Ability Forum

[srividyaa]

Visual impairment: Became blind at 15 years

He plays cricket, goes on mountain treks, works with TATA Steel, studies and teaches computer applications, goes to the gym in the evening after work and then, at home, plays with his four-year-old daughter. Sounds like an average adventurous bourgeois Indian family man, doesn't he? He is, only with one exception. Atul Sahay lives his life without seeing what he is doing.

Born in northern Bihar, Sahay moved with his parents to the North-eastern region of India as a child. During his school years, Sahay developed eye-related problems that resulted in loss of vision in one eye when he was just 15 years of age. However, that did not hamper him from graduating in Economics from a university in Shillong.

The loss of his second eye, during college, may have come as a shock to the rest of the family but not to Sahay, who was ready for the worst. "I was ready for blindness even before they removed the bandages from around my eyes," he recalls with a slight smile. As he had not learnt Braille at the time, Sahay used audiocassettes for his study material. He also devised innovative methods, such as drawing diagrams with wires and pins on a pin board, as an aid to remembering things!

During his youth, Sahay was involved with various social activities and voluntary work, during the course of which he met several visually challenged people. It was the courage and determination of those people that taught this young student a lesson he would never forget. "After losing my vision, I had very little time to get rehabilitated. I remembered all those blind people I had met and told myself that if they could do it, so could I." He adds with pride, "I was the first blind student to complete a postgraduation degree from North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong."

Sports, studies and extracurricular activities in college were definitely a challenge after losing his sight, but friends, teachers and well wishers always provided encouragement and support. "My teachers initially had reservations about me; after seeing my ability, they treated me like a normal student," Sahay reminisces. "My friends would not tolerate me sitting in a different room to write my exams. They included me in everything as though nothing had changed."

The real test of his ability came after Sahay finished college. He joined TATA Steel as an officer in 1992, and began his steady climb upwards. In 1997, he was promoted to the post of a Senior Officer and became an Asst Manager in 2000. In 1998, on a trip to Bangkok, Sahay had come across JAWS for Windows, a software that changed his life. It revolutionised the way he communicated with the world at large. From that point on he used JAWS (for communicating electronically and accessing/creating digital texts) and a scanner in conjunction with OCR for all his reading material. He felt he was now fully equipped for his job.

The turning point in his career came in 2001 when the company assessed its employees in a development workshop. The visually disabled Asst Manager was assessed on the same level as his non-disabled colleagues, and his performance was way ahead of most of them. He was found to possess all the 13 managerial competencies that the officers were tested for, with highest score of 4.5/5 on 'Learning Ability'. Out of turn, Sahay was promoted to the prestigious post of Unit Leader, Information Training and Communication!

"People knew I could work hard but it did not occur to them that I could excel. With the introduction and implementation of Performance Ethics, many of my seniors became juniors overnight," he adds with pride. Sahay's climb did not stagnate there.

His outstanding performance and continual growth won him great repute from his employers. In 2003-04, he was one of 30 employees selected by TATA Steel to study for an Executive Diploma in General Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Sahay passed with a noteworthy grade - the first blind person in the country to do so.

For his management education at XLRI, he was allowed the use of a laptop and had all his study material scanned and saved on it. That gave him the liberty to access any material at any time, while the other students had to research libraries and study material for information.

How does he deal with his clients? The same way any one else would. "People don't question my ability."

In 1993, when Sahay was offered accommodation by TATA Steel, he - for personal reasons - preferred the first floor of a building to the ground floor. His colleagues felt that a ground floor would be "safer" for him. To change such perceptions, Sahay rallied forth to prove himself again, this time without books. His adventurous spirit lured him to the Himalayas, and he went on four treks, each of which was 13,000+ feet above sea level. "People felt that I couldn't climb to the first floor safely, so I climbed the Himalayas to show that human potential knows no bounds," he says, with tongue firmly in cheek.

Excellence, toughness and competence characterise Sahay at work and on the mountains, but not when he's playing with his four-year-old daughter. A family man, Sahay draws his strength from his encouraging wife and loving daughter. His parents are proud of their son and provide all the needed support a family can give. His family is his world.

Today he is an external auditor for ISO 9001, and Business Excellence Assessor at TATA Steel. His honorary assignments include responsibilities such as Vice President of the All India Chess Federation for the Blind, Honorary Secretary of Association of Cricket for the Blind (Eastern and North-Eastern zones), and Honorary Director, National Association for the Blind (Eastern India). But life does not stop there for him. He has travelled to many parts of the world, acquainting himself with best practices and methods to attain his goal. "We need to work hard to make a mark in this world. We must deliver. Society thinks us incapable of productive work. We have to prove ourselves and nothing comes without hard work." Emphatically spoken by one who has lived it out himself.

His dream? To bring the latest and the best in computer software to the several million visually challenged people in India. Sahay believes that the world of computers has a lot to offer to blind people in India. With the help of technology, a visually challenged person can access information and education, and carve out his lifestyle in a mainstream world. Sahay hopes for a technological revolution that would redefine life for a sightless person.

For a man who has carved a niche for himself in mainstream society, the fulfilment of this dream would be an ultimate source of satisfaction.

source: www.eyeway.org
Source: sayeverything group

Visual impairment: Became blind at 15 years

He plays cricket, goes on mountain treks, works with TATA Steel, studies and teaches computer applications, goes to the gym in the evening after work and then, at home, plays with his four-year-old daughter. Sounds like an average adventurous bourgeois Indian family man, doesn't he? He is, only with one exception. Atul Sahay lives his life without seeing what he is doing.

Born in northern Bihar, Sahay moved with his parents to the North-eastern region of India as a child. During his school years, Sahay developed eye-related problems that resulted in loss of vision in one eye when he was just 15 years of age. However, that did not hamper him from graduating in Economics from a university in Shillong.

The loss of his second eye, during college, may have come as a shock to the rest of the family but not to Sahay, who was ready for the worst. "I was ready for blindness even before they removed the bandages from around my eyes," he recalls with a slight smile. As he had not learnt Braille at the time, Sahay used audiocassettes for his study material. He also devised innovative methods, such as drawing diagrams with wires and pins on a pin board, as an aid to remembering things!

During his youth, Sahay was involved with various social activities and voluntary work, during the course of which he met several visually challenged people. It was the courage and determination of those people that taught this young student a lesson he would never forget. "After losing my vision, I had very little time to get rehabilitated. I remembered all those blind people I had met and told myself that if they could do it, so could I." He adds with pride, "I was the first blind student to complete a postgraduation degree from North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong."

Sports, studies and extracurricular activities in college were definitely a challenge after losing his sight, but friends, teachers and well wishers always provided encouragement and support. "My teachers initially had reservations about me; after seeing my ability, they treated me like a normal student," Sahay reminisces. "My friends would not tolerate me sitting in a different room to write my exams. They included me in everything as though nothing had changed."

The real test of his ability came after Sahay finished college. He joined TATA Steel as an officer in 1992, and began his steady climb upwards. In 1997, he was promoted to the post of a Senior Officer and became an Asst Manager in 2000. In 1998, on a trip to Bangkok, Sahay had come across JAWS for Windows, a software that changed his life. It revolutionised the way he communicated with the world at large. From that point on he used JAWS (for communicating electronically and accessing/creating digital texts) and a scanner in conjunction with OCR for all his reading material. He felt he was now fully equipped for his job.

The turning point in his career came in 2001 when the company assessed its employees in a development workshop. The visually disabled Asst Manager was assessed on the same level as his non-disabled colleagues, and his performance was way ahead of most of them. He was found to possess all the 13 managerial competencies that the officers were tested for, with highest score of 4.5/5 on 'Learning Ability'. Out of turn, Sahay was promoted to the prestigious post of Unit Leader, Information Training and Communication!

"People knew I could work hard but it did not occur to them that I could excel. With the introduction and implementation of Performance Ethics, many of my seniors became juniors overnight," he adds with pride. Sahay's climb did not stagnate there.

His outstanding performance and continual growth won him great repute from his employers. In 2003-04, he was one of 30 employees selected by TATA Steel to study for an Executive Diploma in General Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Sahay passed with a noteworthy grade - the first blind person in the country to do so.

For his management education at XLRI, he was allowed the use of a laptop and had all his study material scanned and saved on it. That gave him the liberty to access any material at any time, while the other students had to research libraries and study material for information.

How does he deal with his clients? The same way any one else would. "People don't question my ability."

In 1993, when Sahay was offered accommodation by TATA Steel, he - for personal reasons - preferred the first floor of a building to the ground floor. His colleagues felt that a ground floor would be "safer" for him. To change such perceptions, Sahay rallied forth to prove himself again, this time without books. His adventurous spirit lured him to the Himalayas, and he went on four treks, each of which was 13,000+ feet above sea level. "People felt that I couldn't climb to the first floor safely, so I climbed the Himalayas to show that human potential knows no bounds," he says, with tongue firmly in cheek.

Excellence, toughness and competence characterise Sahay at work and on the mountains, but not when he's playing with his four-year-old daughter. A family man, Sahay draws his strength from his encouraging wife and loving daughter. His parents are proud of their son and provide all the needed support a family can give. His family is his world.

Today he is an external auditor for ISO 9001, and Business Excellence Assessor at TATA Steel. His honorary assignments include responsibilities such as Vice President of the All India Chess Federation for the Blind, Honorary Secretary of Association of Cricket for the Blind (Eastern and North-Eastern zones), and Honorary Director, National Association for the Blind (Eastern India). But life does not stop there for him. He has travelled to many parts of the world, acquainting himself with best practices and methods to attain his goal. "We need to work hard to make a mark in this world. We must deliver. Society thinks us incapable of productive work. We have to prove ourselves and nothing comes without hard work." Emphatically spoken by one who has lived it out himself.

His dream? To bring the latest and the best in computer software to the several million visually challenged people in India. Sahay believes that the world of computers has a lot to offer to blind people in India. With the help of technology, a visually challenged person can access information and education, and carve out his lifestyle in a mainstream world. Sahay hopes for a technological revolution that would redefine life for a sightless person.

For a man who has carved a niche for himself in mainstream society, the fulfilment of this dream would be an ultimate source of satisfaction.

source: www.eyeway.org
Source: sayeverything group

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[srividyaa]

Illness has not stopped her from reaching out to people. Confined to a wheelchair, Rabia has overcome many hurdles to be where she is today.Abdul Latheef Naha

She is the Mother Teresa of Kerala. Had she been born into Christianity, she would have been beatified by now. These were the remarks of cultural leaders of Kerala to extol K.V. Rabia, the village woman from Malappuram who rose to global fame by kindling the light of knowledge to hundreds of illiterates, despite being confined to a wheelchair.

Many awards

The country celebrated Rabia in the last two decades by bestowing many an honour on her, including the National Youth Award of 1993, the maiden Kannagi Sthree Shakti Award of 1999, the United Nations Development Programme Award of 2000, and the Joseph Mundassery Award of 2010.

Recognition took Rabia to pinnacles of fame. Books were written about her, and documentaries made her famous. Struck by polio, she has not walked since she was 14.

