GIFTED

By Edha Singh

There was a book, with a frankly unappealing cover, that lay gathering dust in the bookshelves of my house. This book had a catchy title but claimed to tell inspiring stories of people with disabilities. Like any other privileged child, I didn’t feel the urge to pick up this book over fiction or even autobiographies of famous individuals. When I finally did start reading it, I regretted not having sooner.

This was Gifted, by Sudha Menon and V.R.Ferose. It tells the stories of 15 Indians who faced adversities due to their disabilities. It sounds pretty straightforward, but a deep dive in each of those 15 lives will reveal remarkable uniqueness and talent. These are individuals who are at par or even better than their contemporaries in their fields and you realise they worked twice as hard. While uniqueness tends to be used as a cover-up word for sympathy, I assure you, you will feel like these individuals are unique because they have been gifted with skills and talents that make them stand out. These stories are dictated by the individuals themselves and hence adds a personal touch that is sure to make you cry.

Source: The Women's Magazine

Aisha Chaudhury

It starts with Aisha Chaudhury, who was a teen girl living with Pulmonary Fibrosis, untreatable scarring of lungs. Despite being attached to an oxygen tank, she flew high having given a high profile TED talk at Pune and publishing her book- My Little Epiphanies. Sadly a year after the release of Gifted, in 2015, Aisha passed away at the age of 19. If her story sounds familiar to you its because The Sky is Pink is based on her and her family. This young girl who knew her life came with an early expiry date promoted living in the present and finding true happiness in those moments.

Source: yourstory.com

Ashwin Karthik with friend, Bharat

There’s Ashwin Karthik, born with cerebral palsy, who’s mother was told by the doctor that nothing can be made out of him, he is a doll. At that moment his mother had decided that she for sure would make something out of him. He went on to become the first quadriplegic to graduate with BE and went on to work as an IT engineer in Bangalores finest IT giants. On top of a frustrating childhood, Ashwins father passed away. He used to write poetry with his father and stopped until he met Bharat. This is where you realise he is truly gifted. Bharat became his companion for life, his partner in all phases. He gave up his owns dreams of engineering to help Ashwin complete his.

Source: alchetron.com

George Abraham

There was a young boy determined to run in school races despite coming last. Despite teachers demotivating him, he finally won a race and that set his life. He went on to practise every morning for hours, throughout high school and college and even after getting a lucrative job in marketing he was determined to bring a change in the world. A change in the way they treated visually impaired people. This was George Abraham who may have been blind but went on to become an athlete. He claimed that the tragedy was not being blind, it was the way people treated the blind.

Each of the other stories are also phenomenal and you will laugh and cry with them realising that they have faced the harshest treatment from society and yet the best of humanity. Their journeys have been charred by disbelievers and redundant thought process, but without their support systems which often came in the form of kind strangers, they would not be where they are. Despite the west having progressed in its treatment of the disabled, in India, they are still ‘handicapped’ and expected to not have dreams. This also is a reminder of less the Government helps. For example- till date children born with mental differences cannot get an education beyond the 8th grade. It is our responsibility to support NGOs that are providing a helping hand and call for action from the Government. It is high time we embrace the diversity of ability and don’t push them to the margins of society. Instead, provide them with space next to you, allow them to be treated as normal and you will realise your sympathy wasn’t even needed.

I’d like to give this book 15 out of ten for each of those people who changed my perception of what is possible.