Attitude needs to be changed

PANCHKULA, Dec 4: Hanuman, 18, is just like any other teenager, having the same dreams and aspirations. Yet, he is special because he is ...

PANCHKULA, Dec 4: Hanuman, 18, is just like any other teenager, having the same dreams and aspirations. Yet, he is special because he is quot;differently abledquot;. Polio struck him while he was still a kid, yet it failed to dampen his spirits.

Young, ambitious and optimistic, Hanuman was here attend the celebrations at the Saket Institute to mark the World Disabled Day. He bagged the first prize in carom.

Sharing a few moments with Newsline, he reflected how an effort on part of the society can make a tremendous difference in the lives of so many like him.

His mother brought him to the Institute when he was just 10 years old. quot;I have a brother who is normal and I cannot understand why my mother abandoned me,quot; said Hanuman. However, he adds, quot;I don8217;t miss my family when I have got so much from certain special people in my life.quot;

Once abandoned, a man, who claimed that his mother was employed with him, visited him regularly. Eventually, the visits stopped. No one from Hanuman8217;s family has ever visited him. He studied at the Saket School till Class VIII and then shifted to Sector 1 Jainendra Gurukul, where he spent two years in hostel. Hanuman recalls: quot;I used to get very depressed when my classmates used to tease me for my disability and I could do nothing about it.quot;

He has a keen desire to pursue higher studies. He regrets having spent his formative years in a school affiliated to Haryana Education Board, for he has keen desire to English, for he claims: quot;Now a days you need to know English if you want to take up a good job.quot; He aspires to be a bank manager and has already done a course in computers. DC Model School Principal has adopted him and providing him free education, boarding, lodging and other facilities. He is happy here. Hanuman spends his time reading books and writes letters to his very special uncle, Arun Agarwal, a marine engineer. Agarwal also keeps in touch with him, no matter where he is.

quot;Hanuman is like my son and I have got so much love and affection from him,quot; claims Agarwal.

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Asked what message he has for the society, Hanuman says: quot;I feel very bad when I move out on my wheelchair and people stare at me in sympathy. Aren8217;t we people too?quot;.

He breaks down saying this with an inquisitive look on his face, as if he has a lot more to say which he could not. He paddles his wheel chair, as if asking himself, whether he or the society will have to bring a change in the attitude ?