Having survived a cancer attack at age 32, Rabia broke her backbone in a miserable fall in the bathroom five years later. “It was that fall which cost me so dearly that I continue to suffer its after-effects,” says Rabia. Once described by her teachers as a “tape recorder” for her excellent memory, she has been suffering memory loss after the fall. The incident paralysed her below the neck, totally incapacitating her for several years. For six months, she was confined to a waterbed. Diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol followed thereafter. A drastic change in food intake led to peptic ulcer, which currently annoys her more than anything else.

Today, Rabia cannot hold a telephone receiver for five minutes. “My hands are so weak I cannot even hold a book properly for a few minutes,” she says. She has been advised against using cell phone because of her cancer history. She keeps herself away from computers too for health reasons. Yet her inner spirit burns bright and indomitable. “I don't give too much importance to this temporal life. I will continue to serve society the best way I can… and what matters more is the life after,” Rabia says, reposing an unflinching faith in God.

Fighting the odds

She says the fall she suffered seven years ago was a blessing in disguise. Incapacitation and immobility brought her much-needed peace and quietude, and she eventually became spiritual. She no longer attends any functions. The number of people visiting her at Vellilakkad near Tirurangadi has come down. But her heroic fight against odds has found its way to the textbooks of Stds. IV and V.

Students and teachers who visit her after reading her story in the textbooks are in awe as Rabia tells them the importance of acquiring knowledge both temporal and spiritual. “Never be proud and arrogant when God showers you with blessings; and never whine when God tests you with troubles and crises,” she tells her visitors.

The knowledge-imparting movement she began several years ago pulls on today, though not with the same verve and vigour. The organisation called Chalanam (meaning “movement” in Malayalam) she gave shape to made a lasting impact in the region. Under her patronage, as many as 200 volunteers joined Chalanam, and this organisation runs six schools for the physically challenged.

Rabia could mobilise 60 neighbourhoods as part of a programme she initiated for women's empowerment even before the popular Kudumbasree movement came into existence. They experimented in many things, including paper works, envelopes, pickle, and handicrafts. Currently Rabia manages a Jan Sikshan Sansthan (JSS) unit, offering several job-oriented courses to women, including saree designing and electronic repair works.

Apart from coordinating several village industries for women, she manages a women's library as well. The village of Vellilakkad owes much to Rabia for facilities like road, power and water supply it got some years ago. The State Government has made her a promise — that it will do something to prevent soil erosion taking place behind her house.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article2037693.ece?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4dd93a6e4007bc34%2C1

Illness has not stopped her from reaching out to people. Confined to a wheelchair, Rabia has overcome many hurdles to be where she is today.Abdul Latheef Naha

She is the Mother Teresa of Kerala. Had she been born into Christianity, she would have been beatified by now. These were the remarks of cultural leaders of Kerala to extol K.V. Rabia, the village woman from Malappuram who rose to global fame by kindling the light of knowledge to hundreds of illiterates, despite being confined to a wheelchair.

Many awards

The country celebrated Rabia in the last two decades by bestowing many an honour on her, including the National Youth Award of 1993, the maiden Kannagi Sthree Shakti Award of 1999, the United Nations Development Programme Award of 2000, and the Joseph Mundassery Award of 2010.

Recognition took Rabia to pinnacles of fame. Books were written about her, and documentaries made her famous. Struck by polio, she has not walked since she was 14.

Having survived a cancer attack at age 32, Rabia broke her backbone in a miserable fall in the bathroom five years later. “It was that fall which cost me so dearly that I continue to suffer its after-effects,” says Rabia. Once described by her teachers as a “tape recorder” for her excellent memory, she has been suffering memory loss after the fall. The incident paralysed her below the neck, totally incapacitating her for several years. For six months, she was confined to a waterbed. Diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol followed thereafter. A drastic change in food intake led to peptic ulcer, which currently annoys her more than anything else.

Today, Rabia cannot hold a telephone receiver for five minutes. “My hands are so weak I cannot even hold a book properly for a few minutes,” she says. She has been advised against using cell phone because of her cancer history. She keeps herself away from computers too for health reasons. Yet her inner spirit burns bright and indomitable. “I don't give too much importance to this temporal life. I will continue to serve society the best way I can… and what matters more is the life after,” Rabia says, reposing an unflinching faith in God.

Fighting the odds

She says the fall she suffered seven years ago was a blessing in disguise. Incapacitation and immobility brought her much-needed peace and quietude, and she eventually became spiritual. She no longer attends any functions. The number of people visiting her at Vellilakkad near Tirurangadi has come down. But her heroic fight against odds has found its way to the textbooks of Stds. IV and V.

Students and teachers who visit her after reading her story in the textbooks are in awe as Rabia tells them the importance of acquiring knowledge both temporal and spiritual. “Never be proud and arrogant when God showers you with blessings; and never whine when God tests you with troubles and crises,” she tells her visitors.

The knowledge-imparting movement she began several years ago pulls on today, though not with the same verve and vigour. The organisation called Chalanam (meaning “movement” in Malayalam) she gave shape to made a lasting impact in the region. Under her patronage, as many as 200 volunteers joined Chalanam, and this organisation runs six schools for the physically challenged.

Rabia could mobilise 60 neighbourhoods as part of a programme she initiated for women's empowerment even before the popular Kudumbasree movement came into existence. They experimented in many things, including paper works, envelopes, pickle, and handicrafts. Currently Rabia manages a Jan Sikshan Sansthan (JSS) unit, offering several job-oriented courses to women, including saree designing and electronic repair works.

Apart from coordinating several village industries for women, she manages a women's library as well. The village of Vellilakkad owes much to Rabia for facilities like road, power and water supply it got some years ago. The State Government has made her a promise — that it will do something to prevent soil erosion taking place behind her house.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article2037693.ece?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4dd93a6e4007bc34%2C1

[srividyaa]

Bangalore:
The wheelchair has stopped IISc professor Atul Chokshi from leading a dynamic life. He has won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award, country's highest science award, for his contribution to metallurgy. Every day, he commutes more than 8 kilometres in his wheelchair and never misses his lab and class. To do his bit for the disabled, he is also working on building India's cheapest wheelchair.

A road accident in March, 2001, made him a paraplegic (a person who suffers complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs). Chokshi recalls, “It was right in front of IISc gate when a lorry came and hit me from behind.” He underwent surgery and thereafter restricted to a wheelchair. “But there was no choice for me. I had to fight back. I rejoined IISc in August, 2001.”

When he resumed work, he felt the need for a better wheelchair. He bought one from the US by paying Rs one lakh. He says, “But not everybody in India can afford such wheelchairs.” That's why he has set out to build India's cheapest wheelchair. He is using his expertise in metallurgy to find cost-effective metal components to build an economical and light-weight wheelchair.

He has also been working with the Association of People with Disability to create a website which offers information about restaurants, movie theaters and offices that offering ramps or any supporting  structures for the disabled.

Chokshi is determined to see the positives in life. “Fortunately, the upper parts of my body have strength and I use them fully.

The IISc administration is also very supportive. They let me have my office in the ground floor.”

Talking about the differentially-abled people in India, he states, “We don't need pity. What we need is to be part of normal social life and to contribute and participate.”

Source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/2011052920110529013114137522d5fc7/Racing-ahead-in-his-wheelchair.html

Bangalore:
The wheelchair has stopped IISc professor Atul Chokshi from leading a dynamic life. He has won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award, country's highest science award, for his contribution to metallurgy. Every day, he commutes more than 8 kilometres in his wheelchair and never misses his lab and class. To do his bit for the disabled, he is also working on building India's cheapest wheelchair.

A road accident in March, 2001, made him a paraplegic (a person who suffers complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs). Chokshi recalls, “It was right in front of IISc gate when a lorry came and hit me from behind.” He underwent surgery and thereafter restricted to a wheelchair. “But there was no choice for me. I had to fight back. I rejoined IISc in August, 2001.”

When he resumed work, he felt the need for a better wheelchair. He bought one from the US by paying Rs one lakh. He says, “But not everybody in India can afford such wheelchairs.” That's why he has set out to build India's cheapest wheelchair. He is using his expertise in metallurgy to find cost-effective metal components to build an economical and light-weight wheelchair.

He has also been working with the Association of People with Disability to create a website which offers information about restaurants, movie theaters and offices that offering ramps or any supporting  structures for the disabled.

Chokshi is determined to see the positives in life. “Fortunately, the upper parts of my body have strength and I use them fully.

The IISc administration is also very supportive. They let me have my office in the ground floor.”

Talking about the differentially-abled people in India, he states, “We don't need pity. What we need is to be part of normal social life and to contribute and participate.”

Source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/2011052920110529013114137522d5fc7/Racing-ahead-in-his-wheelchair.html

[srividyaa]

The first thing that strikes you when you meet Bhavna Botta is how full of smiles she is.

So, it's not surprising to hear that she was voted Miss Smiley — and Miss Final Year — at her B.A. Corporate Secretaryship department farewell party. What is remarkable, however, is her journey to completing this college degree.

Unique system

Bhavna was born with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, which means she is unable to walk, write by hand, or communicate verbally. Yet, she has defied all odds to complete her Class XII exams from a mainstream institution, and now her Bachelor's degree, all using a unique system of communication by ‘eye-pointing'.

“She is definitely the first person in India — and possibly in the world — to have finished a college degree using the eye-pointing system,” says Kalpana, her mother.

With this system, Bhavana communicates — and writes her exams — using a chart of alphabets in numbered columns, spelling out what she wants to say by pointing at the columns with her eyes.

The chart was developed specially for her at Vidyasagar in Chennai, where she studied until Class X, and that's what she uses during this interview as well, spelling out her answers so rapidly at times that Kalpana can't keep up.

Foremost on her mind is her emotional parting with M. Thavamani, her principal at the Ethiraj College, Chennai, who retired recently, and whom she went to college to say goodbye to.

“It was a very unique feeling,” says Bhavna, “something I've never experienced before.”

Thavamani describes the meeting in touchingly similar terms: “It was a very emotional moment for both of us; I can't begin to express the kind of affection Bhavna's shown me, the department and her classmates.”

She adds: “When I first met the child, I did wonder if she would be able to manage. But today I can say that having been Bhavna's teacher — I taught her accountancy in her first year — is something I'm truly proud of in my career of 35 years.”

Like any youngster, Bhavna's fondest memories of her three years in college are of the friendships she formed and of all the fun she's had.

Loves friends

In fact, ask Bhavna about Ethiraj, and the word she spells out most often is ‘fun', amidst plenty of laughter, as she has her mother tell me about her adventures in learning to wear a sari, and her regular trips to the beach with her friends, even though the salt water played havoc with her wheelchair. “The wheelchair repair guy would keep shouting at me,” says Kalpana with a rueful laugh.

You'd think, then, that Bhavna would be happy to continue in college for a postgraduate degree, which is what her family has being trying to convince her to do. But her mind's made up (and it has been since she was in Class VIII) — Bhavna plans to start her own business.

Preparations on

“She's geared all her decisions towards this as long as I've known her, whether it was taking accountancy in Class XI or choosing Entrepreneurial Development as her elective in college,” says Meenakshi Subramanian, member of Vidyasagar's Disability Legislation Unit (DLU), and Bhavna's close friend and scribe.

She's already decided on the sort of business she's like to do — a socially responsible venture selling organic cotton and ahimsa silk saris and dress materials — and she has friends and family collecting information for her on different aspects.

Firm

But when Kalpana talks about family funding the venture, Bhavna protests vehemently — she's determined to start her business with a loan from the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) instead.

