Baripada: She is born without both hands. But it has not deterred her from celebrating ‘Raksha Bandhan’ with her brother by tying ‘Rakhi’ on his hand with her legs. Meet Odisha’s 17-year-old Subhadra Tung.
Come ‘Raksha Bandhan’ and Subhadra and her brother Chandan start preparation to celebrate the festival like any other ‘normal’ siblings. While Chandan fetches ‘Rakhi’, sweets, flowers and other materials for the occasion, Subhadra makes other arrangements inside their house.
Subhadra performs all rituals on the occasion with her legs as she does her daily chores. She offers flowers and rice to Chandan, applies tilak on his forehead, ties Rakhi on his hand and even feeds sweets to him – all with her legs.
Chandan is proud to have Subhadra as his elder sister. “She is my ‘apa’ (elder sister). As a brother I will do everything possible on my part to support her in her life. I am happy and proud to have her as sister,” he said.
“I don’t find anything special about doing things with my legs. I have been doing everything that I have wanted to do. My parents and brother have always been supporting and encouraging me,” said Subhadra.
“When Subhadra was born, she did not have both hands. I was very depressed and felt helpless. As she grew up, she started doing her daily chores with her legs. Now she can read, do all household works like washing utensils and clothes and cooking on her own. I am happy that she is leading a normal life now,” said Subhadra’s father Surendra Tung of Kaliasola village under Suliapada block.
A student of Plus II Arts in a local college, Subhadra has been doing excellently well in studies. She loves to paint and has won awards in several competitions. She has stood first in district-level painting competitions among differently abled persons for the last 5 years.
She is also trying to learn sewing with the help of her family. “I love to do painting. It’s my favourite hobby. At the same time, I want to be financially independent for which I am learning sewing so that I can take up tailoring as a profession in future,” she said.
On the reactions of the villagers, Surendra said they are very understanding and cooperative. I have never faced any unpleasant situation for Subhadra, he said.
“The way Subhadra performs all activities with unbelievable ease looks tough for people with hands. One cannot but be amazed by the young girl’s determination and will power to lead a ‘normal’ life,” said one of Subhadra’s neighbours.
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