A country, where the rights of the differently-able and the state’s responsibilities towards them are hardly ever the talking points, is celebrating the triumph of four individuals who have shown what ‘human spirit’ is all about.
Mariyappan Thangavelu, Devendra Jhajharia, Deepa Malik and Varun Singh Bhati are not merely para-athletes; they embody the essence of ‘will always finds a way’. These remarkable individuals vanquished life’s every attempt at defeating them to show India and the rest of the world what it actually means to combat circumstances.
His right leg crushed in a childhood mishap, Mariyappan never even had the resources that sometimes make life’s harsh battles a bit less complex. The son of a labourer-turned-vegetable seller, he comprehended the meaning of ‘struggle for existence’ quite early but never allowed that to snatch his dreams. The high-jumper was the first to strike gold for India at the Rio Paralympics. His countrymen stood up in gratitude and jubilation, perhaps awe as well, given all that he fought through sans giving up.
Jhajharia joined the club by breaking his own world record in the javelin throw to become the first Indian to win two gold medals at the Paralympics. Flashback… His left hand had to be amputated when he was all of eight after he accidentally touched an electric cable. But what the tragedy could not take away was his tenacity. Jhajharia's story is an eternal lesson on how a focussed mind can achieve the unthinkable despite the numerous challenges life flings at us on daily basis.
Then there is Deepa Malik, partially paralysed owing to a spinal tumour that compelled her to undergo more than two-dozen surgeries. With her shot-put silver, she became the first Indian woman to receive a medal at the Paralympics. Supported by her Army officer husband and kept afloat by the love of her two daughters, she resolutely fought and showed how to find happiness in the worst of times.
Last, but certainly not the least, Bhati. Despite being struck by polio, he displayed the same zeal for life as his three fellow medallists.