She won over cancer!

“You can be a victim of cancer, or a survivor of cancer. It’s a mindset.”

-Dave Pelzer

She was all set to go on a pilgrimage to Mansarover in May 2015, but had to postpone her trip because of the massive earthquake in Nepal. She is 53 years old and weighs 80 kgs.This is no barrier for her. Not even the fact that she has undergone a major operation for breast cancer. Meet Mrs Meenabehn Nathwani of Rajkot Gujrat, who has become an epitome of courage and will power by defeating the scourge of cancer with the help of medicines, yogic exercises ,meditation and above all will power.

Meenabehn belongs to a middle class family. She did her graduation in Commerce and got married to an Army man. Her husband had to quit his job after 5 years because of his father’s serious illness. Back home the couple started running a canteen in a local College about 15 years ago. They sell snacks to the College students from 9 am to 12 noon.Meenabehn is fond of cooking a variety of dishes. This hobby soon became her profession. She started supplying ready-made food for birthdays and kitty parties. People praised the tasty dishes prepared by her. She says she never took it as a burden, but put her heart and soul into it. Her involvement can be seen from the fact that she always imagined the appreciation and blessings from the people who would eat the food cooked by her. Her husband also helps her in the Canteen as well as the catering business.

                            Meenabehn Nathwani

Meena was leading a normal life bringing up her two sons and getting them married. The happiness of the family was punctured by an unexpected incident in June 2014, when she was diagnosed of breast cancer stage two. This shocking news disturbed her sons and daughters in law but she remained calm and stable. After a battery of medical tests she was advised to undergo operation.

She had a doubt whether the cancer had spread to other organs, so she got further tests done. Fortunately she was relieved to know that it was only localized. She heard an inner voice telling her “nothing will happen, you will be alright”.She believed it with unwavering faith and all the negativities vanished! “I decided with firm determination that I have to defeat cancer” said Meenabehn.

She prepared herself mentally for the D day .Belief in God and constant prayers gave her strength. The operation was successfully performed on 12 Sept 2014.Regular doses of medicines along with Chemotherapy sessions continued for about three months which caused weakness and aversion for food. Her positive bent of mind kept her away from depression. “I took all nutritious food even if they were not to my taste or liking, as I needed energy to recoup” said Meena. Her family supported her all through her illness and always gave her hope. Her main source of strength was her affirmation,”I am perfectly healthy and full of energy. Each day and in every way I am getting better and better”

Her belief in God has stood her in good stead all through her life. She has gone on pilgrimage to Amarnath and other shrines. Three months after the operation she consulted a yoga teacher Nirmal Sinh Jadeja who advised her to practice Pranayama & meditation. After another three months she resumed her ‘asana’ practice & in next six months she was diagnosed completely healthy by her doctors .Meena does yogic exercises daily for one hour in the morning and meditation for one hour daily in the evening. Talking about her philosophy of life she said, “no one is aware of the future, there will be ups and downs in life. Sad moments and illness may occur, but one should maintain his balance.Strenghten your will power and don’t let negativities come near you. If you do this then you can achieve whatever you want.” When asked to give a message to cancer patients, she said “Don’t worry or panic when cancer is detected. You should remain stable and after six or seven months you will get back to normal life. Always think positive and expect the best. Draw strength from prayers and you will be blessed. Meenabehn radiates hope and confidence in cancer patients when she talks to them. She is all set to go on a trip to Mansarover, which is not easy even for people having normal health.

A HIV + survivor brings succor to women and children with HIV

“I enjoy being the messenger for God in terms of letting people know about HIV and AIDS.”

-Magic Johnson

Having lost her mother at the age of two, Kousalya spent her childhood shuttling between the homes of her grandmother and stepmother, in the small town of Namakkal in South India. She aspired to be a nurse, but her family did not allow her to study beyond 12th standard .She was married off to a cousin soon after completing secondary school. Forty-five days later, her husband committed suicide, and the cause of his death was kept a secret from the young bride. She was subsequently driven out of her marital home. When she herself fell ill, she went to a clinic, where a staff nurse made the shocking revelation that her husband had tested HIV positive. It had also been transmitted to Koushlaya through her husband.

