My colleagues looked like a '?' looking at my title. May be many of you from this historic nawab city would have felt the same too. Well let me not put in much tension over your minds and shall come directly to the point. Determination excels disability for Sai Prasad Viswanathan who makes onlookers feel that it is not he who is disabled but the other way round. Every moment of his striving for excellence is worth him to be the Kohinoor of Hyderabad. We being his co-citizens of this prestegeous city feel proud over the achievements of our beloved brother. Andhra Wishesh extends its warm regards to the Kohinoor of Hyderabad.
From being thrown out of schools on account of disability to receiving the Prathiba scholarship for excellence in academics, and later receiving a research scholarship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA; from being the first disabled Indian to skydive to being one of the youngest and least experienced to be admitted into the prestigious Indian School of Business, life has been one roller coaster of a ride for him. “Disability comes from lack of infrastructure and not people’s mindset,” says the tough minded kohinoor of Hyderabad.
The young prodigy laments the difference between the public and private enterprises. “When I joined Deloitte, it was transformed and tuned to my needs, same was the case with ISB, but if I have to go the district collector’s office that is bound to provide services to the disabled, I have to climb the stairs and there are no facilities. The difference exists due to lack of education and awareness,” says the undeterred kohinoor of Hyderabad.
By being a part of the nation wide euphoria `Satyameva Jayate' he proved that disability begets determination. Apart from all this the kohinoor of Hyderabad runs a merit scholarship initiative called Sahasra, makes videos and runs a blog addressing a variety of issues. However the master of his fate is perturbed when unwanted sympathy is showered on him. “I am a normal individual trying to address several issues and disability is only one of the issues... I don’t want people to make extraordinary efforts to make my life better, I can do that for myself. What I don’t expect is indifference,” says the courageous kohinoor of Hyderabad. (With inputs from internet- AW AarKay)
