"My village is Malasakkadu. I used to ride a buffalo cart. I was 12 years old when I found bumps in my body.Then I got rashes and it would not go away. I was riding a buffalo cart and my arms used to hurt. Then my eyes and mouth drooped and I was almost on my deathbed." In 1993 Selvaraj was forced to leave his village and family as a result of his developing Leprosy. He was treated, but due to his deformities he became shunned from all society. In his words "My family abused me and asked me to get lost. They hated me." Selvaraj became a beggar, sitting in the train stations and asking alms. After a while he learned about one of the colonies for leprosy patients and has been living there ever since.
Selvaraj's story is representative of many of the leprosy-afflicted that reside in the colonies in India. Cast out of their homes and villages and shunned by their families, lepers are looked upon as less than human.
They are referred to as "untouchables".
I have not had the pleasure of meeting Selvaraj, but of the leprosy-afflicted I have met, I would describe them as such:
generous
kind
gracious
humble
thankful
musical
joyous
raucous
playful
funny
loving
happy
optimistic
beautiful
In reality, they are anything but "untouchable"
Vanakkam
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