When Arunachalam caught sight of his young wife hiding some rags, perhaps already used, from her husband, he asked her why she didn’t wear a sanitary napkin. The women also expose themselves to the risk of pelvic diseases, resulting from contamination. I cannot even begin to imagine the physical distress and pain that they invite upon themselves, not to mention the indignity of having to struggle, with shame, to cope with a perfectly natural circumstance. These women end up using rags, leaves of plants, husk, sawdust, even ash, to stem the monthly flow of blood. Spending it on buying a sanitary napkin seems like a waste of money when so many other needs are crying out loud. We women, who have the money to walk up to a medical store and whisper of our desire to be carefree and stay that way, know little of the horrors suffered by 95% of women who, if they had the money, would spend it on food and other necessities. His claim to fame: the manufacture of a low-cost sanitary napkin. Unsophisticated, with halting English, but superb wit, he has nevertheless earned himself the right to share his inspiring story as a visiting professor and guest lecturer at many business schools. I had read of Arunachalam Muruganantham a few months ago in an online newspaper, but the man’s inspiring story became more real when I saw his 14.59-minute video HERE. Recently I came to know of the third mother of Invention.

Even in cases where Necessity has given birth to Invention, there have been so many instances of the offspring being adopted by this other mother, she who thinks nothing of exploiting her children for lucre.

This mother is better known as profit or the pursuit of higher revenues. A far more popular mother is the one that urges the research and development departments of thousands of corporate firms. Necessity isn’t the only mother that Invention has.

Did they eat napkins in the movie spy?