Blood, sweat and tears to reach his goal

Chennai

He has been called ‘The Menstrual Man’, a term that conveys some of the annoyance and embarrassment that women felt when talking about the subject with a man. Now, though, even as Arunachalam Muruganantham received the Padma Shri from President Pranab Mukherjee for inventing low-cost sanitary napkins for women in the rural areas, his family and friends rejoiced in his home town, Coimbatore. He was also named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Influential People of 2014. He is the recipient of several awards, and now, the Padma Shri.

Muruganantham said in a telephonic interview that he was hon oured to have received this award, but it did not take away from the fact that he still had a long way ahead to go. “This honour is just a validation that I am on the right track. All I wanted to do was to impress my wife, but that quest led me to a journey that has made me what I am today,” said Arunachalam.

“Even today, when I talk to these women about menstruation, they get uncomfortable,” he recounted. “It continues to be a taboo subject, and I have been slapped for discussing the topic. My aim is that every woman be able to use a sanitary pad. I am willing to be rebuked a hundred times if it helps me reach my goal. Through Jayaashree Industries, makers of a mini sanitary napkin machine, I want to create a million jobs for women in rural India. We have already installed more than 1,300 such machines across 27 Indian states and in other countries too,” he added.His next stop is London where he will be speaking at the Indian Business Council meet in Parliament.