After all, her answer to my question “Why business?” was simply to spell out “independence”.

And, “What's the next step?” earns a similarly simple response: “Launching the business.”

With this plucky young woman's track record, you've got to believe it will happen, sooner rather than later.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2011/06/06/stories/2011060650800100.htm

The first thing that strikes you when you meet Bhavna Botta is how full of smiles she is.

So, it's not surprising to hear that she was voted Miss Smiley — and Miss Final Year — at her B.A. Corporate Secretaryship department farewell party. What is remarkable, however, is her journey to completing this college degree.

Unique system

Bhavna was born with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, which means she is unable to walk, write by hand, or communicate verbally. Yet, she has defied all odds to complete her Class XII exams from a mainstream institution, and now her Bachelor's degree, all using a unique system of communication by ‘eye-pointing'.

“She is definitely the first person in India — and possibly in the world — to have finished a college degree using the eye-pointing system,” says Kalpana, her mother.

With this system, Bhavana communicates — and writes her exams — using a chart of alphabets in numbered columns, spelling out what she wants to say by pointing at the columns with her eyes.

The chart was developed specially for her at Vidyasagar in Chennai, where she studied until Class X, and that's what she uses during this interview as well, spelling out her answers so rapidly at times that Kalpana can't keep up.

Foremost on her mind is her emotional parting with M. Thavamani, her principal at the Ethiraj College, Chennai, who retired recently, and whom she went to college to say goodbye to.

“It was a very unique feeling,” says Bhavna, “something I've never experienced before.”

Thavamani describes the meeting in touchingly similar terms: “It was a very emotional moment for both of us; I can't begin to express the kind of affection Bhavna's shown me, the department and her classmates.”

She adds: “When I first met the child, I did wonder if she would be able to manage. But today I can say that having been Bhavna's teacher — I taught her accountancy in her first year — is something I'm truly proud of in my career of 35 years.”

Like any youngster, Bhavna's fondest memories of her three years in college are of the friendships she formed and of all the fun she's had.

Loves friends

In fact, ask Bhavna about Ethiraj, and the word she spells out most often is ‘fun', amidst plenty of laughter, as she has her mother tell me about her adventures in learning to wear a sari, and her regular trips to the beach with her friends, even though the salt water played havoc with her wheelchair. “The wheelchair repair guy would keep shouting at me,” says Kalpana with a rueful laugh.

You'd think, then, that Bhavna would be happy to continue in college for a postgraduate degree, which is what her family has being trying to convince her to do. But her mind's made up (and it has been since she was in Class VIII) — Bhavna plans to start her own business.

Preparations on

“She's geared all her decisions towards this as long as I've known her, whether it was taking accountancy in Class XI or choosing Entrepreneurial Development as her elective in college,” says Meenakshi Subramanian, member of Vidyasagar's Disability Legislation Unit (DLU), and Bhavna's close friend and scribe.

She's already decided on the sort of business she's like to do — a socially responsible venture selling organic cotton and ahimsa silk saris and dress materials — and she has friends and family collecting information for her on different aspects.

Firm

But when Kalpana talks about family funding the venture, Bhavna protests vehemently — she's determined to start her business with a loan from the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) instead.

After all, her answer to my question “Why business?” was simply to spell out “independence”.

And, “What's the next step?” earns a similarly simple response: “Launching the business.”

With this plucky young woman's track record, you've got to believe it will happen, sooner rather than later.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2011/06/06/stories/2011060650800100.htm

[srividyaa]

June 17 2011 By Sharanya Gautam  

Chennai: At their monthly guest lectures, students at ISBR Business School in Uthandi learn about management strategies and market forces. But on Thursday, they got lessons in life from Preethi Srinivasan, a 31-yearold who was paralysed from the neck down following an accident.



“I am here as your worst-case scenario,” said Preethi, flashing her ready smile. “I want you to know that it doesn’t take much to be where I am, just a split second of misfortune.”



Preethi was an 18-year-old college student in Chennai when she took that trip with friends to Puducherry. “My friends and I were playing on the beach, when a receding wave knocked me down. I fell in the water and couldn’t get up,” she told the students. A competitive swimmer and member of the under-19 state women’s cricket team, Preethi had been a “winner” all her life, excelling at her lessons even as she devoted hours every day to practising for swimming competitions.



“Even when I was struggling to get up from my fall that day, my friends thought I was playing a prank on them. After all, I had been swimming since I was three,” she said. The wave had caused Preethi’s spinal cord to break and pierce a nerve in her neck, causing instant paralysis.



“I didn’t see any logical reason for my accident and all my achievements didn’t matter once I was on a wheelchair. I was not a winner anymore,” said Preethi, urging students to define their own version of success and happiness. She asked them to look beyond their bodies to assert their identity. “My disability changed the course of my life. Now, I am identified by it.”



Preethi, who is the only child of her parents, took some time off after her accident before she started taking on small writing assignments. A voracious reader, she now writes synopses and reviews of books for a few magazines, using the voice activated software on her computer. She is also studying for a bachelor’s degree in medical sociology at the University of Madras.

SOurce: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOICH/2011/06/17&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00303&ViewMode=HTML

Plegia.org

June 17 2011 By Sharanya Gautam  

Chennai: At their monthly guest lectures, students at ISBR Business School in Uthandi learn about management strategies and market forces. But on Thursday, they got lessons in life from Preethi Srinivasan, a 31-yearold who was paralysed from the neck down following an accident.



“I am here as your worst-case scenario,” said Preethi, flashing her ready smile. “I want you to know that it doesn’t take much to be where I am, just a split second of misfortune.”



Preethi was an 18-year-old college student in Chennai when she took that trip with friends to Puducherry. “My friends and I were playing on the beach, when a receding wave knocked me down. I fell in the water and couldn’t get up,” she told the students. A competitive swimmer and member of the under-19 state women’s cricket team, Preethi had been a “winner” all her life, excelling at her lessons even as she devoted hours every day to practising for swimming competitions.



“Even when I was struggling to get up from my fall that day, my friends thought I was playing a prank on them. After all, I had been swimming since I was three,” she said. The wave had caused Preethi’s spinal cord to break and pierce a nerve in her neck, causing instant paralysis.



“I didn’t see any logical reason for my accident and all my achievements didn’t matter once I was on a wheelchair. I was not a winner anymore,” said Preethi, urging students to define their own version of success and happiness. She asked them to look beyond their bodies to assert their identity. “My disability changed the course of my life. Now, I am identified by it.”



Preethi, who is the only child of her parents, took some time off after her accident before she started taking on small writing assignments. A voracious reader, she now writes synopses and reviews of books for a few magazines, using the voice activated software on her computer. She is also studying for a bachelor’s degree in medical sociology at the University of Madras.

SOurce: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOICH/2011/06/17&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00303&ViewMode=HTML

Plegia.org

[srividyaa]

Confined to a wheelchair since he was 15, paraplegic Saravana Kumar meets life head-on:;

There was nothing special about the evening of May 29, 1997. Saravana Kumar, who'd just given his Class 10 exams, headed out with friends to play hide and seek. Hours later, the class topper and sports lover was found crumpled on the ground. He had fallen off the terrace, hitting the sunshade on his way down. Life changed, irrevocably.

Gregarious Saravana, who harboured dreams of the IAS, marrying a doctor and living the good life, was confined to a bed, 24x7. “It was traumatic. I even contemplated suicide,” confesses Saravana, who is paralysed chest down. His only companion those days was The Hindu. “I would read it thrice every day, from the first story to the last,” he recalls.

Today, he runs a successful content writing enterprise from home. Saravana takes orders from companies in the U.S. and U.K., and employs six people, some physically challenged, from across the country. He also speaks to others like him to pep them up. But, the journey till here was arduous. Initially, it was difficult for the fiercely independent boy to accept his lot. It rankled that he needed help for everything. “Realisation slowly sunk in, and I decided to break out of my cocoon of self-pity. I told friends and family that they must accept what happened.”

Films as inspiration

Saravana has a passion for movies, and that's what came to his rescue. “‘Ghajini' and ‘Anbe Sivam' were huge influences. Like ‘Ghajini''s protagonist who had a memory span of 15 minutes, only 15 per cent of my body was in my control. And, ‘Anbe Sivam' taught me that whatever the situation, one can be of use to others,” he says.

So, he broke down his problems into achievable bits, and took a small step towards normality — he used his strength in academics to train others, some much older than him, for exams.

Friends and family formed a wonderful support system. “My parents helped me with everything, and never pressurised me. That got me out of depression. ” His school buddies came together to take him on a ‘normal' cinema outing — after eight long years. “It was exhilarating to smell my city, see the changes that had come about, and watch a movie on the big screen,” he smiles.

Saravana learnt to use the computer and move around on a wheelchair. He also tapped into a reserve of mental strength he never knew existed. He decided the computer would be his ticket to freedom. That's how content writing happened.

Now that he's come so far, what's his advice to others like him? “Accept your condition. It is okay to feel self-pity, but snap out of it fast. Explore the available options and immerse yourself in it. Keep negative thoughts aside. Dream, but realistically. And, set small achievable goals,” he urges. Most importantly, be prepared to face failure, he says. “We face more disappointments because we don't have too many successful models to follow. But, never let that bog you down.”

Saravana is pursuing a degree in public administration through distance education. He has a paper left, for the day he “drives and walks on callipers on his own”.

He hopes Coimbatore turns into a more disabled-friendly city. “When going out, I can't be fully independent, like paraplegics in some other countries are.” But, he tries his best. Recently, when in Chennai for an IPL match, his gang of friends had to walk back to the hotel. Though he's been told to walk only for 10 metres on his callipers, Saravana hit the 100 metre mark. “I wanted to push my body.”

He has read up about stem cell transplant and the cure it might offer people such as him. Until then, he's gone ahead and modified his car to cater to his needs. All the controls are in his hands, and he's waiting for a licence before he zooms off. He's also modified his room so he can be self-reliant. And, finally is working on a calliper-cum-walker that will help him climb stairs.

Saravana's favourite word is versatile. He explains, “That word was used in my school book to describe Rabindranath Tagore. I wanted to live that word!”

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2101513.ece#comments

Confined to a wheelchair since he was 15, paraplegic Saravana Kumar meets life head-on:;

There was nothing special about the evening of May 29, 1997. Saravana Kumar, who'd just given his Class 10 exams, headed out with friends to play hide and seek. Hours later, the class topper and sports lover was found crumpled on the ground. He had fallen off the terrace, hitting the sunshade on his way down. Life changed, irrevocably.

Gregarious Saravana, who harboured dreams of the IAS, marrying a doctor and living the good life, was confined to a bed, 24x7. “It was traumatic. I even contemplated suicide,” confesses Saravana, who is paralysed chest down. His only companion those days was The Hindu. “I would read it thrice every day, from the first story to the last,” he recalls.

Today, he runs a successful content writing enterprise from home. Saravana takes orders from companies in the U.S. and U.K., and employs six people, some physically challenged, from across the country. He also speaks to others like him to pep them up. But, the journey till here was arduous. Initially, it was difficult for the fiercely independent boy to accept his lot. It rankled that he needed help for everything. “Realisation slowly sunk in, and I decided to break out of my cocoon of self-pity. I told friends and family that they must accept what happened.”

