India has a population of approximately 1.32 billion people. And apart from a small chunk of citizens, the rest of that billion-strong population is struggling every day to make a living. While we get to hear some of those stories due to the news media, the rest of them are lost like tears in the rain. However, that’s where social media comes in.
Mathrubhumi, a Kerala based news website, published the story of Hanan and how she balances between studies and selling fish. Within the next few hours, she became the talking point of the entire state.
According to Mathrubhumi, Hanan is a chemistry student of Al Azhar College. But unlike every other student, her life starts at 3 in the morning as she goes to the nearby market to sell fish. At 9.30 she cycles to her college, which is about 60kms from her home. And after her classes her over, Hanan goes back to her fish shop, sells for an hour and then returns home to prepare herself for the next day. Due to her financial instability, she does odd jobs at call centres, takes tuitions, works as an anchor and a dubbing artist.
Despite undergoing surgery for her poor hearing and living in a broken family, Hanan refuses to give up her dreams of becoming a doctor. And while Kalabhavan Mani gave her her first break, Hanan’s spirit was truly recognised when Mathrubhumi’s story broke. Given how inspirational she is, newspapers from all over the state came to cover her and laud her.
You can watch the video here:
വീടില്ലാത്ത കുട്ടികള്ക്കുവേണ്ടിയാണ് എന്റെ ജീവിതം; താരമായി മാറിയ ഹനാന് പ്രതികരിക്കുന്നു
Posted by Mathrubhumi on Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Hanan’s rise to fame was meteoric as politicians, actors and film directors started coming to her. Director Arun Gopy even offered her a role in his film. But her response to the attention she was getting was humbling.
“I am an ordinary girl. So I used to chat with all including the employees in the college irrespective of their grade. I think there’s no one in the college who hasn’t talked to me at least once. So, Today I had a lot of things to chat with them.”
Hanan said that she never thought that the response to her life-story would be so massive. While she was expecting only a small piece news, what she got was a roaring response from her friends and teachers at her college.
However, as social media is also infamous for dampening everything, it did so in Hanan’s case as well. She was bombarded with a slew of baseless allegations that accused her of being a fraud and that she sold fish in her uniform to promote a film.
Given Hanan’s great reputation, the social media outrage didn’t go on for too long. While director Arun Gopy said those attacks were unfortunate, Hanan’s friends requested the naysayers to come to their college and see her in real life.
“We know Hanan for three years. She is a warrior. If you have any doubts concerning her life, come to our college; we will tell you. By raising baseless allegations, don’t prevent the aid that she has to get.”
As mentioned before, there’s a slim chance that people who’re really struggling in their lives get a chance to achieve their dreams. Hanan’s efforts and resilience have paid off and she has been recognised. So, maybe, just maybe, people should back off, encourage her and let Hanan have her day in the Sun.