S5E6: Wheels & Wings

"Today, life on wheels has become longer than one on the feet. An innocent, bubbling life of an 18 year old got constricted by shoulder down paralysis caused by a surprise accident, bringing it to a standstill. Freedom & joy got replaced by shock, helplessness, anger, agony and pain. How did I and my dear ones deal with this darkness? How did I find hope, meaning and purpose?” a wave of melancholy swept over her as she penned these words when she turned 36! A stage when ‘Wheels’ became her ‘Wings’, taking her far and wide, bringing her respect and recognition, making her a beacon of hope to many.

To unravel this real life story, listen in to Ekta Bhyan, a renowned Indian para-athlete from Hisar, Haryana. Despite being rendered quadriplegic, she completed her Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in English, a Bachelor’s in Education and then went on to crack the highly competitive Haryana Civil Services exams which earned her a job as a State Government Employment Officer. Competing in the F51 para sports classification, she has excelled nationally & globally, clinching a historic gold medal at the 2018 Asian Para Games and representing India at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Beyond sports, Ekta actively advocates for rights of persons with disabilities.

Views and opinions expressed in this episode of the Podcast are those of its guest. Creators of this Podcast expressly disclaim any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of this Podcast.

(C) Asha & Milind Agnihotri, 2022-2026

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:15

Today, life on wheels has become longer than one on the feet. An innocent bubbling life of an eighteen year old got constricted by shoulder down paralysis caused by a surprise accident, bringing it to a standstill. Freedom and joy got replaced by shock, helplessness, anger, agony and pain. How did I and my dear ones deal with this darkness? How did I find hope, meaning and purpose? A wave of melancholy swept over her as she penned these words when she turned thirty-six. A stage when wheels became her wings, taking her far and wide, bringing her respect and recognition, making her a beacon of hope to many. To unravel this real life story, listening to Ekta Bhyan, a renowned Indian paraath from Hisar Haryana. Despite being rendered quadriplegic, she completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in English, a bachelor's in education, and then went on to crack the highly competitive Haryana civil services exams, which earned her a job as a state government employment officer. Competing in the F-51 Para Sports classification, she has excelled nationally and globally, clinching a historic gold medal at the 2018 Asian Paragames and representing India at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Beyond sports, Ekta actively advocates for rights of persons with disabilities.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 2:39

And for me personally to have a unique opportunity to be in conversation with you. So thank you very much for coming on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Thanks to you, sir, for giving me this opportunity where I can share my story and I hope I can create some awareness about my community of disabled persons.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Well, honestly, I do not have a set script, neither do I have any set uh questions or prompts for this conversation. The only thing I have is a brief paragraph about you, which I kind of uh asked Google Gemini to give me a brief summary about Ikta Bhyan in about 100 odd words. So if it is okay with you, can I read that out as it is? Yes, sir, sure. Google Gemini said, Ekta Bhyan is a premier Indian paraathlete from Hisar Haryana. At age 18, a tragic road accident left her paralyzed with quadriplegia. Refusing to let her physical limitations define her, she completed her bachelor's and master's degree in English and followed by a bachelor's in education. She then went on to crack the highly competitive Haryana Civil Services examination and currently serves her state as a government employment officer. She later took a paraathletics under the guidance of her mentor, Sri Amit Kumar Saroha. Competing in the F-51 classification, she excelled globally, clinching a historic gold medal at the 2018 Asian Para Games and representing India at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Beyond sports, Ekta actively advocates for rights of persons with disabilities. Ekta goes on to say something like this: Physical disability is not a barrier to attaining your dreams. Yes, we look different, but I believe our mental strength can create miracles. Unquote. And there is enough data and evidence to say that 90% of the iceberg is something which we can't see, which is below the surface of the water. So I'm sure this brief description that Google Gemini gave me about you does give all of us a glimpse of who you are and what you have done. But I'm sure there's so much more to Ekta than what is being said here. So I honestly do not know how to progress this conversation further than this. I need your help.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

First of all, Google has shared a very deep and very thoughtful introduction in very few words. So I can start with a poem of mine.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

