The Birth of an Activist

During the early hours of November 14th, 1980, my grandfather was at the Selvasannithi temple, attending a unique Hindu festival which is related to ensuring justice upon this earth. On the 13th night my grandfather went to the temple in order to attend the 4am special prayers. According to my grandfather, during his sleep, around 1.30am, he saw a dream of a new-born elephant moving towards him. Our family members are strong lord Ganesh devotees and we believe that the elephant is lord Ganesh’s vehicle. Soon after he saw the dream he woke up and thought about my mum’s pregnancy, and immediately came to our house.

Heavy rainy and thunder had begun, causing a small flood in our lane. Mum told my grandmother, “I am feeling a pain”. Due to my mum’s pregnancy grandma realized the situation and asked my uncle to bring a car to take my mum to the hospital. As my uncle brought the car, my sister was holding an umbrella above my mum. Heavy rainy and thunder roaring, the wind taking up its speed; the moment approached, it was 2.30am, November 14th, 1980. My mum was trying to get into the car with deep pain, but before she could manage to put her step into the car, she gave birth to me into my grandmother’s hands.

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