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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, JULY 25: “Sports has taught me to handle victory and defeat,” says Vaishali Shinde, a 20-year-old state hockey player who lost both her legs in a train accident.
“I don’t want to be called handicapped. I still have my hands and I am willing to fight it out. My inner energy is alive so it does not matter if it takes a few extra minutes to walk,” says Vaishali, who takes great pride in living life with dignity.
The portrait of the tough girl was obvious the moment one entered Room No 5 at Aurangabad Government Hospital. Vaishali’s warm smile lit up the room. The smile lingered on as she narrated the horrific accident two months ago.
May 18 was like any other Sunday. Vaishali was taking it easy after finishing her final year college exams. Vaishali’s father had suggested she visit her elder sister — Rekha Patil, a doctor — at Lasur. But lazy after the exams, Vaishali had postponed the trip. But on that Sunday, when she heard that nephew Manu had hurt herself falling from the steps, the tripcould no longer be put off. Tagging younger brother Mahesh (14) along, she boarded the Kakinada Express from Jalna.
“We were actually supposed to take the passenger. But that was late and so we boarded the Express. But no one was clear if the train had a stop at Lasur.”
“The TC (ticket collector) assured us that the train will stop there for a few minutes. The train slowed down at the station without actually stopping. By the time I could tell my brother that we could get down at the next station, he had already alighted in the panic.”
“I was concerned about his safety. I leaned out of the door and suddenly felt a push. I lost my balance and fell outside and came under the wheels.”
It is a tribute to her courage in adversity, that her immediate concern was for her father — Asst Police Inspector Baburao Shinde — than her own self. Before being wheeled into the operation theatre, Vaishali extracted a promise from the doctors and her sister that they not reveal the accident to her father, a heartpatient.
Her parents learned about the mishap only after she emerged from the operation theatre, her legs amputated. She was never to play hockey again.
It was her hyperactivness that caught the eye of MN Patil, PT teacher at SMS Jain School, Jalna, when she was in the eighth standard. He asked her to take up hockey, and she soon revelled in the centre forward position. She led her college and was due to become captain of the state.
Vaishali now trains her sights on starting her own computer academy in Jalna. But medical treatment has already eaten up a lot of money, with no financial help forthcoming from any source outside her family. She will be visiting Pune in August to seek an artificial limb at Dr P Punekar’s clinic. “Arranging the money has been our greatest worry,” says Rekha.
Vaishali may not be the centre forward she once was. But she is certain to remain the centre of attraction on the hockey field, once she steps on it as as a coach. Any doubts she will fight her way to the top?
