SUMANTH, THOMSON REUTERS, IIM INDORE 2011

Cerebral palsy fails to dampen spirit of Karnataka youth who cracked CAT

Published: Wednesday, Jun 1, 2011, 9:05 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

When Sumanth KV was born, many around him — relatives and neighbours — felt sorry for the kid. Twenty-seven-years later, many certainly aspire to be like him. Sumanth was born with cerebral palsy, and today, he is the first cerebral palsy patient from Karnataka to have cracked the Common Admission Test (CAT). He has secured admission in IIM Indore and has a bright future ahead.

“His speech and legs were worst hit. We had admitted him to the Spastic Society of India, a rehabilitation centre for the mentally and physically challenged, when he was two-and-a-half years old. He received an excellent treatment from the school headed by Rukmini Krishnaswamy. He could barely manage to walk till he turned five,” said Vasuki KS, the proud father.

This was when the Spastic Society thought Sumanth could be given normal schooling. We had a tough time hunting for a school until Webster School came forward, said Vasuki.

Sumanth and his family fought for what they deserved. The boy appeared for his first board exam with the aid of a scribe. He passed with a first-class and that was just the beginning. “My first attempt at CAT was in third-year BCom. However, I couldn’t manage to get a good score,” remembered Sumanth.

After completing his degree, he began hunting for a job. Enable India, an NGO, which works to induct physically and mentally challenged people into mainstream work culture, helped him get a job at Thomson Reuters.

While at work, Sumanth was determined to crack CAT. “I kept trying. In my third attempt, I scored well in Verbal Ability and Maths, but the Data Interpretation paper bogged me down from getting another chance at the IIMs. Though my scores were good enough to fetch me a place at other top notch private business schools, they all rejected my application as I was physically challenged,” said Sumanth.

In 2010, he took up CAT again, this time putting his heart and soul into preparations. He then got a call from IIM, Indore, for an interview under persons with disability (PWD) category where he had to compete among 161 other PWD students for the 14 seats available. Finally he got selected for the course.

Sumanth has his bags packed and eyes full of dreams and aspirations as he is all set to make IIM Indore his abode for the next two years.

When asked if he had to convey something to his fellow differently-abled people, he said, “Hope never abandons you. Don’t just sit back thinking you can’t do anything. At least have enough courage to go out there and give it a shot.”