“The doctors had warned me that I won’t live beyond a few months, so whatever needed to be done must be done quickly,” laughs Kousalya. Filled with anger and outrage at how her family had treated her, Kousalya took the brave step of filing a case with the local police. Ignorant of the stigma attached to HIV and AIDS or the seriousness of the illness, she went public with her story in 1995, becoming the first woman in the country to come out openly with her status. The media approached her for her story. “They told me my story would be useful for other women, so I said okay because I had heard about other people who were infected and had similar problems to mine,” she said. She says she became an activist by accident.

Her story made national headlines, which Kousalya considers a blessing in disguise, and she came in contact with several citizen organizations working on the disease. This interaction opened up an entirely new world for Kousalya. Armed with information on the disease, she started work in a private hospital as a counselor and began to put together the elements of a model that could break through personal and institutional roadblocks. She moved from Namakkal to the state capital of Chennai with her uncle in 1997. Here, she joined an initiative called INP Plus (Indian Network for Positive People Plus) which disseminated information about HIV/AIDS. When INP Plus opened a separate wing for women and children – PWN (Positive Women’s Network) Plus – Kousalya was chosen to head it. Along the way, the Tamil-speaking young woman taught herself English in order to connect with national and international players and policy makers.

Many in Kousalya’s place would have wallowed in self-pity and blamed their fate for all the misfortunes that had befallen them. But not this brave heart, who shook off the disappointments and the tragedies that beset her life, and extended a comforting hand to hundreds of other HIV positive women, giving them emotional support and the encouragement to face life’s challenges. Those were hard days for HIV patients. People then believed that AIDS virus would spread through air and even doctors were scared of treating HIV patients. “There were many myths about the disease, but the situation has improved much now,” says Kousalya, whose organization works with around 30,000 HIV positive women in 13 States.

There are about 2.5 million HIV positive people in India now. “About 40 percent of them are women. It is estimated that nearly 86 percent of the women got the virus from a single partner, in most cases their husband,” she discloses. She goes on to dispel certain false beliefs about the disease and says 92 percent of children born to HIV mothers are not born with the disease. Fifteen years ago the cost of anti-retroviral drugs used in treatment of HIV/AIDS – which can only be controlled and not cured – was very expensive. In 2000, when Kousalya began her treatment, she used to spend Rs.7500 every month on her medicine. Now the drugs are available free of cost in government hospitals. PWN along with other agencies fought for free treatment of HIV patients.

She finds that the biggest problem for women in India now is that while there is information on HIV available to sex workers and truckers, there is not enough of it for housewives. But her greatest hope for women in India is that they will shrug off the stigma the virus carries. “I’ve been living with HIV for 15 years. HIV is a label. Like any disease, people are creating the label so if they themselves remove the label, they can lead a normal life.”PWN has also started working among HIV positive children and adolescents.

PWN Plus’ pan-India membership has ratcheted up from four to 7,000 plus, making it the only national-level lobby group to have a separate focus for HIV positive women. “One of PWN’s newer projects, Social Light Communications – supported by UNDP – has established a designing and printing unit for positive women in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Through this initiative, positive women design banners, posters, gift articles, jewelry and greeting cards to sell them to large corporations .The profit from this designing unit is being ploughed back into providing jobs for positive women. A textile shop at a district called Villupuram in Tamil Nadu– which sells saris – is also supported with the funds, and provides work to about 50 positive women on a regular basis. These saris are bought from whole sale merchants and sold by positive women to corporates and walk in customers.

Since 2013 PWN has also started working among HIV positive children and adolescents. “We conducted two programs and connected with about 150 children. “We want to find ways to stop discrimination of HIV children in schools and work for setting up of youth resource centres for HIV children, who could then come together and be a support for each other,” says Kousalya. Today, PWN+ helps some 10,000 women with HIV, and has member networks in other parts of India. It has also spun off social enterprises, including Social Light Communications, a business providing design and print services. Similarly, the network’s WE (Women Empowerment) shops – launched in 2007 – are providing livelihood to women across five states. “These mobile shops display and sell products like craft items, savories’ and honey made by positive women,” informs Kousalya.