Films as inspiration

Saravana has a passion for movies, and that's what came to his rescue. “‘Ghajini' and ‘Anbe Sivam' were huge influences. Like ‘Ghajini''s protagonist who had a memory span of 15 minutes, only 15 per cent of my body was in my control. And, ‘Anbe Sivam' taught me that whatever the situation, one can be of use to others,” he says.

So, he broke down his problems into achievable bits, and took a small step towards normality — he used his strength in academics to train others, some much older than him, for exams.

Friends and family formed a wonderful support system. “My parents helped me with everything, and never pressurised me. That got me out of depression. ” His school buddies came together to take him on a ‘normal' cinema outing — after eight long years. “It was exhilarating to smell my city, see the changes that had come about, and watch a movie on the big screen,” he smiles.

Saravana learnt to use the computer and move around on a wheelchair. He also tapped into a reserve of mental strength he never knew existed. He decided the computer would be his ticket to freedom. That's how content writing happened.

Now that he's come so far, what's his advice to others like him? “Accept your condition. It is okay to feel self-pity, but snap out of it fast. Explore the available options and immerse yourself in it. Keep negative thoughts aside. Dream, but realistically. And, set small achievable goals,” he urges. Most importantly, be prepared to face failure, he says. “We face more disappointments because we don't have too many successful models to follow. But, never let that bog you down.”

Saravana is pursuing a degree in public administration through distance education. He has a paper left, for the day he “drives and walks on callipers on his own”.

He hopes Coimbatore turns into a more disabled-friendly city. “When going out, I can't be fully independent, like paraplegics in some other countries are.” But, he tries his best. Recently, when in Chennai for an IPL match, his gang of friends had to walk back to the hotel. Though he's been told to walk only for 10 metres on his callipers, Saravana hit the 100 metre mark. “I wanted to push my body.”

He has read up about stem cell transplant and the cure it might offer people such as him. Until then, he's gone ahead and modified his car to cater to his needs. All the controls are in his hands, and he's waiting for a licence before he zooms off. He's also modified his room so he can be self-reliant. And, finally is working on a calliper-cum-walker that will help him climb stairs.

Saravana's favourite word is versatile. He explains, “That word was used in my school book to describe Rabindranath Tagore. I wanted to live that word!”

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2101513.ece#comments

[srividyaa]

He may have become a paraplegic after Mumbai's 7/11 blasts, but that hasn't stopped Chirag Chauhan from realising his dream of clearing the CA exam. He now works in a multinational bank and drives a customised car

While depressing news arrived on Saturday, with Sunder Singh Bisht and Ajay Sohram Verma, victims of the July 13 terror attack, succumbing to their injuries at JJ Hospital, a story of hope has emerged from the 7/11 blasts.



Chirag Chauhan, a 24 year-old Kandivli resident who survived the 7/11 terror attacks in 2006 but was left a paraplegic, has succeeded in not just clearing his Chartered Accountancy (CA) exam, but has also secured a job in a multinational bank.

Chauhan had taken a train to return from the CA firm where he was undergoing his Articleship training to his home in Kandivli on that ill-fated day. The blasts that occurred between Santacruz and Khar stations left him bound to a wheelchair.

Foreign particles from the blast continue to be embedded close to his trachea.

"I never thought, even in my wildest dreams, that that would be my last train journey," said Chauhan.
He now drives a customised car to work.

Chauhan pursued his dreams and qualified as a chartered accountant in May 2008, clearing the competitive exam in his very first attempt. A year and a half ago, he landed a job with a multinational bank as senior manager in the Internal Audit Department.

"Physically-challenged people like me have a normal life span too. To become an equal contributor to society, I had to keep the show going," said Chauhan, who lost his father when he was eighteen and lives with his elderly mother.

Remembering the early days of his ordeal, Chauhan said, "There were times when I was fighting with myself and searching for an answer. 'Why me?' I had questions, but no answers. I had to practice to sit on a wheelchair for four hours at a stretch, and then gradually increase the duration." Chauhan underwent rigorous rehabilitation training and said he had to put in extraordinary effort to carry out the most ordinary tasks."

Despite his strength of character and zeal, there were obstacles. "One company after another rejected me because I was physically impaired. They overlooked my education qualifications."

But Chauhan harbours no bitterness. "All said and done, I am grateful for what life has given me. I am still
healthy and welcome each day with a smile."

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/jul/240711-Chartered-Accountancy-Terror-victim-blast.htm

He may have become a paraplegic after Mumbai's 7/11 blasts, but that hasn't stopped Chirag Chauhan from realising his dream of clearing the CA exam. He now works in a multinational bank and drives a customised car

While depressing news arrived on Saturday, with Sunder Singh Bisht and Ajay Sohram Verma, victims of the July 13 terror attack, succumbing to their injuries at JJ Hospital, a story of hope has emerged from the 7/11 blasts.



Chirag Chauhan, a 24 year-old Kandivli resident who survived the 7/11 terror attacks in 2006 but was left a paraplegic, has succeeded in not just clearing his Chartered Accountancy (CA) exam, but has also secured a job in a multinational bank.

Chauhan had taken a train to return from the CA firm where he was undergoing his Articleship training to his home in Kandivli on that ill-fated day. The blasts that occurred between Santacruz and Khar stations left him bound to a wheelchair.

Foreign particles from the blast continue to be embedded close to his trachea.

"I never thought, even in my wildest dreams, that that would be my last train journey," said Chauhan.
He now drives a customised car to work.

Chauhan pursued his dreams and qualified as a chartered accountant in May 2008, clearing the competitive exam in his very first attempt. A year and a half ago, he landed a job with a multinational bank as senior manager in the Internal Audit Department.

"Physically-challenged people like me have a normal life span too. To become an equal contributor to society, I had to keep the show going," said Chauhan, who lost his father when he was eighteen and lives with his elderly mother.

Remembering the early days of his ordeal, Chauhan said, "There were times when I was fighting with myself and searching for an answer. 'Why me?' I had questions, but no answers. I had to practice to sit on a wheelchair for four hours at a stretch, and then gradually increase the duration." Chauhan underwent rigorous rehabilitation training and said he had to put in extraordinary effort to carry out the most ordinary tasks."

Despite his strength of character and zeal, there were obstacles. "One company after another rejected me because I was physically impaired. They overlooked my education qualifications."

But Chauhan harbours no bitterness. "All said and done, I am grateful for what life has given me. I am still
healthy and welcome each day with a smile."

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/jul/240711-Chartered-Accountancy-Terror-victim-blast.htm

[srividyaa]

New Delhi:
A 26-year-old 100 per cent visually impaired student from Kolkata has battled all odds to make it to the prestigious management school - IIM.

The IIM dream, chased by many but realised by few. 26-year-old Suresh Reddy from IIM Calcutta belongs to the select club. He was 13 years old when he lost his vision. His parents asked him to quit studies, but Reddy fought on. Armed with new technology and helped by friends, he cracked the IIM entrance - the first person with 100 per cent visual impairment to get admission into the elite management school.

"My credibility of carrying an IIM tag should compensate. If I say I am from x school people just walk off. If I am from IIM, people will pay at least one second attention. It is that one second that I am looking for," said Suresh Reddy.

In an intensely competitive world, Suresh spends his every waking hour on studies just to be at par. For many at IIM, he is an inspiration.

"Lots of people have told me that they find Suresh's story very inspiring and I agree, we thought we were the smart ones getting through IIM but look at this guy, he has achieved something," said Sri Vatsavan.

But it's not just the students of IIM Calcutta who see Suresh both as an inspiration, the institute too thinks he is both a challenge as well as an opportunity.

From scanners to e-books to giving extra attention, the institute too is finding ways to help Reddy.

"He has been also exemplary in his efforts to study and learn things," said Professor Prashant Mishra, Chairman, Post Gradutate Programme.

But above all, it's hope and self-belief that drives Reddy.

"I have no other choice but to be optimistic and at least to follow if not to lead," he said

source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/visually-impaired-student-makes-it-to-iim/169987-3.html

New Delhi:
A 26-year-old 100 per cent visually impaired student from Kolkata has battled all odds to make it to the prestigious management school - IIM.

The IIM dream, chased by many but realised by few. 26-year-old Suresh Reddy from IIM Calcutta belongs to the select club. He was 13 years old when he lost his vision. His parents asked him to quit studies, but Reddy fought on. Armed with new technology and helped by friends, he cracked the IIM entrance - the first person with 100 per cent visual impairment to get admission into the elite management school.

"My credibility of carrying an IIM tag should compensate. If I say I am from x school people just walk off. If I am from IIM, people will pay at least one second attention. It is that one second that I am looking for," said Suresh Reddy.

In an intensely competitive world, Suresh spends his every waking hour on studies just to be at par. For many at IIM, he is an inspiration.

"Lots of people have told me that they find Suresh's story very inspiring and I agree, we thought we were the smart ones getting through IIM but look at this guy, he has achieved something," said Sri Vatsavan.

But it's not just the students of IIM Calcutta who see Suresh both as an inspiration, the institute too thinks he is both a challenge as well as an opportunity.

From scanners to e-books to giving extra attention, the institute too is finding ways to help Reddy.

"He has been also exemplary in his efforts to study and learn things," said Professor Prashant Mishra, Chairman, Post Gradutate Programme.

But above all, it's hope and self-belief that drives Reddy.

"I have no other choice but to be optimistic and at least to follow if not to lead," he said

source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/visually-impaired-student-makes-it-to-iim/169987-3.html

[srividyaa]

Sometimes you meet people, who are authoritative, filled with leadership qualities, so much vibrance, energy, driving people left and right…oh! Wow!! I met so many such kinds everywhere including persons with disabilities. But when we meet Abha, you feel like quenching the thirst after radiant sun rays have played havoc on you! You don’t need frills then, you just need a home to relax, water to drink, home-made food to eat….am I right?  



    Well, meet Ms. Abha Khetarpal, aged eighteen (that’s when she started writing poetry in Hindi, so the way she has grown is just biological number), founder and principle counselor of Cross the Hurdles, a resource and counseling website for persons with disabilities, a triple masters degree holder, a teacher to the university level students, a compassionate company to her friends around the globe, a counsellor with a difference, above all a person with disability due to polio and suffering from post polio syndrome, above all, a loving friend and great woman!!

Abha contracted polio at the age of two and half years. Her parents being migrants from Burma were not aware of the disease and vaccine was not administered and she was affected with polio in a train journey. Nothing could be done really for the fatal loss which reduced Abha’s mobility completely and limiting her to wheelchair finally. My parents tried every thing Abha says with a determined acceptance and a loving tone, “There was a period when I got all, massages from pig fat to the innumerable assistive devices in the name of rehabilitation”- Abha confirms the plight of a person with disability even residing in capital of country and only daughter of academicians. “I am glad they were into academics.. I inherited the love towards studies naturally”- she reiterates like a happy student who understood the real fun in academics, which led her romance with studies and writing on various subjects including most intricate counseling, psychology, literature, poetry among other subjects like economics. “Teaching is my bread and butter i.e… sorry daal chawal”, Sweetly laughs Abha. She runs a coaching centre for graduate and post graduate level students, which is the career path she has chosen.




