School dropout sanitation worker's book becomes part of university curriculum in Kerala

Dhanuja Kumari, a resident of Rajaji Nagar, penned the book 'Chenkal choolayile Ente Jeevitham' (My life at Chenkal choola). The book that narrates her life experiences has been recently made part of the MA curriculum of Calicut University and BA curriculum of Kannur University.

Thiruvananthapuram: A book penned by a school dropout sanitation worker in Kerala narrating her life experiences, has become part of curriculum for post-graduate and degree courses of two universities in the state.

Dhanuja Kumari, a resident of Rajaji Nagar, popularly known as Chenkal choola colony, close to the government secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, penned the book Chenkal choolayile Ente Jeevitham (My life at Chenkal choola). The book that narrates her life experiences has been recently made part of the MA curriculum of Calicut University and BA curriculum of Kannur University.

Kumari, along with her family members, were invited by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to the Raj Bhavan as guests in connection with the Independence Day on Thursday.

Kumari, who got emotional while meeting the Governor, later told DH that she never dreamt of such a moment in life, especially, considering the highly backward conditions from which she rose.

Like many others of the locality, Kumari is a school drop out at Chenkal choola colony, which is a settlement of workers. The region was also infamous as many residents of the region were earlier involved in criminal cases.

Kumari is now a member of Haritha Karma Sena, which is involved in door- to-door collection of garbage from homes.

She began by jotting down her life experiences at Chenkal choola colony. When a group of cultural activists who visited the colony in 2014 came across Kumari's writing, they introduced her to writer Vijila. It was Vijila, who inspired her further in writing and publishing the book that also narrates the discrimination that the members of the colony often faced. Even her son had been through bitter experiences while studying at Kerala Kalamandalam.

Kumari received much support from her family. Her husband Satheesh is a 'chenda' (a cylindrical percussion instrument) artist and their two sons, Nidheesh and Sudheesh, are also artists.

Inspired by the good response to her first book, Kumari is now penning another book on Chenkal Choola's history. She also initiated the opening of a library in the locality and is on the mission to pursue students to learn.