“Today,” elaborates Kousalya, “we have 14 state networks in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Manipur, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. Our networks in five states like Maharashtra, Mizoram, Manipur, Pondicherry and Haryana are operating without any external support or funding. “While focusing so much on kids, does the crusader regret not having any of her own? “Life is too short for regrets,” she says. “I’ve made a name for myself because I am HIV positive. I consider this an advantage. Else, I may well have died unsung in Namakkal!”

As president of PWN Plus, Kousalya frequently travels in India and abroad playing multifarious roles – of activist, counselor and speaker on HIV and AIDS issues. She speaks fluent English and adroitly handles journalistic enquiries. “I have addressed the Indian Parliament (2000) about the problems of HIV-positive people, spoken at the British Parliament (2004), had interactions with erstwhile president Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (2006), U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan (2006) and with Congress President Sonia Gandhi (2006),” she says with pride.

She won over cancer!

“You can be a victim of cancer, or a survivor of cancer. It’s a mindset.”

-Dave Pelzer

She was all set to go on a pilgrimage to Mansarover in May 2015, but had to postpone her trip because of the massive earthquake in Nepal. She is 53 years old and weighs 80 kgs.This is no barrier for her. Not even the fact that she has undergone a major operation for breast cancer. Meet Mrs Meenabehn Nathwani of Rajkot Gujrat, who has become an epitome of courage and will power by defeating the scourge of cancer with the help of medicines, yogic exercises and meditation.

Meenabehn belongs to a middle class family. She did her graduation in Commerce and got married to an Army man. Her husband had to quit his job after 5 years because of his father’s serious illness. Back home the couple started running a canteen in a local College about 15 years ago. They sell snacks to the College students from 9 am to 12 noon.Meenabehn is fond of cooking a variety of dishes. This hobby soon became her profession. She started supplying ready-made food for birthdays and kitty parties. People praised the tasty dishes prepared by her. She says she never took it as a burden, but put her heart and soul into it. Her involvement can be seen from the fact that she always imagined the appreciation and blessings from the people who would eat the food cooked by her. Her husband also helps her in the Canteen as well as the catering business.

                            Meenabehn Nathwani

Meena was leading a normal life bringing up her two sons and getting them married. The happiness of the family was punctured by an unexpected incident in June 2014, when she was diagnosed of breast cancer stage two. This shocking news disturbed her sons and daughters in law but she remained calm and stable. After a battery of medical tests she was advised to undergo operation.

She had a doubt whether the cancer had spread to other organs, so she got further tests done. Fortunately she was relieved to know that it was only localized. She heard an inner voice telling her “nothing will happen, you will be alright”.She believed it with unwavering faith and all the negativities vanished! “I decided with firm determination that I have to defeat cancer” said Meenabehn.

She prepared herself mentally for the D day .Belief in God and constant prayers gave her strength. The operation was successfully performed on 12 Sept 2014.Regular doses of medicines along with Chemotherapy sessions continued for about three months which caused weakness and aversion for food. Her positive bent of mind kept her away from depression. “I took all nutritious food even if they were not to my taste or liking, as I needed energy to recoup” said Meena. Her family supported her all through her illness and always gave her hope. Her main source of strength was her affirmation,”I am perfectly healthy and full of energy. Each day and in every way I am getting better and better”

Her belief in God has stood her in good stead all through her life. She has gone on pilgrimage to Amarnath and other shrines. Three months after the operation she consulted a yoga teacher Nirmal Sinh Jadeja who advised her to practice Pranayama & meditation. After another three months she resumed her ‘asana’ practice & in next six months she was diagnosed completely healthy by her doctors .Meena does yogic exercises daily for one hour in the morning and meditation for one hour daily in the evening. Talking about her philosophy of life she said, “no one is aware of the future, there will be ups and downs in life. Sad moments and illness may occur, but one should maintain his balance.Strenghten your will power and don’t let negativities come near you.If you do this then you can achieve whatever you want.” When asked to give a message to cancer patients, she said “Don’t worry or panic when cancer is detected.You should remain stable and after six or seven months you will get back to normal life. Always think positive and expect the best. Draw strength from prayers and you will be blessed. Meenabehn radiates hope and confidence in cancer patients when she talks to them. She is all set to go on a trip to Mansarover, which is not easy for normally healthy people.

