It was such an empowering and proud moment to hear Dr. Ajit Lukram, Consultant Surgeon share about the successful story of breast cancer survivors in Manipur. Yes, Manipur has the facility, infrastructure, highly skilled qualified personnel to diagnose, screen and treat breast Cancer at Shija Hospitals. He spoke with such passion and dedication for his profession of saving lives from Breast Cancer. I learned so much about Breast Cancer.

Also, It’s really encouraging to see the power of passion and love for one’s birthplace, striving the best to save and improve the quality of life, elevating the progress of Manipur. It left me inspired that he came back from UK to work for Manipur. It’s even more inspiring that Shija Hospitals has the platform to provide and absorb such talents giving hope to many educated professionals in returning to Manipur.

Yet another strong voice to show that many are striving towards progress.

Life is a wonderful journey and the important thing is to always remember that there will be ups and downs, good times and bad times. Happiness and sadness go hand in hand together. One must never forget that no matter how hard life gets, it will always get better. However bad the phase is, we must remember that nothing lasts forever.

Our guest for this episode is Laishram Meena Devi, the youngest of four siblings, brought up in a multi-cultural society in Imphal. After her father’s untimely demise, Meena’s family fell into a financial crisis. They had lost their only bread earner. But fortunately, one of her brothers got a small job at Shopper’s Stop in New Delhi and was able to support the family. Meena was then sent to Delhi for her senior secondary schooling, and after completion of the course, she started working as a waitress at a coffee shop. She recalls the first day on the job, making coffee and serving everyone, standing all day long. She broke down crying later that night thinking about what had become of her life. But Meena had a hidden talent. She was a very talented painter since childhood. She knew she was good at it, but she had never thought of taking it up as a career. After about a year or so, she enrolled herself in the Bachelor of Fine Arts course at Jamia Hamdard College in New Delhi, but still worked part time at the coffee shop during the vacations to support her expenditures. She worked really hard and with strong confidence and determination, she secured the first position for the four year course. She then pursued for a Master’s degree in Fine Arts at the Delhi College of Art.

Today, Laishram Meena Devi is a very successful artist who creates lovely paintings, mostly of adorable children, recreating her memories from childhood in her locality. Her love and fondness for a multi-cultural society living in peace and harmony is reflected in her work.