DAYA BAI

This is the story of a lady who considers kindness as true religion and brotherhood as true
relation. She gave up her nunship and religious background for serving the poor.
A lady is seen walking in the moonlight. As she walks away, the narration starts. ‘I have never
lost my way in a moonlit night. But I missed my way many times, when I used torch light to light
my path when there was no moon light. I have been late many times when I walked through the
forest area between the Administration Centers to solve the issues of the tribal people. But
moonlight always showed me the right path. I have met wild animals in these journeys. But, I
remember, those encounters were without any fear. I think humans are to be feared more,
rather than the animals.’ As the narration ends, the lady reached a group of tribals, who stood
up with respect the moment they set eyes on her. Now we can see the face of the lady in the light of the fire. She is Dayabai. She started listening patiently to their problems and suggested
solutions for each.
Mercy aka Dayabai could never accept the luxury of the convent life. She couldn’t approve of
the lifestyle there. She desperately wanted to do something. Finally, she returned to her home in
Kerala. There she joined for nursing course in a hospital under a church in Calicut and worked
there as a nurse. Mercy moved to Mumbai from there. After that the montage shots of Mercy’s
life in Bombay, Nirmala Bhavan, Calcutta and Bangladesh refugee camp.
After that, as a part of MSW field work she moved to a tribal village, Surlakhapa, in MP. There
she met a girl named Chandra and she moved to Chandra’s village – Theense. Mercy got
familiar with the people in Theense. Mercy wore dresses like the native people of Theense and
went to work with them. As she worked with the tribal ladies, she could realize that the workers
were exploited by the officials. To free them from bad hands, she taught them Hindi and also
tried to educate and enlighten them with street plays.
Mercy’s effort started showing good results. She filed a complaint to the collector against the
corruption regarding the wages given. A spot enquiry was ordered. On the day of the spot
enquiry, the officers tried to influence the tribal people. One woman came forward courageously
to register the complaint, ignoring all the challenges. This forced the corrupt people to give the
balance of the wages to all the people who deserved it. The villagers got the wages and the
corrupted people were punished severely for their crimes.
Mercy continued to fight for tribal rights. Mercy fought very hard for sanctioning a school in the
village. She commenced a strike, in front of the police station, by covering her mouth with black
clothes. At the end, after many years, by the relentless effort of Mercy, a school was approved
in the village.At this time, Mercy’s father expired but she couldn’t attend the funeral function of
her father. According to her father’s wish, with the money she inherited, she tried to buy a land
in Theense. But she couldn’t, due to some legal problems. Then she bought a land in the
nearby village which is Barool. She started organic farming in that land. Initially the land was not
favourable. The quality of land was not good. It did not yield much. But after a few years of
continuous effort the organic farming was indeed highly successful. The yield was wonderful.
On the other hand, the officials continued their efforts to torture her. They tried many times to
punish her legally. Nothing could stop Mercy from her noble deeds. In the process of her fights
for the villagers’ rights, a dumb and physically handicapped girl was found missing in the
neighbouring village. The girl was, later on, found physically assaulted, raped and left in an
abandoned house. Mercy fought for justice for the victim girl. She even went a step forward to
fight for all women who were denied justice.Her fight and strong demand was for an amendment in the constitution, a law that would protect
women’s rights.Her decision was to go ahead with it, till that goal is achieved. This is her story
story of a legend who walks among us.