…..The dancing PeAcOcK of India: Sudha Chandran

The Macmillan book named ” Knock out challenges ” has included her among the top 10-exteaordinary people who had some physical disability like Hellen Keller, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Vincent Van Gogh and Stephen Hawking.
Her story has got into school text books in many States of India. She proved that no handicap- however horrible- could destroy the human spirit on its conquest to achievement.
She is known as India’s Wonder Girl, the `Dancing Peacock’.
A hugely gifted and instinctive dancer by birth, she was initiated to dance by her mother at the age of 4.
She completed the course and she finished arangetram (the traditional graduation recital and the start of her performance career) at the age of nine. She learnt Bharatnatyam.
She lost her right leg due to an amputation which followed a road accident near Trichy in South India in May 1981 (after doctors discovered that gangrene had formed on her right leg.)
Still, she picked up courage got herself a prosthetic limb fixed by Dr. P K Sethi, with the help of the “Jaipur foot”
She started her practice again, becoming one of the most highly applauded dancers of the Indian subcontinent.
Surprisingly, the lovers of dance could not find any difference between her past footwork and the one with the Jaipur foot.
The global print and electronic media covered her story far and wide.
She had to practice even though she suffered tearing of flesh, even though blood kept on oozing during her practice sessions with the Jaipur foot she wore.
She became star thereafter and won many national and state awards. The Tamil film Mayuri, in which she plays herself, was inspired by her life story.
She later formed a dance academy and was associated with several organizations working for the welfare of the disabled.
(Compiled from Wikipedia and other material available on her)