Success Story Of A Person Who Was Called As A Vegetable When He Was Born With Disability

Mr. Ashwin Karthik

When I was born, my parents were informed that I was only a vegetable and a doll that can breathe. They were told that I will have nothing in my life.

My parents were devastated. But it was just their belief and courage they built in themselves and in turn in me that motivated me and gave me a reason to be successful.

After the demise of my father, my mother being a single parent has played a huge and vital role in my life. It was my family who is a spine to my life.

The disability that I had was ‘Cerebral Palsy Quadriplegia’

I can’t walk on my own. All the four limbs, two legs, and two hands are not in a joint effort with one another. It affects body movement and muscle coordination. I was conceived with this disability. This is where my family has put in the inspiration and strength in my life that I need to accomplish something with my life.

During my schooling, I use to write on my own till the ninth standard. I was very stubborn that time. When I was in my school, my mother would sit outside my classroom the entire day to help me out in everything. That is how schooling happened to me. There was no problem till that time. My parents would assist me with all my homework.

After my schooling, I wanted to be an engineer, so had to take up science in my secondary education. There was no one till then who had ever studied science having my sort of disability. We got consent from the university for my assistance in labs and we got a vital permission where I could dictate answers in the exam and writer would write. But there was an academic rule that if I wanted a person who had to write my exam, he should be in a lower grade than me i.e. If I were in tenth grade, the writer had to be in ninth grade or lower.

It was a challenge for me to explain things during the examination. There will be some symbols they wouldn’t know. I had to think through ways to explain to them how to write. There was no additional time as well. I had to not only think of the appropriate answers but also had to dictate them and furthermore check what the person was writing. I had to ensure whatever the person writes was correct. The time required was more. But there was a rule in the university, they only gave me half an hour extra time but that wasn’t sufficient. I somehow managed to get enough marks and was qualified for an engineering seat.

When even a step is difficult to walk
When you see no key but only a lock

When every forehead curves in a frown
When the world looks you down

When the tide gets rough
And you feel you have had enough

When life seems a curse
That’s when your courage you nurse

Why believe failure is fate
To try again is never late

All you need is a ray of light
To drive darkness out of sight

Even in the darkest of clouds is a silver line
Just hang in and the sun will shine

When it came to the Common Entrance Test (CET), they said that they will not allow me to get a scribe, I had to write on my own. And also there was multiple choice question and we had to shade the right answer on the sheet. So I couldn’t write properly and couldn’t shade the answers on time. I wrote very slowly, I couldn’t manage time and be only able to answer half of the questions. Somehow got CET rank and was hopeful that I will get an engineering seat. But I was told that I have only 4–5 colleges that come under the quota of physical disability which is government supported. I had to go through medical test and panel of doctors had to certify that I am eligible for having a specially-abled quota. They stated, as per them, I will not be able to do anything and so will not be certified.

I was very stubborn that I had to do engineering. We sat the entire day with the panel of doctors. I said that I had the required marks and just because I had a disability they can’t do that. Finally, they certified me and I went through the selection process. I didn’t have more choices, as there were only 4–5 colleges, from which I had to choose from. As we were settled in Chikmagalur, a small town in Karnataka, which was easy for me to manage myself, we went to the education board for permission to be granted to allow me to take a seat in a place where I was settled. I got permission for that.

I started my Engineering course in Computer Science

My eyes can’t see but I dream

My lips don’t speak but of joy, I want to scream

I can’t move my feet but my mind is in no prison

The strength of my will second to none

To fall I will never be shy

My eyes will not leave the sky

I face my fear without a blink

I know my hope will never sink

The dark is no more a scare

I will find the light of my share

Some may say I am a sin

But I know I can win

In the first semester of my engineering, I did not get a writer to help me out during my exams. I had to write exams on my own. It was very difficult. I couldn’t manage to complete the whole paper. The outcomes were also bad.

That was the point at which my friend Bharath came. He approached and said that he would write all my exams.

Mr. Bharath Sharma

He had sufficient time to write my exams, as he was re-appearing for his entrance test. He was extremely specific that he had to get a free seat for his engineering course. After that semester, he secured enough marks to get a free seat in engineering. But, just because I couldn’t get a writer to write my exams as everyone was studying for their own exam. Everyone said they did not have time to write exams for me. I was very disappointed.

