“Behind every successful man, there is a woman. Behind every unsuccessful man, there are two women. However, behind this super-successful man there are three women,” Dr. Ashok Bakthavathsalam, Chairman and Managing Trustee of Dharmaveera K. Govindaswamy Naidu Medical Trust, said at the felicitation organized by the members of the Devanga Samoogam for Coimbatore-based Padma Shri awardee, Arunachalam Muruganantham.

Arunachalam Muruganantham is a social entrepreneur who was born in a humble low-income family. His parents were weavers. A school dropout, Arunachalam Muruganantham was awarded the Padma Shri award for the low cost sanitary napkin machine that he invented.

The thought that his wife and sister used ashes, newspapers, sand husks, and dried leaves during their menstruation cycle disturbed him. Arunachalam Muruganantham worked on finding a solution for them. He went on to create the world’s first low-cost machine to produce sanitary pads. Today, several women from weaker sections of the society are able to benefit from his creation. For his innovation, the Government of India this year awarded Arunachalam Muruganantham with one of the country’s highest awards for civilians, the Padma Shri award.

“Education is a tool that one must use to empower the society. Do not use education just for finding a job. There are three kinds of people in the world – the under-educated, the little educated, and the highly educated. If a person with little educated can achieve this much, how much should the highly educated people achieve?” Arunachalam Muruganantham asked.

He shared with the audience that it took a lot of trial-and-error, and five years of hard work to create the low-cost machine to produce sanitary pads.

What is his advice to people who wish to make a difference in the world? “Think about society and its people. All your efforts and hard work must be directed towards them. Name, fame, and recognition will automatically find you,” Arunachalam Muruganantham said.