during the ongoing COVID crisis.When the...
As part of the Bangalore police force, we were keeping strict vigil after the lockdown was announced. We worked round the clock to ensure no unnecessary movement was happening. On 30th March around midnight, my team stopped a speeding vehicle near the Byapanahalli check post. When asked, the occupants gave...
I had come to Bangalore 15 days before the lockdown began. I was working as a mason. When the lockdown happened, the construction work stopped and so did my daily wages. The contractor allowed me to stay in the building and gave me food and water. But what was the...
I was twelve years old when I first had vegetables with my meal. Once a year, I’d eat vadai and a sweet, a 50-gram packet of milk khova split five ways. Every other meal was leftover idlis or rice and dal. Except for my mother. My mother drank water and...
I don’t know how it feels to walk on my own.I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I wasn’t even six months old when my dad’s colleague spoke to him about “options” that would lead to a less painful death. I was a girl disabled from birth, after all. What could...
It was in 1996 that I became a transformed man. From notorious, I turned to the path of service. But I had no idea when I began that a toothless smile would change my life. Three years after I started out, I got news on my pager that a baby...
The pain I felt is buried in my heart. The way I smile is an art. My name is Sudha Dixit and I am 22 years old. Yes, it has been only 22 years ago since I started living my own life.I was the third of eight children born to...
I have travelled to five different countries and all over India to compete in yoga competitions. I have won 76 medals, 102 certificates of merit and 56 trophies till date. I am 14 years old.My journey with yoga began when my parents were searching for a solution. My teachers always...
I was born in Berlin, Germany as one of five children. When I was six, I began writing poetry. My parents wanted me to learn a sport as well, so I began vaulting. When I was 13 years old, I found out that I had a crooked spine. The doctors...
