Inspiring Trully............. inspringgg

Meet The Paralympic Sportsman Who Broke P.T. Usha’s Records

Sharath Gayakwad: the paralympic who won over 90 medals and is now the first Indian to win six medals in a multi-disciplinary sport event. the Asian Para-games in Incheon, South Korea, 2014. He broke the record of legendary P.T. Usha who had won five medals at the 1986 Asian Games!

Sharath was a born with a deformed hand and took up swimming as a mandatory activity in school and gradually developed a passion for this sport.

After school, Gayakwad continued to pursue swimming as a fitness activity and participated in his first national level competition where he won four gold medals. After that, Gayakwad just went from strength to strength, as he was selected for 2003 FESPIC Youth Games in Hong Kong where he won one Silver and four Bronze medals.

Gayakwad’s passion for the sport and dedication has won him over 39 international medals and 55 national medals so far!
“How many people have a talent that can save someone’s life? Which sport enables you to help others? It is swimming. It is not just a sport activity but a life-saving skill and that is why I am so fond of it,” he says.

The disability is something which he doesn’t think about much now.

“It is a part of me and I have accepted it and even found a way where it doesn’t matter anymore. Yes of course I am at a disadvantage, but it doesn’t stop me from doing anything that I actually want to do,” he says.

Apart from the obvious difficulties, another challenge which Gayakwad faced was financial constraints. Arranging funds for the training, resources, etc. was something Gayakwad had to struggle with.

“I guess, this is the case with most para-athletes and not just me. There should be better facilities available,” he says.

A champion swimmer, Gayakwad is also an amazing coach and trains many students in swimming. An athlete or a coach, which part does he enjoy the most? “Coach!” he responds instantly.

“It gives an immense pleasure that I can pass on this skill to someone else. Of course I enjoy swimming too, but there is a different kind of satisfaction which comes with coaching,” he says.

We congratulate Gayakwad on his achievements. Indeed a charming personality, Gayakwad has inspired many people at such young age and we hope for a great performance from him at the next Paralympics.

Wipro's First Blind Marketing Manager

Meet the man who did not let disability come in his way and is now the Wipro's Marketing Manager

Ankit Jindal lost his eyesight when he was 13 and today he is a successful Marketing Manager at Wipro. From following an ambitious career path and dealing with competition to finding the love of his life, here an amazing story of success.

He was in school when a regular visit to an eye doctor broke this news to his family – that he had been suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a disorder which causes progressive vision loss.

"When I was 13, most of the kids of my age would go out, play, and plan a bright future. But I had to deal with the harsh reality that I would soon be blind,” recalls Ankit Jindal.

By the time Jindal turned 20, he had lost his vision entirely, and was completely dependent on others for even basic tasks.

He started pursuing an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi and when no one found time to handhold him, he would get the notes converted into audio format.It was a college project that got Jindal the recognition that he truly deserved. He led a team which stood at second position at the Tata Business Leadership Awards.

Today he is working as Marketing Manager for Wipro Infotech and is apart of Global Infrastructure Services for three years now and this requires him to travel frequently, meet new people and plan strategies, which he enjoys to the core.

Helping the disabled
Jindal had the desire to do more and reach out to other people with disability to make their life easier. A meeting with an inclusion activist Vidhya Ramasubbam converted into an amazing initiative called Kickstart cabs. Along with Ramasubbam, Jindal launched these cab services in 2013 that catered to the needs of people with disability.

No story is complete without a happy ending in the personal life, and Jindal got that when he met his wife Kanika. A match fixed by Jindal’s parents soon transformed into love and today Kanika is his biggest strength and stands tall with her genius husband. “It was an arranged love,” laughs the couple.

The Future
An adventure enthusiast, Jindal never lets his visual impairment stop him from enjoying his thrills. From white-water rafting to cliff jumping, he has done it all. “I would like to do bungee jumping too,” he says. Content with what life has given him so far, Jindal wants to climb the success ladder even further and become CEO of a company some day.

Willing to continue his efforts in the inclusion sector, he has big plans in store which he promises to reveal only when they take proper shape. We indeed are waiting for this amazing man’s future endeavours and wish him good luck. 

The Mighty Anti Trafficking Crusader

This is the compelling story of Dr. Sunitha Krishnan and her mighty fight against human-trafficking.

Dr. Sunitha Krishnan, a victim of gang rape herself is now the founder of Prajwala, an organization which has been instrumental in rescuing and rehabilitating thousands of women and children. She has now risen from the ashes to rescue others from trafficking. 

