People of Value

Chennai

Gujarat

Disability poses no barrier for this young man..

Lalith Kumar is one of those rare individuals who have succeeded in achieving excellence in several areas in the face of disability. This 26-year-old boy has with the help of his parents and through his own perseverance turned into a role model for other mentally and physically challenged children in the country, after winning the National Award last year.

Lalith Kumar of Elaiyamman Koil Street, Chidambaram, was diagnosed by doctors with multiple disorders, including total blindness, autism, hyper-active syndrome and attention diversity syndrome. Though to all outward appearances he seems normal, his attention span and powers of concentration are limited to anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes.

He is also occasionally attacked by fits. Within the short space of time that he has at his disposal, he has mastered 500 couplets of the 'Thirukkural,' 'Thevaram,' 'Thiruvasagam and 'Thirupugazh'. With the help of his parents- T Mohan and M Padma he can now recite all the verses from these books fluently without even a hint of a stammer.

Lalith to his credit can also render many Carnatic songs for as many as six hours at a stretch. Apart from which, he can also perform nearly 200 'asanas' in yoga. The centre of attention at many places, this VII standard student of the Sri Ramakrishna Vidyasala Higher Secondary School in Chidambaram has participated in more than 25 state and national level yoga competitions and has managed to bag the first prize on several occasions.

In recognition of his outstanding performance in the field of art, President APJ Abdul Kalam bestowed him with the prestigious National Award for the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. He was judged the best creative male child with disabilities in the country and awarded a copper medal, a certificate and Rs 25,000 by the President of India.

Source: Disability poses no barrier to him. Indian Express, Chennai, 6 February.

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Disability could not stand in her way..

The earthquake that rocked Gujarat on the 26th of January could not rock someone like Neeta Patel. All of 22 years, the earthquake left her handicapped in both legs and now she is a Paraplegic (Paralyzed below waist). Even her fiancé left her after the incident. This made her resolve to do something and she opened a cutlery shop in the village.

Business progressed and with the opening of a STD booth she became economically independent. In the year 2003, she came second in a 200 MTR & third in the 100 MTR wheel chair race in the National Handicap Games. She has also written two books.

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