Women with a cause

Sunda Lad Bhamray

An educator by profession and a writer at heart, Ms Sunita Lad Bhamray, 49, always knew that she wanted to write stories; she just never knew when that would happen.

Even when teaching kindergarten children, she would never pick up a story book to tell stories; rather, she would create one as the thoughts came to her.

Her defining moment came after she wrote her grandfather's memoirs in 2011. One thing led to another and she soon found herself writing her next book – Grandma Lim's Persimmons — this time for kids. It was so well received that a whole Grandma Lim series is on the anvil.

The inspiration for her third book came from a news report about conjoined Nepalese twins Ganga and Jamuna. "I reacted like a mother," mid Ms Lad Bhamray, who has two children both studying overseas. "While everyone was talking about the twins my heart went out to the mother and I wondered how she was coping." It was while the book was still in the writing stage that she happened to meet Dr Keith Goh, the surgeon who had operated on the twins and she realised that there was a need to raise funds for Jamuna (unfortunately Ganga had died by then). Ms Lad Bhamray decided to do a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the family.

Through her work, the Singapore PR wants to draw the world's attention to rare diseases and how they affect the individuals and families coping with them. In Ganga Jamuna, she has given the mother of the girls a fictional name, Abani, meaning earth in Sanskrit. "A mother is nurturing, caring and stands up for her kids in times of adversity. That is what Abani does and what all mothers do," said the soft spoken Ms Lad Bhamray. Abani is supported by friends from different parts of the world. "Adversity brings out strength, and there is no other choice but for women to cope." For this she feels that, "women most help women in a sort of sisterhood".

Ms Lad Bhamray told labial that the book raised a little over US$2,000. She is now working with the embassy of Nepal to hand over the money to the family in April or May. A feature that runs through all her books is a message of optimism. "As a teacher, it is my responsibility to convey positive thoughts. In Grandma Lim's Persimmons, the message was of global harmony and that we are all united and no bound-aries can divide us." She is in the process of writing plays, in one of which she explores the issue of the never ending emphasis on physical beauty and appearances among women.