As  a kid, studies eluded her as schools were not accessible, they couldn’t include a person with disability. One school agreed finally, but post those schools again distance mode education. But acceptance of condition and adapting to it is so necessary, declares abha… that gives enough strength and see the life from different perspective. Numbers of surgeries were done on her including a spinal cord surgery to help her stabilize where now she has to live with 8 inch iron rod in her spine for the rest of her life. That’s the surgery that was prescribed to protect my lungs… Abha says matter-of-factly. Traversing the virtual world, like a fish in sea of smiling faces, who sees only ability but not disability, made Abha continue her writing and counseling with sheer determination to help others. She wanted to ease pain of others, make their journey easier and fun! Hence there was the birth of Cross the Hurdles www.crossthehurdles.com which is soon going to be a registered Non-profit. Abha is trying to get her romance with words in black and white…she is trying to get her books published. We see the accomplishments of a person, and say,,,What a wonderful work she has been doing! A friend said sometimes back, by saying so, people closes their share of responsibility and a common understanding and sharing and trying to respect and help. People just simply say- you are great, you can do that!!. Such things are common in every disabled person’s life, especially woman, their emotional needs are grossly neglected Abha says. To help many such persons who are living, buried in their own fear prisons, Abha started free counseling through her website. She believes in virtual counseling. When asked, “Will that be helpful?” She confidently says, “YES…they confide in a voice than a person who is face-to- face and sometimes they confess their innermost fears, including their sexuality problems etc…” Kudos to Abha, who is doing the job of listening patiently, she puts an unimaginable 30 hours per week on social work, without expecting anything in return. It’s my job; she answers calmly, “I can understand us better!”- is Abha’s motto in continuing her relentless counseling sessions. “Now I don’t plan too much, Abha says with enlightened acceptance, I like to do one by one, to the extent of my energy, I don’t fear anything anymore”- Abha confirms.



career is one problem many persons with disabilities facing on a daily basis, Abha sighs. Most of the options available are not accessible at all, and if they are, most of the disabled can’t afford it! She is of the opinion that, India needs many more committed leaders with the same focus so that many students with disabilities can contribute in the process of development.

    “Marriage and finding a companion is another problem we face”, she opines. “We are not a society conducive to open talk about issues and further the expectation on a wife/companion is much higher with a stereotype belief that women with disabilities are a burden, they can’t bear children. That belief is there among disabled men also”- Abha says with a wry smile. “Society thinks a Pwd is asexual, family thinks we only have career needs, men with disabilities think they can love us only if we are not disabled, friends think we are great… all leading sometimes to our own self-portrait more scary than we really are!’ Abha summates her experiences in a nutshell. And further adds, “I don’t want any disabled person to succumb to helplessness and deep depression. I wish to help as many as I can to come out of that abyss!”

DSCN0214

This is the journey of simpleton Abha Khetarpal, a small, slow and sure candle turning into great radiance, that’s what her name means- Radiance. ““now days, I don’t plan too much, Abha says with enlightened acceptance. “I like to do one by one, to the extent of my energy, I don’t fear anything anymore”- Abha confirms. On responding to question how she wishes to death should knock her door, she says, “While I am sleeping!!” and what her epitaph should say, she answers instantly-

    “ABHA OR THE RADIANCE WOULD NEVER DIMINISH!”

You can read more about her views and news on www.crossthehurdles.com and www.abhakhetarpal.in Talking to Abha made me think about Lov’Ability of disability. Presenting my version of sheer respect to the hidden love that world needs!


Lovable Ability….





Tell me why? Oh why?

Your body decides your fate…??

Not your mind and heart anymore?

What if you have imperfect in body?

Where it is a hindrance in enjoying life To the fullest…!!

Why love has to be conditional

And why life has to be irrational??

All questions… Leading and loading in my mind…

Everyone says they want love…

Peace and bliss… a belongingness Truly they can call their own…

Tell me friends…

if anywhere they say They want a perfect physical form…

If form decides ….

The cool breeze you are in

The slow, comfortable silence

The depths you feel in a soothing voice…

The way you relieve your stress…

Like a warm support out of frozen life…

My dear friend…

it has nothing to do With a hour glass figure

Or a legacy you are not sure you wish to carry!!

LOVE THE ABILITY… TO CARE AND SHARE

LIFE IS FOR BLISS…NOT FOR BIAS!!

© Sai Padma Murthy,

Source: http://lotusbeats.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/abha-khetarpal-a-counselor-with-a-difference/

Sometimes you meet people, who are authoritative, filled with leadership qualities, so much vibrance, energy, driving people left and right…oh! Wow!! I met so many such kinds everywhere including persons with disabilities. But when we meet Abha, you feel like quenching the thirst after radiant sun rays have played havoc on you! You don’t need frills then, you just need a home to relax, water to drink, home-made food to eat….am I right?  



    Well, meet Ms. Abha Khetarpal, aged eighteen (that’s when she started writing poetry in Hindi, so the way she has grown is just biological number), founder and principle counselor of Cross the Hurdles, a resource and counseling website for persons with disabilities, a triple masters degree holder, a teacher to the university level students, a compassionate company to her friends around the globe, a counsellor with a difference, above all a person with disability due to polio and suffering from post polio syndrome, above all, a loving friend and great woman!!

Abha contracted polio at the age of two and half years. Her parents being migrants from Burma were not aware of the disease and vaccine was not administered and she was affected with polio in a train journey. Nothing could be done really for the fatal loss which reduced Abha’s mobility completely and limiting her to wheelchair finally. My parents tried every thing Abha says with a determined acceptance and a loving tone, “There was a period when I got all, massages from pig fat to the innumerable assistive devices in the name of rehabilitation”- Abha confirms the plight of a person with disability even residing in capital of country and only daughter of academicians. “I am glad they were into academics.. I inherited the love towards studies naturally”- she reiterates like a happy student who understood the real fun in academics, which led her romance with studies and writing on various subjects including most intricate counseling, psychology, literature, poetry among other subjects like economics. “Teaching is my bread and butter i.e… sorry daal chawal”, Sweetly laughs Abha. She runs a coaching centre for graduate and post graduate level students, which is the career path she has chosen.




As  a kid, studies eluded her as schools were not accessible, they couldn’t include a person with disability. One school agreed finally, but post those schools again distance mode education. But acceptance of condition and adapting to it is so necessary, declares abha… that gives enough strength and see the life from different perspective. Numbers of surgeries were done on her including a spinal cord surgery to help her stabilize where now she has to live with 8 inch iron rod in her spine for the rest of her life. That’s the surgery that was prescribed to protect my lungs… Abha says matter-of-factly. Traversing the virtual world, like a fish in sea of smiling faces, who sees only ability but not disability, made Abha continue her writing and counseling with sheer determination to help others. She wanted to ease pain of others, make their journey easier and fun! Hence there was the birth of Cross the Hurdles www.crossthehurdles.com which is soon going to be a registered Non-profit. Abha is trying to get her romance with words in black and white…she is trying to get her books published. We see the accomplishments of a person, and say,,,What a wonderful work she has been doing! A friend said sometimes back, by saying so, people closes their share of responsibility and a common understanding and sharing and trying to respect and help. People just simply say- you are great, you can do that!!. Such things are common in every disabled person’s life, especially woman, their emotional needs are grossly neglected Abha says. To help many such persons who are living, buried in their own fear prisons, Abha started free counseling through her website. She believes in virtual counseling. When asked, “Will that be helpful?” She confidently says, “YES…they confide in a voice than a person who is face-to- face and sometimes they confess their innermost fears, including their sexuality problems etc…” Kudos to Abha, who is doing the job of listening patiently, she puts an unimaginable 30 hours per week on social work, without expecting anything in return. It’s my job; she answers calmly, “I can understand us better!”- is Abha’s motto in continuing her relentless counseling sessions. “Now I don’t plan too much, Abha says with enlightened acceptance, I like to do one by one, to the extent of my energy, I don’t fear anything anymore”- Abha confirms.



career is one problem many persons with disabilities facing on a daily basis, Abha sighs. Most of the options available are not accessible at all, and if they are, most of the disabled can’t afford it! She is of the opinion that, India needs many more committed leaders with the same focus so that many students with disabilities can contribute in the process of development.

    “Marriage and finding a companion is another problem we face”, she opines. “We are not a society conducive to open talk about issues and further the expectation on a wife/companion is much higher with a stereotype belief that women with disabilities are a burden, they can’t bear children. That belief is there among disabled men also”- Abha says with a wry smile. “Society thinks a Pwd is asexual, family thinks we only have career needs, men with disabilities think they can love us only if we are not disabled, friends think we are great… all leading sometimes to our own self-portrait more scary than we really are!’ Abha summates her experiences in a nutshell. And further adds, “I don’t want any disabled person to succumb to helplessness and deep depression. I wish to help as many as I can to come out of that abyss!”

DSCN0214

This is the journey of simpleton Abha Khetarpal, a small, slow and sure candle turning into great radiance, that’s what her name means- Radiance. ““now days, I don’t plan too much, Abha says with enlightened acceptance. “I like to do one by one, to the extent of my energy, I don’t fear anything anymore”- Abha confirms. On responding to question how she wishes to death should knock her door, she says, “While I am sleeping!!” and what her epitaph should say, she answers instantly-

    “ABHA OR THE RADIANCE WOULD NEVER DIMINISH!”

You can read more about her views and news on www.crossthehurdles.com and www.abhakhetarpal.in Talking to Abha made me think about Lov’Ability of disability. Presenting my version of sheer respect to the hidden love that world needs!


Lovable Ability….





Tell me why? Oh why?

Your body decides your fate…??

Not your mind and heart anymore?

What if you have imperfect in body?

Where it is a hindrance in enjoying life To the fullest…!!

Why love has to be conditional

And why life has to be irrational??

All questions… Leading and loading in my mind…

Everyone says they want love…

Peace and bliss… a belongingness Truly they can call their own…

Tell me friends…

if anywhere they say They want a perfect physical form…

If form decides ….

The cool breeze you are in

The slow, comfortable silence

The depths you feel in a soothing voice…

The way you relieve your stress…

Like a warm support out of frozen life…

My dear friend…

it has nothing to do With a hour glass figure

Or a legacy you are not sure you wish to carry!!

LOVE THE ABILITY… TO CARE AND SHARE

LIFE IS FOR BLISS…NOT FOR BIAS!!

© Sai Padma Murthy,

Source: http://lotusbeats.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/abha-khetarpal-a-counselor-with-a-difference/

[Jessica]

Hi,
Today, I have seen a Program on National Television 'Subah Savere', out of two artists one is playing Arjuna and the other is Lord Krishna.
Now, important part is they both are disabled from legs. In spite of that, the energy, the emotion and their performance is like inspiration.
I don't know their names, but I never forget their performance

_________________
best dentist

Hi,
Today, I have seen a Program on National Television 'Subah Savere', out of two artists one is playing Arjuna and the other is Lord Krishna.
Now, important part is they both are disabled from legs. In spite of that, the energy, the emotion and their performance is like inspiration.
I don't know their names, but I never forget their performance

_________________
best dentist

[srividyaa]

Where there is a will there is a way." This is how one can describe the struggling story of an IAS officer Krishna Gopal Tiwari, 29.

Up to his school life perhaps was he knowing that he would lose his vision in his youthful days although it sadly happened. He all of a sudden, in a short course of time lost his 75 per cent eyesight due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare and incurable ailment at the age of just 20.

