Mana review : Inspiring life of a gutsy lady

This is the story of the bold, dynamic and enterprising woman, Jyothi Reddy, who became a symbol of fighting spirit. It is a 'rags to riches' story that we often hear in the US but rarely in India

A hapless woman with two girl children walked to a well to jump into it after throwing the offspring in water. A farmhand who found it impossible to feed the children and live in dignity with her meager income thought of quitting the life's ordeal forever. She sat on the wall of the well and tried to gather enough courage to commit suicide. The children started crying and the mother's heart started breaking. She suddenly decided to defy death and live for the children.

She picked up the little ones and walked away from despair with determined strides. The gutsy woman moved from her remote village in Warangal district to semi-urban towns and then to the farthest of places. She learnt the art of communication, making friends, finding opportunities, learning skills, setting new goals for herself and achieving them. She travelled across the seven seas, went to the US to work and set up a software organisation there.

She progressed from a state of a poor farm worker to the level of a CEO of an organisation that is giving employment to hundreds of persons in America and India. She gave her daughters the best of education and settlement. Her husband was provided a comfortable environment to live happily without having to work too hard.

Then she plunged into something that was very close to her heart-helping the poor and the underprivileged, to walk from darkness to light and overcome hurdles in life just as she did 20 years ago. She did not forget her roots. She remembers hundreds of women who worked with her in the fields and in the other places of employment by name and continues to be touch with them. She has become a symbol of women power and enterprise.

This is the story of the bold, dynamic and enterprising woman, Jyothi Reddy, who became a symbol of fighting spirit. It is a 'rags to riches' story that we often hear in the US but rarely in India. India beckons her once or twice every year for social service. Her heart is with the children who are poor and the underprivileged. The book "Ayinaa Neenu Oodipooleedu" is a saga of a rural and poor woman's successful journey against all odds. It is a triumph of a woman who never accepted defeat, who never threw in the towel and never stopped scaling new heights. It is a book that inspires and empowers women. It is a candle that lights many a candle.

Vijayakumar of EMESCO publishers is a creative person who has a knack of knowing the tastes of readers. It was his idea to publish the life story of this achiever with a view to inspiring thousands of poor and downtrodden women. Gundu Valliswar is an accomplished journalist who has made a name for himself in translating English works into Telugu. He did a good job by dramatising the important events in Jyothi Reddy's life.

The beauty of the whole story is that a woman who was languishing in a small village could find a way to town and then city and the highest place in the world without disturbing her family life and helping many people on the way. Though Jyothi has some temperamental problems with her husband she never thought of abandoning him and continued to respect him as father of her children true to the Indian culture.

One might call it a weakness of the tradition or its strength, but she has proved that many contradictions can be managed and reconciled if there is a will. All kinds of human emotions have been dealt with in the book in a constructive way. There is no running away from problems. The book shows problems in life can be sorted out by being positive, accommodative and pro-active.

-KRM