Burn survivors get a second lease of life

On a bright Friday morning, as we made our way to the newly-opened Higginbothams’ Writers Café on Peter’s Road at Royapettah; we were welcomed by the staff. After a brief conversation with them over a cup of hot cappuccino; we peeped into the kitchen. A bunch of happy faces, mostly women, donning aprons and chef’s caps greeted us. They went about mixing batter, measuring and sieving ingredients and greasing the baking trays with an easy demeanour that comes with months of training. We noticed how they chatted along and enjoyed their work. 

Many of these women are burn survivors, who have been placed with help of International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC) and the proceeds from the sales of the café would go to this organisation.

“I had a love marriage in July 2012. But few months within the marriage, my happiness turned into a nightmare. My husband, the man I loved, turned physically abusive and suspected me of having an affair with another man. I conceived early in my marriage and had a son first and then a daughter. I had hoped that our relationship would improve after this but it turned worse. He started abusing me mentally and physically and after a point, I just couldn’t take it. One fine day, I just locked myself in a room, poured kerosene and decided to end my life. But my neighbours managed to save me and took me to a hospital,” said 22-year-old Maria, a resident of Kannagi Nagar, who is currently employed at the cafe. Her eyes welled up as she seemed to relive the whole trauma. “My husband left me and did not even care once to meet the kids after the incident. I went back to live with my mother. She is also a working woman and it is difficult for us to look after the kids,” she added. Maria also is working hard to repay the loan her mother had taken during her marriage and is content that her work has allowed her to be financially independent. “When I did this to myself, I didn’t think what will happen to my kids. I hope to build a better future for them now,” she said. 

Maria is close friends with M Punithavalli, a 29-year-old former homemaker and a resident of Kailasapuram, near the police headquarters on the Marina Beach. She has a loving husband two kids. She was severely burned when the stove burst in her kitchen back in 2012. “I was in KMC hospital for a month undergoing treatment. Then I spent two months undergoing physiotherapy. When I returned home, I was physically better but was an emotional wreck. But through all my agony, it was my husband Murugadoss, who stood by me and didn’t ever let me lose hope. He encouraged me to start working and infact, take up this job as I love cooking,” she smiled through 

a veil of tears as she told us about how her husband has been her pillar of strength.

C Komala is a B. Com graduate and a budding baker, who wants to serve customers delicious baked goodies. “But my dreams were different post school. I wanted to pursue commerce in a good college in Chennai. I am originally from a small village in Tamil Nadu. I had got through a college also in 2011 and was in seventh heaven. However, I belong to a conservative family and my grandmother was absolutely against the idea. She also wanted me to wake up early every day, do household chores and stay at home. Her taunts, constant opposition to my higher studies and her bickering drew me nuts. And I ended up trying to burn myself one day. Today I know, it wasn’t worth it! Thankfully, PCVC partially sponsored my B. Com course and helped me graduate. I have worked briefly in a financial auditor’s office but realised I have a passion for baking. So here I am,” she said. 

As the ladies poured open their hearts to us, we lived through their tales of sorrow, despair and hopes from their second innings as confectioners and bakers. But it was Maria’s voice that lingered on as we left. She said, “We might get over the pain and the embarrassment that comes with the scars. But it is the attitude of the society that is difficult to deal with. I also want to put across that one should never inflict oneself with such pain and think about all those who love and care for you.”