KOCHI: At the Sankalp exhibition, in Kochi, one woman caught the eye. Her name is Leena George. Wearing a sandal-colour Kalamkari Kurti, with silver bangles, she had a smiling face as she explained her products to customers. When you look at Leena, she looks like any ordinary woman. But this is a lady who has overcome odds.
One day in August, 2016, Leena had a nervous breakdown. The reasons were many: her husband had health issues, and there were other personal problems. Her joints were in extreme pain and she needed the help of friends to hold a glass of water. “I was in a state of shock,” she says. “I felt so weak that I could not even get up from the bed. Soon, I felt depressed.”
Sometime later, when the doctor met her, he asked Leena to fight back. “Why should I?” Leena told the doctor. “My two sons are well-settled. I am in my sixties, so there is no need for me to recover.”
But the doctor never gave up and continued to encourage her. So too did her sons and daughters-in-law. “They made me strong,” said Leena. Later, when she went through a series of tests, the doctor told her that she had recovered. That was the moment when everything changed,” says Leena. “I decided to fight back.”
She was wondering what to do when the idea to make crafts came up. So, she logged on to the Internet, and came across a few ‘Do It Yourself’ sites. Soon, she started following the instructions and began making some products. These included her home decor collection, as well as paintings, upcycled decor and a variety of candle stands. Then she took part in a new exhibitions.
“There has been a good response,” says Leena, who had participated in events at St. Teresa’s college and the Flea Gymkhana Club, Kochi. In the meanwhile, she is also doing meditation. “It has calmed me a lot,” says Leena. Thanks to her troubles, Leena has got a deeper insight about life. “It’s always better to to go through sufferings, because only then that we learn much more about life,” says Leena. “I realised that everything is in God’s hands. And I am so grateful today. Each and every work of mine is a gift to God.”