Oh yes. I know you are not only a master's in English language, but you are an amazing poetess, both in Hindi and English. But yeah, we could start this conversation by us listening to one of your poems, either in Hindi or English. I leave it to you.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Before the poem, I would like to introduce myself for the listeners, especially who uh who don't have uh knowledge about my disability. I'm a wheelchair user. As Melinsar already said, that I'm having quadriplegia. Quadriplegia means the disability of all four limbs. I had an injury in the spinal cord at cervical level. Because of that, I have paralysis, uh, shoulder-down paralysis. So there is partial paralysis in my upper hands and in my upper limbs and complete paralysis of my lower limbs. So um, since then I'm a wheelchair user, and uh I was 18 when I met this with this accident, and when I completed my 18 years on wheelchair, at that point of time I wrote this poem. So this is something very close to my heart, and and it is for the first time that I'm sharing it uh uh in an interview. So uh this was shortly sums up my life and the whole interview. I'm very sure about it. So the title of the poem is Atharasal, means the 18 years, 18 years before injury and 18 years after injury. Abhistabdu hojati hungisi batches of it, mansubese kushna kusata, frilaga gadi me better beti ektakha, or just a pura brahmanda hilga. Ektisindegi, nashti dorti, atana kakarti ruke, pura parivartha dardame, kuisahata, kwisamharata, kusnai rata pele jsa nadekata nasunatha vesa. Janti menhiti, kikesi age burpangi. Shrume, kutsamathiumid, kisa bhoga palesati par gambir teacho treki hadiki diskana ilajta na kuibhuti. Firsa for shruhua payuka jimin lagrahatha chunophisa diri dire kuchimmatki, kuchmaslone paryudan, or karne lagin naiz in the gika nilmat samatu lakta hair par sabti kujata punk bangay or pure karrayu lakshasa thanavat. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Beautiful, beautiful, ekta apneto Nishap Kardia. I mean, I don't know how to respond. I'm just kind of soaking in what you have just said. Maybe you could help us understand what is it this poem is all about.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Uh, the poem is about the sudden life-altering accident I had at a very young age. Before my injury, neither my family nor I have ever seen someone on a wheelchair. We haven't we haven't seen wheelchair before, and seeing your child, 18-year-old child on a wheelchair is so difficult for the family and for me as well. Who couldn't understand? I thought initially fracture, fracture, hoga, and I will be back to my studies. I wanted to become a doctor and I will be uh continuing my studies. So slowly I realized in the rehab of nine months that this will be permanent disability. So it is about that emotional phase we gone through as a family. And as I said in the poem, initially I thought I went, I will be walking again on my um feet, but this was not the case. And very slowly, I would say, very slowly, acceptance came. Uh, and with that acceptance, uh life started showing you new paths and wheels initially which were so difficult to accept, and wheels which were uh used to think as a barrier to achieve the goals, but not the barriers, but the wings for me, as your podcast name. So my wheels are my wings now, and I'm achieving my goals. Well, this is very subjective um interpretation. I would like you to know, um, you to uh um interpreting your being a listener, how being an objective uh interpretation. Mine was, I think, very subjective.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

You know, Ekta, what you just uh read out to us, though it may be a few lines in Hindi, probably took all of us uh about 45 seconds to maybe a minute to listen. But it's 18 years of life on a wheelchair after 18 years of living a life of an able-bodied person. So it's not easy for me to interpret anything, but I think you know, as I was listening to your poem, uh I was reminded about a story which I read many, many years back. I don't know where, when, how, but yeah, uh it was a it was a story book of a kids' story. You know, there's a story in one of those uh books that I read. I was reminded I was listening to you. Maybe if I could respond to how I received your poem with this little story that probably I'll narrate. Is it okay with you?

