The distressing image of Dana Majhi carrying his dead wife has understandably touched a chord. But look around and you’ll see some happy stories too

This was one of the most grim pictures of our times. A poor man in Bhawanipatna in Odisha, Dana Majhi, was spotted carrying the dead body of his wife on his shoulders, with his daughter walking along side. Dana's wife had succumbed to tuberculosis and apparently, he was denied a hearse van as well as a place in mortuary. Distraught, the hapless man thought it wise to give her wife his shoulder one last time.

This story, and the image, shook us all from within. In no time, the news spread like an inferno, and the nation was gasping. The national jubilation of the Sindhu-Sakshi feat at the Rio Olympics soon turned into gloom under the impact of the sordid tale. The nation and its cynical vocal class was sulking and screaming. Twitter, WhatsApp soon were flooded with outbursts. The grim-look of Odisha — as breeding ground for penury — was reinforced yet again.

By sheer coincidence, on the day the Dana story broke out and for the next few days, I was traveling in remote areas of Mayurbhanj district of Odisha on an assignment. And I found many happy stories which challenged my stereotypes about the State, besides of course offering an alternative view to specialists in arm-chair image-making. I offer three stories from them.

Revati and lakshman adore their year-old son Ashik. Earning their livelihood through odd jobs, including wood picking. When I spotted them at the neat-looking Drug Dispensation Centre of the Community Health Centre at Jashipur block and managed to strike a conversation, they said that they do not have to worry for their, or Ashik's health problems, which the sarkar takes care of well, gleefully showing me strips of medicine and bottles containing cough syrup and paracetamol. They are not an exception as I found out. To me this was a nice narrative and mirrored the changing face of India, and a better Odisha.

Another 40 kms away from Jashipur, and deep inside Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Gurugudiya village, I met Pradeep Kumar Naik who is one of the many teachers who are staying in a unique Teacher's barrack. In a rare innovation, the young IAS officer and Mayurbhanj Collector Rajesh Prabhakar Patil conceptualised this retention strategy for teachers who were unable to reach the schools located in remote areas owing to access and security issues. The barrack ensures teachers get comfort of stay besides peace of mind to focus on imparting education. The happiness of students at Gurugudiya school is palpable as they get to see more of teachers. For a country perennially steeped in despondency with overpowering images of conflict, and controversies haunting our consciousness, this to me was a great story to tell to the world.

Patil is amazingly passionate and adamant on changing the face of the district. To provide impetus to the sarva shiksha abhiyan on universalisation of education, he designed a unique set of strategies in form of Mu Bi Padhibi or I too will read. Over the last three years, through a series of highly ingenious methods and high-impact intervention under this programme, the district has achieved a near-zero out of school children feat.

Not only this, the district is also likely to declare itself free from child labour, after having made some herculean efforts in the past three years under this programme, including rescuing, rehabilitating and sustainable mainstreaming of working children. If that happens, Mayurbhanj shall be the first such district in the country and that would be a great feat indeed. The protocols and processes shall be worth replicating in many parts of the country.

When I met Srikrishna Hembram, a former child labour, and his mother Suhagini Hembram, at the Residential Training Centre in a backward Udala block and see their resolve to get out of this vicious trap of poverty, it delights me as a great human interest story, and as an image of a changing Odisha.

The grim story of Dana Majhi, much like the joyful tales of Sindhu and Sakshi, too shall fade eventually. We shall all get back to our normal chores. But the narratives of Revati, Naik, and Shrikrishna will continue to reverberate for ages to come. For it shall transcribe the transformation of India.