Muscular dystrophy could not come in his way

“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure

 in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”

Christopher Reeve         

He was a mechanical engineer working for JK Synthetics Ltd, a polyester plant in Kota. In 1974 he started having trouble climbing steps; he later discovered he had muscular dystrophy, a hereditary muscle disease for which there is no cure. He got a shock when he realized that he had been confined to a wheel chair. A local doctor warned him that death was imminent, while another more optimistic physician in London advised him to take up teaching. In 1981, he began teaching, starting with one 7th standard student. He was not sure whether he could teach, without any teaching background. Today, the coaching classes which he founded, has eight storeys which are connected by wheelchair ramps. He has become a pioneer in the field of coaching for IIT JEE having a thriving business with annual earnings close to 1 billion rupees.

It is my proud privilege to present before you VK Bansal, the founder of “Bansal Classes”. The success of Bansal Classes led to the creation of many more coaching classes, many of them started by Bansal’s former employees. Some even teach students how to clear the entrance exam to get into Bansal Classes. Kota which at one time was famous for Kota sarees and Kota stone has now become a hub of coaching classes.

Bansal was born in Jhansi on October 26, 1946. His family owned a sweet shop in the city. After passing high school at the top of his class, he went on to study engineering at the Benares Hindu University, graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1971. Shortly after graduating, he married and moved to the city of Kota, Rajasthan to work as a mechanical engineer for JK Synthetics Ltd, a polyester plant that shut down in the late 1990s. It was shocking when in 1974 his efforts to get treatment of muscular dystrophy at AIIMS and many other hospitals in the country failed. “My plan was to become a chief engineer of the plant or a general manager but things went in a different direction,” he says.

In 1981, Bansal began teaching, starting with one 7th standard student. In five months, he had another student, and the next year he managed to get another. He was not sure whether he could teach engineering students. “My aim was to settle down with a salary that matched what I used to draw at J.K. Synthetics,” says Bansal.”At first, I used to teach six students around my dining table. Then I added a few stools to make it 12.” In 1983, he met G.D. Agrawal, who ran a Mumbai-based IIT coaching institute. Agrawal motivated Bansal he could do the same.  During the period 1981 to 1991, he kept himself so busy fourteen hours a day – eight hours in the factory and six hours in studying and teaching in such a way that he left no time spare to think of his disability. During these ten years, he taught X, XI classes, PET & IIT Entrance students. A confidence began to develop in him in 1984 when he gave coaching to PET students at National Coaching Institute situated at Kota Junction. He took voluntary retirement from J.K.Synthetics, Kota in 1991 and fully devoted himself to “Bansal Classes”.

One of his students got through to IIT-Roorkie in 1985, and a similar feat was achieved in 1986. Soon, Bansal found himself with more students than he could handle. “I had to devise a test to select a few whom I could teach—and we follow that practice even today,” Bansal explains. Although he cannot stand without support, he zips from classroom to classroom in a motorized wheelchair. The coaching empire represents a quantum leap for a man who began teaching one student, that too free of charge in 1974. “We were engineers working for industries,” says Pramod Bansal, CEO, Bansal Classes. “Teaching was not exactly in line with our profession. But as we had the background and aptitude it needed, we started Bansal Classes.”

Bansal teaches about 17,000 students every year; about 25 percent of them get through to the IITs.Till now he has taught 1.5 lakh students out of which more than 20,000 have made it to the IIT’s. Interestingly, Bansal does not market its services, instead relying on word-of-mouth publicity. It only advertises on two occasions: when the admission dates for the IIT-JEE classes are announced, and when the results of the IIT-JEE entrance exams are declared. In 2007, Bansal Classes moved to a new, bigger campus of 10,768 square meters.

