Dhanuja Kumari, a sanitation worker from Thiruvananthapuram, talks about her journey as an author

Dhanuja Kumari
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Dhanuja Kumari’s earliest memories of writing date back to her two-year stay at a convent school in Kollam. She was sent to the boarding school after a falling out between her alcoholic father and her mother. Under the nuns’ guidance, she was encouraged to journal daily — to reflect and introspect. However, after completing class five, she returned to Chengalchoola colony in Thiruvananthapuram, a densely populated slum, “without a diary, a table, a chair, or even a room for myself,” recalls the author of Chengalchoolayile Ente Jeevitham (My Life in Chengalchoola), who is also a sanitation worker with Haritha Karma Sena, a scheme providing door-to-door waste management services.

Chengalchoolayile Ente Jeevitham cover
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Recently, Dhanuja Kumari was honoured with the Sthree Shakthi Award by the Kerala Women’s Commission during the International Women’s Day celebrations. “Even though it’s my memoir, it is also the story of this place — a memoir for many,” she says. Last year, she was invited by the then Governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan, to his residence on Independence Day. Released in 2013, Chengalchoolayile Ente Jeevitham delves into the lives of Chengalchoola’s residents — people from marginalised communities who have long carried the burden of a notoriety imposed upon them for generations.

Former Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan with Dhanuja Kumari and husband Satheesh
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

It was writer PP Sathyan, who suggested to Dhanuja to write a book about Chengalchoola’s demands that are often ignored. “He told us that anyone who comes here will just listen to our complaints and leave. He said, ‘Instead of just saying our needs, writing them down will be more effective,’ ,” she says.

Dhanuja adds, “Everyone in Thiruvananthapuram knows about Chengalchoola for the wrong reasons. Since childhood, I have seen people from the colony being treated like outcasts,” she says. The students from the colony still find it difficult to get into schools. Even if they get in, they face discrimination from the teachers. Her son was expelled from Kerala Kalamandalam several years ago. She adds, “We live in a time when people still say, ‘If they are from Chengalchoola, they must be criminals’.”

Five editions of Chengalchoolayile Ente Jeevitham have been published. However, while there are some changes like more people showing interest in the locality and knowing about the residents, Dhanuja believes there has been no significant change in the general attitude towards Chengalchoola. She says, “There’s no point in looking for any change in people’s outlook after all these years. However, we have changed a lot. We have vowed not to remain outcasts. Once we were denied education; but today our children are academically qualified and coming forward.”

Dhanuja was 16 when she married Satheesh, a 19-year-old dancer with a drinking problem. She became the mother of two boys at the age of 18. Triggered by family problems, she tried running away and even attempted suicide with her children. “Until I was 23, I was thinking like a child, even though I had two of my own. But by my mid-twenties, I started introspecting and realised that we decide what our life looks like,” she recalls.

Satheesh and Dhanuja with their sons Sudheesh and Nidheesh.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

“If I had ended my life then, I wouldn’t have had all these joys. We will have obstacles in life, but if we can overcome those, we might have the chance to speak up for our society or at least for our community.”

In 2024, Chengalchoolayile Ente Jeevitham was included in the graduate and post graduate curricula of Kannur University and University of Calicut respectively. “The name Chengalchoola was sidelined for so long it was changed it to Rajaji Nagar. Students today are not reading the name Rajaji Nagar, but Chengalchoola,” says Dhanuja who leads a women’s collective in the colony called Wings of Women. They have a library with nearly 3000 books and, organise monthly medical camps, summer classes and so on.

She is currently working on two books — one about the changes in Chengalchoola after the first book was released and another one about a journey to Dubai. Her biggest dream, however, is that “everyone living in Chengalchoola should have their own house in the area under their names.”