Inspiring Personality - Ms.Malavika Iyer, Ph.d Student.- An Epitome of Optimistic Thinking

Inspiring Personality:

I must say, This supposed to be the Best Inspirational Story for me !! Really inspired by this girl and her achievements !! She is Malavika Iyer, who has lost both her hands in a Bomb blast some 10 years back I believe. Hope many of us remember that news. She never felt down, she took it as an opportunity and has seen huge success by Scoring 483 out of 500 in her SSLC examination with Centums in Maths & Science, 97 in Social studies, 97 in Hindi & 89 in English !!! She has seen so many successes till then… Presently she is pursuing her Ph.d ! Wonderful achievement and I am sure her story can motivate each and every one of us ! Am really proud to have her Mother “HEMA MALINI” Mam in my friend list !!!

Here is the Background & History behind the success story of Ms.Malavika Iyer which I read from various sites like Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, DNA India etc .

Malvika Iyer, hero … valiant survivor of a grenade blast, of the emotional pain and the incredible physical handicaps that followed. Yet, she believes, “The accident was something that had to happen. But things are not so bad. In fact all is well.”

Malvika was 13 when a grenade exploded in her hands. She lost both hands and was severely injured in her legs.

“My father, a government employee, was posted in Bikaner at that point,” she says. “There was a fire in the ammunition depot nearby and ammo got scattered in the neighbourhood. My sister and I found a hand grenade and brought it home, believing that it was defused. It lay in our garage for nearly a year till the day it exploded as I was looking at it,” narrates Malvika.

“I lost so much blood, the doctors thought I wouldn’t survive. I was in emergency surgery for hours and conscious through it all,” she recalls bravely. When Malvika pulled through, the doctors called it a “miracle”.

Malvika and her sister, along with their mother, returned to Chennai where medical treatment was more advanced and they had greater family support. Malvika was then fitted with prosthetic bio-electric hands, but still couldn’t walk.

She was going to miss an entire year of school and the injuries hurt. “There were days when I felt that I wouldn’t make it and was very sorry for myself. But my mother was a pillar of strength and the spirit of those around me kept me buoyant. I wanted to get back to normal life and took the class10 board exams privately, after missing almost two years of school,” she says.

"May 26 is my rebirth," she says, recalling the incident that happened. Braving the odds, she prepared herself for the SSLC exam at the centre in Shenoy Nagar. "She was sharp and could calculate maths equations in her mind," said A.S. Arul, director, Arul's Coaching Centre. "We gave her special care for two hours daily."

Then she aced the board exams … with a state rank in three subjects! All the praise she received could not fully describe her spunkiness. The success did, however, give a boost to her zeal and courage.

“There was no looking back after that,” she says, “I stood first in the state among private students and was awarded a cash prize of `1 lakh by the then Chief Minister.”

She went on to score 1137 out of 1200 in her 12^th Board Examination, with a score of Centum in Commerce !!

Malvika  went on to study economics at St. Stephens, Delhi. She became the NGO coordinator of the Wildlife Society and executive member of the Commonwealth Society.

During the Wildlife Society’s annual festival ‘Prakriti’, she brushed shoulders with self-help groups consisting of underprivileged men, women and children who made articles like jute bags, purses, home décor and greeting cards to earn their livelihood. Malavika ran a campaign to sell their products. In the aftermath of the Tsunami, she donated clothes and medicines to the victims and took part in the peace march in Delhi to protest against the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Malavika’s example teaches us that patience and determination can take you out of the deepest woods. Her missionary zeal, coupled with simplicity and humility, helped her understand the true meaning of life. At such a young age, Malavika’s intention is commendable: she wants to fight for the rights of the oppressed and end the injustices done to the underprivileged. Malavika underlines the basic concept of life — fight and you will survive, surrender and you will be wiped out. All of us would do well to learn that from her. She is currently Pursuing Ph.d and worked as Research Trainee in Scarf India (Schizophrenia – Recovery Study).

“Now my life’s issues are like those of any other 22-year-old. But I find that I inspire people and am able to help them. I want to become a counsellor,” she says.

A dancer and sports enthusiast before the accident, Malvika says after the accident, “it hurt to not be able to pursue any of these passions any more.” But in her positive way, says that there were compensations.

“The accident helped me discover latent talents and enhance those that I was already gifted with. I’ve now discovered poetry. Writing has also helped me make peace with the accident.”

Her constructive attitude to life is incredible. She believes, “If it weren’t for the accident I wouldn’t have returned to Chennai and met so many wonderful people and made such great friends.”

Source : Articles on The Hindu, The Telegraph, Deccan Chronicle, DNA.