Sandhya Puchalapalli is a fighter who has through her orphanage — Aarti Homes— for abandoned girls, been fighting archaic mindsets for years in Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa district. Sandhya's organisation has teamed up with a Bengaluru-based filmmaker fora one day festival talking about womanhood and the perils of being a girl child in India.
Sandhya, who has won many laurels and awards will discuss her work at the event. Kadapa accounts for one of the lowest sex ratios in the country. The fest will be on October 14 at Lahe Lahe and will include filmmaker Prataya Shah.
"Despite being abandoned, we have noticed that a girl child will not say anything bad or ill about her parents. It is quite heartening," Sandhya says.
She says that the journey has been hard and arduous due to the systemic and rigid nature of beliefs towards a girl child. "It is very difficult to change deep rooted prejudices. However I have seen changes taking place even though the change is a very small one," adds Sandhya. orphanage presently has 119 girls.
"It is like one big family and many who have stayed here are now married. Others have got jobs and moved out. The organisations is like their parent's home and many come and visit regularly," she says.
"It is a way of seeing if at all there has been any change due to our work. It is a vindication whether we have been effective or not," she adds.
A documentary about Aarti Homes and Sandhya's work will also be a subject for Prataya's next project. The event will also see a discussion and a concert themed around the girl child.
(This article was first published in the New Indian Express)
