Poornima Shyam: Giving life a second chance

In the morning, Poornima Shyam sends a message that reads, ‘Always remember that life without struggle is a life without success. Don’t give up and learn not to quit.’ Reading this is pretty easy, but one needs determination and optimism to confront it. Dancer Poornima, a native of Kochi, has done that so bravely, setting an example to others. In 2015, she met with an accident, went into comatose but returned to life. Most importantly, she was able to resume dance, her passion.

Sitting at a café in Kochi, Poornima recounts that fateful day. “It happened on June 11. I have no memory of what happened during the month after the accident. Whatever I know, I heard from my family and friends,” she begins. “We were here for vacation. It was my elder son Saatvik’s star birthday. We (my parents, children and I) were travelling to Piravom, my father’s place to offer pooja in our family temple. Daddy was driving the car. Saatvik was with him in the front seat. Amma, my younger son Saketh and I made up the back row. It was afternoon. We reached Tripunithura and I told Daddy that I was going to sleep for some time. That is the last memory I have of that day,” she says.

What happened was that her father, in a bid to avoid a pothole, hit a bus on the opposite side. “He was wearing a mundu and accidentally applied the accelerator instead of the brake. His rib was broken. Saatvik and mother had only minor injuries. Luckily, the younger one was saved. Daddy somehow came out of the vehicle. But, I was lying inside the vehicle in a pool of blood. As they stood wondering what to do, a man called Jibu Jacob came out of the bus to help.”

Another woman Usha, who runs a shop nearby also came to help them. Initially, they wanted to take Poornima to a different hospital, but seeing her condition worsening, Jibu decided to opt for the Lakeshore Hospital which was nearer.

‘That decision saved me. He is like God to me,” says Poornima. Dr Arun Oommen, neuro surgeon says, “The injury was severe. Besides multiple facial fractures, her skin was flaking off. It was bleeding heavily. She was in full coma for two weeks. It took a month to recognise people.” The whole recovery took one year. “I regained memory in July,” says Poornima. “I was surprised to see Shyam and my dance student Ravi there. He had come to Kochi from Bengaluru cancelling his arangetam,” she says smiling.

Poornima is grateful to her parents, Shyam’s parents, doctors, her friend Sangeetha, dance teacher Latha Balasubramanian, her husband and her children for her speedy recovery. “I tell my father that it is true that we have gone through hell. But, God cleared many things for us. Everyone rallied around to help us,” Poornima says. “Even though I recovered, my vision was blurred then and I used to feel dizzy when turning around. But, everyone, in fact, pushed me to do things on my own and gradually I gained pace. I started bathing my child, and cooking for them, all step by step.”

The doctor advised her friends to divert her attention to things that she likes. “One day Ravi played one of our dance songs and I showed mudras correctly. He called Latha miss and Sangeetha and they were happy about my improvement. But, I came to know about this when I saw the video on phone.” By then, Poornima had gone abroad with her husband and children. She began doing household chores all by herself. “Then, I decided to start the dance. I called up daddy and expressed my desire to do my first performance in Guruvayoor. He booked the slot. But, we needed to do a one-and-a half-hour long performance.”

But, it was not easy as expected. She could dance only for 10 minutes on the first day. But, she kept trying as instructed by her teacher and finally performed with her cousin Uma as she couldn’t dance for that long. “I lacked the strength of feet and balance in the first performance but gained it slowly.” She later performed in Bengaluru and Tirupathi. “People do survive head injuries. But, Poornima is special because she is doing a task that requires a lot of brain activity, like eye-hand coordination. That makes her return miraculous. She was a good patient and a determined person," says Arun.