He, who is determined to conquer all odds, can never be defeated. No disability can come in the way of the one who is born with special abilities and knows how to channelize them in the right direction. Sai Kaustuv Dasgupta suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta or Brittle Bone disease and in 26 years of his life, he has had more than 50 fractures. But he has never let his 90% physical disability overcome his 100% mental ability.
There was a time when, due to his medical complications, he was confined to a room for 6 years. Talking about those years of confinement, he says, “I used to feel alone, lost and upset when I couldn’t see the sun, moon or the beautiful creations of nature. I used to be in a depression. There was darkness all around. I had to discontinue my studies, my singing and let go of all things I was passionate about. To come out of this depression I tried my hand at designing. It was very tough, learning from home, but I broke that barrier too. I started designing by operating the mouse with my left hand, that too with only one finger”.
After 6 years of difficult time, he came out in the open in 2015. His new electric wheelchair was no less than a pair of wings for his dreams. It completely transformed him as a person and he gradually learnt to be self reliant. Talking about this new phase of his life, he tells, “When I saw myself in a new electric wheelchair, I was a completely different person. After that moment, I did not allow myself to be confined further into a corner of the room and beg for mercy because people don’t have time to deal with such personal issues. The only thing I could do was to accept my life the way it came. Sooner I did better for myself. I thus believe that acceptance is huge than expectations, and that really made my life a miracle!”
Instead of expecting others to do things for him, he accepted his life’s situation and it changed for good and he made it his mission to spread that goodness in the lives of those struggling with similar situations. In 2016, after winning the All India Wheelchair Wanderlust Competition, he travelled 19 hours to Goa in a wheelchair accessible car to have a look at the facilities for disabled people across the country. Since then, he has been fighting for wheelchair accessibility in the country.
Sai has been doing miracles and bringing smiles to a million faces using just one finger of his left hand as a magic wand. His list of achievements is a long one. Apart from spearheading the cause of making public places more wheelchair accessible, he is a happiness coach & motivational speaker and gives motivational talks to thousands of people all across the globe through Skype. The founder of Happiness Unlimited – A New Community For Happy Minds, he motivates many disheartened people to win over all the obstacles in life.
He has trained himself to write, play an instrument and operate a computer with just one working finger on his left hand. Due to his efforts, today he is an international graphic designer, a TEDx speaker, a singer and music composer and a writer. He has written a book titled ‘My Life, My Love, My Dear Swami’. He even has a YouTube channel of his musical compositions.
It is hard to imagine how he does it all but he has definitely set an example that disability does not mean inability and that has made him a Limca, India, Asia Book of Records and other National & World Record Holder. He has exhibited his wonderful capabilities and has been an inspiration to all of us. Team SwachhAbility is spellbound by his willpower and optimism and salutes him for giving so much to the society.
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