I don’t know how it feels to walk on my own.
I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I wasn’t even six months old when my dad’s colleague spoke to him about “options” that would lead to a less painful death. I was a girl disabled from birth, after all. What could be worse? My parents decided they’d do things a little differently.
It took me sometime to understand why people were staring at me all the time. Why was I not playing outdoors? How come everyone else was on the swings? I’d prop myself against a wall and sing the longest Bollywood songs I knew to see how long I could stand.
When I joined a regular school, my sports teacher would leave me alone in the class and take everyone else out to play. I would sit by myself in class and sing. All those missed games periods gave me the confidence to face an audience! I competed in various competitions – oratory, singing and so many more.
I worked myself into one of the best colleges in India, but remember being shaken up when someone handed me a Rs.5 coin thinking I was a beggar. Today, I have worked for three years in a large organization. People still stare at times, but maybe that is just because I am really pretty! Hopefully I will win Miss Wheelchair India 2017.
The first time I got my automated wheelchair in Class 10, I couldn’t stop grinning. It was bliss! I may not know what it is to walk on my own, but thanks to the wheelchair, I am independent and I sure as hell know what it is to stand on my own feet!
