"I was always into cooking, but upped my game after becoming a mother"

"Like all new parents, we were happy when our daughter was born. She was a beautiful baby with sharp features, and the nurses complimented her, saying she would become a supermodel one day! After much deliberation, we named our daughter Alveera Sultana, which means the speaker of truth.

Struggle with hearing loss

I stayed with my parents during my delivery, so after we got discharged from the hospital, I moved back to my husband’s place in Goalpara, Assam. Alveera’s developmental milestones seemed to be on track till she was 6 months old. It was then that my mother-in-law noticed something was amiss with Alveera, as she wasn’t responding to sounds. So, we took her to a pediatrician, who suggested a few hearing tests to check for ear infection.

Alveera was diagnosed with severe hearing loss in both ears. We started speech therapy for her with high-powered hearing aids, but she still didn’t respond. The doctors suggested cochlear implant surgery. When Alveera was 1.5 years old, she underwent a 4.5-hour surgery.

Autism screening and the realization

After a month, her outer hearing unit was fixed, but even then she was not responsive to sound. We were clueless. After a lot of research and tests, she was diagnosed with autism. Her deafness and autism left us totally shattered. I moved to my parents’ place to provide her with better medical facilities, while my husband stayed back in Goalpara for his job. The next five years were an ordeal for my small family, as we stayed separately.

By the time she was 2, I realized that our daughter wouldn’t be like other children. She was nonverbal and had extreme mood swings. She wouldn’t look into our eyes when we spoke to her, and wouldn’t even respond when we called out her name.

My kitchen is my safe haven

Amid all the chaos, the one thing that kept me sane is my passion for cooking. I was always interested in cooking, but I upped my cooking game after becoming a mother. Alveera eats when she likes the taste of the food, or else it goes straight out of her mouth! She is my biggest critic too. The kitchen is my safe haven, and I love to express myself through food.

My first brush with cooking shows was a local cooking contest, Grihini Superstar. I joined the show on a whim and was the second runner-up. So, when the latest season of MasterChef India was announced and there were auditions in Guwahati, I just had to join. The challenging part was when I was asked to be present for the Kolkata auditions with a cooked dish. I got up early, prepared the dish, packed it, and got on the flight to Kolkata, along with my husband and daughter. As parents of children with special needs would know, traveling by flight with an autistic child can be a harrowing experience. I somehow managed to overcome that.

My daughter is my first priority

I was very happy when I reached MasterChef’s Top 16. But then, I had to travel to Mumbai for a few days for shooting. My husband decided to take a break from work to take care of Alveera so I could go to Mumbai. I managed to impress the judges with a savory Japanese Soufflé Pancake. They praised my presentation and cooking skills.

Every evening, after shooting, whenever I talked to my husband, I could feel the struggle he was facing. As our daughter was used to being around me more, she was finding it difficult too. Then, when she fell ill, I decided to end my journey on the show and flew back home. However, the organizers wanted me to reenter the show—they were considerate of my circumstances and ready to accommodate my daughter’s special needs. After much thought and support from my husband and the family, my husband and 7-year-old Alveera traveled to Mumbai with me so I could participate in the show again.

However, I couldn’t continue for long. Alveera was having a hard time getting used to the new place, and the change in food caused a lot of stomach issues and a change in her behavior. Every day I had to be at the shoot from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and it was very difficult for my daughter to adjust. She was giving a hard time to my husband. He could not even go to the washroom in peace, as she needed him every second! Ultimately, it didn’t work out for me, and I had to come back. Despite these issues, we managed to squeeze some time for ourselves before we left Mumbai, and those days spent together, playing on the beach and eating out would remain one of my fondest memories.

Many people advised us to opt for a second child, but the fear of not being able to take care of our daughter made us think otherwise. As parents of many children with special needs would say, their special child may not be able to express their feelings like other children, but you can still understand their emotions. While I continue to dream big and want to make a mark in the culinary world, I would like to give a better environment and learning experience to our daughter. As resources for children with special needs are limited in our home state, we would love to relocate to a place where our daughter could have the best resources and help possible.

- By Nazia Sultana

(As told to Monali Bordoloi)