V.K. Bansal, 60, says he is now worth more than $20 million—and the industry he created, along with its ancillary businesses, is worth millions more. Now he has enough money to take care of his needs, even if he quits teaching today—but he enjoys teaching too much to do so. Requests to set up similar coaching class centers in Dubai have been pouring in, but Bansal has, so far, refused to expand his business anymore. By the late 1990s, Bansal’s students began to regularly figure in the top 100 of the IIT entrance test ranks.

To enter Bansal’s classroom, Class X students must have secured more than 75% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. They must also pass an entrance exam devised by Bansal. He says he has never advertised his classes, but his reputation lures in students from all over India. Bansal’s classes cost Rs 40,000-50,000 per student, setting the benchmark rate across Kota, even across India. His highest paid teacher earns Rs30 lakh annually—and Bansal gifted him a car last Diwali. Bansal admits the business model has been highly profitable, but says that’s not what drew him to the classroom. “I have never chased money, money has chased me,” says Bansal.He credits his students with helping him outsmart the doctors’ prognosis. “In a classroom, energy also flows from the taught to the teacher,” he says. “Sometimes, when I am stuck over a problem, a bright student can end up teaching me. I have always kept an open mind on that.”

Bansal has begun handing the business’ responsibility to his children. Two daughters head offshoots of the academy in Jaipur and Ajmer, and his son helps in Kota. But Bansal says it’s too soon to retire; he’s just constructed a new campus. “If I don’t teach, I will die,” he says, setting his wheelchair in motion for the next class. Today, he starts studying at 7 a.m., works on practice problems until noon. After lunch, he goes to class, where he gets the answers to the problems, gets home around 8 p.m. and does homework until midnight. He developed an intensive study system that bombards students with test questions for nine hours a day for two years.

In 2007 Bansal Classes has opened a new, bigger campus that is in better condition than some IITs and is fully wheelchair accessible for Mr. Bansal, who still teaches up to five classes a day. His mobility has declined to the point where he can barely lift a pen. But he says being in a wheelchair 12 hours a day means he has more time to think of challenging questions for students. “Teaching is my breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he says.

He underwent bypass surgery and treatment of dural hematoma (bleeding in the brain) In Jan 2014 Bansal sent a CD narrating his life story in a seminar held in the Neurology Department of AIIMS New Delhi. He told that he had been writing for six hours daily, because of which the muscles of his hand are functional. Till 2012 he used to take lectures for 7-8 hours daily because of which his lungs and heart are functioning normally. Five hundred neurologists attending the seminar felt that it was simply miraculous. The life and work of VK Bansal is really a miracle which will continue to inspire millions of people in the years to come.

Living with HIV AIDS

 “I enjoy being the messenger for God in terms of letting people know about HIV and AIDS.” 

Magic Johnson

Within fifteen days of his marriage he tested HIV positive. He was almost sure that his wife would have also got the infection for no fault of her’s. She used to keep crying for hours together. The doctor who counseled her gave her the option to leave. He would have gone in depression, or even committed suicide, but he kept himself stable, and today he is the President of a CBO,Madhya Pradesh Network of People living with  HIV/AIDS.

Meet Mr Manoj Verma, who is a living example of how a person can change his life with his will power and positive mental attitude. He was born in a farmer family in Sultanpur (UP) His mother used to stitch clothes to augment the income of the family. Family circumstances forced him to drop out of school after class VIII .He had developed interest in stitching and wanted to be a tailor. He kept wandering from place to place, as he could not make up his mind. He finally came to Indore where one of his uncles had settled down after retiring from BSF.

He started working as a tailor to earn his living. He got married in 2003.Within a few days he was having fever which could not be controlled by common medicines. He finally went in for blood tests and other investigations. There was a lurking doubt in his mind that he may have contacted HIV AIDS. In fact he was told by the girl with whom he had illicit relations that she has tested HIV positive. The girl died within a month. The inevitable happened -Manoj tested HIV positive.

On hearing about such shocking news, his wife was thrown off balance. She cried her heart out, but later reconciled, and regained her composure. When people told her to get separated, she retorted “what if he had developed cancer after marriage? “His in-laws did not even have an inkling of the fact that Manoj was having HIV AIDS. Even after five years when the couple remained issueless, they kept on pestering him .In 2008 Manoj adopted a girl, setting an example for society.

