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President Abdul Kalam, in the foreword to the Braille version of his translated Tamil autobiography 'Agni Siragugal', has stated that when he went to Bulgaria, he had the chance to visit the National Art Gallery. He was fascinated by the art works of Sladeyo Bojatheyev. The main reason was that the painter had done all the paintings with his left hand because his right hand was paralysed in the later stages of his life.

So, people with physical disability should not worry about it but have the courage to fight the disability, says Abdul Kalam.

Now we have another example, a duo who have shown the world that disabled persons can also achieve what they want to in life.

Twins Bala Krishnan and Bala Ganesh, working in a leading software company in the US, stated that they had to face a lot of challenges to achieve this high position in their company.

They were born to Krishnamurthy and Saraswathi after Venkat. A few days after their birth, the Bala twins did not show any signs or normal babies.

When the doctors checked them and said the babies' spinal cord had been affected, Krishnamurthy and Saraswathi were shocked. This meant that the babies will not be able to use their hands and legs, ever.

Instead of merely shedding tears, the parents thought of some way to help their babies reach great heights.

Saraswathi said the flat they stayed in Mumbai did not have a lift, "so we needed to carry them everywhere. Once the children started growing, we could not do so. We had this bright idea to design a chair with wheels, for them to move about."

Krishnamurthy converted an old Fiat car for them to travel to school. He also converted a telephone booth as lift to carry them to their house on the first floor. He used a pulley to raise them to the flat along the balcony.

The twins were brilliant at school. "We should thank many humane people who helped us a lot. The most important person among these is the principal of the King George School, who made arrangements for us to write the class-X exam from our school itself. He also appointed a person to take care of our needs. Also, the management of our college took the initiative of conducting classes on the ground floor for our convenience," the twiins said.

After completing college, the question of what to do next arose in their minds. At that time, their elder brother, Venkat, who was doing his doctorate (Ph.D.) at Arizona University, invited the family over and asked Bala Krishnan and Bala Ganesh to continue their higher studies there.

The US welcomed them both, and according to them, many US citizens have helped them in their endeavour to conquer their disability.

Bala Ganesh pointed out that in the US all hospitals, schools, colleges, trains and buses have facilities for the physically handicapped. Not only does the government support the physically challenged but private companies also support them.

When the twins did not have enough money to go to the US, some companies like the Tatas, Mahindra and Godrej helped them. Their uncle Nagarjan has also been helping them and his efforts need to be appreciated.

The twins also urged people not to merely sympathise with the physically challenged, but also help them conquer their handicap and achieve their goals in life. They said this at the meeting organised by various NGOs in Chennai recently. They urged the government to make life easier for the handicapped.

Usman, a black, accompanies the twins and helps them with their everyday needs. When in the US, he arrives at 8 in the evening and leave at 8 in the morning and looks after their comfots. He is here with them in India now and seems to be enjoying the trip as much as the twins and their family.

KT Sri
Translated by N Arun Kumar