KOZHIKODE: The tumultuous life of Diana Lisy, the cobbler and philanthropist, could be watched on the screen soon. Dasan K. Perumanna is taking making a documentary based on the real life of the 39-year-old Shivani Patel turned Diana. The Rajasthan native reached here 25 years back along with her father due to the cruelty of her maternal uncles. According to Ms Diana, she was born in an affluent family of Jaipur, but the tiff over property led to the murder of her mother by her uncles.
They then poured acid on her face and along with her hapless father she fled there on the first train. The father and daughter reached Koyilandy and survived by doing odd jobs. One day, the father disappeared, and she was taken care of by Good Samaritans. Ms Diana moved to Kuttiadi, worked as a sweeper and later learned the art of mending sandals and making plastic flowers. She eked out a living as a cobbler in Perambra for the last 20 years.
"I saw many pathetic lives in front of me which made me spend a portion of the earnings for their welfare," she says. Though she bought a five-cent plot and a house in Perambra, it was given freely to a poor family later. She became an active volunteer of Daya palliative clinic in Perambra and used to provide textbooks and bags to students of Government Welfare L.P. School, Perambra, each year.
"When my life story got published in a vernacular magazine, many came forward to adopt me. Though I stayed with a family for a while I left there because of the calling of charity," she smiles. Mohammad Perambra, Anna Fathima, Kanakadas Perambra and others will share the screen space with Diana. Prashob Eagle is the cinematographer. The shoot will begin on August 15.
