BEATING ODDS

The 23-year-old has a severe mental retardation.

Now a key member of the Citylight Fish Market,Vrushali is the proud owner of a licensed stall she procured three years ago. “My mother says I should earn. She constantly tells me there will be nobody to take care of me once she is gone. So I sit here and sell fish,” says Vrushali,who loves floral printed clothes and will never settle for any “pale” palettes as far as her dressing sense goes.

Vrushali’s mother Nirmala,also a fisherwoman,thinks Vrushali has fought the odds remarkably well. From wetting her bed when she was an adolescent,to single-handedly managing customers at the stall on busy days,Vrushali’s is an unusual success story. “She was born with mental illness. She was a slow learner and learnt to walk only when she was five years old. Her education at a special school gave us fresh hope,” says Nirmala.

A ten-year stint at Saraswati Mandir School in Dadar was followed by training at a special school at Khar. At both institutions,Vrushali developed a special liking for mathematics. “I love counting notes (currency).  Ma hands over coins to count and I count them correctly every time,” says Vrushali with a smile.

While she welcomes all customers with an ear-to-ear smile,Vrushali can’t stand chaos.  “Bazu dya bazu dya,” (move aside) she keeps grumbling,shooing off customers stopping at her stall for more than two minutes contemplating whether to buy or not. Her mother says,“I have to be very cautious,so that she does not hurt anyone. I constantly tell her customers are like god,treat them with respect. She is a special child and will definitely learn this too.”

Vrushali,who was part of an early selection of youngsters for the movie,Taare Zameen Par, based on dyslexia,says,“I am the actress of Taare Zameen Par but Aamir Khan isn’t my favourite. I love Shah Rukh Khan,I want to meet him.”

“No,no she was not featured in the movie,only her classmates played a part,” her mother corrects her.

Vrushali starts her day at 7 am,follows her mother to the fish market and back to her home in Khar. “I am hoping my daughter,like any other grown up,will walk up to me and say,‘don’t worry mother I will manage on my own’. I am sure she will.”