Life is tough for those born with a disability,
traumatic for those whom disability strikes like a bolt from the blue,
and a catastrophe for those who cannot cope with such an eventuality.
Featured here are a cross-section of amazing Indians who managed to
achieve the impossible in the face of great physical handicaps.
The never-say-die attitude of these brave men and women will always serve as an inspiration for generations to come.
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi
The Indian cricket captain from 1962 to 1970,
popularly called Tiger Pataudi met with a nasty car accident in the
early 1960s resulting in complete loss of vision of his right eye. This
was just when he was at the threshold of a great future. He continued
playing undeterred by this big blow and went on to not only continue
playing the game but also captained the side.
Amitabh Bachchan
The
reigning superstar of Bollywood in the 1970s, Big B’s magnificent run
came to a stop when he met with a near fatal accident on the sets of the
film Coolie. Though he miraculously recovered after long
hospitilisation, he was not fit enough to carry on acting like in his
salad days. After short stints of acting and retirement which also saw
him start his own company ABCL that eventually proved a failure and led
him to incur massive financial losses. Amitabh recovered lost ground
after the stupendous success of the tele-show Kaun Banega Crorepati
which he successfully anchored. He also resumed acting thanks to his
great will power, resilience and solid support from family and friends.
Hrithik Roshan
Not many know that the mega star has been suffering
from a major stuttering problem ever since age 6 and has gone through
several painful speech therapy sessions to improve his speech. He
continues with speech therapy even now fearing that he may get back to
stuttering and incoherent speech.
Sudha Chandran
A
highly talented dancer who started giving public performances at a very
young age, life dealt a very cruel blow to Sudha Chandran when she was
seriously injured in a bus mishap in Tamil Nadu. The ensuing
hospitilisation and medical negligence led to her leg developing
gangrene and an amputation. Only 17 then, the young dancer was in a
state of shock for months together. The realisation that she could try
to get back to dancing dawned to her when she heard of the famous Jaipur
Foot. Many visits to Jaipur and several dancing trials later, the brave
woman mastered dancing with the Foot.
Ravindra Jain
The renowned music director who scored the music for
such hit films like Chitchor, Saudagar and Ram Teri Ganga Maili was born
blind. Noticing his flair for songs and music, Ravindra Jain 's parents
sent him to music classes at a very early age. From then on, there was
no looking back. Besides being a composer, Ravindra Jain is also a good
singer.
Hemant Trivedi
He belongs to the crème de la crème of the Indian
fashion scene and was the only male to graduate from the prestigious
Western Australian Institute of Design, Perth. Almost a decade back,
Hemant Trivedi was all but dead in a terrible car accident in Mumbai.
Timely medical intervention thanks to his mobile phone helped the
designer recover and recuperate.
Leander Paes
With
a string of international championship wins, Leander Paes has put the
traumatic period in 2003 when he was hospitalised for suspected cancer,
behind him. Luckily for the tennis star, the diagnosis turned out to be
negative and he was found to be affected by neurocysticercosis, another
name for a parasitic brain infection.
Dr Jaipal Reddy
The 68-year-old Minister for Urban Development who is
wheelchair bound or uses crutches is one of the livewires of the
present cabinet. In 1998, he was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian
Award for his prowess in tackling political debates.
Sandeep Singh
The former Indian hockey team captain and penalty
corner specialist Sandeep Singh was grievously injured after being
accidentally struck on the abdomen by a stray bullet. The incident that
happened aboard the Shatabdi Express resulted in the player missing out
on the 2006 Hockey World Cup. He survived the ordeal and went on to
resume playing for the country.
Sharad Pawar
The Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has had multiple operations
around his mouth for removing tumours and lesions. The resulting
contortions on his face have definitely hampered his speech but not his
spirit.
Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan was dyslexic when he was a child
and attended a special school. The critically acclaimed film Taare
Zameen Par which evolves around childhood dyslexia cites Abhishek's case
of a child with dyslexia who went on to not only conquer the disorder
but also became a big achiever.
Salil Ankola
The dashing all-rounder made his international
cricket debut in the same match as maestro Sachin Tendulkar. Later, in
spite of being in the national teams several times over, he never got to
play a match which resulted in an additional term in cricket jargon
called 'Ankolad'. His cricket career came to an abrupt halt when a
tumour was detected on his shin around the year 1997.The affliction
resulted in him having around 34 stress fractures. After his cricket
career ended Ankola took to acting on the small screen and has acted in
several shows like Balaji Telefilms' Karam Apna Apna and also Season 1
of Big Boss. He also acted in a couple of Bollywood films like Chura
Liyaa Hai Tumne.
Lisa Ray
A
familiar face on the Indian advertisement scene ever since she appeared
in a Bombay Dyeing ad with Karan Kapoor, the Canadian-born model, whose
father is a Bengali and mother Polish, Lisa Ray has also acted in quite
a few films notably Deepa Mehta’s Oscar-nominated film Water.
In June 2009, Ray was diagnosed with multiple myeloma
and had been undergoing treatment. A stem cell transplant in April this
year has completely cured her of the cancer and the actress who put up a
brave face all through her battle with the dreaded disease is now back
in the thick of action.
Sonali Rathod
The singer who is married to tabla player-turned
singer Roop Kumar Rathod had a serious throat problem in the middle of
her career and almost lost her voice. She resumed her career later and
was instrumental in her husband's transformation from a tabla player to a
singer
These are but a few of the numerous brave Indians who
have battled disability and gone on to shine in their respective
careers or taken up an alternative career. Hats of to these brave men
and women featured here and those not featured here who live by example.
Source: India Syndicate
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