Muniraju’s story

Introduction
The Job of a Tailor is something that is beyond what can be described as Normalcy- It settles in between Precision and Borderline Artistic. It takes a great deal of patience to use that minute needle in between the various strands of thread that make up the cloth. In the end, its about making sure that cloth looks as good as new. It takes a great deal of courage to accept the fact that the fate of an entire household is dependent on how the Sewing Machines fare at the shop.

The following is an account of how a defect within the Human Body endangered everything.

The Problem
Ask any Person in the city for directions to a place that signifies Culture. If a list of such spots were to be made, then there would be no doubt that Basavanagudi would feature prominently. The National College and its vast grounds, Bugle Rock Park, Ramakrishna Ashram, Bull Temple, Jain College, Gandhi Bazaar, Vidyarthi Bhavan, the site for the very famous city event also known as Ganesha Utsava. It would thus be a crime to ignore Basavanagudi on any such list.

If one were to delve further into the streets of Gandhi Bazaar and emerge near the famous KC Das Sweets Store, it wouldn’t take long to notice the small space which constitutes a Tailor’s Shop. It was in such a space that Mr.Muniraju M aged 44, made his livelihood cutting out clothes to fit the right size, stitching in the seams to make a random piece of cloth presentable. Muniraju is the sole breadwinner of his family- a wife who stays at home and a son of age 8 who is being schooled. Muniraju also worked in a space that was rented to him by the shopkeeper next door. Managing the rent, Schooling Fee with such a meager income was something that had become a routine to him. But what Muniraju considered as Normalcy was soon to change.

There came a time when Muniraju started experiencing Pains in his chest. The Pains would begin at Random and when they were done, Muniraju would still be there, gasping to catch his breath. With no proper exposure and the income he obtained, Muniraju would ignore the pains and the logical path of getting a Medical Check Up done. He thought the pain would pass. He could not have been more wrong. The pains became more unbearable. Finally accepting logic, Muniraju underwent a medical check up and a ECG at KIMS which revealed that he had a Hole in his heart. One might question the significance of such a defect. Well, the heart in our Bodies is a thing of wonder- it works continuously, taking in blood that’s been supplying our insides with the essence of life- Oxygen. The Heart is a factory- it is the prime reason for why the blood in our bodies is continuously circulated, driving our lives to the point of achieving feats and questioning things. A Hole in the heart has a very simple explanation- it causes the oxygen-rich blood to that’s pumped out to mix with the oxygen-poor blood that’s brought in. Very soon, there’s an instance when the heart starts pumping blood that has a poor and less than necessary oxygen content to your body. A body without oxygen is really not a scenario you want to be a part of.

On finding out about this problem, Muniraju tried doing what any person would have done- getting information related to the treatment of this defect. The response from the Doctors during that moment was discouraging- a cost of one lac for corrective surgery, definitely not capable of being offered from the pocket of a Tailor who could barely support his family. He was offered some concession with respect to his treatment at KIMS, but concession cannot get a man all the way home.

The Solution
Just when all hope was lost, Subanna, a friend of Muniraju’s came forward with a suggestion- There was the Sanjivani Clinic which was situated opposite to BMS Engineering College at Bull Temple Road. Sanjivani Clinic was run by Doctors for Seva ( who are these amazing bunch of doctors that are committed to helping the poor). After a consult at Sanjivani, Muniraju was directed towards Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology( one of India’s Premier Institutes). Muniraju was also helped out by his owner who accompanied him to Jayadeva. On talking with the head there, we further found that Muniraju was incapable of paying the concessional fee. However, he was helped out by Seva Sangha which provided him with a letter of reference/admission and a MLC who made sure that Muniraju could use the CM’s relief fund which came under a scheme known as the Hrudaya Sanjivani. The fee of one lac came down to thirty thousand which was paid off by his owner. The Corrective Surgery was scheduled for the 21st of August 2011. During the Operation, it so happened that Muniraju was in need of blood. It was in a crucial moment such as this that the Youth for Seva responded by sending in more than 20 volunteers to donate blood. It so happened that the other patients in the hospital were also benefited by this gesture. Life was on its way to being Normal again

The Aftermath
Today Muniraju still works at that small space as a Tailor. He has quit the vices of Smoking and Drinking and has to stick to taking tablets for the rest of his life and has to avoid lifting heavy objects. He’s aware that the income has gone down, but like the typical enthusiastic human being, he’s also looking forward to overcoming that hurdle. He wants to help people who were in situations similar to himself, to overcome their difficulties. He smiles and thanks me for contacting him and gets back to work, more determined than ever before.