Crossing Hurdles In

Style

SUDHA
CHANDRA
N

 My Dear Friends,
Today we are going to learn about a famous
personality Sudha Chandran from the lesson
Crossing Hurdles in style written by Madhumitha
Srinivasan prescribed for II year undergraduates.

The golden words of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam best correlates

with the life of Sudha Chandran

 Today we are going to learn how

valiantly she travelled through the path
of suffering and reached the heights of
success in life

 Physical injuries or disabilities many a

times mar the living spirit of a person and
seem to place a full stop to his upward
growth.
examples

But

we

who,

have

despite

some

great

having

an

imperfect life earned much fame, respect

and recognition through their dedication
and positivity towards life.

 The picture explains us to emerge as a

strong personality we should develop
strong will power to face the odds of life
then suffering becomes a positive source

 The true meaning of life is to explore the

capabilities one is born with and once he
identifies his true potential, any disability
can hardly be a hurdle in the way to
success. Sudha Chandran, is blessed
with a happy family, good education, and
well nurtured talent in Bharathnatyam
but all her dreams were jeopardized in
an accident resulting in the amputation
of her right leg.

Life is not a smooth sail for

many, some are destined to
suffer through out their lives
but they wont give up. They
are the people who take
every
challenge
as
an
opportunity and use them as
the
stepping
stones
to
Success. They challenge the
hurdles that crop up in their
path to success.

 After the accident every thing has gone

against sudha but she never cried and
never complained to god by asking why
me? but took life as a challenge and
decided to take off against the wind

People like sudha Chandran never

succumb to their misfortune. This picture
well explains their indomitable spirit.

 Before knowing sudha Chandran as an

iconic example of willpower, let us know
about some different personalities who are
born disable or suffered from severe
disability but still touched the peaks of
glory through their fortified will power.

Helen Keller

 She is the epitome of confidence and

hope
Thus Hellen was cursed by god and she
turned the curse into a blessing and
lived a life of perfection by dedicating
her self to the service of fellow human
beings

Helen Keller was born as a blind, deaf and mute on June 27,1880. Despite these impairments she was a prolific writer, noted
philanthropist and stood for the cause of women and workers. She always tried to tell the people to know the value of their senses
and life.

Stephen Hawking

Born in 1942, Stephen Hawking suffered from a rare motor neuron disease and speaks with the help of a voice
synthesizer.When he was 21 years old, the doctors declared that he would not survive more than two or three years.

 But he survived, struggled, suffered as

wheelchair bounded , yet reached great
heights in physics which an able person
could not achieve till now.

Any young man in his condition

might have
succumbed to his misfortune but
Stephen survived.

Albert Einstein

Friends do you know the great scientist Albert Einstein had a

learning disability and did not speak until the age of three?

He found it very difficult to understand

mathematics and to express himself
through writing was severely dyslexic and
autistic. But he was not deterred by these
impairments and as you know he was
famous for his relativity theory and won
noble prize for his photoelectric effect.

A man who found it very difficult to

understand mathematics became famous
though he was a victim of two severe
diseases he could win over life I dont
think it was an easy path for him to move
on but he did not allow his spirit getting
crippled by these impairments it is a
stunning fact about him but a lesson to
weaker souls.

Celluloid icons who won over

Dyslexia

 I hope you are happy to see these two

faces but u will surprised if you know that
these two celluloid icons won over
dyslexia.

 They have a learning disability that

alters the way the brain process written
material. They showed signs of a
learning disability beginning in grade
school, and they finally learned to read
as an adult through Study Technology.

 The problem of dyslexia you can

understand from the film called
Tare Zameen Par. In this film the
boy overcome this disease with the
help of his teacher.

How Sudha is different from the above?

She is not a born disable.

She was a happy soul in
all aspects till the accident
took place.

 The essence of these lines is certainly

true in the case of Sudha Chandran. She
is not born disabled so cannot take the
credit of a great fighter like Helen Keller
or Hawkins. Her place is not beside the
people who suffer from a particular
physical disorder which one could
overcome by learning technologies.
Where does she stand then?

 Her agony is very deep because she is a

talented dancer and already enjoying the
taste of name and honor. The accident
was like a death blow to her. But she did
not give up. This strong living spirit
makes her stand apart from many.

 Sudha was born on september 21st

1964 to
late Thangam a
musician and classical dancer and
Mr.
KD Chandran former deputy library
director of USIS, a well known
personality in Mumbai's socio cultural
scenes for over five decades

 She is a prodigious instinctive dancer by

birth Sudha was initiated to dance by her
mother when she was hardly four. Her
father took her to a famous dance school
kalasadan in mumbai, completed the
course and did her successful
arangratanam at the age of 8.

 By the age of 17 she had presented 75

stage programs and won various awards.
sudha chandran who is well known as
accomplished Bharatha natyam dancer.
Indias wonder girl and dancing peacock
[natya mayuri]

Sudha in her hey days

 In 1981 on the 2ndof May, while

travelling from Mumbai to Trichy in south
for a temple visit along with her parents
and had a terrible accident when their
bus collided with a truck resulting in the
immediate death of the driver. Sudha
had extended her legs out straight and
her legs were stuck. After hours of
struggle her legs were successfully
pulled out.

 She was taken to the nearby hospital

where she was wrongly treated
resulting in the development of
gangrene. In order to save her life the
leg had to be amputated she kept trying
to stand on her one leg and began to
walk with the help of crutches and
wooden leg.

