Is she a goddess or just a girl?

Most parents hope for “10 fingers and 10 ten toes” when their child is born; however, Shambhu and Poonam Tatama had a daughter, Lakshmi, on New Years Eve 2005 who was born with 4 arms and 4 legs and thought to be a prominent Hindu goddess.  Medically the explanation was that she was born with a conjoined twin at the hips and that twin failed to properly develop and was born without a head; therefore giving the appearance of one girl with 8 limbs. 

(Lakshmi before her surgery)

This is such a fascinating story for so many reasons.  First, many people in her tiny village in Bihar, India were convinced she was a human manifestation of a goddess.  Her parents, especially her dad, were and still are convinced of this.  Second, when there was an offer from Indian doctors to do a separation surgery for free this was such a complicated surgery that had never successfully occurred in India.  Third, medically this was extremely rare to see conjoined twins, let alone one that was essentially acting as a parasite upon the other.  Add to this the fact that people were furious that such a surgery would even be attempted upon a goddess.  Lakshmi’s mother, Poonam, was foremost concerned with her daughter’s happiness and convinced her husband that the surgery was the right thing to do. 

This must have been a heart wrenching decision for the parents to make.  They really believed that their daughter was the goddess Lakshmi and if you believed your daughter was goddess then I can’t imagine you would want to alter the exact parts of her that cement this belief in so many people’s minds.  However, the humanity of Lakshmi ultimately confronted her parents as her one working kidney was not functioning properly, she suffered constant fevers, couldn’t walk or crawl properly and had abnormal blood flow that would eventually cause her heart problems.  Given this medical diagnosis from the doctors, Lakshmi’s parents did what many parents would do. 

The community around Lakshmi’s hometown was very upset with the parent’s choice to do the surgery.  Indian media forced their way into Lakshmi’s life and ended any hope of privacy that the Tatama family could’ve hoped for.  She became an immediate celebrity throughout the country.  Many devout Hindu’s were amazing by her 8 limbs and believed she was a goddess.  Other more secular Indians were equally amazed, but for different reasons. 

Nobody knew what to expect when Lakshmi went into surgery, even the doctors.  It was a laborious 24-hour surgery and to many people’s surprise it was successful!  Lakshmi’s parasitic twin was removed from her and her legs reconstructed so that someday she could actually walk. 

(Lakshmi after her surgery)

To me and many in the West it seems it is a happy story of a girls struggle overcome by the amazing potential of modern medicine, but in India many viewed it differently.  India is a country of roughly 1 billion people that has made amazing economic progress over the past decade.  In many ways the country is divided into the modern, educated, secular and urban vs. the rural, uneducated, religious and impoverished.  Those in the cities of India saw this as a modern scientific achievement that made them proud of India’s technological advancement over the past half a century.  In rural areas it was seen as sacrilegious to mess with such a clearly divine being and those who did will surely pay, maybe not now, but in their next life. 

For 3000 years Hinduism has been the bedrock of Indian society.  The Caste System created a society based upon inequality and social mobility was impossible.  After independence in 1948 the Caste System was abolished and “equality” was legislated.  In the cities the Caste System is beginning to fade away with the influx of an Industrially and scientifically advanced society, but in rural areas the old ways persist.  Nobody really knows what the future for India holds and although they are the largest democracy in the world and have experienced amazing economic growth, poverty and tradition still persist in the rural areas.  The story of Lakshmi shows just how far India has come, but also just how divided it is.  The great father of the Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi, never wanted to see an Industrialized India, but hoped for a self-sufficient country.  I wonder what the great Mahatma would have thought of both Lakshmi and of modern India…