Mutilated bodies. Wounds that refuse to heal. Missing fingers and toes, limbs wrapped in bandages. Yet, amid pain and neglect, the will to live endures.

From early mornings to late evenings, during festivals, weddings, and religious rituals, they stand at temple gates seeking alms to survive. Their lives move between hope and hardship. Not one or two, but more than a hundred leprosy-affected individuals continue this daily battle for dignity and livelihood.

But beyond suffering lies resilience.

Among them are men and women who refused to surrender—to disease, to discrimination, or to despair. Through years of struggle, they defeated leprosy, raised families, educated their children, and reclaimed ordinary lives. Today, they walk quietly among us, no longer defined by their illness.

On World Leprosy Day, observed every year on the last Sunday of January, the world pauses to remember them—to raise awareness about a disease that is curable, yet still burdened with stigma. Though leprosy is infectious, fear and ignorance have long turned patients into social outcasts. Decades of awareness campaigns by government and non-government organizations continue to challenge these deep-rooted prejudices.

On this day, the Lingaraj Leprosy Colony in Palaspalli, Bhubaneswar, stood as a witness to stories of pain alongside remarkable courage.

Forty-two years to freedom

At the age of ten, Jadu Maharana was diagnosed with leprosy. What followed was not just illness, but exile. His siblings avoided him. He was barred from village ponds and public places. Eventually, he was forced to leave home.

With a few coins in his pocket, Jadu wandered—from Puri to Haridwar, Gaya, and finally Kashi. Faith offered temporary relief, but it was regular medical treatment that finally cured him—after 42 long years. He was 52 when he was declared disease-free.

Today, at 87, Jadu lives in Lingaraj Leprosy Colony. He married Subhasini, a differently-abled woman, built a family, and raised two sons. Fifteen years ago, he lost his wife, yet he continues to live independently—taking medicines, visiting doctors, and working whenever possible.

“I defeated leprosy,” he says quietly. That victory, for him, is enough.

When love changed destiny

Born into a Brahmin family, Bhagaban Panda (76) became “untouchable” the moment leprosy entered his life. While studying at a school in Banki, Cuttack district, he was diagnosed with the disease. Friends abandoned him. Family kept their distance.

For nearly twenty years, Bhagaban lay confined to a corner of his house, waiting for death.

Then came Narmada.

Unaffected by disease, undeterred by fear, she chose Bhagaban as her life partner. She cared for him, fed him medicines, and nursed him back from the edge. Together, they moved to Bhubaneswar, raised a son and two daughters, and survived by begging.

“Narmada is the reason I am alive today,” Bhagaban says. Because of her devotion, he is now free from leprosy—and from loneliness.

A leg lost, not her courage

At nine years old, Manjulata Sahu noticed a blister on her right leg. It grew worse. Medicines failed. The diagnosis came too late. The leg had to be amputated.

Villagers said no one would marry her. At seventeen, she left home for Bhubaneswar, believing her dreams of family life were over.

They were wrong.

Manjulata met Giridhari Sahu, himself a leprosy survivor. The two married, built a life together, and raised one son and two daughters. Giridhari pulls a rickshaw for a living. Manjulata walks on one leg—but with unshakable confidence.

Today, both are disease-free. Their lives stand as proof that leprosy can cripple the body, but not the human spirit.