Sunshine story: SSC exam centre supervisor reports to work with injured arm

When duty calls, even bodily injury cannot stop 50-year-old Sucheta Phatak from rising to the occasion.

Pathak commutes by train from Parel to Vashi every day

The Parel resident, who is supervisor of the SSC exam centre department at the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) office in Vashi, met with an auto rickshaw accident on Monday, severely injuring her hand.

But being the thorough professional that she is, she reported to work the very same day, in spite of the physical pain she was in. Though her hand had swelled up after the accident, she said that she could not conceive of taking time off to recuperate, at the busiest time of the year for the office.

Speaking to mid-day, Pathak said, "I was travelling to work in the morning and there was a lot of rush outside Vashi railway station.

Before boarding the rickshaw, someone banged into my shoulder. I was hurt, and by the time I reached the Vashi board office, I was not even able to remove my rings from my fingers, as my left hand had already swelled up.

I informed the chairman at the board office, who immediately suggested that I visit the doctor. The doctor said that there was no fracture but administered painkillers. In spite of them, the pain did not subside."

However, Phatak reported to work the very next day. "I am aware of the kind of work that has to be done at the board office at this time every year from coordinating with the in-charge at exam centres to meeting principals, students and visitors who come to the board office."

Since the accident, Phatak finds it difficult to make the long commute from home to office every morning, travelling by local train.

"Holding my handbag also gets difficult, but then I cannot afford to stay at home since there is continuous work from morning till late evening. Pathak's husband suffers from paralysis, and her three children are worried about her exertions.