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chandni

chandni
begum
sodial , assam

Chandni Begum Sodial (15), leading a small boy by the hand, walks down a narrow unpaved lane with compound walls rising up on either side. She wears her school uniform of white salwar, deep violet kameez with half sleeves and round neck, and white dupatta folded in a V across her chest. Her hair is tied back and she wears a white plastic headband. Her shoes (without socks) are beige, with ankle straps. The boy, whose height reaches her waist, wears a mustard-yellow half-sleeved knitted shirt with collar, faded blue jeans, and black shoes. Chandni has gripped his right hand with her left. The walls lining the left-hand side of the lane are of plain brick. Along the right, the walls are made of corrugated sheets held together with upright bamboo poles.
Chandni sits cross-legged on a bed covered with a sky-blue bedsheet. Over the violet kameez of her uniform she has worn a pale grey sweater with all the front buttons undone. She is writing in a large notebook with a white pen in her right hand. Just above the notebook on the bed there is an open textbook of the same size. Next to her right knee there are two books covered with turquoise blue wrapping paper. Near her left knee there are four books and a black backpack. The wall behind the bed is made of brown woven bamboo cane.
Side view of Chandni sitting in a large brown wooden armchair facing a window with sapphire blue glass panes. She wears a salwar in an indigo blue and white floral print. Her kameez has red diamond-shaped outlines on a white background, and short red sleeves. A dupatta in a leopard print of chocolate brown spots on a beige background is draped around her neck with the ends hanging down her chest. Holding a pale pink comb in her right hand she is combing the ends of her long black wavy hair which falls down her left shoulder and reaches her waist. She is loosely holding the tresses with her left hand. On the right armrest there is an upright clear plastic bottle with a yellow cap and a label in Hindi that identifies it as mustard oil. About one-fifth of the bottle is filled with yellow-coloured liquid.
Mid shot of Chandni seated behind a table. Her loose kameez has a plaid check pattern of black and mustard-yellow, and floppy elbow-length sleeves. Her leopard-print dupatta is draped around her neck. A beige circular wooden board is on the table in front of her. With a knife in her right hand she is chopping half an onion. Next to it, on the board, is the other half of the purple-skinned onion. Next to the board there are seven onions and a red tomato. To the left of the board there is a large stainless plate containing a few long green chillies and three pale green unripe tomatoes. The plain cement built-in wall shelf behind her has three tiers containing small steel utensils.
Chandni sits cross-legged on a blue and green rug in between her mother Hena Begum Sodial Laskar (47) and grandmother Samsunissa Sodial (72). Hena and Chandni hold small green mugs in their hands. Samsun’s mouth bulges as if it contains something. She holds a betel leaf in her left palm and covers it with her right hand. There is a steel plate in front of Hena, a brass fruit bowl in front of Samsun, and a white porcelain plate filled with brown glucose biscuits in front of Chandni. Mother and daughter are both grinning and looking down at a grey cat eating a biscuit at the front edge of the rug. A few biscuit crumbs are scattered on the floor next to the rug. Hena wears specs in brown rectangular frames and is dressed in a white tunic edged with green. She has covered her head, shoulders and upper chest with a dupatta in a geometric print of black and light grey. Chandni wears her blue floral print salwar, red diamond-patterned kameez, and leopard print dupatta. Samsun wears a sky blue blouse and a white sari with tiny blue and grey motifs. Her sari pallu is draped over her head.
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“I wish to be a doctor so I can serve poor people who need medical help”

When Chandni Begum Sodial (15) from Assam was born, her mother Hena Begum (47) scrutinised the baby’s body, like most mothers instinctively do: does she have all 10 fingers and toes? When she noticed the tiny hands she fainted from shock! Most of the fingers were misshapen: some were fused together; others were shorter than their normal length. There was an unusual bone growth in her right knee too.
 
Hena and her mechanic husband Jakir Hussain Sodial (55) quickly sought medical help. At six months, Chandni underwent surgeries at Silchar Medical College. She is able to use both hands despite two missing and three incomplete fingers. She can also walk without support after her knee was operated on, but she experiences pain after walking long distances. Her brother Majahid (18) remembers how as a child she used to cry at night from exhaustion after the daily walk to and from school. He now drops her to school on his way to college. She studies in grade 10 of PM Shri Ramoni Mohal School.
 
Chandni’s locomotor disability has remained much the same since the family can’t afford medical treatment. She was taught to use her left hand to write and to eat using a spoon; she adapted to doing daily chores independently. She remains introverted and although she has made a few friends, she prefers to spend time at home. She is very fond of her father, who is her role model, and she admires him greatly for his hard work and dedication to the family. She and Majahid share a close bond and spend a lot of time together.
 
Chandni loves eating fish prepared by her mother. Among movie actors, her favourite is not one of the Bollywood superstars, as one might imagine, but the south Indian actor Vijay Thalapathy who works in Tamil films! She has a passion for drawing, and clutches the sketching and colouring pencils in her right hand despite the challenges of using it. Among her favourite school subjects is Bengali. One hopes she has an aptitude for science too because she says her dream is to become a doctor. “I want to serve families who cannot afford healthcare – just like our family,” she says.

Photos:

Vicky Roy

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