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

So the story is about a small bird which lives on a huge, huge tree. The tree is so huge that in any direction the bird would fly, the tree would never end. The tree is so huge, and it has all kinds of fruits, it has all kinds of flowers, it has all kinds of things, and it protects the bird from uh you know strong heat, weather, etc. etc. And the bird starts believing that uh this is the whole world, this is my life, and all I need to do is just you know fly within the tree and and and have have a good time. But that's not what uh it was meant to be. It happened one day that there was a massive, massive storm, so huge, so ferocious that it ended up uprooting the tree completely. It was gone, it was flattened, though it was so huge and so massive. And this little bird saw her entire world getting shattered. The bird was believing that this is where I will spend my entire life, but that that that tree is gone, and it has no choice but to then say, Let me fly somewhere and see what happens. I can't be sitting here crying all along that my world has ended. I have to find a way out, and the bird starts flying for miles and miles it flies, and there is not a single tree around, but it keeps on going after probably a few days of flying from a distance, it sees something green, something so massive green that probably it was much bigger than the tree itself, and eventually she reaches that place and finds that there is a forest which is where her journey ends. And the forest has not only a tree of the kind that she lived all her life, but there were many, many such trees on that in that forest. And eventually it realized that you know, even if this tree goes, I have another one, and I have another one, I have another one. But for her to discover this massive, massive jungle, which had many, many such massive trees, it had to go through an emotionally and psychologically shattering experience of her own initial world getting destroyed and destructed. So that's the story I remember and kind of explained a little bit more vividly, but this is a story that kind of came to me when I was listening to your poem.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Thank you. It's it is a really uh beautiful story, and I guess I have also read it somewhere, though currently I'm not into reading at all. So, of course, I miss reading those stories, and uh especially the jungle stories are so um so inspiring sometimes that we can easily relate with the human lives as well.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

Ekta, in the Hindi poem that you just read out for all of us, there was one line which I am still with at the moment. And the line is Ekti Zindagi Nachti Dharthi. So there was a life, you say, which was a life of fun, frolic, enjoying, dancing on your feet, etc. And suddenly um due to this tragic accident, it kind of came to a halt. Can you tell us more about this Najti Darthi Zindagi that Ekta Bhyan had? Where her dreams probably was to become something else other than a paraath.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

So I want to start with my childhood. It was a very normal childhood. We had a joint family. My uncles, aunts, my cha cha, boa, my siblings, my cousins, my grandparents. So we had a joint family and we used to have a lot of fun together. And uh it was not something that I was a very um uh outgoing person, yeah, sporty person. I wouldn't I was never much into sports or something like that. But uh, like at that point of time, there were no TV screen, uh, phone screens were there, and it was a very out uh like we used to play a lot at home and uh um though very much focused on um academics on studies because my grandfather shifted from village to the city he saw, especially for educating his children. So, yes, the sole focus of ours were into was studies, but it was a very fun family, I would say, playing with cousins, playing with the neighbors. It was it was a fun childhood and uh totally unaware what the future is storing, have uh have uh what the destiny stores for me in the coming time, completely clueless about it. I was having a lot of fun in my life at that point of time.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

You know, in one of our earlier conversations, where you and I were talking as a preparation to this uh recording, you spoke very fondly about your grandfather. He was uh a different person.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Yes, he he was a role model for many uh persons in his village because the way his mindset was at that point of at that point of time was very rare. Uh in he was hardly fifth or sixth past, but even after uh with that little education, he had that realization that education is power, education is empowering, and that should be the focus for the coming generations. He himself couldn't get that opportunity, but he made sure that all of his children, not only his children, but his brother's children also. Like as I told you, we had a joint family. He made sure that all the eight kids they had, he and his brother, he made sure all the eight kids must be given that opportunity that they must be independent. Because being from the agricultural background, it was not a profitable thing to be in village, and agriculture is not something we we didn't have much land that whole family can be dependent on that. So, but he realized the importance of education and he made sure that every child of his the four girls and the four boys, all of them get that equal opportunity to be educated, and um very, very different kind of person, though people are having that perception of uh Haryana that there must be some kind of discrimination for a girl and a boy, but nothing was like that, even 60 years ago. In his mindset, he was equally supportive for his girl child and a boy child.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

And I'm sure this must have shaped a lot of your own father's uh thinking, his personality, right? Right. Uh maybe you could help us understand uh a little bit about your father, too.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Uh yes, uh my father is the eldest among the all siblings.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

So eldest of the eight?