A ray of hope came in the life of Manoj in May 2006 when he came in contact with Mr KK Abraham and Mr Naresh Yadav through an NGO “Vishwas” in Indore, during a workshop on people living with HIV AIDS. They motivated him to form a network of such people and work for a good cause. The inner feeling of guilt was replaced with confidence. Medication along with multivitamins gave him the energy to continue his work. In fact medicines worth about Rs 4000 per month are given free of cost to HIV AIDS patients by the ART center hospitals on the basis of CD4 blood test report.

Manoj Verma is now the President of Madhya Pradesh Network of people living with HIV AIDS. (MPNP+)It is a Community based organization, which functions under the Indian network of people living with HIV AIDS. Its objective is to spread awareness about HIV AIDS, clear the myths, identify effected people and bring them into the mainstream of society, by developing positive thinking and provide psychosocial support, and work for their acceptance in society. “HIV patients also have a right to live with dignity and peace, like other members of society” adds Manoj.

People living with HIV AIDS and their families have been subjected to various forms of stigma and discrimination.MPNP+provides them a much needed safe environment to come together without the fear of being judged. They are able to discuss their HIV status freely, as they have accepted it.This removes the initial fear and stigma, and paves the way for empowerment. Although they cannot be cured, people are provided with enough information and support to make decisions. They are encouraged to participate in various activities which boost their self-confidence.

When asked to give a message to the youth, Manoj said “be aware, be cautious and practice safe sex”.Talking about HIV AIDS people he advised them, “remain busy and don’t worry, take timely medicines and nutritious food”MPNP+ is presently working in ten districts of Madhya Pradesh.Manoj plans to cover all the fifty one districts in the next five years.

Another pioneering and revolutionary step which has been undertaken by MPNP+ is the marriage of a male and female both suffering from HIV AIDS. Surprisingly, a child born out of such marriage has been quite normal, which is a big breakthrough. Apart from this MPNP+ has been providing legal aid and counseling to people living with HIV AIDS.

(The above success story is based on the interview of Mr Manoj Verma with Maj Pradeep Khare)

He didn’t let disability come in his way.

“It’s not the disability that defines you; its how you deal with the challenges the disability presents you with.”

– Jim Abbott

                  ‘If you have not discovered a passion worth dying for, your life is not worth living,’ American icon Martin Luther King had once said, and so believes  Navin Gulia while atop the highest motor able pass in the world, Marsimik La at 18, 532 feet. ‘Delhi’s Navin Gulia hit headlines after his driving world record in 2004, but has since traveled to even more gratifying life motives, all from his wheelchair .

               Beginning in 1973, Gulia’s story has many ingredients novel writers dig. The prologue of this, he says, would be “Life has to come and go but we need to make something of it.” No, he wouldn’t have been philosophizing thus had his destiny not taken him to the Indian Military Academy when he was 18. Always competing with his brother, Navin was a natural military scout. After four years of training, he reached a level called the ‘Passing Out Parade’ which required him to complete an obstacle course. “I was at the top of a high ramp after crossing an eight feet ditch when I felt a push.” In a moment that changed his life course, Navin landed on his upper back, damaging his spine as he tumbled from the pedestal.

For two whole years after this, he was unable to move, lying in a hospital bed. “If an enemy can attack you from three directions, he will attack you from the fourth. Life is the same,” he explains, like a military man, also showing the spirit to harbor no grudge against his batch-mate who ‘pushed’ him. “I’m sure he did not intend to paralyze me,” he tells us with a slight chuckle. Though his doctor claimed he would never be able to move again, Gulia believed differently. In these two years, Navin kept his mind agile by solving puzzles. He was determined to sharpen his faculties since his body would no longer be able to do what it once did. After being discharged, he completed his Masters in Computers and cleared the UGC NET examination, to become a lecturer. The stint wasn’t a long one as he soon began to nurture a dream to be mobile, not confined to a classroom.

