Despite her underdeveloped hands, 30-year old Basanti Kumari has the world at her feet. She has no arms and her fingers are abnormally tiny, due to a deformity at birth. Her parents had given up on her education, and had resigned to the fact she could never go to school.
Today, she teaches at a government school in her town, writing on paper and blackboard with pens and chalk pieces held between her toes. In her classroom, Basanti is a picture of determination, writing furiously on the blackboard with one foot and precariously balancing the rest of her body on the other.
Her finesse with her toes has come after a long, frustrating periods of trial, error and perseverance that started with attempts to draw straight lines She can now use her toes not just to write, but also to sweep, mop and iron clothes. She shares domestic chores equally with her mother and four sisters. Family members say they are proud of her dedication and consider her achievements to be quite a feat.
