Page 16 - English Reader - 8

Her spirited encounter with fate gave her the chance to live life on her own terms. In the process,

she has inspired thousands to strive without giving up hope, until they succeed. Her saga is a shining
example to all youth.
She has been the recipient of several awards,
which recognise her outstanding courage

and industry, as much as her competence in
Bharatanatyam. She has given several dance
performances for charitable causes.

The Hyderabad film producer and editor of
Eenadu, Ramoji Rao’s attention was drawn to
Sudha. He decided to make a Telugu film on
her life. And Mayuri was made. She had a role
that instantly made her a model for all those with
limited abilities struggling to survive in the insensitive world of the able-bodied ones. She went on
to win a National Award for her sensitive portrayal of the central character. The film was dubbed in
Tamil and Malayalam, and was remade in Hindi as Naache Mayuri.

The success of Naache Mayuri was just a stepping-stone for Sudha. She has acted in many films
in several languages. Her Kannada film, Kalabhimani, is based on the true life of Balanna, a deaf
character artist, who has 400 Kannada films to his credit. Today, after years of struggle, she can

proudly claim that she has achieved what very few could have hoped for. She is in great demand as
a star in television programmes.
She is the vice-chairperson and spokesperson of the National Association of Disabled Enterprises
(NADE), a Mumbai-based non-governmental charitable trust, which has the objective of motivating
and supporting the unemployed and dependent disabled masses of India. They are encouraged to

come forward and organise themselves into cooperatives. In spite of her astounding success and
fame, Sudha remains amazingly unpretentious.

The life of this dancer with indomitable spirit answers the basic question about the use of adversity—
which is God’s real gift to us. Through her struggle to realise her dreams, Sudha has shown us that
even if we have no control over events, we have full control over how we react to them. She says,
“Never let your troubles get the better of you. Just have faith in yourself and everything will be fine!”

Word Meanings

1. traumatic : terribly distressing 2. beacon : guiding light
3. debris : scattered pieces of remains 4. fortitude : courage in
adversity
5. aplomb : self-confidence 6. synchronised : coordinated;
promonised

7. indomitable : very brave and determined

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