Sarika Jain

The truth, however, is several differently-abled people have become celebrities. Twentieth century’s iconic painter Frida Kahlo was polio-afflicted. American John Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics, is schizophrenic. Nearer home, Sudha Chandran continued professional dancing with a wooden leg following an accident.

What makes Sarika’s story remarkable is that the gritty grew up in Kantabanji in Bolangir in Odisha. The village has a population of 21,819 and is a part of the KBK (Kalahandi - Bolangir - Koraput) region designated as backward by the government. Her ancestors had migrated from Haryana during pre-Independence, to Kantabanji, which wasn’t known much for education, particularly for women.

To emerge from that background as a woman CA and IRS officer required chutzpah. Greater still, nationally, she is the first woman CA to become an IRS officer. The lady may be short in height, but very tall both in achievements and approach to life. But we are getting ahead of this story whose subtitle should read, From Bolangir to Bombay.

Sarika was Saduram Jain and Santosh Devi’s third child. They were five siblings: two elder sisters, a younger brother, and a younger sister. At the age of two, the later-day CA was afflicted by poliovirus.

Incidentally, India accounted for nearly half of all polio cases worldwide till 2009. It was one of the most challenging countries in the world to eradicate Polio. Polio was eliminated from the USA in 1979 and from the western hemisphere in 1991. The irony is even now, during COVID-19, the World Health Organization has sounded out that countries must also focus on malaria and polio.

At first, the family and the local doctor treated her for malaria. This was not surprising. After all, both infections have similar symptoms: high fever, fatigue, and the inability to walk.

Fright gripped the home as Sarika was paralyzed for a year. Eighteen months later, a miracle happened. Thanks to the indomitable spirit of her mother, Santosh Devi, Sarika began to walk. When she was four, the little lass joined the Saraswati Shishu Mandir, the only school willing to offer her admission. It was a Hindi-medium school.