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Yes, eldest of the eight. Okay. So he was carrying the responsibility uh of uh educating his younger siblings in the same way that his father and his uncle used to uh carry. And then he completed his post uh graduation and the PhD from Haryana Agriculture University. So he made sure that he will equally support his younger siblings before uh he before his own children when we were not born, he was like, uh, I will make sure that my my cousins, my siblings will get that opportunity. And in the same way, when we were born, so he made sure even after my accident, that my education should not stop, should not be stopped, should not be stopped at any cost. Though initially I was a very I was not at all confident, I would say. Even I was surprised when they say me, when they used to say me that you will uh be resuming your studies soon. How you can think that in such a severe disability I will be studying. So he has been very supportive, the guiding light for me.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

No, I I know what kind of deeply touched me when uh you know you were telling uh not only so fondly about your grandfather, but about your father too, what uh he means to you, and not just your father, even your mother, what she means to you, though you told me she's a homemaker uh all her life. Uh about uh the incident where you had to be taken to an examination hall after your accident, where you were paralyzed with all four limbs, and uh the struggle that your parents went through to see to it that you were able to attend the examination hall. I I mean, maybe for the benefit of our listeners, you could probably narrate that story because it is, I think I was deeply moved with that.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

So my parents have been my pillars of strength. Uh, at that point of time when I met with this accident, I was clueless about my disability, but they were aware, doctors told me what the real position is. I spent nine months in the hospital for rehab. Slowly I realized that I won't be able to walk again. But this was not the case for my parents. Of course, they were told before then me, and it was much more harder, much harder for them to accept this because being parents and suddenly you are told that your child won't be able to walk again. So this was difficult, and the incident you are sharing about the examination hall reaching that examination center. Firstly, when after the rehab we came home, of course, the disability was the biggest challenge. Everything changed after that. I was learning about the new life, just like a newborn child. How to be my parents used to make me sit for five minutes, then ten minutes, gradually, that practice will be developed for longer durations. Then how to hold a spoon. They taught me how to hold a spoon. Initially, for many months, I couldn't hold a spoon again. So everything I had to learn from the scratch, and they taught me everything. And of course, disability was a challenge, but apart from that, there was a big uh social angle as well. Because when people used to come to meet me to ask for my well-being, they used to say any damn thing to my parents that she will be a burden on a family, and there's no point of getting her educated, and there is no chances of her getting a job. So going through that thing, they didn't let that negativity come to me. They absorbed that negativity of all that negative stereotypes towards a disabled person. They absorbed them themselves and just made me focus on my education and on the positive things. So this was the I think the biggest support one can give someone who is going through a tough uh phase, not letting them go through that negativity, negativity, what a society holds for that person. And apart from that, yes, I was not in a mental state where I felt confident that I can resume my studies. But they inculcated that confidence in me. Even I said, How can you guys imagine that I can study again? They said, okay, just enroll yourself, start going to college. If you don't feel like going, don't go. Let's take a first step, then it's up to you. Because the new I will enjoy my studies, because that was the only thing that was closest to my heart. And I was among the um academically good, I was good at academics. And then I, of course, I couldn't pursue the medical stream. I enrolled myself in a college of ISR only in English honors and psychology. So psychology was a subject where which I find very interesting. And in the very first year, I taught my college in psychology subject. So at that point of time, um and that one year of first year. So after two years, I could hear something good about me. Before that, in those two years, I was continuously hearing, oh, this happened to her, what she will do, she will be a burden, there is no point of getting education. It's a big deal for you guys. Let her stay at home. So, but when I topped the college, then I realized yes, there is something that I still can do. And after that, there was no looking back, and I started focusing on what I can do instead of creeping and complaining, what was lost in that accident. And that mindset gave me that strength to move ahead. And yes, I had interest in my um academics, and uh, in after that first year, one of my college professors who was very strict, and uh, I replied one of his questions in the class, and he rarely praised any student in his class, but at that moment he said that this girl is going to make wonders. He rarely praises any student of his class, and he said that this girl is going to make wonders. People have such expectations from me. I was uh thought uh that she is a hopeless case. People used to think, even when I talked with my very psychology subject, like what if she talked? What she she scored well, what if there is no point of getting good marks, there is no point of stopping the college, there's nothing going to happen. So somewhere people had that hopelessness in me. And somewhere it was a blessing in disguise. I had no pressure of expectations, I was a free bird, and there was no expectation at all. Something it was a blessing in disguise.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