That is the point that he decided to sacrifice four years of his own education and write my exams. But, my mother and his parents disagreed for this. Somehow he managed to do so. That’s how I was able to complete my engineering.

I was the first Engineering graduate across India with Cerebral Palsy Quadriplegia.

There were many people who upheld me and there were also many people who were impolite to me. But I never complained about it. I just moved on. It doesn’t matter for me about what people around think about me. I just did what I could do. That is how I lived my life. I was internally motivated and had done what was there in my hands. My family has done so much for me and its now time for me to do something in return. That is what motivates me to do better in whatever I do.

I took my life as a challenge

I never felt I was different from others

I never felt I was lesser than anybody around me

I did not get a job for 2 years. I struggled a lot.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

That was when we contacted Enable India, a non-profit organization working towards the economic independence and dignity of persons with disabilities, who gave me an opportunity to work for Mphasis.

I have worked in Mphasis for a long time as an engineer. The manager was first hesitant to assign me work and was not so confident on me. But once I started delivering my outcomes through my work, he said “ I was very skeptical about your capabilities. But, I’m very happy to be proven wrong. You have exceeded my expectation. I’m very delighted to have you on my team”.

Now I’m working in ANZ as a Business Analyst. I use a wheelchair at my office. At home, I try to walk with support. If I have to go out, I use a wheelchair. In the office, I use an automatic wheelchair which enables me to move around to meetings. This is the only assistive device that I use. I use a normal computer and I use one finger to use my mobile and to do my work on the computer. I cannot do basic things i.e having food and dressing up.

I always believed courage is not something that you are born with or it makes you brave during the tough times in your life. But it is something that you earn when you are through the tough times and then you tell yourself that it is not so tough after all.

The Top Three Role Models For Me

First one is my mother, who faced a lot of challenges in her life and my brother and my best friend, who supported me a lot. Second is Sachin Tendulkar, as a result of the manner in which he has come up in his life. He has inspired so many people throughout his life. And third is Stephen Hawking, who himself had gone through disability and was very successful.

I have a huge wish list in which the top three are to reach Mount Everest one day, to do Scuba diving and to win a Nobel Prize for one of my writings as an author. My dream is to be able to inspire and make an impact to at least one person in a positive way. If I could do this, I would feel that I’ve achieved something in my life. Another dream is to be a successful author and to make people know what I went through and inspire them by my writings.

This was my first book as a co-author. Mr. Madhava Sharma and I were the authors of the book ‘the RELIC’. We have begun in the year 2016 and ended up by 2017. I always wanted to write a mythical thriller. We started writing the story with minimal experience in writing. The internal motivation for both of us was the main thing that propped us up to complete what we began. We would discuss the thoughts and arrive at a conclusion on the examined thoughts. There had been sleepless nights for me thinking about the story. I had felt being the characters in the story.

The story of ‘The Relic’ revolves around the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala — the treasure it holds and the mystery around it. The tale begins with the government trying to find out whether the money had been misappropriated. The Relic is a journey of the officer on his mission to unravel the mystery behind the pot. The story is both a thriller and an insightful glimpse into the protagonist’s mind, that incorporates Vijay’s own life and his curious past.

I have typed the full story with one finger. The book was finally published in 2018. The determination in me has motivated me to accomplish my goal.

Sachin Tendulkar calls me his inspiration and his hero.

I was a National Awardee as the best employee in the disability space, 2013

Recognition on World Disability Day, 2014

Felicitation at a disability event as a speaker, 2018

Bangalore Youth Icon Award 2014 at the launch of book “GIFTED” about 15 inspiring unsung heroes

My Achievements:

1. President Award as the best employee in the disability space,2013

2. Helen Keller award 2012

3. Young achiever 2009

4. Best Physically challenged individual 2010

5. Keynote speaker at “Amazing Indians” @ Times now group of channels preceded by the honorable prime minister Narendra Modi 2016

6. Co-author of “The Relic the eternal search”

Success for me is something where you were able to do something, which you were not meant to do.