Malvika Who Lost Both Hands To A Bomb Blast 13 Yrs Ago Is A Global Icon

It was on May 26th of 2002, that Malvika’s life changed. All she wanted to do was to fix her torn pair of jeans with the help of glue by sticking its edge. She had applied the glue and she wanted a blunt enough object with which she could apply pressure on the glued edges so that it would stick together perfectly.

So, she went in search of it and entered the garage of her home in Bikaner. She found an unfamiliar object that was good enough to do the work she wanted. She rushed with the object she had found in her room. What was that object? It was a grenade and Malvika had no idea about it. Turns out the family wasn’t aware that in their vicinity, a few months ago, an ammunition depot had exploded. And that bomb’s pieces still lay scattered in most parts of their area.

The very minute Malvika took the grenade and jabbed it on the jeans fabric, it exploded. In the explosion, Malvika lost both of her hands. She also suffered from multiple fractures, severe leg injuries, hypoesthesia, and nerve paralysis.

The Injuries She Suffered

For almost 18 months, Malvika was bedridden. And she had to undergo an umpteen number of surgeries for the next two years. Her road to recovery was filled with surgeries and procedures.

“When I was bedridden for months, my biggest goal in life was to walk. Once I started walking with difficulty, my next big goal was to climb the staircase, then to operate the remote with my elbow. People around me have always been competitive, always in the race to clinch the first place in all aspects of life. But I don’t have any of those goals because I have seen failure at every step in life and learned to rise above it,” Malvika told a leading online news portal.

Malvika’s Life Before And After The Grenade Incident

Recalling her childhood, Malvika says that she’s had a beautiful childhood. She was born in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu to her father B. Krishnan and mother Hema Krishnan. However, it was in Bikaner where she grew up along with her elder sister Kadambari. Her father who worked as an engineer at the Water Works Department was often transferred from one place to another. But her family lived in Bikaner and her father would visit them on weekends.

Malvika was the leader of the kids’ gang of her colony. She loved flying kites, kicking a ball and loved playing the role of a teacher by wearing her mom’s sarees. She also loved Kathak and was trained for the same for seven years.

After the bomb blast, Malvika lost her hands. What she didn’t lose was her resilience. Because of the blast, she missed school for almost a year. But she appeared for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination which was conducted in Chennai with the help of a scribe. She even secured a state rank by scoring 483/500. This remarkable achievement made her an overnight sensation. She was also invited to meet the then President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam who lauded her achievement and fighting spirit.

Malvika’s Fight Towards Disability

When Malvika did her M.Phil in Social Work, she scored distinction in her class and won an award for the best M. Phil thesis in 2012. Her thesis involved the stigma that people with disabilities had to deal with in their lives. When she was asked why she chose this subject for her thesis, Malvika says that when she lost her hands and was at the hospital, there were two kinds of people who came to visit her. One side of them was very supportive and was glad that she had survived the deadly ordeal even when the doctors had given up. The other side of people would just come and stare at her bandaged arms and legs. They’d whisper saying who would marry a girl like this now.

Malvika says, “I think it was the first time I cried. And it wasn’t due to the agonizing physical pain. They looked at me as if my life was doomed because I lost my limbs. And it has still not stopped. I still get stared at and pitied. Now I am very independent. I eat myself, I work. Besides tying my hair in a ponytail, I can do everything by myself.

The attitudinal barrier among the general public for people with disability still exists, and it is jarring.

I have accepted my life the way it is. What you may do perhaps in a matter of 30 seconds, will take me 10 minutes. But I am content with how my life is because this is literally my second chance at it.”

Malvika’s Achievements In Spite Of Her Disability

Malvika decided to become a motivational speaker to motivate people like her to live their lives without any inhibitions or apprehensions. Her first step towards it was when she was invited to speak about her life story at TEDxYouth@Chennai. And from then on, there was never any looking back for her.

She has since then spoken on global platforms like the UN in New York City. She has also spoken at IIM Kozhikode. She’s been a part of several global and national programmes that aim to raise awareness about the requirement for universal design, practically accessible public spaces for disabled.

She has even walked at a ramp as a showstopper for NIFT and Ability Foundation, Chennai to throw light for the need to design clothes which are functional and can be worn by the disabled.

Through her achievements, Malvika has become a role model for all those who suffer from various disabilities in their lives. Upon asking what keeps her going, Malvika says that it’s the people’s positive responses towards her work. She says that it gives her the strength to keep continuing what she is doing. She wants every disabled person out there to rise above the failure and become an achiever.

Here’s us wishing Malvika that she continues to inspire many more in her life and give them the courage to live their dreams minus their disabilities.

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