And then the Haryana civil services exam happened to you. You happened to kind of crack that and get into uh a job in the Haryana state government in the Department of Education. That also was uh must be a very proud moment for you, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Definitely, definitely. It was a moment that I strived for around seven years. I prepared for competitive exams. After my graduation, I started preparing for competitive exams. And I couldn't qualify that exam in the first attempt. And even uh when I applied it for the second time, meanwhile, I got the job of an auditor in Haryana government only. So I got that job and uh uh still I was preparing for this competitive exam of Haryana Civil Services. So people used to say, why are you bothering so much yourself and your family? Why don't you just settle down with this job you have already got it is a good job, yeah, um, and you must be happy with it. You must be satisfied. But yes, your efforts, you worked hard, you got this job, and now you must be satisfied. But my parents knew my caliber, my parents supported me, and they said don't bother. And even I'm very fortunate that in that um office also where I got my first job, they were also that you should continue your studies, you should prepare for this exam the way you were preparing for before this job. And uh and it was in 2011. So slowly at from 2003, I met with that accident and 2011. Tap tuk, I was an expert of ignoring all the negativity. So I was very sure that I will be of course I will be appearing in this exam no matter what the result is. I I was not very sure, yes, uh, because I couldn't go for coaching that people used to go to Delhi. I just wrote the notes and I was doing the home studies only, self-study only. So people used to say, Lokto it's time spent, karky, and then you can't do it. You are at home and doing so what they are studying the same books, I'm studying the same books, they are studying the same notes, I'm studying the same notes. My family arranged all those notes from Delhi, from those institutes, which will be helpful for me. And I grabbed that exam. That was a shocking thing, not for me and my family, but for the society. And then there was continuously my parents were congratulated. My parents uh people used to call them, and people used to come to specially to congratulate them in person. And that exam getting the job continually um completely shifted that perception of me and my disability in the society. Where people used to think that uh her intelligence won't be enough to get her a job of high repute, or there is no point of her studies, there is no point of her stepping out of the home. Why I'm a quadriplegic person, I need help of two persons uh while traveling, while shifting from car to wheelchair, wheelchair to bed. And every time I need two persons, so my parents were with me in the college as well. So they used to see, and why you are bothering your parents, you can stay at home. But my parents make sure that I will be a regular student. They made sure that I will be getting that kind of uh notes, books where she can be at that level for the exam she is competing for. So that exam completely shifted that perception of me and my disability in the society. For me, I won't say that I was very confident. No, I was not confident at all initially. I won't say that I had very long-term plans, no. I had no long-term plans. I was just looking that my first year is done, second year is done, third year is done, then I started applying for teaching jobs, then for banking jobs and other clerical jobs. I applied for many jobs, and it it was not that I was always focused on civil services, no, no. I I knew my reality that in this competitive world where lakhs students are preparing for the civil services. It is something that I must I was very sure that I have to be financially independent.

SPEAKER_02 32:28

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 32:29

This was the thing in my mind. I used to give tuition when I was studying to the school children, so that uh uh I wanted to be financially independent. Of course, it was not a thing that was a big deal. No, it was, but I wanted to contribute or I wanted to be financially independent. So this was in my mind that I have to be financially independent no matter what kind of uh class one, class two, class three job it is. And it was a gradual process. Uh, as I said, in 2011, I got a job of auditor, then I qualified for English teacher, then I qualified for a bank PO. And then later this Saryana services happened. So the thing you asked, that I was not very confident about myself. I was not a long-term planner, I was not very optimistic about my career. It just one day at a time, one step at a time. It was just that way. Yes, I lost my confidence after that accident that plannings are not always the way we plan it, happens in the same way. So it was a day, uh, it was uh uh one day at a time, yeah, one year at a time. It happened that way. Or like um initially when we were discussing about uh accessibility. Yes. So when I was preparing for this competitive exam, when I was in my college, my college made every arrangement on the ground floor for my convenience. I don't know how the administration of a small city is so aware and so sensitive towards the need of a disabled student, but this is not the case in Delhi where I was appearing for a competitive exam. So many times uh when I had my centers at Delhi or in Chandigarh, uh, these are the two major cities nearby my town. So a few of my uh centers were at the first floor, my sitting arrangement as was at the first floor, and even I was not aware that it at that point of time that it was my right to be uh to have that sitting arrangement on the ground floor, and the organizers bluntly said, no, we cannot change it, and there was no ramp or left. So my parents literally literally they practically they carried my wheelchair up to the first floor. So there were many instances and not one. There were many instances. A few of them said, No, you know, the parents cannot accompany after they get a wheelchair. Where is my seating arrangement? And what if it is on the ground, uh, not on the ground floor? So people were very uh rigid also, they don't understand the rights and the needs of the disabled students. And I won't say that picture uh has changed completely. Yes, it got better, but still many of my peers having the disability face the same challenges even today.