I wanted to drive a car. I knew no one else would understand what I wanted. So I began to learn a bit about automobiles online. It began with modifying the humble Maruti 800 into a fancier model. Telling people to not give up was one thing; exhibiting the same through decisions and actions was another, and Gulia never had doubts to choose the latter. “I decided to drive up to Khardung La, which is thought to be the highest motor able pass. After completing that, I discovered that Marsimik La was the highest.” That was when he summoned the courage to undertake an arduous drive and in 2004, Gulia hit headlines for driving non-stop for 55 hours, from Delhi to Marsimik La. “Frankly, my brother’s shadow and the unwavering will to compete with him empowered me to complete the drive. I never thought about failing,” he talks of the drive behind the drive. The feat bagged him a bunch of awards, including the Global Indian of the year and the National Role Model Award in.

There are many people with disabilities who have nursed their will and done outstanding things, but perhaps Gulia lives a different life than them, one ridden with substantial media attention.

“Who wouldn’t love it?” he reacts. “But it shouldn’t stop there. It should help me raise funds for my initiative.” Gulia is fruitfully diverting the glare on him to his initiative, ‘Apni Duniya Apna Ashiana’, an outfit to support marginalized children from weaker sections of society. “No child should be made to beg. The state of a nation is decided by the weakest and poorest,” he explains, adding how he’s in talks with the government to get orphans and street children off the streets and into the schools, “Now my main aim is to be constructive for society, “he adds.

For now, his routine is also about motivational speaking, and writing. “I took to compiling my experiences in a book to be able to express and reach out to many more people and tell them that amazing things are possible with just a little perseverance “says Gulia.In ‘Quest of the Last Victory’, Gulia talks of the drive of his life, his philosophies before and after it and more. “Each time a difficult task crosses our paths, remember, it’s our thoughts that stop us, not our abilities.” he sums up.

He lost his hands, but not his spirit!

“Courage and strength is not the absence of fear – it’s refusing to assume the role of a victim” – Anne Wafula Strike

Doing anything is rightly related to the hands and if someone has lost his hands, can he be expected to do anything? Obviously not, meet Mr. Purn Pasdesi of Bajwada village in Hosharpur (Punjab). He retired from Vishveshwanand Vedic Research Institute, Hoshiarpur in 2005. Thereafter he continued to work on contract basis as a proof reader. In 1976 he received the National award from the then President Fakruddin Ali Ahmed.

            Pardesi’s father was employed as gang men in Shakoor Basti Railway Station, Delhi. Tragedy struck him, when he was going to school as a student of class four. He fell down while alighting from the train and both his hands got crushed under the wheels. Even after losing both his hands when Purn Chand insisted on continuing his studies, his father sent him to Jawaharlal Nehru Rehabilitation Institute in Delhi.

He managed to study with full zeal and dedication and passed matriculation examination in second division, thereafter he shifted to Hoshiarpur with his elder brother.When he was looking out for job in 1970, late Amar Nath Shastri offered him the job of a proof reader in Sadhu Ashram Press. His dedication for the job endeared him to all the staff and they appreciated his efforts against all odds.

Purn Chand retired in 2005, but he did not stop his work which was so dear to him. He still continues to do proof reading. No wonder he has the unique distinction of immaculately proof reading lakhs of book in English Hindi & Punjabi which is a record of sorts. He does the proof reading with such concentration and attention that not even a single mistake can pass unnoticed.

True to his name Purn Chand is a complete and fully contented man. He says “life has given me enough why should I have any grudge against God”. The message of his life is loud and clear “if you have a burning desire to do something and your determination to succeed is strong enough, then no obstacle can come in your way. He has shown to the world that disability is not a barrier in the path of progress.

Purn Chand did not get married because in his words “I don’t want to become a burden on anyone or be at the mercy of some one. His brothers and their families give him all the love, respect and support,

Even after losing both his hands Purn Chand has done such remarkable work, which even able bodied people would not do. He sums up his philosophy of life in these words “disability cannot be an excuse for not doing something.”

