Wings to Fly
by Sowmya Rajendran and illustrated by Arun Kaushik
“Wings to Fly” by Sowmya Rajendran and illustrated by Arun Kaushik. Published by Tulika. A remarkable story of grit and determination of international para athlete Malathi Holla.
The story starts off with Malathi as a curious and playful seven year old who wants to indulge in all the activities that children of her age do normally. Like chasing chickens, catching mangoes falling from the tree and running. But how can she do all of these? She is confined to a wheelchair.
When Malathi was about a year old, she contracted a high fever which left her legs paralysed. For two years her parents tried taking her to various doctors in Bengaluru where they lived. They then took her to Chennai for further treatment. She ended up spending a whopping 15 years at a medical centre there. Must have been quite an ordeal for a young child to be separated from her family and home. She went home only during summer holidays and her family took care of her very well.
Malathi underwent many operations. The doctors told her to exercise in order to keep herself fit. She liked doing that. She liked to play and started winning medals. She had to face many hurdles but she overcame them all with an indefatigable spirit. She never gave up and faced life so beautifully. She became famous after winning two gold and two silver medals at the first national sports meet for the disabled. She worked at a bank and had her way with numbers. What an awe-inspiring personality! She didn’t need wings to fly.
Overall a must read book! The illustrations are charming and bring the story alive. I have enjoyed reading it with my seven year old for the last one year. He was so motivated that we went on to watch videos of her. She truly rocks! We read up more about her. She went on to represent India in Paralympics held in South Korea, Barcelona, Athens and Beijing. She was awarded Arjuna award and Padma Shri for her achievements. Thank you Vidya for recommending this book in one of Funky Rainbow’s buzzaars.
The ongoing Olympics at Tokyo has witnessed the grit and determination of the Indian athletes who have given stellar performances. Despite all the challenges that they have faced in the last couple of years, they have given it their best and more. Here is wishing for a few more medals before we wind up. Thereafter, later in the month of August the Paralympics will take place at Tokyo and hope the Indian para-athletes put up an even more stellar show in it.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Tulika books here.
An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.
An inspirational talk by her that we watched.