“I was just 14 months old when the doctors declared that the recurring bouts of high fever I had as a newborn was because I was a Post Polio Residual Paraplegic (PPRP) and was said to be paralysed down the neck.

For the first two years of her life Holla was put on to innumerable sessions of electric shock treatments. “For 15 long years I was confined to Ishwari Prasad Dattatraya Orthopaedic Centre, a rehab orthopaedic centre in Chennai out of which the initial five years were very difficult. I just remember lying on the bed for the first five years. After that with the shock treatments and 18 surgeries later my health stabilised to some extent and I gained some strength in my upper body. It was then that I took my Class X exams and moved to Bangalore.”

Life in college

“Since till Class XI was constantly around special children, my initial days in college were quite a shocker. All of a sudden I was studying at an educational institution meant for normal children.

There were times people teased or ill-treated me and at other times I was being sympathised with. People treated me like an alien. It was truly very disturbing. But one conversation with my dad changed my life forever!

Turning point in life

“My father was very supportive of all that I did. He was not physically present with me but he made sure that I changed my attitude towards life. I still remember his words: Look, there is a world beyond this...come out of your shell and make life as you want it to be. These words from him changed my attitude towards life. When I was 17 years my father told me that I should learn to demand what I want rather than wait for people to come to me. He made me realise that I too belonged to this world and I too had a right to make the most of what the world had to offer. He also told me that I should not blame people around me for my plight but modify myself to the situation. He taught me to look at the world positively and see how colourful life could be.”

Sports changed her life

Life taught Holla to develop her strengths. She started pursuing sports that made use of the upper part of a person’s body. “I heard of sports that aimed at increasing strength of your upper body and also got to know of competitions to encourage special people to take up sports. So I became a regular at throw events, like shot put, discus and javelin. I also participated in 100 metres wheelchair and obstacle races, which also got me several medals. I further started participating and winning the National Games for the Disabled

conducted every two years by the National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped, Mumbai.”

It was at the Paralympics at Seoul (South Korea) in 1988 that Holla had her first experience of international competitions. “On going there I realised that all the foreign athletes had personal coaches and trainers with them, and even then I managed to finish eighth in the 200m race then,” recollects Holla, who has never had a coach. But she managed to observe those athletes as they underwent training. Going through the cassettes and observing all the goods in them became the basis of her training. Her quick study definitely paid off as the following year she stood first at the World Masters’ Games in Denmark, winning a gold each in 200m, shot put, discus, and javelin throw.

The Arjuna award in 1996 and the Padma Shree in 2001 were well deserved honours bestowed on her. With 183 gold, 24 silver and five bronze medals in a career spanning just over two decades, Holla’s record is truly enviable even by regular standards. Living life to the fullest, Holla’s philosophy is simple: Don’t succumb to adverse circumstances, but go ahead and change them.

More than sports

“My stupendous performance and commitment at these State and National level sport events earned me a clerical post with the Syndicate Bank in 1981 through the sports quota. When I won the Arjuna award in 1996 I was promoted to the level of an officer and after the Padma Shree five years later I am now a manager at Syndicate Bank.”

Lending a helping hand

Holla along with five other like-minded people runs the Mathru Foundation for the handicapped, which shelters 20 children with various disabilities. The NGO was registered in 2004. “My aim is to help and guide special children from rural areas, whose parents cannot afford to send their children to school or provide medical treatment. So at Mathru Foundation we provide for food, medical aid and education for such kids. I send these kids to normal schools so that they can overcome their inferiority complex. Also, I feel that this will give the normal kids a chance to understand the problems and pains such children go through.”

A biography

Her inspiring life has been penned by senior journalist and the Corporate Communications Head of Hindustan Aeronauticals,  Anantha Krishnan M in the form of a biography titled ‘A Different Spirit’. The book speaks of the several hurdles Holla has overcome to become a winner. It also explains how a hostile mother failed to understand her properly, and of poor facilities for the physically challenged in the country.

But even more than the lack of facilities, Malathi believes that the physically challenged suffer most from the discrimination. Special kids don’t need any sympathy, they need empathy from a society in which they are willing to prove themselves. “The more physical pain you suffer, the more mentally strong you become, and once you are strong mentally, the world will be at your feet. Sports gave me the confidence and strength to cope with my disability. The biggest trauma of being handicapped is the inferiority complex that occurs. I would like to tell the physically disabled to shed all negative thoughts and be positive. I hope that my story of struggle and success will give others like me the strength to fight and live better lives.”