Alarmed at the radical representation of adversity? Well, if we are open and willing to acknowledge ‘there is opportunity in adversity’, just think through and you will find that there is no education as  adversity. This was neither preached to me nor picked from a best seller, but personally enlightened through my own ordeals. There was a phase in my life – I was an aspiring entrepreneur and a bundle of energy electrifying people around me. In the day business, evening shuttle badminton and night working dinners. Life was on the fast lane. The road ahead looked rosy and as they say, disaster struck without a notice – as it always does. My sight became hazy and appeared to be shaky. I was very young then. Just 27, and married for just 2 years. One night I took my wife to a night show for the movie “pardes”. During the movie, I sensed great difficulty and squirmed in my seat in utter discomfort. My eyes were watering and it was then I closed one eye and looked at the screen. It was picture perfect”. I did the same with the other eye – and I was horrified. It was blank. I couldn’t see anything. I confided to my wife. It was late in the night and we couldn’t do much about it. The next day, the local ophthalmologist opined “one eye is gone Naveen. And its matter of days, before the next one too would fall prey. Please take a second opinion”. It took some time to sink in me and I was like ‘it can’t be happening. I am young, just begun my married life and business has spread its wings,’ and all that was painstakingly built disintegrated when I lost my sight as speculated – both my eyes became blind.

I had to be handhold and felt miserable to be at the mercy of others’ attention always. To know what I endured, blindfold yourself and try taking a few steps on your own and then you will realize the enormity of the reality – harsh reality. I kept questioning my own existence, surviving at the support of my kith and kin. Ceasing to exist was a call more appealing and alluring than continue in this vegetative lifestyle. You might question “what about those born blind?” that’s as painful, but in my case, I had eyes that could see until recently when fatefully I lost my sight. It was hopeless – as worse as it can get. Somehow my mind was always awake wondering what’s going to happen or what to do next. I even confessed to my wife that I wish to resign from everything and renounce my life. And may be run away.  My wife used to comfort and confront me “where will you run? How far? There is no place in this world that’s as far. You are tormented by trouble, I know, but from these trials you will emerge triumphant”. Wives are called better-halves for a reason. She is my lifeline always upping the ante when my spirit sagged with philosophical and practical quotes and anecdotes. We have no right to ask when sorrow comes, “Why did this happen to me?” unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our way.

THE PILLARS OF SUPPORT AND ROCKS OF REFUGE

The fourth is my ophthalmologist Dr.Rajashekar.  By god’s grace, my sight was restored and I thanked my ophthalmologist “Doctor, you are like god to me. It’s because of you I can see”, and his humility touched me when all he did was say “thank god. I am only his instrument”. Though in darkness, that was an illuminating experience as I learnt a lot – one was to cope with adversity without complaining rather committing myself in coming out of the cornered condition. Human endeavor has no limit. However adverse your circumstances are, there is something to learn from both endurance and experience.

HE IS DIFFERENTLY-ENABLED

Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is optional.  ~M. Kathleen Casey

My learned friend Stephen Hopson  is profoundly deaf since birth. I deny he is disabled – in my opinion he is differently-enabled. He is former Wall Street stockbroker turned inspirational speaker, author and pilot. Today he is the torchbearer for those tragically impaired and advocates Adversity University. Philosophically he states, ‘So-called obstacles is the one thread that truly connects every single person on this planet’ and has his own way of sharing personal experiences in dealing with and overcoming adversity through stories, observations and tips.

DHANJIBHAI KERAI – THE MAN WHO DISMISSED THE NOTION THAT SIZE DOESN’T MATTER. IT’S THE DETERMINATION.

Well, that said, there is this very mystifying endeavor of an individual who was born physically challenged. Yet, he displays tremendous determination. His name is Dhanjibhai Kerai – a thirty-one year old hailing from a middle class farmers’ family in Kutchh region of Gujarat. In a way, he mirrors my own misfortune, and also the grit in getting out the situation successfully. Like me he too was supported to the hilt by his friend.

His movements are excruciatingly slow. At the age of two years, a severe attack of polio left him disabled permanently and ever since he has no use of his legs and one hand. Dhanjibhai recalls that he used to travel on his mother’s back, wherever she went, until he was 15 years old. It was at that point in his life he decided to take matters into his hands and literally so. Since then, he attends himself to all his personal chores. Not stopping at that, he was also determined to become self-reliant and to earn his own living.

But unfazed by this disability, he is full of zeal. Though he does not having formal education or training, he has also acquired knowledge of repairing electrical and automobiles appliances. He is reputed as an excellent mechanic in his area. The speed at which he can drag himself on his own may not be at more than three metres a minute. Dhanjibhai had always wanted to drive a scooter but it seemed practically impossible for a man who was unable to use two feet and a hand. Gradually, his desire turned into determination. To fulfill his dream, he started collecting a number of items with which to retrofit a scooter in a way that his handicaps would not be impediments in riding it. He bought two old auto rickshaw wheels and picked up a fairly strong steel pipe. With these, he set himself on the job and succeeded in modifying the scooter and customizing it as per his needs for his day to day conveyance so that he could drive the vehicle himself. Undaunted, he designed for himself a special scooter with which he can travel 150 km in a day. His friend, Kamalbhai, first test-rode the scooter for two days before giving Dhanjibhai his go-ahead after test-driving the vehicle. Kamalbhai’s role as friend, tutor and mentor cannot be undermined. Dhanjibhai, as a self-taught young man, is always on the lookout for ways to make his life more useful and more comfortable.

The most significant fact of the innovation being that it frees this physically challenged person from dependence on other people and restores a degree of normalcy to his life as well as extends his utility to society as a contributing member. Dhanjibhai Kerai, has demonstrated that where there is a will, there is a way, and adversity turned out to be his university. For a person with severe physical limitations, Dhanjibhai is averse to adversity as a deterrent and overcomes through his learning and exploratory experience, realizing that the ‘the sky is the limit for a person to keep learning’. This write-up is a dedication to Dhanjibhai’s dedicated effort in erasing dependent status to self-reliant and independent.

There are more of these Dhanjibhai Kerais, Stephen Hopsons and Naveen Lakkurs, and several others who arose above adversity, always attributed the learning and acknowledged its application in overcoming their shortcomings.

The word UNIVERSITY is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, meaning “community of teachers and scholars” – or in other words ADVERSITY.