Measuring Up

It was the happiest day of my life, Jyoti says,her eyes welling up. She had come dressed in a peach sari for the ceremony held in Nagpur,and was made to stand on a table as she was measured the Guinness Book of World Records came up to her waist and stood on a chair to cut her birthday cake. She is 7cm shorter than the previous title holder,American Bridgette Jordan.

At her home in Nagpurs Wardhaman Nagar locality,where we meet her,Jyoti sits in a small chair,transferring numbers from an old cellphone to a newer one. She is wearing a red flouncy dress and black leggings that could have come from a five-year-olds wardrobe. But the bindi and the nose ring,and her habit of running her hand though her long hair is all girl. One of the problems with being famous is that people mob you wherever you go, she says with sudden irritation. Jyoti became somewhat of a mini-celebrity in Nagpur in 2009,when the Limca Book of Records,and later the Guinness Book,declared her the shortest teenager in India and the world respectively. Many of them ask very irritating questions, she says. The curious want to know if she walks and talks,what she eats and if her hair is for real. Her father,Kisanji Amge,a civil contractor,says he has hired two security guards to accompany her in public.

Of his five children,only Jyoti has achondroplasia,a disorder of bone growth that leads to dwarfism. She does not have other health problems but needs to protect herself from infections like the common cold. Falls in the past have lead to fractures in both her legs. She did go to school till Class IX. For her SSC exams,however,she was taught at home by private tutors and she appeared as a private candidate, says her father. Earlier this year,she passed her Class X boards with 73 per cent marks.

In school,she was an object of curiosity as well as derision,but she also found a group of close friends. We took good care of her,we played together,went shopping together, says Vrushali Khare,a friend from primary school.

If the taunts in school affected her once,Jyoti has learnt to shrug them off. If I were not the shortest woman in the world,I wouldnt have become famous, she says in her childlike voice,breaking often into wide smiles. The positive attitude,says her doctor DN Agrawal,has kept her healthy and will add to her longevity. The feeling of being the centre of attention peps her up, he says.

In the Amge household,she is clearly doted upon,though she is fairly independent in her daily life,and does her own work without much help from family members. She has always been very mature. We never saw her unhappy, says mother Ranjana. Amidst crowds,though,her parents and siblings often cradle her like a child.

More than familial affection,fame has made a difference to her life. “In 2009,we approached the Limca Book of Records and they declared her the smallest teenaged girl in India. It was then that the media discovered her and she became famous. Looking at her,many people said she could make it to the Guinness Book. So,I sent them a mail. They asked us to send all relevant documents,which I did. Subsequently,they came and declared her the shortest teenaged girl in the world,” Kisanji says.

Since then,the invites to events ranging from sports meets to a shop-opening have not stopped. She has travelled to Spain,Italy and Japan as part of Guinness events and television shows. I loved Italy the most, she says,showing us a YouTube video of herself clad in a flowing white gown,and being driven on a stage in a pony-pulled carriage to thunderous applause that grows louder as she speaks to the audience in Italian.

She enjoys being in the limelight and is not afraid to take risks for it.I rode pillion on a motorcycle while it performed in the maut ka kuan show at a park in Nagpur, she says. She now hopes to see her most exciting fantasy turn real: a role in a film with her favourite star Salman Khan.

Like any other teenager,Jyoti is finicky about what she wears and her appearance. I had taken part in a fashion show in my school. I love applying mehendi on hands, she says. Her parents say she does not like wearing a dress more than thrice. She also likes to wear saris,just that her mother has to drape it for her. Yes,she is on Facebook and has a number of friends. How many? I wont tell you. Thats my secret, she says. Discovery and National Geographic are her favourite channels,all the more so as she has been featured by the latter in a documentary on Guinness-record holders. I also watch news but only sparingly. I need to know some basic things since I get asked so many questions about the latest happenings, she says.

Her family,though,believes that she deserves more for the fame she has got the country. What about her future? Who will take care of her? Is it not the duty of the government to help her if she has brought laurels to the country. Usne desh ka naam duniya mein roshan kiya hay, says Kisanji,who has opened a trust in her name. But nobody has given a single rupee.

There is a touch of petulance in her voice when Jyoti joins cause with her father. Everyone is with me now that I am famous. But who will be with me when I will have no money? Todays world is so uncouth. I feel there should be a trust in my name and I should have money in it for myself.

Her attitude seems to be in keeping with the ambivalent attitude society has towards dwarfism; while some consider people like Jyoti auspicious,they are also marked out as deviant. Some people come and look at her with folded hands. Everybody has his/her own distinct reaction, says Ranjana.

A devotee of Durga,Jyoti says she has no complaints against god about her small frame. Its the same god who has given me huge fame, she says.