SPEAKER_02 35:28

You know, in your introduction, I read a line which I will read again. It goes beyond sports, ekta actively advocates for rights of persons with disabilities. Can you say more about this? The rights of persons with disabilities uh as a person who has lived through the disability uh state uh much of the last 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

Uh I want to know, sir, from you what the first impression, first thought comes to your mind when you see a person with disability at a public place.

SPEAKER_02 36:13

You know, I don't want to sound uh artificially nice here.

SPEAKER_01 36:18

No, no, be original, sir. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 36:20

So my that will take us closer to the my my immediate reaction when I see a person with uh disability anywhere is I feel sorry for that person. Not sad for that person, I feel sorry for that person. Uh that's my immediate reaction, and it doesn't ever come to my mind that how this person can move from point A to B, which I can do it effortlessly.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

It doesn't even come to my mind so uh majority of the population in our country see the persons with disability with pity or burden. Yes, but have we ever tried why this social image of this community? Okay, they are not employed, but what are the reasons behind it? What is the education rate of persons with disabilities? That is less than 60 percent, and what is the education rate for the women with disabilities that is still less than 50 percent, and that 50 percent is also uh constitutes 45 percent only 10th pass, 10th grade or 10th grade, yes, only 10th pass, 45 percent. Hardly two to three percent of them can reach to the higher education. What is the factors responsible for it? The accessibility, how a person with disability reach to a school. Firstly, they are refused admissions in the schools, in the private schools, the renowned schools of your town will refuse admission to a child with disability. A family comes came to me uh for the guidance of a sport, they are having a girl with disability, and initially they asked for the guidance of the sports, but they later told me that no school is giving admission to her. Then somehow we managed to get her admission in a school, and then later she won a medal, she was uh uh admitted in a very renowned school at a later stage after winning a medal. That's a different story, but still, majority of the population who are having disability, especially the children with disability, are refused admissions in the school, even if they are allowed to admit it, there are no transportation facilities which are accessible to them. I have never been, I have never used the public transport in my country after my accident. But in abroad, I'm using it. Yes, the metros in our country are accessible, but how to reach to that metro until unless I don't have my private vehicle. I have friends who are in Delhi. They cannot use the bus. First, they have to book a taxi or a cab. And many times, my personal experience, the taxi Ola Uber, cancel our rides, saying that we won't allow a wheelchair user in our country in our car that will make our car dirty or it will tear the leather, the covers. We are bluntly said, no, on our face, no. Uh, we can't give, uh we can't book your ride. They cancel the rides. One of my friends was told, she's a wheelchair user, you should not book a taxi, you should book an ambulance for you. So, this is the mindset. People are considered burdened because they are not provided with the equal opportunity, equal accessibility. Even somehow they're with the family support, they get educated. Then the matter comes of employment. My friends who are even MBA, who are into wheelchair, who are wheelchair users, they prefer not to mention the person with disability in their CV at the very first stage. Because they had experience when they mention this thing in the CV at the very first stage, they won't even call for interview. They disclose it at the second stage. And 90% of the times they are discriminated that they are not called for that opportunity. First, getting education is a big challenge for us, sir. And then getting employment, even after getting education. People say they have quota. Of course, we have quota, but how to avail that quota? They are lying, the seats are lying vacant when you don't make provisions for them to get educated. When you are not educated, what is the point of that quota? First, you have to work at the grassroots level. Students are refused, yeah, and it is uh this in the disability act that right to education, no school can refuse. But it happens. Parents can't fight, court case file, they are their children are refused and refused admissions in the schools. And this is the picture in this 21st century in the metro cities, in the small cities. But this disability is something yes, if someone is having by birth or by birth, then it it doesn't matter. But uh, majority of the disabled communities from the lower economic background. Like if I talk about spinal cord injury, the main reason of spinal cord injury is fall from height, and that is mostly the labor class. So um lower economic background, many of them are not in a position to get the right kind of treatment. But polio, or their legs have to be amputed, their arms have to be amputed due to lack of medical facilities or due to the chances of injury from falling from the height. Uh, so I I want to convey that disability is mainly from the lower economic background. So, if we need we need to focus on there first, educating them and giving them employment. And transportation is is um, of course, uh, I want to reach to a building, to an office, accessibility matters there. But how to reach there until and unless you don't have your personal vehicle, you can't reach there. Even if if you are having severe disability, yes, someone is having 40% disability or 50% disability, they can almost normally continue their education. But what about the severe impairment? One who is 100% visually impaired, one who is 100% hearing impaired, one who is 100% orthopaedic disabled. So we need to make provisions for them as well. Severe impairment, we need to focus on them as well. And uh around 60% of the population who are having disability spend their lives confined to the four walls.

