Woman porter Rizwana becomes the toast of Indian idol

Mysuru: The saga of Rizwana, probably only railway porter in the country, has moved the hearts of people across the country. Thanks to Indian Idol, her story of toil and sacrifices have gone viral.

Rizwana hails from a poor family in Kyatamaranahalli in Mysuru city. After the death of her husband Javed Pasha in 2010, she took up the job of porter in spite of her strong inclination against foraying into a male bastion . But the death of lone breadwinner of the family forced her to change her mind.

Speaking to The Hans India on Thursday, Rizwana said that initially she was hesitant to take up the job. She tried her hand at other jobs, but did not find any of them suitable. But she had to venture into a purely male bastion to raise her four children.

She said the other porters, about 54 of them at the Mysuru railway station, were very kind to her. After three of her four children got married, she is staying with her younger son in a rented house. In the beginning she earned well. But after the installation of an escalator at the railway station there is a dent in her daily income. Her work starts at 5 in the morning and ends at 5 in the evening.

Rizwana's toils brought her fame and got her invitation to attend Indian Idol 12 last week. Rizwana's episode was telecast as part of 'Ladies Special' show in which women from different parts of the country came to support their favorite singers.

One of these women was Rizwana, who came to the show to support Mohammad Danish. Her story left every one teary-eyed. The anchor of the show Aditya Narayan also became emotional. Saluting her spirit, Aditya, son of popular Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan, gave Rizwana his fee for the show. "Now your 4 children have become children of Indian Idol. I would like to give my earnings for today's episode to your children," Aditya announced.

Aditya Narayan charges about Rs 2.5 lakh to host each Indian Idol episode.