Don't call me an acid attack survivor: Anmol Rodriguez to WION

Anmol Rodriguez, 25, is the happiest woman on earth. She has survived an acid attack but don't pity her - because she does not want you to. Her employers once told her 'we don't come to office to see that burnt face' and this smiling face has never shed a tear. Not even once. She'd rather put a smile on your face. This Instagram star has not only earned popularity but photo-shoots with her can cost you diamonds.

Left to fend for herself at an early age, Anmol has not only survived atrocities but all kinds of trauma there could be. Anmol was a couple of months old when her father threw acid on her mother after a fight between them. Baby Anmol was perched on her mother's lap and 2-3 drops fell on her. "My father was sent to jail and I was sent to an orphanage," she said.

Anmol waited for five years inside hospital buildings for someone to take her home but no one came, not even her relatives. Helpless hospital staff asked an orphanage to help with her upbringing. She faced discrimination at a time she didn't even understand what that term meant. Her face was a problem for many around her because everywhere normal is a beautiful fairface. "In school, stage performances were not allowed for me. I always wanted to perform on stage but they would not allow me and tell me that I was too young for that. But later I realised it was because of my face. And now the same people are very proud of me," said Anmol.

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Anmol was the brightest student of her class and always secured good grades and that's the reason she even completed higher studies with merit. But she again faced discrimination at workplace by colleagues who were less qualified than Anmol. In Anmol's case, physiognomy was more important than her graduate degree in computer science. "I had a cabin to myself at work but three months into the job my employers asked me to resign. I didn't even finish the six-month probation period. They told me that my co-workers had a problem with my face and they didn't come to work to see a burnt face. They said 'do we handle work pressure or this burnt face'. My face was a distraction for them," said Anmol.

Imagine waking up with the thought everyday and feeling that normal life is on a standby mode for a really long time. There were times when Anmol had to avoid public places. "In Mumbai local trains they would stare at me and in the ladies compartment they would give me look as if I am some alien. They would make faces and treated me like I'm untouchable." But Anmol kept her fight going and moved past all the stereotyping.

"While some would give me sympathy and others got inspired by me, if I held myself from going out and meeting people I would be a nobody but then I chose to live it up and now I have hundred thousand followers on Instagram. Initially, I was very scared with my head buried in my lap. I did not know how to face this. But now I say: 'Look I am a star now. Come and click selfies with me if you want'," said Anmol.

After features in ads with Bollywood biggies like Ranveer Singh and with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, Anmol is not just another celebrity but a woman with a powerful message: "Change your mentality and accept people the way they are. If anyone becomes a victim of acid attack it doesn't mean that they are a separate part of the society. Do not discriminate and accept them. Apart from being physically disturbed they are mentally disturbed. If people come and embrace them and give them courage to live well, they will feel good. Please make them a part of our society and don't shun them."