SPEAKER_02 43:09

You know, Ikta, what I gather from what we have just spoken up until now is a large part of who you are is as a civil servant in the Haryana state government uh working for the Department of Education and promoting uh this cause. Another part of who you are is, of course, uh an uh advocacy uh person to advocate the rights of uh disabled person. But a significant portion of who you are and the world that uh you belong to or you're a part of is the world of paragames. And I know you are a world. Renowned para athlete in a very, very specific spot and having won so many medals internationally and nationally and have made the nation so proud. Maybe if you can pick one or two standout moments for you in uh Ekta Bhyan as a paraathete representing India on the world stage.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

I want to correct a little bit, sir, that I'm working with Department of Employment. Sorry. Not education.

SPEAKER_02 44:34

Sorry, Department of Employment.

SPEAKER_01 44:35

I'm working with Department of Employment in Haryana government and the moments which are very close to my heart in my sports journey are firstly winning that gold medal in Asian para games in 2018. Can I share three? Please go ahead. Personal one is that when I won the International Medal of Asian Games, that is the first moment.

SPEAKER_02 45:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 45:04

Second moment is that when I could motivate people like me to start the sports career or even education. Like in the last question, we had a conversation regarding my exam qualification. When I qualified that exam, many people like me who are in wheelchair and they stopped their education after their injury, they met me, they connected me, and they said that ma'am, after hearing your story, we resumed our studies. And now many of them are financially independent. So motivating people like me or girls like me is something very important for me. So many girls contact me through social media that, ma'am, you want Didi, we want to start this game. Where should we start? So this is the second most important very important after winning that medal, that I could motivate people like me to resume their careers in sports or in education. Third one was when my story was shared in Mankey Bath by Honorable Prime Minister Sir. It was a big surprise for me. I was not aware that my story is going to be shared. And suddenly my star my phone starts ringing continuously, one call after the other. What's happening? Then I picked a call from my Chacha. He said, Your story is on uh live of uh he was shivering, he was fixing his AC or cooler. He said, My hands are shivering, your story is shared by honorable prime minister just a moment ago. And he he was so emotional. So then I realized that my story is shared. Then many people sent me the recordings and the video clips and the audio clips. So this was also a big surprise for me. And after that, uh, many people started recognizing the efforts of para-sports and para-athletes.

SPEAKER_02 47:05

You know, uh, apart from the 2018 Asian Games, you went on to represent India in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, and you had some great achievements there. You went on to represent India in the games in Hangzhou uh as well, and you have some great achievements there too. What is next? I know you have just come back from a huge camp uh in Bangalore, where you were there for almost a month. So, what's in store for Ikta Bhayan in the world of para-games in the next uh couple of years or in the foreseeable future? What are your dreams, aspirations?

SPEAKER_01 47:46

As you said, I participated in Tokyo Paralympics.