He was in college then, but that could not deter his spirit to move ahead with his life according to plan, and finally Krishna turned out to be India’s first IAS officer with 75 per cent visual deformity in 2008. He also happens to be the first person under the visually and physically challenged category, to make it under 250 i.e. 142nd rank in India’s premier civil services exams. Interestingly, he accomplished it without any formal coaching at the age of 26.

Krishna at present is a Madhya Pradesh-cadre IAS officer. Son of a minor farmer, Swami Nath Tiwari of nondescript Dasvanpur village in Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, he defeated all adversities apart from battling his very personal deformity. He had to answer his papers with the help of two scribes provided by the Union Public Service Commission, as it is an arrangement in the case of visually challenged candidate.






"Although I didn’t have any problem in writing my civil services’ papers, as I used to do self during my school and college days with ease, difficulties started soaring during the last rung of my college days at Purvanchal University, Jaunpur,” Krishna says. Notwithstanding, he completed his masters in Economics from C.S.J.M. University, Kanpur writing self. It was during those days he realized the disease i.e. deterioration of his retinas that ultimately left him officially sightless.

Since eyeglasses were of no use to him, he used magnifying glasses to study in his early days of blindness but slowly he fed up with them. “My life was going all dark and I had nearly lost my hope to proceed further. But soon arrived four godsend saviour like friends, Pushpendra Kumar Sengar, Vikas Kumar Gupta, Amul Kumar and Ram Prakash Sahu, whom I befriended in Delhi, the Mecca of civil services exam preparations, who came to my rescue and brought a new ray of hope to my life. Besides aiming themselves for the civil services, they helped me in every possible way without any ego to accomplish my mission, of which I was very sure. Pushpendra, in particular, used to record his voice whatever he studied in my audio tape recorder, which I would listen to again and again while memorizing,” the officer recalls. Meanwhile, a major jolt struck me when Prakash died of electrocution at his native village. “I’ll never forget him, as he monetarily helped me as well. Whatever, I am today its credit goes to all of them and of course, my family,” he thanks.

Although he never took any coaching for the preliminary test (PT) and Mains rounds, for interview he got guidance from Santosh Taneja and Charanji Roy of ‘Samkalp’- a paying guest accommodation initiative of the RSS affiliated student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Says the genius, “Being a general category student, I had just one thing in mind to crack the civils in our limited four attempts. Fortunately, it went accordingly and I wrote Mains (subjective exam) twice. Finally in my third attempt, my childhood’s dream translated into reality with a whopping rank, which was a bit unexpected for me.”

He also attributes his success to the All India Radio (AIR) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). “I have been a keen listener to the news bulletins and talk-shows of the AIR and BBC since my childhood, which in return not only improved my general studies but also provoke a curiosity in me to do something exceptional,” Krishna states.

What made him to continue the idea of becoming an IAS officer? He says, “It is one of the few job-oriented examinations where percentage doesn’t matter. The best part is, despite being one of the toughest examinations of the world, the UPSC invites applicants of every stream to test the waters. Being an average, a poor or a bright student is not a big issue here.” Speaking about his success story, Krishna further states, “Though no one influenced me I got it as a challenge when my teachers and parents used to say that I would become an IAS someday. My interest gained momentum after my ‘masters degree’ when I qualified National Eligibility (NET) sharply missing the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). Moreover, there was a healthy agreement at family front, between me and my elder brother, who too is a NET holder and teaches in a local college. He provided me financial support to move to Delhi for further studies.”

Meanwhile, a film-like climax trailed him till the last. In August 2008 after he cracked the ‘Civil Services Examination- 2007’, the Department of Personnel & Training told him he was not entitled to join the Indian Administrative Service on three counts: He would be unable to perform his duties as he could not see, he could not read or write and could not walk without help. Following this, Krishna protested, saying he was adept at handling computers and could walk in a secure area without help. Subsequently, the matter was referred to the medical board and the objections were waived. Soon, Tiwari was finally inducted into the civil services.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/being-blind-couldn-t-deter-this-ias-officer.html

Where there is a will there is a way." This is how one can describe the struggling story of an IAS officer Krishna Gopal Tiwari, 29.

Up to his school life perhaps was he knowing that he would lose his vision in his youthful days although it sadly happened. He all of a sudden, in a short course of time lost his 75 per cent eyesight due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare and incurable ailment at the age of just 20.

He was in college then, but that could not deter his spirit to move ahead with his life according to plan, and finally Krishna turned out to be India’s first IAS officer with 75 per cent visual deformity in 2008. He also happens to be the first person under the visually and physically challenged category, to make it under 250 i.e. 142nd rank in India’s premier civil services exams. Interestingly, he accomplished it without any formal coaching at the age of 26.

Krishna at present is a Madhya Pradesh-cadre IAS officer. Son of a minor farmer, Swami Nath Tiwari of nondescript Dasvanpur village in Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, he defeated all adversities apart from battling his very personal deformity. He had to answer his papers with the help of two scribes provided by the Union Public Service Commission, as it is an arrangement in the case of visually challenged candidate.






"Although I didn’t have any problem in writing my civil services’ papers, as I used to do self during my school and college days with ease, difficulties started soaring during the last rung of my college days at Purvanchal University, Jaunpur,” Krishna says. Notwithstanding, he completed his masters in Economics from C.S.J.M. University, Kanpur writing self. It was during those days he realized the disease i.e. deterioration of his retinas that ultimately left him officially sightless.

Since eyeglasses were of no use to him, he used magnifying glasses to study in his early days of blindness but slowly he fed up with them. “My life was going all dark and I had nearly lost my hope to proceed further. But soon arrived four godsend saviour like friends, Pushpendra Kumar Sengar, Vikas Kumar Gupta, Amul Kumar and Ram Prakash Sahu, whom I befriended in Delhi, the Mecca of civil services exam preparations, who came to my rescue and brought a new ray of hope to my life. Besides aiming themselves for the civil services, they helped me in every possible way without any ego to accomplish my mission, of which I was very sure. Pushpendra, in particular, used to record his voice whatever he studied in my audio tape recorder, which I would listen to again and again while memorizing,” the officer recalls. Meanwhile, a major jolt struck me when Prakash died of electrocution at his native village. “I’ll never forget him, as he monetarily helped me as well. Whatever, I am today its credit goes to all of them and of course, my family,” he thanks.

Although he never took any coaching for the preliminary test (PT) and Mains rounds, for interview he got guidance from Santosh Taneja and Charanji Roy of ‘Samkalp’- a paying guest accommodation initiative of the RSS affiliated student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Says the genius, “Being a general category student, I had just one thing in mind to crack the civils in our limited four attempts. Fortunately, it went accordingly and I wrote Mains (subjective exam) twice. Finally in my third attempt, my childhood’s dream translated into reality with a whopping rank, which was a bit unexpected for me.”

He also attributes his success to the All India Radio (AIR) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). “I have been a keen listener to the news bulletins and talk-shows of the AIR and BBC since my childhood, which in return not only improved my general studies but also provoke a curiosity in me to do something exceptional,” Krishna states.

What made him to continue the idea of becoming an IAS officer? He says, “It is one of the few job-oriented examinations where percentage doesn’t matter. The best part is, despite being one of the toughest examinations of the world, the UPSC invites applicants of every stream to test the waters. Being an average, a poor or a bright student is not a big issue here.” Speaking about his success story, Krishna further states, “Though no one influenced me I got it as a challenge when my teachers and parents used to say that I would become an IAS someday. My interest gained momentum after my ‘masters degree’ when I qualified National Eligibility (NET) sharply missing the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). Moreover, there was a healthy agreement at family front, between me and my elder brother, who too is a NET holder and teaches in a local college. He provided me financial support to move to Delhi for further studies.”

Meanwhile, a film-like climax trailed him till the last. In August 2008 after he cracked the ‘Civil Services Examination- 2007’, the Department of Personnel & Training told him he was not entitled to join the Indian Administrative Service on three counts: He would be unable to perform his duties as he could not see, he could not read or write and could not walk without help. Following this, Krishna protested, saying he was adept at handling computers and could walk in a secure area without help. Subsequently, the matter was referred to the medical board and the objections were waived. Soon, Tiwari was finally inducted into the civil services.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/being-blind-couldn-t-deter-this-ias-officer.html

[srividyaa]

It was the 30th lap and Madhavi hadn’t taken a break for the past one hour. Looking at her undiminished strength and energy, it is impossible to believe that this woman was close to death just a few years ago.

Madhavi Latha, senior manager at Scope International and founder of the ‘Yes, We Too Can’ movement’, has a more than 80 per cent permanent disability due to polio. From the age of 35, complexities began mounting and soon, her condition turned life threatening.

The image in an X-ray report she took then is shocking. Her spinal cord was so grossly twisted that it had pushed her stomach and internal organs towards one side. Doctors said that her lungs would soon stop breathing. But Madhavi proved  everyone wrong. “I’m alive today because of hydrotherapy. It has given me a second lease of life,” beams the now 41-year-old Madhavi, who has never been this healthy and strong.

Hydrotherapy: an alternative healing system

That water has healing properties is common knowledge. According to Dr Ananda Jothi, specialist in Musculoskeletal Manipulative Physiotherapy and founder-chairman of Rehab India, Chennai, hydrotherapy can work wonders for persons with disabilities. Aquatic therapy involves exercises or activities performed in water to treat physical disorders and illnesses. Different equipment like arm bends, swim belts, kick boards, woggles and full buoys are used in hydrotherapy. It enables full freedom of movement for the physically challenged, while intense activities in water improve lung capacity and restore normal functions of the body. The buoyancy in water stimulates blood circulation, which in turn enhances the immune system, relieves pain and helps recovery from serious injuries.

Hydrostatic pressure, viscosity and the hydromechanics of being in water prevent muscle wastage, improve weight-bearing in the joints and build muscular resistance and bone density. That’s how activities in the water can be a boon for people with muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy.

A word of caution

While a boon to many with disabilities, hydrotherapy poses its own risks for the physically-challenged, like infections from the water and slippery floors. Patients with skin infections, open wounds, acute fever, incontinence, malignancy, epileptic seizures and heart problems should avoid water exercises.


Watch her video in the foll link:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeVx2_EP6Ys

Source: http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/When-water-provides-the-healing-touch/318737.html

It was the 30th lap and Madhavi hadn’t taken a break for the past one hour. Looking at her undiminished strength and energy, it is impossible to believe that this woman was close to death just a few years ago.

Madhavi Latha, senior manager at Scope International and founder of the ‘Yes, We Too Can’ movement’, has a more than 80 per cent permanent disability due to polio. From the age of 35, complexities began mounting and soon, her condition turned life threatening.

The image in an X-ray report she took then is shocking. Her spinal cord was so grossly twisted that it had pushed her stomach and internal organs towards one side. Doctors said that her lungs would soon stop breathing. But Madhavi proved  everyone wrong. “I’m alive today because of hydrotherapy. It has given me a second lease of life,” beams the now 41-year-old Madhavi, who has never been this healthy and strong.

