Her existence is disbelief to some, amazement to others, miracle to her family and a belief to herself. Her skin might have peeled off of her identity but not her indomitable courage. She is none other than Laxmi Agarwal ; a synonym of hope and aspiration.

Laxmi Agarwal is an inspiration for all the survivors of acid attacks. She was innocent 15 ; dedicated to become a singer to prove it to her parents about her absolute potential. She was a school girl, shy and timid. Her guts were challenged by a 32 year old devil disguised as a human figure. “He was my friend’s brother, he proposed to marry me but I denied advertently. He tried to convince me in inappropriate ways and made my life miserable. I could not reach out to my parents because they would stop me from going outside. Conventional and known ways of parents to protect their kids from getting hurt. It was one awful day that changed every little piece of my life. In my monotony I reached Khan Market, where the horrific incident took place. I saw 2 people following me. One of them was of course Nadeem Khan himself and the other girl was his younger brother’s girlfriend. In the blink of an eye, I was pushed on the road as an object and acid was thrown on my face. I faint.” 

She continues by describing the moment of agony and horror when she gained consciousness “My face was melting like a plastic polythene which was burnt. My body felt like someone has put fire on my naked self. Painful, very very painful. Except that no one was ready to help and the public was waiting for me to die in my state of misery. When a very kind and humble person showered water on me. He managed a PCR to take me to the hospital. 20 buckets of water were used to sway the acid off my body ; but obviously the water was not enough to sway the acid off my life, nothing would ever be enough. It was when I hugged my sulking father that his shirt was burnt due to my scars that I realized this is huge, this is not normal, this is absurd.”

Recovery is a myth but Laxmi Agarwal is a drop of water at a mirage. After finally eyeing herself in the mirror after months of the incidents and surgeries ; she was shaken and terrified. Her reality was dangerous and the society was no less. The society and “those chaar log” almost made her commit suicide when she saw hope in the eyes of her supportive parents. She started to survive again to give it back to the criminals. 

“I wanted to prove them incorrect, he knew I was ambitious and I would do something big in my life. He threw acid because of his cowardice he thought I will never step out of my home with the destroyed face but I wanted to prove him wrong. My courage and spirit to still put myself out there is the real punishment for him. This will make his life awful and he will be the victim of my heroism.” – She quoted 

The latest news states that Deepika Padukone has taken the task to highlight and present Laxmi’s story of bravery and undying spirit. The movie will star Deepika Padukone as Malti (Laxmi in original) and Vikrant Massey as Amol and Vishal Dahiya as Bashir Sheikh the criminal. The outstanding star cast is sure to imbibe the emotions of pain and courage in the hearts of the audience.

Cowork Delhi was fortunate to have Laxmi Agarwal herself in the house. In association with CoworkDelhi, The Rope Of Hope organized an open mic and Laxmi Agarwal was kind enough to grace the event with her presence. Our coworking space was enlightened by her soulful presence. The coworkers and the entire audience was moved by her story and were left with goosebumps forever. We were so grateful to host her.