Rajanna-Sircilla: The inspiring story of a physically challenged writer from Sircilla, Boora Rajeshwari, was included in the academic curriculum of Maharashtra. The lesson titled ‘Sircilla Rajeshwari’ was incorporated in the second language (Telugu) of Intermediate second year syllabus from this academic year. The life of the 39-year-old differently-abled writer, who pens poems with her toes, was explained in detail in the lesson that focused on the struggles of Rajeshwari to practice writing with toes and achieve the feat on her own.
Speaking to Telangana Today, Rajeshwari expressed happiness over the inclusion of her life story in the curriculum. Terming it as recognition for her hardwork, she thanked Maharashtra Education department for choosing her story to inspire young minds. A resident of Sainagar in Sircilla town, Rajeshwari was born in 1980 as the third child to poor weavers Sambaiah and Anasurya. As she was born with hand anomalies, her both arms became non-functional. Moreover, she had not walked till the age of 15.
Instead of cursing the fate for her anomalies, Rajeshwari practiced writing with toes and started going to school along with her friends. She studied till Class 7 at the local government school and later pursued her SSC through open school before completing Intermediate education.
Passionate about literature, she started writing poems on various social issues such as problems faced by the weavers, farmers, nature and others. So far, she penned about 800 poems. Recognising her talent, popular lyricist Suddala Ashok Teja published her poems in the title ‘Sircilla Rajeshwari Kavithalu’ through his Suddala Foundation and also honoured her with Suddala Hanumanthu award in 2015 which is named after his father and legendary poet.
“I could successfully write and earn a name only because of the support from my parents, other family members and teachers. My poetry connects me with the world. I overcame my physical challenges and waded into writing in 1999 with my toes. I penned many thoughts on a whole gamut of issues from behavioural changes to contemporary trends in the society,” she said.
Besides writing, Rajeshwari uses her toes for daily activities like brushing teeth, combing hair and holding spoon to eat food. Initially, she took help of her mother to complete her daily needs. But eventually, she stopped depending on her mother and started doing her work on her own.
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