Hero of the day - Story of a life
“Disability is not a constraint, only a condition which can be overcome. Allow yourself to dream, set the targets, try, try, keep on trying. One fine day, you will achieve it.”
A calm, self-assured young man is how a 35-year old Rajeshwaran comes across in his demeanor. His composed attitude, and an overwhelmingly positive view of life despite everyday challenges are beyond admiration.
Rajeshwaran hails from a family of priests, who have been heading the beautiful Ardhanareeswarar temple for many generations, in Thiruchengode, Tamilnadu. A temple where Lord Shiva is enshrined in a unique form of half male and half female. Poised to take over as the next head priest of the temple, which is a customary duty for the eldest born in his family, Rajeshwaran finished his 10th grade in his native place and proceeded to learn the Vedas and scriptures, in the nearby town of Palani.
That’s when his life took a cruel turn. At the age of 17, while travelling on an assignment to study Shilpa sastra as part of the studies, Rajeshwaran met with a horrific accident on the way! No bloodshed anywhere, but the rods from the oncoming tanker hit his neck down and left his C5 and C6 cervical spine bone badly damaged!
After a grueling and intense surgery and treatments, Rajeshwaran regained his sensory organs slowly, but his motor functions were hugely affected, confining him to a wheelchair for life.
Nevertheless, the accident could only crush his bones, but not his indomitable spirit. Rajeshwaran says he told his doctors to be honest with him and explain his diagnosis clearly. They did — his condition was a Locomotor Disability due to Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.
Home treatments continued for 6 more months, with intense physiotherapy. traction etc. For the next 3 years, Rajeshwaran was still lying on the bed, with his mother taking complete care of his bathing, bathroom routine etc.
Though it seemed like a never-ending ordeal, he says, ”My belief in God along with my family’s unconditional support was what helped me cope up during the darkest time of my life. I always believed strongly that I can come out of this, and never lost hope.”
Rajeshwaran says he enjoyed studying so much that even while lying on bed for months, he continued reading the Veda and other books that he always wanted to read. Which helped him to be busy and also take his mind off the injury.
Two major events which Rajeshwaran says that transformed his life. One was in 2008, when he went to the Rehab Centre for Spinal Injury, at the CMC hospital in Vellore for 3 months. With intense physical exercises, he improved his posture of sitting in wheel chair for at least a maximum time of 2 hours, with support. More than the therapy, he says it was an eye opener for him to see other Spinal injury people like him, that gave him immense hope.
The other life changing event was in the year 2009, when he got the opportunity to get rehabilitation in Amar Seva Sangam through the reference of Holy Kanchi Mutt. The center was where he received specialized rehabilitation which increased his wheelchair mobility and Activities of Daily Livings (ADL). Plus, the energy of the place and the opportunities they gave to learn many new skills, gave a fresh lease of hope that his life was going to be fine after all.
A whole new, exciting phase was awaiting the young Rajeshwaran at the center. Grabbing all the different opportunities offered there, he expanded his skills and knowledge by leaps and bounds. Finishing his B.com with distinction, all while enrolled in one of the toughest exams in the country, the Chartered Accountancy was a big achievement. With the helpful guidance of his mentor, Mr. Sankararaman, Secretary of the Amar Seva Sangam he finally completed the CA successfully, in Feb 2021.
Fast forward to now — Rajeshwaran currently travels all over India and the world. Holding the position as a Chief Accountant of the Accounts and Finance Management, he is also a part of the Empowering Management Information System (MIS) and the ERP systems, and gets involved in the fund-raising activities at the center. At the moment, he is working on the design and implementation of a mobile Village Based Rehabilitation Early Intervention (mVBR-EI) a real-time mobile technology platform.
There’s so much work going on now that Rajeshwaran says,” From being active for only a couple of hours and being in bed the whole day, I hardly get time to rest these days.”
In 2019, Rajeshwaran has travelled all the way across the globe to Vienna and presented an early intervention concept in the UN, Vienna, as part of the Zero Project Inclusive Education Award. He says, “I can never forget the moment when people applauded me as I went to the stage on my wheelchair, to do my presentation. More than me, I was very proud that our country India got her due recognition.”
Other notable awards include winning the Young Achiever Award from a private TV channel, and being appointed as the District Icon for Elections for Tirunelveli District by the District Election Commission Officer.
But, Rajeshwaran’s crowning glory was meeting his now wife, Ms. Paramakalyani at the center. With a shy smile, he warmly recollects those days. “It was a two-year love that blossomed over time. I was teaching MCA students, and she was one of my students in the class. It never crossed my mind that she liked me a lot, would propose to me one fine day!” After 5 months of thinking through all the pros and cons, he then uttered the magical word — “Yes.”
The festive wedding event took place at the Amar Seva Sangam itself in July 2018, with the blessings of his mentor Mr. Sankararaman, his family and well-wishers. Now, Rajeshwaran says his life is fulfilling, satisfying and feels complete, all thanks to his lovely wife, Mrs.Paramakalyani.
Living with a spinal injury can be very frustrating on a daily basis, he says. There are severe restrictions on diet, water and movement in the wheelchair. But despite all that, Rajeshwaran gives hope to the differently-abled that normal life is very much possible, if only they can come out of their comfort zones.
“There are no shortcuts to success other than hard work. Trust yourself and your different abilities.”
More info about the Amar Seva Sangam below:
