हम किसी से कम नहीं-We are not less than Anyone

Sarita is 25 years old, she lives in a village which is in a small district of Patna. She is the only sister of her two brothers. Her mother Asha works as a government health worker, her father was a teacher in a private school but now he only works in the fields.

During the lockdown Sarita’s father got a broken leg due to the division of the house. Sarita’s father was three brothers, her uncle didn’t allow them to use the handpump, bathroom and the terrace. He has given them only one room, they had to fetch the water from others tap and for the bathroom they went to the field in the open. As the lockdown started Sarita’s family did not have any wheat (atta) her mother washed the wheat and used someone else’s terrace to get them dry.

When her mother saw that it might rain she asked Sarita’s father to get the tumbler of wheat downstairs, when he was coming down with the tumbler on his head at the last step he slipped . At that time he could not feel much pain but he was having difficulty walking. The medicines and ointment did not work much. He spent the entire night like this as he fell in the evening and there was no big hospital near the village. Next day Sarita’s father said he is going for physiotherapy as he thinks he got a sprain in his leg. Sarita said to her father “ First you get an x-ray done, as during the massage they have to stretch the leg and it might cause a problem later.

Sarita’s father went for an x-ray and the result showed that there was a fracture in his leg. He went to a government hospital, but found out that there was no facility for plaster. Then they went to a private hospital in Patna where an orthopaedic doctor plastered his leg and asked him to rest for at least 45-50 days.

Sarita was happy as only two days were left for her father to get rid of the plaster, but her father was little worried and now Sarita waited to see what the doctor had to say!

There was no end to the ailments. Sarita was in 12th standard and she loved to play Kabbdai, one day she had a severe pain in her right hand and that hand started getting thinner. She was getting her treatment from Patna’s hospital but then it did not help much. She was referred to go to Delhi for her treatment. Here she was diagnosed with FSHD, a genetic disorder. In this illness the muscles stop working, the doctors said that there is no treatment for this Sarita has to exercise only.

At first her family was worried and kept it a secret from her, but later when she got to know about it she said “What will I do staying alive?” She left her studies within one year and she also attempted suicide few times. Her parents consoled her saying she will be fine soon, they gave her different examples to motivate her, they said there are so many other people like you in the world, you are not alone. They also said it is not your mistake that you want to finish yourself.

Sarita was diagnosed with FSHD at the age of 17 years, since then people started saying that she should get married , otherwise as the ailment would increase no boy would marry her. Her family also said that the boy and his family should not be told about Sarita’s disease in prior, Sarita got more worried listening to it.
Sarita kept thinking that if the boy and his family got to know about her disease later what will happen after that? Slowly Sarita’s health started to deteriorate more, now playing, running, climbing and long walks were getting difficult for her.

During her admissions in M.Sc SARITA’S brother said now she won't study and neither she can go out alone. Sarita got her name in the first list but no one from her family said anything. Sarita asked her father and her father tried to make her brother understand. Her father said “She is my daughter and you have no right to say this, whatever I want wherever I want she will study, I will bear her expenses. Later Sarita got her admission in Botany in Magadh University, but her brother stopped talking to her.
Sarita did not give up, she travelled 35 km from her village to university, she even did household chores when she came back. She had to listen to her grandfather’s sarcasm because she wore a jeans shirt and she had to go alone for her studies. She spoke to her father, her father spoke to her grandfather, he said that Sarita is a bright student and she always gets good marks, I want her to have a bright future. She wants to become a teacher. Due to her disability she wants to be able to do much active work, so she has to study to become a teacher. 3years back Sarita completed her M. sc, after which she was again pressurized with the idea of marriage.

Sarita joined the FAT Organisation, she learnt to use a camera and computer and she also grew an understanding on early and forceful marriage. She got confident and got herself enrolled in a private B.ed college. She worked as a fieldworker and some with the help of her father she could submit her fees of Rs 75000/- for a year. Immediately after that lockdown was declared, it brought all the trouble in their life. Sarita’s father was also going under treatment for his leg and also her mother was taking medicines for her heart. Due to lockdown none of them had work, their studies also stopped, and the hunt for a job also stopped.

There is no scarcity of ration in the house, but they were worried about milk, pulses, vegetables and medicines. After her father’s ailment Sarita was bearing the household expenses. Apart from household chores, she has her online classes and homework to complete. From morning 6 o'clock till midnight she was all worked up, other than her physical health her mental health was also getting affected. Despite all this she managed to take out time and was active with the work of FAT organisation. She does get a lot of help from the Fat Organisation.

One day there was a quarrel between two families just where Sarita resides. They were fighting over the farmland, one party chopped off the other one’s field with a saw (Ari). The quarrel turned into a physical fight, one party was seriously injured and the other was less injured. Sarita was present there when this was happening, one of the boys was injured on his head , he went and sat near Sarita’s door step. The injured boy’s family arrived and they started crying seeing him, meanwhile Sarita tied his head with her dupatta. He was shouting out of pain and was constantly asking to be taken to hospital. She told her father to take the injured boy to the hospital, but her father said “I have no conveyance to take him , how should I ?” Sarita immediately told her mother to give her the keys of the motorcycle, but her mother didn’t listen to her or she didn’t get the keys. Sarita, not wasting a minute, went and gave the keys of the motorcycle.

The matter was taken to court, there was a complaint from both the parties and everyone was put behind the bars. The boy who was injured was in hospital. Later Sarita got to know that the party, who was less injured, had also given Sarita’s father’s and brother’ s name in the court. The less injured party thought they were helping the other side, they were also abusing Sarita and was calling her disabled. The police was coming to arrest Sarita’s father and brother and everyone was taunting Sarita that “Go Go you wanted to help!” Sarita was trying to understand the situation, but it was said to her that “There were other people present as well, why did you have to go and help and say anything? Because of you we have to see these days!”
Sarita feels bad listening to all this. During this lockdown she can't even figure out her way ahead. She can't see any hope for a job currently, but she learnt about her self confidence, now she does her own work and also she does not treat herself less than anyone else.