“There needs to be a lot more emphasis on what a child can do, instead of what he cannot do.”- Dr Temple Grandin, an autism spokesperson
Every child, including the ones with disabilities, dreams of being counted and having her or his talents recognised. They do not allow their physical limitations to come in the way of their dreams. Ahead of Children’s Day, an occasion to increase awareness of the rights, care and education of the children and to pay tribute to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Sunday POST catches up with some special kids who have proved with their feat that disability is nothing but just a state of mind.
About a decade ago, Divya Ranjan Mohapatra’s joy knew no bounds when he was blessed with twin sons. But the happiness was short-lived as he discovered one of them visually impaired while the other one being hard of hearing. Expectedly, there was shock and despair in the family at that time. But today, Divya, brimming with parental enthusiasm, proudly introduces his bright, multi-talented old sons Asit and Amit Mohapatra, to all. He considers it a blessing that God has chosen him as their caregiver.
While Asit is good at playing flute Amit is an excellent table player. The former is already a household name after appearing in several television shows. Asit, at the age of four, played mouth organ to the tune of Jana-Gana-Mana and Bande Utkal Janani at India Gate and earned all round applause. He also performed before Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who was all praise of Asit’s skill.
Kids born with deformities are not differently-abled, but ‘specially-abled’ as he has discovered in his case, says the proud father. But he feels that it is the responsibility of parents to identify those hidden talents and provide ample support so that they can flourish. For instance, when he took a mouth organ as a speech-development aid for young Asit, he was spellbound to see him play it so well on his own. Similarly, when Amit hadn’t even started going to school, he would draw beautiful patterns on the sand. Realising their musical and artistic talents, Divya toiled hard to ensure that his sons get the required platforms to hone their skills and good education.
But it was not an easy task. “Though Asit cleared the entrance at Kendriya Vidyalaya, he was not given admission just because he was blind. So, I approached the Child & Woman Rights Commission in this regard following which he was admitted in the school,” narrated Divya.
Apart from flute, Asit is also a good tabla player. He is being groomed under the tutelage of eminent flautist Mohini Mohan Patnaik and both of them are being learning tabla under the guidance of Kulamani Sahoo. Asit can identify the scale of any song with ease for which he earns the appreciation of many eminent singers.
He adds: “Of course it requires a lot of patience, dedication and faith on part of their parents.
Asit and Amit, Class V students of Kendriya Vidyalaya,Kalinga Nagar, Bhubaneswar, are not just popular in their school, they are household names in the state for their exceptional abilities. r their exceptional abilities. Asit is adept at playing flute and table while Amit has won several painting competitions. The latter also plays his brother’s instruments quite well. The two are regular performers at Toshali Fair, IIT College functions and Anjali Children’s Festival. Asit came to limelight after becoming first runner up at Goan Akhada, a popular reality show aired on Tarang channel, on two occassions. They are also regular performers at All India Radio, Cuttack. However, Asit wants to be a bureaucrat while Amit wants to be an engineer as both of them are good at academics also, say their parents Subasini Hota and Dibya Ranjan.
Twelve-year-old Manisha Priyadarshini is wheelchair-bound but that hasn’t overshadowed her talents. A dweller of Nilakanthanagar in Bhubaneswar, Manisha is good at dancing, singing, art and debate.
Mother Manasmita says, “In the last month of my pregnancy, I met with an accident. It affected the child more than me. She was paralysed from the waist down since birth. That apart, Manisha had a surgery in her spinal cord to remove a tumor when she was only five days old. That’s the reason she is unable to walk. Her father blamed me for delivering a disabled child and left us. I was totally depressed and decided that I would groom my daughter in such a way that everyone will be proud of her. And she made it possible.”
Since childhood, Manisha has been good in extra-curricular activities. She can dance sitting in a wheelchair and comes first in the class. In fact, she has a long list of achievements. She performed on World Disabled Day at Unit-6 High School, Bhubaneswar and stood first in singing, dancing, and fancy dress competitions. She has also performed in programmes at Jayadev Bhawan, Rabindra Mandap, and Regional Museum of Natural History. Also, she participated in a national-level ramp show organised by KIIT and was felicitated by its founder Achyuta Samanta. This apart, she is a regular performer at events organised by Bhubaneswar-based NGOs working for disabled kids.
The Class VII student of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Khurda, aims to be a teacher.
“She never feels she is less talented than other kids. I am trying my best to fulfill her dreams,” says a proud mother.
Autism is a developmental disorder, but many children have overcome the problem. Sarthak Dwivedi is one of them. A Class VII student of Unit IX Government High School from Bhubaneswar was not autistic from birth. He suffered from this disorder after an accident when he was only three. However, the talented kid has notched up several achievements. He was in Class IV when he won an award from the Orissa State Council for Child Welfare for painting.
Son of Sumati and Kailash Dwivedi, Sarthak learns painting from Ghanashyam Pradhan, dance from Mangovinda Nayak and instrumental music from Basudev Moharana.
Besides winning the state-level painting competition conducted by the Orissa State Council for Child Welfare, Bhubaneswar, he has bagged several prizes in singing competitions. The multitalented Sarthak is also an astute keyboard player. He got the chance to play the keyboard at a concert organised at the India Gate in New Delhi on the eve of World Disabled Day. He played ‘Bande Utkal Janani’ and earned wide applause from the audience.
Sarthak secured the first position in a singing competition and second position in a debate competition in state level events organised by the ‘We for You’ organisation in Bhubaneswar. He is also a good cricketer. He too performed well in a cricket league meant for disabled children organised by Swabhiman, the social organisation for persons with disabilities. Sarthak has also been felicitated by socio-cultural organisation Kasturi for his talent.
Sarthak’s mother Sumati Dwivedi said, “When Sarthak was merely three years old, he banged his head to a TV set and was severely injured. He was in pain, so we rushed him to the hospital and he was treated for many days. After he recovered, we observed that he was behaving in an unusual manner. It was difficult for us to believe that our son was autistic. But that was the hard truth.”
“We did not lose patience and tried our best to provide him the best treatment but finally we had to accept his disability,” she added.
Sarthak secured the first position in singing, fancy dress, art and dance in a series of competitions at an event titled ‘Prativa O Manthan’ organised by Swabhiman. Besides extracurricular activities, he is also a meritorious student.
Asked what he likes to do in his leisure time, he said, “I love to sing along with downloaded music tracks on my mobile phone.”
“We have great expectations from him. I know he is autistic, but we are hopeful. My son is talented. I consider myself lucky to have him as our son,” Sumati said.
He did not confine himself in the four walls of his house during the lockdown. He participated in many virtual competitions and made his parents proud.
Rashmi Rekha Das, OP