She has a blog titled “Sunitha Krishnan: Anti-Trafficking Crusader” where she recounts her experiences of rescue. Her blog posts can just shame us all out of our peaceful existence. This woman has made us realize that although we are a very proud nation, boasting of our glorious past and our current status of being an ‘economic giant’. we still seem to brush under the carpet the sins committed by us. The alarming part is that people who are involved in all this are the ones who are trusted by victims.

At Prajwala, the victim have shelters that are built and a factory where skills like carpentry, welding, etc. are taught to the girls. Prajwala also tries to unite the victims with their families. Sometimes, the victims are not accepted back by the families owing to the backwardness of our views on women. At such times, Prajwala takes full responsibility of these victims. Some women and girls are also married off by Prajwala in its endeavour to integrate the victims back into society. Prajwala also takes care of the last rites of the victims who pass away. In all these tasks, Prajwala faces stiff opposition from our society.

Prajwala works with police and other law enforcement agencies in this job of fighting commercial sexual expolitation. The organization never seeks publicity for the rescue of the girls, letting its work speak for itself.
Prajwala and Sunitha have won many awards for their exemplary work. They are now sought after the world over by programs for rescue and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking.

Even State governments are listening to Prajwala and Sunitha in effecting measures for the prevention of trafficking. All this will surely help in minimising this crime.

Sunitha has said time and again that the silence of the society towards human trafficking has to change. Let us become aware and appreciate Prajwala.

One can become a follower by joining Sunitha Krishnan’s blog, or ‘Like’ Prajwala on facebook to get updates on their work.

The man who rejected 1 Crore against honesty

Meet The Man Who Had The Opportunity To Keep 1 Crore Rupees, Legally, Yet He Did Not!

Sudhakaran who barely earns Rs.10,000 every month working hard in his small shop, once gave away the opportunity to pocket Rs. 1 crore and also returned a gold chain to the police owing to his firm beliefs and value for honesty.

45 year-old K. Sudhakaran runs a little shop, selling sweets, juice, cold-drinks and lottery tickets, in a market in Kanhangad, a town in northern Kerala. This shop is the sole means of livelihood for his family of six, including a daughter who is physically challenged. He is up every morning, at around 4:30, and takes the train from his village to Kanhangad—a journey of more than two hours each way.

One morning, P. Ashokan, a regular customer of his, called him up and asked him to set aside ten lottery tickets for him. When Sudharakan learned that one of those tickets had won the first prize—a whopping ten million rupees, he rang up his father at once. “Call up Ashokan right away and give him the news!” his father told him.

Sudhakaran did as his father instructed. Ashokan could hardly believe his ears when he learnt what had happened!

Ashokan had not paid for the tickets. Nor had Sudhakaran told him the ticket numbers. And so, Sudhakaran didn’t have to tell him that one of the tickets that he had set aside for him had won the bumper prize. He could easily have pocketed the money had he wanted to—that wouldn’t have been considered illegal. Had he wished, he could have bagged the ten million rupee prize for himself.

When asked, Sudhakaran said “My father always told me that if you need to, you can even beg, but you must never snatch other people’s rights,”

The Gold Chain

A couple of months ago, Sudhakaran had found a gold chain while travelling in a train and handed it to the police, who managed to trace its owner!

This man could have been a millionaire had he not listened to his heart and his father and kept the prize-winning lottery ticket for himself instead. But he has no regrets at all about his decision. “I know what I did was just what I should have,” he says unhesitatingly.

It is indeed divine to know that men like Sudhakaran too exist in the world which is a true rarity. This incident therefore drives home a point that one does not need materialistic pleasure to lead a content and meaningful life. 

The Snake man who s unable to see

Meet the inspiring wildlife activist and adventure junkie, who did not let blindness affect his passion.

Sanjeev Gohil started losing his vision to Stargardt 12 years ago. He suffered from progressive loss of vision which led to the point of legal blindness. But this did not stop him from climbing rocks or rescuing snakes, crocodiles and even leopards! 

“I was born with perfect vision. But gradually I developed vision complications. Today, though I am unable to see, I don’t take it as a challenge. It has not affected my life much,” Gohil says.

When most kids in school were busy catching kites, Sanjeev Gohil loved rescuing snakes and would hand them over to forest department to safely release them in the wild again.

Gohil had to discontinue his graduation mid-way due to low vision, but he continued to successfully finish several rock climbing trips and rescued most dangerous wildest animals like lions, man-eater leopards and crocodiles even at the odd hours.

