But this victim of the world's worst industrial disaster, who was chronically ill after the gas leak, managed to gather her life together even after her husband left her on the specious excuse that she had been unwell before their wedding.

Rashmi, who had got married to B. Swami in March 1984, just nine months before the world's worst industrial disaster that has killed an estimated 20,000 people over the last 20 years, got over the multiple crises in her life.

In 1994, she went to China and lived there for three years, mastering the Chinese therapy of acupuncture - breaking away from the past and becoming a profile in courage for other gas victims.

The separation with her husband had proved to be the turning point of her life. "I wanted to do something big. I wanted to achieve something," she says. 

Rashmi took several medicines but they had proved futile in curing her. She finally visited a doctor in this city who practised acupuncture. "I underwent treatment for three years and got some relief," she says. 

She was so impressed by the treatment that she decided to become an acupuncture expert herself and travelled to China.

But before studying the treatment in China, Rashmi had to master the language. "That was a Herculean task. After all, the Chinese script has 10,000 characters whereas English has only 26 alphabets," she says.

Now when Rashmi, 52, is not treating patients at her government clinic, she is treating patients in the clinic at her house by acupuncture. She treats 10 to 15 patients every day.

But the past lives on.

Rashmi and her husband were both ayurveda doctors in government hospitals on that cold December night two decades ago. The couple lived in Bada Imambada locality, a short distance away from the pesticide manufacturing plant.

Recalling the night, Rashmi says: "We woke up at midnight coughing and vomiting. We went to the terrace. From there the Union Carbide plant was visible and we saw white smoke billowing into the sky."

What she was seeing was 40 tonnes of deadly methyl-isocyanate (MIC) gas leaking  from the plant. Over 3,000 people were killed instantly. About 500,000 people who were exposed to the gas still continue to suffer from several ailments.

Unlike thousands of people of Bhopal, Rashmi knew that pesticides were manufactured in the plant. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the couple covered their faces with wet towels and left the house on a scooter. 

They returned to their house on the following day. But life was not same for Rashmi anymore.

She could neither breath properly nor do any work. She also started suffering from various gynaecological problems.

"I was shocked when my husband, instead of being sympathetic, accused me of being chronically ill. He said that I was suffering from the problems even before the marriage. He was not ready to believe that the MIC was responsible for all my ailments. I tried to convince him but failed," said Rashmi.

"We finally got separated three years later. Life was becoming too traumatic for me," she says.

Today Rashmi leads a lonely life. Her parents, with whom she lived after her separation, have died. Her sister and brother live in different towns.

"Sometimes, I feel depressed. I have no one to share my happiness or grievances with. But despite all these facts, I am content. I feel that I have achieved something in life. And I think the gas leak is responsible for the change in my life," she says.

--Indo-Asian News Service