VIRUDHUNAGAR: Crippling cramps, insistent muscle pain, and endless expensive napkins — the first encounter with menstruation is hard to forget. Hushed whispers fill the room as women in the family hand over packets of flowery-smelling napkins. These murmurs would never be warning enough for the monthly visitor that returned with the promise of discomfort. The memory of cramps, too, marks S Madhuvanthi’s first period. As her 28-day cycle neared, her shoulders would tense, squaring up to deal with the itchy hives, allergies, and infections brought on by the napkins.
Now at 25 years old, with countless cycles behind her, Madhuvanthi has had a nine-month short breather from menstruation. The tired new mother exits a hospital in Chennai with a snoozing bundle of joy in her arms, anticipating the milestones of her firstborn son peppered with the sleepless nights of parenthood. Soon, when her post-delivery period arrives, she is faced with a heavier flow and clots. But there are no angry welts this time as she has cotton ‘Mullai Herbal Sanitary Napkins’. “The pads were soft and despite a heavy flow, you could use it for six hours,” she says.
Madhuvanthi chanced upon these bio-degradable organic napkins around four years ago after a relative mentioned them in passing. There was no going back after the first use. “These pads are comfortable for pregnant patients as it is airy, and can absorb heavy discharge. It is also affordable,” states Deepalakshmi Vasudevan (40), founder of ‘Mullai Herbal Sanitary Napkins’ in Sivangaga’s Thekkur village.
Ever since 2018, Deepa has been on a mission to soothe distress and make the journey of menstruation a smooth one, especially for those who have just given birth. After teaming up with Tiruchy-based gynaecologist Dr Gayathri N (40), Deepa has been supplying these post-delivery napkins at the private hospital in the district, where Gayathri is working. During the pandemic, the duo also conducted online classes revolving around a hygienic period, for adults and girls over the age of nine. The entrepreneur notes that it is not enough to stop at just educating women about period cycles, and she also takes classes on good touch and bad touch.
Deepa proudly declares that after using Mullai pads, most women in her hamlet experienced a healthy menstrual cycle. A sizeable amount of women have gotten hysterectomies (a procedure to remove the uterus), she adds, pointing out that hygiene and a healthy period — sidelined topics — are critical for women. Keeping this in mind, she set up the firm. She recalls being at crossroads at the time since she had just cleared TNPSC Group 2 examinations. “The choice was between a government job and a company. I chose to proceed with Mullai napkins,” Deepa explains.
According to the founder, the business is run in a no-loss no-gain method, and making accessible quality sanitary napkins has been the main motto. Each box, with seven pads each, is priced between Rs 90 and Rs 250, depending on flow and size. She also aims to employ women at the grassroots. A peek into the workshop will reveal the 14 employees chattering and stitching away, slowly weaving together organic napkins made from nine herbs, including tulsi, aloe vera and turmeric.
These women, who usually toil hard in the fields, manage to earn here, too. Among them is M Vasantha (46). She says, “It is great to be involved in a job that gives you satisfaction while serving as a source of income.” Also a devoted customer, she recalls when her daughter, a Class 11 student, started her period, there were no hushed whispers or plastic pads. Vasantha handed her Mullai napkins, and is happily report her child has a healthy menstrual cycle. There’s no more dreading the monthly visitor in Thekkur village.