Three years ago, he went for rock climbing with three other friends to survey the vultures which are on the verge of extinction. Due to many honeycombs, the rock was slippery and the team could not finish climbing it within the stipulated time. As a result, they had to spend the entire night on a 2′ x 2′ platform which was around 300 feet from the ground level. “I still remember the day. We did not even have a single drop of water with us. All four of us anchored each other and spent the entire night there without moving,” he says.

This is one example of the hundreds of adventurous things he has done in his life. Determined to live his life to the fullest, Gohil does not let his disability come in the way.

He had to quit his job due to low vision and that's when he started freelancing with various NGOs to help people with disabilities find suitable jobs.

In the future, he plans to keep himself engaged with all the wildlife activities and activism that he does. “It is not as easy as it looks. People might find it exciting from the outside. But you have to wait for several hours without moving just to get a small glimpse of an animal. There is a lot of hard work involved,” he says.

Thus, Sanjeev is a perfect example of how a setback cannot affect a strong willpower and dedication.

Music to treat autistic kids

How Academy Award Nominee Bombay Jayashri Is Using Music To Help Autistic Kids

Bombay Jayashri Ramnath needs no introduction. She is now changing the lives of many autistic kids by working extensively as an important part of Sampoorna Music Therapy Center where she shares her art with kids with special needs.

Sampoorna Music Therapy Center was started a few years ago as the joint efforts of Ganesh Anantharaman, his wife Kavita, Bombay Jayshri and many other volunteers. This gave her an opportunity to teach music to autistic kids.

What really made her pursue this field was her encounter with Kavita's son (founder's son). She said “When I met him he was three and half years old and he was singing a line which is actually quite difficult to sing for an untrained person and takes years of practice to master. His voice had that kind of purity and his concentration touched me. Since then, I have had numerous experiences which have validated our thought that music can indeed help these children.

Since autistic kids tend to follow routines, she places music around them and lets them immerse into it. Music gave them a sense of calmness and happiness. Because, Carnatic music employed more of alliteration, it was easy on their ears.

Over various sessions, she created many songs that would suit the moods and interests of these kids. They could sing and relate to these songs easily. And in a period of about 6 months, they gradually became calm and one could see the change and difference in the attitude and behaviour of these children.

When we asked her what the parents felt, she said ”We have met some parents who said that we have always been told what our child “cannot” do, it is for the first time here that someone is showing us what our child can do”

The most touching experience that Bombay Jayshri has had by far was when he met a child by a name Manas. She recalls that he would listen to a song called Manasa Sanchare daily as he believed that she had sung the song for him. And one time when they were in the same gathering he heard her voice and hugged her knees tightly. This was indeed a miracle because autistic children are reluctant to communicate with strangers.However. this child had not thought twice before hugging her. She said ”I can still feel what I felt then. I still remember the warmth of that hug and the purity in his emotions. And music had brought us together”

Thus, from her tryst with music for autistic kids to changing patterns in the music industry, Classical Singer Bombay Jayshri is an amazing human being and has once again earned heaps of admiration from us. 

HATI CHAAP PAPER FROM ELEPHANT DUNG

A paper is now manufactured from Elephant Dung! Yes it's true!

‘Haathi Chaap’ or the Elephant Paper is the brainchild of retailer Mahima Mehra and Jaipur-based handmade paper producer, Vijendra Shekhawat. The thought of creating paper from elephant Poo first came to the innovative duo while on a trip up the Amber Fort in Jaipur.

How is it made?

The process of elephant Poo paper is similar to that of making any other handmade paper, with the additional challenge of disinfecting the dung thoroughly. The additions include the collection of Poo from various stables and cleaning it thoroughly with large amounts of water in cultivated lands where the waste water, enriched with dung fertilizer, could be utilized well. Disinfectants are added at various points during the manufacturing process to make the dung/fibre bacteria free. The process of cooking, drying and sorting of the Poo takes place in order to remove waste.

The colour of the paper depends on what the elephants eat, which in turn depends on the season. From June to September, when the elephants eat jowar(sorghum) and bajra (pearl millet), the paper is darker in colour than the rest of the year when they eat sugarcane

Mahima has created various other useful and innovative products using the same smelly raw material like bags, notebooks, stationery, coasters and many more. Rest assured, the final product is stink-free. They are based in Delhi and cater not only to requirements from India but Germany and UK as well!

Well, who would have thought that paper can be made from elephant dung? Thanks to brilliant minds like Mahima and Vijendra, we now have ways to save trees and obtain paper.