Left with a disfigured face and almost blinded in a horrific acid attack 13 years ago, Sonali Mukherjee is a household name, her grit and determination to fight against all odds and create a life for herself while crusading for victims like her making her a role model in the society.
A toast will be raised to this resilience and indomitable spirit when the Bokaro girl lunches with President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on January 22.
The honour has come her way for making it to the "top 100 women achievers" of India, an online contest held by the Union ministry of women and child development in collaboration with Facebook. Sonali, who is believed to have garnered maximum votes in the women empowerment category - there are 20 sections in all - has received a letter from joint secretary of the ministry Vandana Gupta along with train tickets.
The initiative to award 100 women, who have contributed to the community and nation, was announced on July 15 last year. While nominations were invited through the Union ministry of women and child development's Facebook page, a jury selected the top 200 entries after which polling began on November 7 last year and ended in December.
An elated Sonali, who now works at the state welfare department, Bokaro collectorate, said that she was shooting for an appearance in a TV soap in Noida (UP) when she first received a call from Union minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi.
"I was called to her office where the minister, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, social worker Shallu Jindal and others spoke to me for more than 40 minutes. It was then that I came to know about this online polling or the #100womeninitiative," said Sonali, husband Chitranjan Tewary seated beside her, at her Bokaro home.
She went on to add that she was told that she fetched maximum votes in her category.
Asked when she planned to leave for New Delhi, the braveheart said: "I plan to leave on January 20. My husband will go with me. I cannot tell you how happy I am at the prospect of having lunch with the President. After suffering for years, I will have a memorable day."
