Gritty Monika rebuilds life, accident just `a bad memory'
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Tomorrow, It'll Be A Yr Since She Lost Arms
Monika More is looking
forward to a busy calendar. Inaugurating a temple in Kolhapur or
attending her first meeting as member of the frequent railway
travellers' panel are just a few things on the agenda, soon after she
appears for her HSC prelims next week. A year after her horrible
accident, Monika says her life is limping back to normalcy. Her mother
Kavita says, “We are in a happy space now. That incident is just a bad
memory that we rarely speak of “. On January 11 last year, the teenager,
then 17, was dashing to board a local train from Ghatkopar, oblivious
to a pit on the platform in which she fell and lost her arms after
coming under the moving train. Despite the efforts of two Samaritans who
rushed her to hospital, her arms could not be reattached.
The next few days were a daze for the Mores as Monika slipped in and out of consciousness. In the following days, the family saw an unprecedented outpouring of support as strangers flocked Parel's KEM Hospital to stand by Monika. She had become a celebrity in her own right.
The teenager coyly admits she has started loving the adulation and, in fact, is getting quite used to it. From brushing shoulders with the Thackeray cousins to being invited for CM Devendra Fadnavis' swearing-in ceremony, the Kurla girl has been handling fame with élan. “It feels great. At times, the commute is tiring but being on the podium gives me confidence,“ she says. “Both Raj and Uddhav uncle told me to call them for anything I may need. No such situation has arisen though,“ she states.Her mother adds proudly that Monika hosted the mayor of Mumbai, Snehal Ambekar, on her birthday .
The mementos, posters and portraits that don the walls of their one-bedroom flat speak of her popularity .“She got those for bravery . We are running out of space,“ said doting grandmother Parvati. And just like other young celebs, Monika is trying to juggle between social commitments and college life. “My day starts with attending tuition classes, com ing home for lunch and again leaving for college. My mother accompanies me everywhere. I'm not yet ready to take a train so we take an autorickshaw,“ she says.
The only thing Monika rues is her dependence on others. She needs support to alight from a rickshaw or open a lift door. The BMCsponsored myoelectric arms worth Rs 23lakh are too heavy . “I'm trying to use them more often. It will probably happen with time and practice. But I don't mind being fed by dad or mother. It is like reliving childhood,“ she says, adding she can use her mobile phone with the amputated arm.
The only thing weighing on her mind now is finding a writer for her HSC prelims starting January 12. “I had neat handwriting and am worried I may not find someone to my liking,“ says Monika. She plans to cut down her social commitments to prepare for exams. But she also plans to take her role at the Divisional Railway User's Consultative Committee seriously. “I intend to suggest cleaner loos at the platform. I also want youngsters to trav el safe without doing stunts.“
Monika's accident drew attention to commuter safety , with the Bombay High Court taking cognizance. A railway official said, “The incident woke us up. Railways had been citing the rule book against raising the height of platforms.“ Also, officials decided to plan long-term. CR general manager SK Sood's suggestion to experiment with closed-door locals would have been brushed aside by the board, were it not for Monika's mishap.
(Inputs by Manthan Mehta and Nitasha Natu)
The next few days were a daze for the Mores as Monika slipped in and out of consciousness. In the following days, the family saw an unprecedented outpouring of support as strangers flocked Parel's KEM Hospital to stand by Monika. She had become a celebrity in her own right.
The teenager coyly admits she has started loving the adulation and, in fact, is getting quite used to it. From brushing shoulders with the Thackeray cousins to being invited for CM Devendra Fadnavis' swearing-in ceremony, the Kurla girl has been handling fame with élan. “It feels great. At times, the commute is tiring but being on the podium gives me confidence,“ she says. “Both Raj and Uddhav uncle told me to call them for anything I may need. No such situation has arisen though,“ she states.Her mother adds proudly that Monika hosted the mayor of Mumbai, Snehal Ambekar, on her birthday .
The mementos, posters and portraits that don the walls of their one-bedroom flat speak of her popularity .“She got those for bravery . We are running out of space,“ said doting grandmother Parvati. And just like other young celebs, Monika is trying to juggle between social commitments and college life. “My day starts with attending tuition classes, com ing home for lunch and again leaving for college. My mother accompanies me everywhere. I'm not yet ready to take a train so we take an autorickshaw,“ she says.
The only thing Monika rues is her dependence on others. She needs support to alight from a rickshaw or open a lift door. The BMCsponsored myoelectric arms worth Rs 23lakh are too heavy . “I'm trying to use them more often. It will probably happen with time and practice. But I don't mind being fed by dad or mother. It is like reliving childhood,“ she says, adding she can use her mobile phone with the amputated arm.
The only thing weighing on her mind now is finding a writer for her HSC prelims starting January 12. “I had neat handwriting and am worried I may not find someone to my liking,“ says Monika. She plans to cut down her social commitments to prepare for exams. But she also plans to take her role at the Divisional Railway User's Consultative Committee seriously. “I intend to suggest cleaner loos at the platform. I also want youngsters to trav el safe without doing stunts.“
Monika's accident drew attention to commuter safety , with the Bombay High Court taking cognizance. A railway official said, “The incident woke us up. Railways had been citing the rule book against raising the height of platforms.“ Also, officials decided to plan long-term. CR general manager SK Sood's suggestion to experiment with closed-door locals would have been brushed aside by the board, were it not for Monika's mishap.
(Inputs by Manthan Mehta and Nitasha Natu)
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