Hi all, This is an article that appeared in The Hindu today.
(URL: http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/20/stories/2011022062490200.htm) Testing the limits of possibility Staff Reporter CavinKare Ability Awards 2011 honours achievers with disability Photo: R. Ravindran Winners of the CavinKare Ability Awards 2011 (from right): Babli Gambhir, Sujatha Burla, Varun Jain and Harman S. Sidhu, with Major-General Sunil Kumar Razdan (left) and writer and historian Ramachandra Guha (standing third from right), in Chennai on Saturday — CHENNAI: Seven years ago, Varun Jain saw three of his close friends die in a road accident. He survived the crash, but was paralysed from the chest down. Instead of giving up and accepting his fate, he decided to test the limits of possibility. He went river rafting. He got into the record books for becoming the first paraplegic in the country to do so. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, he participates in adventure sports such as mountaineering, kayaking and quad biking – all for a cause. “I want to show people like me that nothing is impossible. Life was a challenge after the accident, but I learnt to face it. Most barriers are psychological,” Mr. Jain said. He was one of the four recipients of the CavinKare Ability Awards 2011, which were presented here on Saturday. The awards were instituted to recognise and encourage achievers with disabilities. “Victory of self-belief” Terming the award as “a victory of my belief in myself”, Mr. Jain said that while adversity causes some to break down, it drives others to break records. Another award winner, Babli Gambhir, brought the self-belief that Mr. Jain talked about to the fore. Born with short hands and having only a total of six fingers, she had to face discrimination all through her childhood. “There was a time when I used to hide my hands behind my school bag,” she said. Following her heart, she set up a beauty parlour in small-town Jaora in Madhya Pradesh. She now runs a successful business. “Though my hands were viewed as ugly by many, I create beauty with them now. I'm doing my small bit to create beauty around me,” she said. Ms. Gambhir and Mr.Jain, along with Sujatha Burla, a paraplegic who became a television anchor, were awarded the CavinKare Ability Mastery Awards to salute their spirit of victory against all odds. Serving society The fourth award winner was Harman S. Sidhu. He was honoured with the CavinKare Ability Award for Eminence for looking beyond personal tragedy to serve society at large. Mr. Sidhu used to be a fun-loving rash driver, until a road accident in October, 1996, changed his life. “I was bed-ridden for two years due to a spinal injury. I ran into a lot of people on a wheel chair during my frequent visits to the hospital. I decided to dedicate my life to the cause of road safety to make sure no one has to suffer the same fate as me,” he said. The organisation that he founded, Arrive Safe, works with the traffic police of Punjab and Haryana. “Every six seconds, someone dies or gets injured in a road crash. This must stop,” he said. The awards were presented by noted writer and historian, Ramachandra Guha, and Sunil Kumar Razdan, Indian Army's first paraplegic Major-General. C.K. Ranganathan, chairman and managing director of CavinKare Pvt. Limited, and Jayshree Ravindran, founder and executive director of Ability Foundation spoke. Actor Revathy anchored the programme. The Hindu was the media partner for the event. _______ -Kartik Get numbers right this time, help the census with correct disability info! Question 9 relates to disability.
