WHERE HEART MENDS MIND

At the age of 32, S. Manjari was slowly but steadily rewriting the story of her life. She was going to meet her 13-year-old daughter after a three-year hiatus.

- R KIRUBAKARAN @Coimbatore

At the age of 32, S. Manjari was slowly but steadily rewriting the story of her life. She was going to meet her 13-year-old daughter after a three-year hiatus. She refuses to portray her life as a sob story and is filled with eagerness for this new chapter. "I am going to meet my daughter after a long time. It is very exciting, as my daughter will see me in a new light—she might only remember me from when I was mentally ill. But today I am self-employed and mentally stronger," she says.

Three years ago, Manjari had walked out of her home in Gandhipuram. Unable to cope with schizophrenia and severe depression, she had left her family and was soon rescued by volunteers of the NGO 'Helping Hearts' that runs government homes in the district for mentally ill destitute people. Now, Manjari is among the eight women rescued from the streets by the Mettupalayam Government Home who have become self-employed women running Aavin parlors in Coimbatore.