MUMBAI: What if your life turns out to be an excerpt from a fairy tale? A beautiful childhood until one ill-fated incident turns your world topsy-turvy, shrouding you with sorrow. When darkness sets in and you see no hope, the blessed Godmother arrives. She restores sunshine, love and joy and you live happily ever after.
Well for Sonali Mukherjee life has been nothing less than that of a fairy tale. She is truly a Cinderella in her own way. No, Sonali did not have to get rid of the clutches of her evil step-mom and step-sisters to marry her prince-charming, but she had a more horrifying encounter with three lecherous men that cost her life dearly. On the cursed night of April 22, 2003, she lost her eyesight after the accused trio threw acid on her face because she had refused to give in to their sexual advances.
12 years since then, life has come full circle for this 30-year-old acid attack survivor. She has finally found her prince-charming-the love of her life. Unlike Cinderella, Sonali did not meet her prince deep inside forest while riding horse, but she got to know him through the popular social-networking site Facebook when she was fighting her war alone. Chittaranjan Tewary, an electrical engineer from Jamshedpur had first seen Sonali in a crime feature on television and was intrigued by her story. Later, he contacted her through social media and gradually love bloomed between the two who tied the nuptial knot three days ago (April 15, 2015) on the auspicious occasion of Poila Baisakh.
Though Sonali’s attackers got off scot-free, this Jharkhand-based woman who has undergone multiple facial reconstruction surgeries to regain her eyesight, speech and auditory faculties has indeed been a fighter. Sonali can be an inspiration to hundreds of acid attack victims across the world. Her husband, Chittaranjan on the other hand has set an example for all young men. He has redefined humanity and reinforced the fact that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Sonali’s ‘scarred’ past has finally led her into a happy and colourful future and Sonali and Chittaranjan may live happily ever after.