Hydrotherapy: an alternative healing system

That water has healing properties is common knowledge. According to Dr Ananda Jothi, specialist in Musculoskeletal Manipulative Physiotherapy and founder-chairman of Rehab India, Chennai, hydrotherapy can work wonders for persons with disabilities. Aquatic therapy involves exercises or activities performed in water to treat physical disorders and illnesses. Different equipment like arm bends, swim belts, kick boards, woggles and full buoys are used in hydrotherapy. It enables full freedom of movement for the physically challenged, while intense activities in water improve lung capacity and restore normal functions of the body. The buoyancy in water stimulates blood circulation, which in turn enhances the immune system, relieves pain and helps recovery from serious injuries.

Hydrostatic pressure, viscosity and the hydromechanics of being in water prevent muscle wastage, improve weight-bearing in the joints and build muscular resistance and bone density. That’s how activities in the water can be a boon for people with muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy.

A word of caution

While a boon to many with disabilities, hydrotherapy poses its own risks for the physically-challenged, like infections from the water and slippery floors. Patients with skin infections, open wounds, acute fever, incontinence, malignancy, epileptic seizures and heart problems should avoid water exercises.


Watch her video in the foll link:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeVx2_EP6Ys

Source: http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/When-water-provides-the-healing-touch/318737.html

[srividyaa]

What we know about a woman with disability? Mostly either she is super-talented or utter-dependent!

..A girl and disabled.. 2

..Wish she could earn more..

..She is expensive

…it’s tough to get her married off..

…it’s tough to do service to her

…wish we could do something

…what’s her life when support system breaks off?

These are some thoughts that come to our mind, especially in the minds of care providers and doting parents. In a country, where proper care and education for the woman in general is a second priority and they be treated still as a burden on family, we scare to think of woman with disability, who is @the cross roads of life always…

Such cross roads may be

Different medical treatments

Over protection vs. total neglect

School .Vs. home based study

College vs. correspondence course

Job .Vs. Home based work

Emotional stability vs. physical support

Marriage Vs. independent career only

Initiatives with risk vs. future security

Life outside vs. living in a closet called home

Though, this cross roads are there in everyone’s life but they starkly visible laced with pain of burden in case of a woman with disability. In a society, where most woman trained themselves to be guilty (not all though!) for their birth itself, we can understand what kind of double guilt trap it can be for a woman with disability! But today we got to stand up and take note of woman who is confident, vivacious, and rebellious and a leader of her own forte! Above all, a woman who is at peace with her ABILITY AND AS WELL DISABILITY.



Dear friends… meet MS. DEBASREE BHATTACHARYA, from Kolkata, the city of joy, giving joy of living to Persons with Disabilities saying with a sweet and affirmative tone that THEY ARE DIFFERENTLY ABLED NOT DISABLED thru her network portal (www.dandnetwork.com)

Debasree , as most friends call her Debu fondly, was a naughty younger child of middle class parents, she was affected with severe polio to all her four limbs (most uncommon) at the age of two, seeing their beautiful daughter wither with pain, and her parents tried whatever medical service available and affordable to them! Again at the cross roads of physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, allopath and homeo among others. Some worked some didn’t, finally made Debu to sit. Being from a Bengali joint family debasree’s aunt saw the spark in the crawling child towards education and enrolled her in her home based tuitions. Due to over protective nature of her father, much to debug’s dismay they have enrolled her in nearby school instead of standard school which is away!

Access always plays games with life of disabled person, what Pwd take for granted in some developed countries is a utopian luxury for Indian disabled. But ABILITY don’t play games with hard-working persons, Debu excelled in her school, with the rightful support from principle of the school to students there who wants their miracle child Debu to exceed and excel in life.

Father’s retirement and demise with a long illness, made Debu look back at life and made her more resilient and quite independent in thinking. She says she learned to look at herself normal and the way we see our self only makes us what we are!

Disability and maturity laced with practicality comes a bit early for a woman with disability. To keep week body’s energies intact a severely polio affected person is not supposed to do hard manual type physical works. In this catch22 situation, only education is the light, Debu finished her graduation and wanted to pursue Chartered Accountancy, enrolled into it but couldn’t continue due to lack of accessibility of going outside and pursue the course. Without leaving a stone unturned she learned as many computer applications as she can learn.

A naughty girl turned into a calm and composed woman when Debu entered outside harsh world for a job and social welfare office for assistive devices. The harsh ways a disabled was treated by outside world and their remarks ignited a warm fire in Debu to be self dependent to a rage against system that is so inaccessible for the persons with disabilities. She proudly says the remarks taught her what sort of attitude a disabled person should have.

Debu took lot of her decisions of her life on her own. From appointing a maid for her physical help to focusing on her energies towards a home based job to launching disability networking portal- DIFFERENTLY ABLED NOT DISABLED, an exclusive networking portal for persons with disabilities where they are trying to address most important aspects in life of persons with disabilities, employment, matrimony and news of happenings in the world of disability. You can check their work and news and views at www.dandnetwork.com and their face book page http://www.facebook.com/dandnetwork

Debasree and her team are now trying to make the portal more interactive and add more features. Debu gives credit to her this thinking to technology and the opportunities World Wide Web offers for persons with disabilities.

Debasree today works from home as independent contractor for Toronto Based SEO Company and manages the DAND network portal. Loves books and music and being hailed as one of the efficient employees by her management.


When asked whether marriage was on cards for this beautiful young woman, she shrugs it off with a “nay” she says with all due respect to institution of marriage, she doesn’t see herself fit into that institution. May be I didn’t bump into right friend yet…she says! But one thing that really irks her is the way disabled were made a creature of sympathy. She says disgustingly “the mockery sometimes we can laugh it off! But insensitivity has to be fought off! Inclusion doesn’t happen sitting at home!” She expresses concern about too much political affiliation of NGOs working with disabled. It’s a diversion to the cause- she feels!

What Debasree points our casually, is in the mind of every woman with disability..Fighting with society, system by straight shooting one question..

ARE WE JUST OUR BODIES AND LIMITATIONS?? WHAT ABOUT OUR WIT, WISDOM, LOVE AND LOYALTY??

Here Debasree points out some pertinent questions, about marriage vs. meaningful relationships, a freedom that needed to life to the fullest. She asks why sensuality of Indian woman with disability is such a taboo subject. Why she is just treated as an object of either over protection of utter neglect?

Dear friends… when you visit Kolkata next time, don’t forget to touch base with the most independent woman living in a most inaccessible old house in a highly populated city of joy! Give my respect to her and wish her good luck in trying to weave a virtual family of persons with disabilities! Its not important how super successful we are or not, it’s important that whether we started the journey or not! I am sure Debasree will be successful in helping many!

Debasree smiles it off cutely- saying that that’s her goal to live in the most accessible home of my own with full independence and running my organization, of course being a die-hard romantic may be in a relationship too!!



That’s the way to go dear girl…

ACCESS LIFE @ YOUR OWN PACE AND FOR YOUR OWN PEACE!!


© Sai Padma

Source: http://lotusbeats.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/debasree-compassionate-rebellious-to-the-cause/

What we know about a woman with disability? Mostly either she is super-talented or utter-dependent!

..A girl and disabled.. 2

..Wish she could earn more..

..She is expensive

…it’s tough to get her married off..

…it’s tough to do service to her

…wish we could do something

…what’s her life when support system breaks off?

These are some thoughts that come to our mind, especially in the minds of care providers and doting parents. In a country, where proper care and education for the woman in general is a second priority and they be treated still as a burden on family, we scare to think of woman with disability, who is @the cross roads of life always…

Such cross roads may be

Different medical treatments

Over protection vs. total neglect

School .Vs. home based study

College vs. correspondence course

Job .Vs. Home based work

Emotional stability vs. physical support

Marriage Vs. independent career only

Initiatives with risk vs. future security

Life outside vs. living in a closet called home

Though, this cross roads are there in everyone’s life but they starkly visible laced with pain of burden in case of a woman with disability. In a society, where most woman trained themselves to be guilty (not all though!) for their birth itself, we can understand what kind of double guilt trap it can be for a woman with disability! But today we got to stand up and take note of woman who is confident, vivacious, and rebellious and a leader of her own forte! Above all, a woman who is at peace with her ABILITY AND AS WELL DISABILITY.



Dear friends… meet MS. DEBASREE BHATTACHARYA, from Kolkata, the city of joy, giving joy of living to Persons with Disabilities saying with a sweet and affirmative tone that THEY ARE DIFFERENTLY ABLED NOT DISABLED thru her network portal (www.dandnetwork.com)

Debasree , as most friends call her Debu fondly, was a naughty younger child of middle class parents, she was affected with severe polio to all her four limbs (most uncommon) at the age of two, seeing their beautiful daughter wither with pain, and her parents tried whatever medical service available and affordable to them! Again at the cross roads of physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, allopath and homeo among others. Some worked some didn’t, finally made Debu to sit. Being from a Bengali joint family debasree’s aunt saw the spark in the crawling child towards education and enrolled her in her home based tuitions. Due to over protective nature of her father, much to debug’s dismay they have enrolled her in nearby school instead of standard school which is away!

Access always plays games with life of disabled person, what Pwd take for granted in some developed countries is a utopian luxury for Indian disabled. But ABILITY don’t play games with hard-working persons, Debu excelled in her school, with the rightful support from principle of the school to students there who wants their miracle child Debu to exceed and excel in life.

Father’s retirement and demise with a long illness, made Debu look back at life and made her more resilient and quite independent in thinking. She says she learned to look at herself normal and the way we see our self only makes us what we are!

Disability and maturity laced with practicality comes a bit early for a woman with disability. To keep week body’s energies intact a severely polio affected person is not supposed to do hard manual type physical works. In this catch22 situation, only education is the light, Debu finished her graduation and wanted to pursue Chartered Accountancy, enrolled into it but couldn’t continue due to lack of accessibility of going outside and pursue the course. Without leaving a stone unturned she learned as many computer applications as she can learn.

A naughty girl turned into a calm and composed woman when Debu entered outside harsh world for a job and social welfare office for assistive devices. The harsh ways a disabled was treated by outside world and their remarks ignited a warm fire in Debu to be self dependent to a rage against system that is so inaccessible for the persons with disabilities. She proudly says the remarks taught her what sort of attitude a disabled person should have.

Debu took lot of her decisions of her life on her own. From appointing a maid for her physical help to focusing on her energies towards a home based job to launching disability networking portal- DIFFERENTLY ABLED NOT DISABLED, an exclusive networking portal for persons with disabilities where they are trying to address most important aspects in life of persons with disabilities, employment, matrimony and news of happenings in the world of disability. You can check their work and news and views at www.dandnetwork.com and their face book page http://www.facebook.com/dandnetwork

Debasree and her team are now trying to make the portal more interactive and add more features. Debu gives credit to her this thinking to technology and the opportunities World Wide Web offers for persons with disabilities.

Debasree today works from home as independent contractor for Toronto Based SEO Company and manages the DAND network portal. Loves books and music and being hailed as one of the efficient employees by her management.


When asked whether marriage was on cards for this beautiful young woman, she shrugs it off with a “nay” she says with all due respect to institution of marriage, she doesn’t see herself fit into that institution. May be I didn’t bump into right friend yet…she says! But one thing that really irks her is the way disabled were made a creature of sympathy. She says disgustingly “the mockery sometimes we can laugh it off! But insensitivity has to be fought off! Inclusion doesn’t happen sitting at home!” She expresses concern about too much political affiliation of NGOs working with disabled. It’s a diversion to the cause- she feels!