SPEAKER_02 47:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 47:49

And it was not a good performance on my part. Uh, and I couldn't win a medal, and even I couldn't perform my personal best, my usual best. So that was the event um was very um uh I I didn't perform well in that event, and it was very disappointing. It was very heartbreaking for me that I couldn't perform my best in that event, and that too, the Paralympics, where I was preparing for four years, and I couldn't perform my basic performance, I couldn't give my basic performance my and it was very disappointing, but then I realized I I'm sharing this because um it is not all the bed of roses or all the success and the failures, all the success. There are many failures in the way also while qualifying those exams. I failed, I I was failed in many exams. It took me seven years, as I told, and in those seven years, I appeared for n number of exams and I couldn't qualify majority of them. Then after seven years, I started. I I thought that I'm thinking that uh uh after seven years, I was prepared to give my best. It took me seven years, and I want to talk about the failures as well. It is not only about the success story, sure. So many failures were there, and then in the sports event, I was almost in every competition I was performing best. And imagine at the Paralympics you performed worst, so it is the uncertainty that I usually relate with the life as well. It is not always that you can uh be very certain about your performance or plans. So, but what when how I came out of that performance was that? Because I was very satisfied with my hard work I did in the past four years. That was the best I could do. Of course, the result is in your not in your hand, and I accepted that. And then I came back from that bad performance to the to my best performance. I set a new Asian record in Asian Paragames 2023. I won a gold at World Championship, I won a silver and a bronze again in 2025 and 24 in world championships. Now, the only medal missing in my kitty is uh the Paralympic medal. So that will be in LA 2028, and I'm preparing for that, and I'm hopeful that um I will be having one Paralympic medal, hopefully gold.

SPEAKER_02 50:21

Of course, insha'Allah, as they say. You know, Ekta, this has been such a beautiful, beautiful conversation. I'm glad we could spend a lot of time in exploring and understanding uh Ekta Bayan in terms of how she happened to be where she is today. Uh and uh it's such a rich and a motivating and an inspiring story. Uh Ekta, you know, we started this conversation with a beautiful, beautiful uh Hindi poem of yours. Maybe if we could end this conversation also with maybe another poem of yours, that would be a icing on the cake.

SPEAKER_01 51:10

Sure, sir. I love writing, but I'm really it makes me sometimes why I'm not writing. It it is so calming for me to write, but many times since a year or so, I'm very occupied with my training, and I wish I could write more. The poem I'm sharing it sharing with you now is very old one. I have written it on the moon. I'm a nature lover, I love spending time outdoors sitting in the garden, staring at the stars and the moons and the flowers, the butterflies. So, moon is something I can uh watch for hours. So once I wrote this poem, seeing a moon, watching the moon only. So it goes like this gradually moon appears behind the trees, serene in nature, sparkling in color. I find it so beautiful in every shape and color, even when it is behind the clouds and is very blur. It keeps illuminating, covered in cloud starkness, emerges even shinier as a flawless and tauntless. It is always dazzling, with or without stars. A black patch inside probably showing its car. Storms, clouds, thunder, or rains. With calmness, it is enduring. The constant brightness is always alluring.

SPEAKER_02 52:46

So beautiful, Lekta. So beautiful. I mean, just as you and your constant brightness is illuminating so many people around you. Uh you are not only doing the nation proud in the world of paragames, and I'm sure you will win a gold medal in the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028. But there are so many lights that you are lighting with helping people to live life of hope. Helping people to live a life of hope and life of dignity. I think that's the greatest gift you are leaving uh this world uh with is the light of hope and the light of dignity. Thank you so much, Ekta. Uh, just want to hear from you. Uh where has this conversation left you?

SPEAKER_01 53:49

Still so many things are running in mind that I wanted to share and I missed in the conversation. There is so much to share about my community that why we are still not considered the part of the mainstream.

SPEAKER_00 54:02

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 54:03

Maybe next time we can have such a conversation, not revolving around my story, sure, but revolving around the people like me, where I can be the voice of them.

SPEAKER_02 54:14

You already are, Ikta. I mean, though much of the conversation in the last hour or so has been around you, but I think we all are a representative of something much larger than who we are. So I think the voice of the collective that you represent obviously did come over here. So thank you so much from the bottom of my heart to come on the Wings Podcast. It's been such a joy and an honor talking to you. You take good care of yourself. Okay, bye-bye. Bye. Thank you for your time today, my dear listeners. This is your host, Millind Agni Hutri, signing off. Goodbye, take care, and stay safe. This podcast is for general information purposes only and should not be considered as a piece of any professional advice. Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of its guest. Creators of this podcast expressly disclaim any and all liability or responsibility for any direct or indirect consequential or other damages arising out of any individual's use of this podcast. For feedback and suggestions, please write to wingsindia seventy-five at gmail.com. Thank you.