Originally reported and written in May 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

Life was on tenterhooks for Coimbatore’s Radhika JA when she came to know about her brittle bone disease at a young age. Year after year, the disease made her prone to bone fractures without any exertion. As a result, she had to drop out of school.

“I started living in fear that even if I walk, I may break a bone. I stopped walking. I used to sit all day on my bed. Those were challenging times for me. I did not have friends to communicate with. From my window, I’d watch children playing on the streets, going to schools in the morning and to tuitions in the evening…For me, going to hospitals was the only outing,” Radhika tells The Better India.

Without a schedule like other children her age, she developed an inclination towards art. “At 14, I started drawing and painting. I’d watch MAD [a children’s TV programme] and feel inspired to replicate those crafts. This made my life a little intriguing.” 

This inclination is what eventually paved the way for her tryst with entrepreneurship. Today, the 23-year-old upcycles old newspapers to make unique and intricate dolls — from caricatures of newly-wed couples to musicians carrying the sitar and trumpets dholaks; medical professionals with white coats and stethoscopes, and black-coloured idols of Krishna, Ganesha, and more.

“This work requires concentration and prolonged sitting. Earlier, I would not be able to sit for two to four hours at a stretch. But I’m able to do so now with small breaks in between. When I am focused on rolling the newspaper, and shaping and painting dolls, I forget about my disease,” she says.

7 surgeries & a ‘lifelong lockdown’

At the age of five, Radhika had her first fracture, which required........

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