What Debasree points our casually, is in the mind of every woman with disability..Fighting with society, system by straight shooting one question..

ARE WE JUST OUR BODIES AND LIMITATIONS?? WHAT ABOUT OUR WIT, WISDOM, LOVE AND LOYALTY??

Here Debasree points out some pertinent questions, about marriage vs. meaningful relationships, a freedom that needed to life to the fullest. She asks why sensuality of Indian woman with disability is such a taboo subject. Why she is just treated as an object of either over protection of utter neglect?

Dear friends… when you visit Kolkata next time, don’t forget to touch base with the most independent woman living in a most inaccessible old house in a highly populated city of joy! Give my respect to her and wish her good luck in trying to weave a virtual family of persons with disabilities! Its not important how super successful we are or not, it’s important that whether we started the journey or not! I am sure Debasree will be successful in helping many!

Debasree smiles it off cutely- saying that that’s her goal to live in the most accessible home of my own with full independence and running my organization, of course being a die-hard romantic may be in a relationship too!!



That’s the way to go dear girl…

ACCESS LIFE @ YOUR OWN PACE AND FOR YOUR OWN PEACE!!


© Sai Padma

Source: http://lotusbeats.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/debasree-compassionate-rebellious-to-the-cause/

[Andernorm]

Inspiration is necessary in the life of a person as it inspire a person to work hard and to achieve success. Living inspiration inspire a person to live a life in a better and in a nice way.

_________________
r4ds

[Currently banned]

Inspiration is necessary in the life of a person as it inspire a person to work hard and to achieve success. Living inspiration inspire a person to live a life in a better and in a nice way.

_________________
r4ds

[srividyaa]

She has ventured bravely where few dare to go; that has been Malini Chib's strength. Here she talks about her fight with cerebral palsy.

My first encounter with Malini was through print. She had written an article in The Times of India, about the sexual rights of the differently abled. This was perhaps two decades ago, when neither sex nor the disabled were common subjects in newspapers. I realised that, despite being a journalist and someone who believed in equal rights for every individual, this was an aspect I had given little thought to. It was the start of a new awareness, a new understanding. That has been Malini's strength; to venture bravely where few dare to go. Refusing to allow an insubordinate body to rule an alert and questioning mind. Doing more than most able bodied women, in the process.

Malini Chib's early story will be familiar to anyone who has watched a child unable to grow normally at close quarters. In her case, lack of oxygen at birth damaged her brain, making her parents and doctors fear for her life, and then robbing her of the normal milestones of physical development. Refusing to give up, her parents took her to England where they found doctors who could help get her back to as close a normal life as was possible.The fact that her brain was active and normal was a beacon of hope for both the family and for Malini herself. The fact that she studied not in some secluded little known institution where brave teachers fought to educate children with physical deficiencies but in mainstream educational institutions was a minor triumph for her parents. But Malini struggled with the fact that more debilitating than her own handicaps was the attitude of fellow students. Yet, her fight had already begun; the fight that has today helped so many understand the life and struggles of anyone similarly or otherwise afflicted.

Her presence in Mumbai's St. Xavier's, one of the city's most prestigious institutions, made it clear that being disabled was not really a handicap. If given a chance, disability could be overcome by will and achievement. Her garnering of two Masters Degrees from international universities was another alert to a society that believed that the disabled were best hidden from view to be either ignored or cosseted, as the case may be.

Campaign for rights

Taking her battle for equal rights and opportunities for the disabled to the public forum, Malini wrote articles in the press, fought actively to restructure the Bill for Right to Education, which, she pointed out, was half baked and disabled by a complete lack of understanding of the hurdles a disabled child would face. Her mother Mithu Alur set up The Spastics Society of India in 1972 to send out a message of hope and equal opportunity to the families of other children who suffered from cerebral palsy. Taking a cue from this, Malini formed ADAPT, which would campaign for the Able and Differently Abled (to live, learn and work) Together.

Malini embodies her belief that the differently abled can do almost everything. She has, in fact, fulfilled many of her dreams; one dream she holds close still is “to get married and have children. But that is not going to happen,” she adds matter-of-factly, “because in India the disabled are still treated the same way as children”.

At a reading of my book at the Oxford Book Store, in Mumbai, she organised the event, was present to welcome guests and invitees, and ensured the reading went off smoothly. “I think the best part of my job —events manager of Oxford Bookshop — is meeting authors and interacting with society. I get to meet authors, filmmakers and the intelligentsia. It was important and necessary for them to know my capabilities,” she asserts. Yet she often finds herself overlooked by shoppers, who seem to prefer not to notice her. It's a fact of life she has had to face, and she is less pained by it now. Malini's victories have been many. In 2004, she campaigned for the inclusion of the disabled in the Mumbai marathon, taking little note of the initial notice that said dogs and wheelchairs would not be allowed on the roads during the run.

But with her book, One Little Finger, Malini marks one more victory in the battle for including the disabled into normal life. The 40,000-word document, a story of tears and triumphs, of aspirations and successes that took ten years to write, has been received with awe. Her photograph on the cover, smiling from her wheelchair, invites the reader to look into her life, and of others like her, and understand it. It is one of the most significant steps taken to make the disabled less invisible, and to sensitise a normal person towards empathy, not sympathy or pity.

Literally, a finger

The book, literally written with one little finger, reads like a film script, an autobiography that forces one to open both eyes and heart. Little wonder Malini has been honoured for being a role model and for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The award presented by the President of India on December 3 acknowledges that disability is something that needs to be addressed and the attitude of the abled needs changing. It also helps highlight the life of a fighter and crusader who on her route to self-sufficiency fought a private battle at every stage. And thanks to the award many caretakers as well as disabled themselves, who cannot read, might learn of Malini's fight and find inspiration and courage from it.

Malini admits that the award had a very powerful impact. Already she has received calls from across the country. “Disabled people and parents of disabled have enquirer about me and called to share their experiences of disability”, she says. But despite the award I personally see the long road Malini must still travel to reach the summit of her battle for inclusion. The fact that the award was given on December 3, International Day for persons with Disabilities, is a symptom of the blinkers the government still wears and the lack of inclusion that still exists.

While the awards for institutions, employers and organisations that empower people with disabilities could well have been handed out on this day, the awards for role models and achievers with disabilities would be so much more meaningful and worthy had it been on Republic day when the Padma and other awards are given to the abled.

Malini Chib might have overcome her disability but India as a country and the government in particular, has yet to conquer its mental inertia where the differently abled are concerned.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article2763388.ece

She has ventured bravely where few dare to go; that has been Malini Chib's strength. Here she talks about her fight with cerebral palsy.

My first encounter with Malini was through print. She had written an article in The Times of India, about the sexual rights of the differently abled. This was perhaps two decades ago, when neither sex nor the disabled were common subjects in newspapers. I realised that, despite being a journalist and someone who believed in equal rights for every individual, this was an aspect I had given little thought to. It was the start of a new awareness, a new understanding. That has been Malini's strength; to venture bravely where few dare to go. Refusing to allow an insubordinate body to rule an alert and questioning mind. Doing more than most able bodied women, in the process.

Malini Chib's early story will be familiar to anyone who has watched a child unable to grow normally at close quarters. In her case, lack of oxygen at birth damaged her brain, making her parents and doctors fear for her life, and then robbing her of the normal milestones of physical development. Refusing to give up, her parents took her to England where they found doctors who could help get her back to as close a normal life as was possible.The fact that her brain was active and normal was a beacon of hope for both the family and for Malini herself. The fact that she studied not in some secluded little known institution where brave teachers fought to educate children with physical deficiencies but in mainstream educational institutions was a minor triumph for her parents. But Malini struggled with the fact that more debilitating than her own handicaps was the attitude of fellow students. Yet, her fight had already begun; the fight that has today helped so many understand the life and struggles of anyone similarly or otherwise afflicted.

Her presence in Mumbai's St. Xavier's, one of the city's most prestigious institutions, made it clear that being disabled was not really a handicap. If given a chance, disability could be overcome by will and achievement. Her garnering of two Masters Degrees from international universities was another alert to a society that believed that the disabled were best hidden from view to be either ignored or cosseted, as the case may be.

Campaign for rights

Taking her battle for equal rights and opportunities for the disabled to the public forum, Malini wrote articles in the press, fought actively to restructure the Bill for Right to Education, which, she pointed out, was half baked and disabled by a complete lack of understanding of the hurdles a disabled child would face. Her mother Mithu Alur set up The Spastics Society of India in 1972 to send out a message of hope and equal opportunity to the families of other children who suffered from cerebral palsy. Taking a cue from this, Malini formed ADAPT, which would campaign for the Able and Differently Abled (to live, learn and work) Together.

Malini embodies her belief that the differently abled can do almost everything. She has, in fact, fulfilled many of her dreams; one dream she holds close still is “to get married and have children. But that is not going to happen,” she adds matter-of-factly, “because in India the disabled are still treated the same way as children”.

At a reading of my book at the Oxford Book Store, in Mumbai, she organised the event, was present to welcome guests and invitees, and ensured the reading went off smoothly. “I think the best part of my job —events manager of Oxford Bookshop — is meeting authors and interacting with society. I get to meet authors, filmmakers and the intelligentsia. It was important and necessary for them to know my capabilities,” she asserts. Yet she often finds herself overlooked by shoppers, who seem to prefer not to notice her. It's a fact of life she has had to face, and she is less pained by it now. Malini's victories have been many. In 2004, she campaigned for the inclusion of the disabled in the Mumbai marathon, taking little note of the initial notice that said dogs and wheelchairs would not be allowed on the roads during the run.

But with her book, One Little Finger, Malini marks one more victory in the battle for including the disabled into normal life. The 40,000-word document, a story of tears and triumphs, of aspirations and successes that took ten years to write, has been received with awe. Her photograph on the cover, smiling from her wheelchair, invites the reader to look into her life, and of others like her, and understand it. It is one of the most significant steps taken to make the disabled less invisible, and to sensitise a normal person towards empathy, not sympathy or pity.

Literally, a finger

The book, literally written with one little finger, reads like a film script, an autobiography that forces one to open both eyes and heart. Little wonder Malini has been honoured for being a role model and for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The award presented by the President of India on December 3 acknowledges that disability is something that needs to be addressed and the attitude of the abled needs changing. It also helps highlight the life of a fighter and crusader who on her route to self-sufficiency fought a private battle at every stage. And thanks to the award many caretakers as well as disabled themselves, who cannot read, might learn of Malini's fight and find inspiration and courage from it.

Malini admits that the award had a very powerful impact. Already she has received calls from across the country. “Disabled people and parents of disabled have enquirer about me and called to share their experiences of disability”, she says. But despite the award I personally see the long road Malini must still travel to reach the summit of her battle for inclusion. The fact that the award was given on December 3, International Day for persons with Disabilities, is a symptom of the blinkers the government still wears and the lack of inclusion that still exists.

While the awards for institutions, employers and organisations that empower people with disabilities could well have been handed out on this day, the awards for role models and achievers with disabilities would be so much more meaningful and worthy had it been on Republic day when the Padma and other awards are given to the abled.

Malini Chib might have overcome her disability but India as a country and the government in particular, has yet to conquer its mental inertia where the differently abled are concerned.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article2763388.ece