Height of will power

                     “Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that so it goes on flying anyway” – Mary Kay Ash             

She made a painting on a canvas 5’X3’ having 1248 different forms of Ganesh each in one square inch space, with a portrait of Lord Ganesh in the background. She coloured it with 4215 different shades using the minutest brush 000. This painting rightly titled “Adbhut” won a place in the Limca Book of world records in 2009. She is a postgraduate in Fine Arts. She won the Danik Bhaskar Women of the year award 2010. She is a sculptor and a poet having composed more than 1500 poems. She has organized numerous panting exhibitions. The list of her achievements will startle a normal person – more so because she is paraplegic. Meet Ms Kshama Kulshrestra of Bhopal who has belied the predictions of doctors with her reservoir of will power, creativity and energy.

Way back in 1998 when Kshama had gone to attend a function on the fourth floor terrace of a relative’s house. One side of the boundary wall was broken and a tent was put to cover it. Unknowingly she drifted towards the edge and fell down. She sustained about a dozen fractures in her spinal cord. She had to be bed ridden for almost 15 months, during which she underwent about 70 major and minor operations. The doctors lost all hope and predicted that she will never be able to stand up or walk.

When she was in the hospital, someone gifted her book “Lecture from Colombo to Almora” by Swami Vivekananda. It changed her perspective towards life. “I started feeling the presence of God near me. I used to talk to other patients and try to reduce their pain. I used to get peace of mind and feel positive energy which helped me in getting over my illness” she said Dr. Nigam became her savior, by instilling  in her the confidence that she will be able to walk.

So great was her passion for painting that even when she was bedridden, her mother and sister used to hold the canvas for hours, to enable her to paint lying down. Incredible it may sound ,but she actually  started painting when she was 2 ½ years of age. “I feel depressed, if I don’t paint for a day. It gives me energy” she says. As a child she used to be scolded by her father because she used to fill the whole drawing copy in one day. When guests were at home Kshama would prefer to be closeted in a corner , engrossed in drawing rather than mingle with them.

In June 2005 President A P J Abdul Kalam was emotionally moved when Kshama presented him with a poem of 100 lines and 41 matching paintings depicting his life. She received the National Creativity Award in 2008 from the Vice President, and the National Abilimpic Award from Shashi Kapoor.

After the accident, one night when she  was having unbearable pain, she made a painting “feeling of death” hoping that it would be the last painting of her life. Talking about her painting “mysterious friend” she said “God is my mysterious friend, who fulfill all my needs even before I can ask for”

Mrs Urmila Kulshreshtra the proud mother of Kshama is virtually a shadow of her daughter. She left her career of an interior designer and PWD contractor to take care of Kshama. She prayed to God daily to give her strength. “Once when I was sad, my mother gave me rose and uttered some inspiring lines of poetry. I still preserve that rose is my dairy” she says.

Kshama has religiously followed the routine of making one idol of Lord Ganesh daily in just half an hour. She is fond of reading and listening to music. Gulzar and Nida Fazli are her favorite writers. She draws inspiration from Swami Vivekananda and Sachida Nagdev Ji.

She has total faith in God who gives her strength in difficult situations. Talking about her dream Kshama says “I want to start an Art Gallery to provide a platform for upcoming artists and draftsman who are held back because of financial constraints”

Nick named “Bitti” Kshama finds happiness in small things. Narrating a memorable incident she says “on 26 July 2004 my teacher and classmates organized an exhibition of my paintings as a surprise on my birthday. The cake was brought in and the college Art Gallery turned in to a hall of celebration”. When asked to give a message she said” happiness lies within each one of us, and not outside where most of us search for it” She has organized a number of painting exhibitions and has made a place for herself as a creative artist. She finds joy in creating various kinds of art work using oil paints, acrylic colors, paper mashie, glass etc. After the popularity of her earlier exhibition based on the theme” search of happiness” ,she has organized the second phase “Vibrant strokes of Joy” in Oct 2013. Her paintings have a spiritual theme and also a subtle message .Her generosity in evident from the fact that she does not let go any opportunity to help the less fortunate ones.

Kshama has published a book on Art therapy. She is making Vastu based paintings to enhance the positivity in the lives of people. She has been honored by President, Vice President, Governor and Chief Minister among others.

(The above success story is based on the interview of Ms Kshama Kulshreshtra with Maj Pradeep Khare)