 Disappointment crept into Sudhas life as

she felt the failure of fulfilling her dreams
and expectations and those of her
parents. She went on to attain a BA
degree and subsequently her MA in
Economics from Mithibai College,
Mumbai.

 She refused to use a wheelchair and

continued walking. Half a year after the
amputation, she came across an article
about a doctor, Dr. P.K Sethi of Jaipur who
manufactured artificial legs.

 At that point of time her father was a

major source of inspiration to her and
advised her to move ahead in life
without trying to explore what next
was.
That is the only mantra of her life till
date.

THE INSPIRING
FATHER
K.D Chandran

How did Sudha prevail over

the tough times in her life?
It is only through strong
determination. These lines
stand for her stubbornness.

I will conquer my misfortune and

suffering Ill be strong from within
Overcoming my pain Focus is laid on my
powers Crawling out of this cave I endure
darkest hours And try to turn black and
white.

she picked up courage and got a

prosthetic
limb
fixed
by
Raman
Magsaysay award winner DR.PK.Sethi
with the help of the world famous Jaipur
foot.

Sudha is reborn

The man who gave new life to Sudha.

Orthopedic surgeon
Dr. Pramod Karan Sethi, sitting
at the table with
samples of "Jaipur foot",
affordable, life-like
artificial limbs made
from rubber

 She practiced her art again becoming

one of the most highly acclaimed
dancers of the Indian sub continent
stunning the lovers of dance and dance
critics who could not find any difference
between her past foot work and the
present.

 The media all over the world wrote

millions of words about her flesh tearing
and blood oozing practice sessions with
the artificial limb.
In an interview, Sudha said that it was like
starting afresh. Her body had to respond
and adapt to her new body part, which felt
completely alien. It was challenging. But
she was not the one to lose hope.

 Instead she channelized her

disappointment into perfection and
with tremendous determination she
was once again performing on stage.
Sudha didnt stop her dance practice
the bleeding started again experiencing
severe pain that she did not allow to
externally expose as she kept it all
bottled in.

 Finally, she got an opportunity to dance on

stage. The day 28th January 1984 was quite
challenging for her. This is the most
important one, because she was already
recognized as a proficient dancer before
the accident.
Additionally she had received two
important awards Nritya Mayuri from
dance academy and Bharatanatyam
nava jyothi from the Telugu academy.

 Both the awards were considered

marvelous in the field of dance. She had
come to the stage for the 1st time after
the accident and painful practice however
when Sudha reached the stage she just
forgot that her leg was artificial and
began dancing swiftly.

evitalized Sudha Chandra

Back to
glory

 She didnt turn back after this historical

performance.
She
received
many
invitations from all over the world to
perform and was honored with various
awards.

 This success caught the attention of

famous Telugu producer Ramoji rao He
made a film on her life story titled
Mayuri i.e., Nach Mayuri in Hindi which
is directed by singeethem srinivasa rao
and that won her a special jury award at
national film festival in 1986 .

Sudha was not satisfied with her

public performances. She wanted
more.
She showed her passion towards
dance by establishing a dance
academy nache mayuri dance
academy

She was happily married to Mr. Ravi

kumar Dang former associate director of
many Hindi feature films/ TV serials /
documentaries.
At present he is the executive director of
dance academy of sudha which has
branches all over Mumbai.

Sudha tied in wedding Lock

 Her inspirational story has entered into

school text books in various states of India
which will motivate the students to reach
their goals.
She listed among the top ten extraordinary
people with disabilities. if someone faces
insurmountable challenges and difficulties
in life one could
say Look at
sudha Chandran draw inspiration from
her that is her unique contribution to
humanity through her life.

 Sudha has also been seen in various roles

on the silver screen. We all know the
flamboyant Ramola Sikand ofKahin Kisii
Rozfame. Known for her experimental
dressing style with flashy saris, heavyset
jewellery and designer bindis.

 Her character was an instant hit among

the audiences and managed to gather
enough hatred. Well, that is what villains
are supposed to do, isnt it? The pretty
actress however accredits her inner
strength for the on screen malevolence.

 She acted in movies ,serials and acted as

judge in reality shows.
She is associated with several voluntary
organizations working for the welfare of
disabled. she is the vice chairperson of
national
association
of
disabled
entrepreneurs.
Using
positive
outlook
and
pure
determination she became a professional
dancer and great human being .Thus she
rewrote her destiny.

Awards
National Film Award for Nache Mayuri, 1985.
Best Actress Award for Kadla Ni Jod, 1999 from Gujarat
state government.

Best Supporting Actor, 2005 from Television Academy of

India.
Lachu Maharaj Award, 2006 from Uttar Pradesh state
government.
Steel Of Mind, 2009 from Godfrey Phillips India Ltd.
Suryadatta National Award, 2009 from Suryadatta group.
YavanikaNatya Pratibha Award, 2009 for her contributions
to the Indian Art.
Listverse.comnames her among the top 10 extra ordinary

The multi-faceted Sudha

Chandran

Dear friends, what is the

message of this living legend's life
to us?
People commit suicides for petty
causes. One should know the value of
life. Misfortunes are common in life. But
we have to overcome them like her.
Because..

Always remember the words of

P.B Shelley
If winter comes, can spring be far behind

My Deepest Gratitude to
Mrs.Bhavani Bellamkonda,
Retd. Lecturer in English,
SR&BGNR GDC ,
Khammam.
Presented by,
Shiva Challa,
3rd BSC(M.P.C),
SR&BGNR GDC.
With Regards ,
Team JKC

U
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