Three Thousand Stitches: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives

by Sudha Murty

‘A language is but a vehicle. It’s the person inside who’s weaving the story that’s more important. You are a storyteller. So just get on with your story and the language will fall into place.’

bahujan hitaya, bahujan sukhaya—it must provide compassionate aid regardless of caste, creed, language or religion.

‘You are casually dressed in a T-shirt, a pair of jeans and a cap. This may be your style, but the common man and a rural Indian woman like the devadasi will never connect or identify with you. If you wear a sari, a mangalsutra, put on a bindi and tie your hair, I’m sure that they will receive you much better than before.

Social workers should always mind what they wear.They must always dress in a manner to which the commonest person of the sociey could connect,specially when going for fiel visits or community interventin.

‘Well, if you want to change them, then you have to change yourself first. Change your attitude.

My parents had never thrust their choices or beliefs on me or any of my siblings, whether it was about education, profession or marriage. They always gave their advice and helped us if we wanted, but I made all the choices.

thought about the skills needed for social work. There was no glamour or money in this profession

I should love the work I did. What would give me higher satisfaction—keeping my external appearance the way it was or the work that I would do?

If you start with something negative, then nobody will like it. The first introduction should always be positive and bring real hope to the beneficiary.

Innocent girls had been sold into the trade by their husbands, brothers, fathers, boyfriends, uncles or other relatives. Some entered the sex trade on their own hoping to earn some money for their families and help future generations escape poverty. Still others were lured into it with the promise of a real job, only to find themselves tricked to work as sex workers. Hearing their stories, there were moments when I couldn’t hide my tears, yet they were the ones who held my hand and consoled me! Each story was different but the end was the same—they all suffered at the hands of a society that exploited them and filled them with guilt and shame as a final insult.

I realized that simply donating money would not bolster their confidence or build their self-esteem. The best solution I could think of was to unite them towards a common goal by helping them build their own organization.

now you know how hard social work is. It takes extreme commitment and persistence to keep going.

By this time I knew in my heart that a rich man might cheat me but our devadasis never would.

Less than three years later, the bank had Rs 80 lakh in deposits and provided employment to former devadasis, but its most important achievement was that almost 3000 women were out of the devadasi system.

Tears welled up in my eyes. Seventeen years ago, chappals were my reward, but now, they wanted to pay for my travel to the best of their ability. I knew how much the comfort of an air-conditioned Volvo bus and a hotel meant to them.

‘O God, I don’t need a kingdom nor do I desire to be an emperor. I don’t want rebirth or the golden vessels or heaven. I don’t need anything from you. O Lord, if you want to give me something, then give me a soft heart and hard hands, so that I can wipe the tears of others.’

‘We want to give our akka a special gift. It is an embroidered bedspread and each of us has stitched some portion of it. So there are three thousand stitches. It may not look beautiful but we all wanted to be present in this bedspread.’ Then she looked straight at me and continued, ‘This is from our hearts to yours. This will keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter—just like our affection towards you. You were by our side during our difficult times, and we want to be with you too.’ It is the best gift I have ever received.

College had taught me the resilience to face any situation, the flexibility to adjust as needed, the importance of building good and healthy relationships with others, sharing notes with classmates and collaborating with others instead of staying by myself. Thus,

College is not just a building made up of walls, benches and desks. It is much more intangible than that.

tomato did not originate in India, but in Mexico.

Its lack of value must have been a real push for initiating Spain’s tomato festival,

Who really said that India is a country? It is a continent—culturally vibrant, diverse in food and yet, distinctly Indian at heart.

Class does not mean possession of a huge amount of money,’

The concept that you automatically gain class by acquiring money is an outdated thought process.’

My mind is in no way affected by the clothes I wear. This means that to all of you who patronize the club, the clothes are more important than my brain.

“This is a special vessel known as Akshaya Patra,” he said. “You can use this to feed as many people as you want. But on one condition . .

We all lose a few battles in our lives, but we can win the war. There’s always hope.