Attempting to get a life back on tracks

Talking to Dinesh Majhi is quite an exercise. He speaks in monosyllables. If you offered him food, he will tell you, ‘room pe khana taiyaar hai…woh kharab ho jayega.’

With such fierce spirit, it was a tragedy that he lost his right foot in the 13/7 blast. He would look at his stump all the time, as if hoping it will grow back. Like a plant grows out of nowhere.

The best way, then, to get him smile was to give him a hope that he could stand on his feet- literally and figuratively. Majhi, as the DNA readers know by now, was the migrant who came to city barely a month before the blast, after his mother coaxed him. He earned barely a few hundred rupees back in Baragobind of Motihari district of Bihar, working at a hotel. In Mumbai, he was promised Rs 1500, meals and stay. He didn’t want to come here. But with no land of his father to till, Majhi didn’t have a choice.

There was a flood of people who wanted to help Majhi after our reporters tracked him down at Saifee Hospital three days after DNA had splashed his photograph. It was indeed a miracle. He seemed lying dead in the first photograph. Our reporter Priyanka Sharma cried when she found him and found how he was almost alone in this 1.5 crore city. Navnath Kamble of Pratham, an NGO working in the field of education and child labour, kept in touch with him. The idea was to ensure government compensation that came Majhi’s way, was not misused by anyone. Pratham ensured, with help from the collector office, that an account was opened in the Bank of India in his name and the compensation was deposited there.

The next challenge was to get Majhi on his feet. DNA’s appeal touched many hearts and among them was Taj Welfare Trust (which runs the Tata Group’s social welfare activities), who have assured us they will take care of all his needs- basic schooling (Majhi didn’t go to school, he preferred hanging out with friends by the riverside), cost of the prosthetic, vocational training, and then appropriate job placement.

We then set out to find the right prosthetic for Majhi. Otto Bock Healthcare, which is the Indian arm of a German firm that produces high quality prosthetics, offered us best quality artificial limb with less maintenance that will last much longer than the ones traditionally available. Taj Welfare Trust officials have offered to pay for the prosthetic as well.

We took Majhi to meet the Otto Bock facility in Chembur. He didn’t say a word through the journey. His maternal uncle, who had come to stay with him, had disappeared in the night, taking with him Rs 3000 in cash that was offered to him by the Zaveri Bazar traders’ association. He was wary what strangers would do with his money.

But after he saw Ali at Otto Bock, his expressions changed. He couldn’t believe his eyes when Ali showed him his own prosthetic. Ali lost his own leg in a train accident 10 years ago. Since then, he has been using a prosthetic and in Ali’s own words, he never felt and declared himself as handicapped. Ali showed him he could run, walk and sit normally. Then he was shown videos of people jumping up and down with their prosthetics, riding bikes. That was the first time Majhi seemed interested in things around him. Santosh Rout and Abhishek Agarwal , who examined Majhi, assured him he could do all those things and more since his amputation was much lower below the knee and there would be no need of a complex prosthetic. This Diwali, Majhi will be going home to his mother who he doesn’t want to meet till he gets the prosthetic. He wants to walk up to her and stand tall. He will do that. Thank you readers, who kept asking for his progress through letters and emails, Taj Welfare Trust, Don Bosco and Otto Bock Healthcare. Thank you all.



Deepak Lokhande

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