You Swim,You Fly, You write and You Drive : Keep flying high Vikram!

“Happy Dussehra!” My mother-in-law wished me. After a few minutes of chatting, “I loved Abha’s Dr. Abha Khetarpal story. She is truly inspirational”, she said. I was happy that Abha-ji’s story is resonating with so many people.

Personally, trust me, it’s very hard to get appreciation from the family. So, I smiled coyly (internally of course) I played along with the conversation, and then,

“Why don’t you write about______”??recommended my mother-in-law. She gave me some initial persona sketches. I thoroughly liked the idea and bounced it off to my team. They loved it and started the research.

And finally, we managed to set up the meeting.

“Namaskar Vishnu ji” a high-energy voice on the call appeared. The internet was playing a bit… and his face became visible, just like a play starts with a falling curtain. I am sure it was purely coincidental that there was a thunderstorm looming around, the wind was high enough to rattle the windows. Inside me, I just felt wow! this nature’s background music is a great addition to begin our conversation.

He was in a nice Orange Polo T.Shirt bearing a nice smile with his specs on. A square wooden framed lantern with a ladder wall décor, 2 amazing artisan wood stands décor’ed with copper bowls, and a tiny calf elephant décor were placed on either side of him. The entire frame on my computer screen was looking aesthetically very appealing and showed a glimpse of his artistic taste (other than being a sports person).

I was of course nervous, shy, and cautious but he was free-flowing, and that automatically made me so comfortable. The conversation went on and we both enjoyed the entire conversation.

So, my guest is a go-getter a sports enthusiast footballer, a swimmer, a moto (rally) racer, an aero modeler, and a successful entrepreneur. His initial schooling was in West Germany and also awarded the Presidential Academic Fitness Award personally signed by the then US President Mr. Ronald Reagan for academic excellence. At the age of 44, he enrolled for LLB and successfully completed it in 2017. About his awards & recognition, well a long list… I will leave a link ??. He was a second runner-up in the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm.

The excerpts of our conversation:

Childhood, Incident & Big Challenge:

At the tender age of 7, an electric shock took away his both arms but not his spirit. The common belief system would have distorted him completely. But Vikram was different, instead of being trembled, he took on this challenge with both his legs. He dissociated himself from his situation and started reframing his mind to write, operate a laptop, and perform day-to-day functioning with his legs.?

Role of his parents:

Vikram’s father is a retired IPS officer and served in various Indian Administrative positions. His parents always made him believe that he can do anything. They were rooting for him in every stage of his life. While they knew his situation, they calibrated their language, behavior, and actions to make him feel independent.

Battle for Dignity: Getting a Driving Licence:

I asked him directly, how did you learn the car?

Vikram ji had a full-time driver, however, he wanted to be independent. Hence, he wanted to learn the driving car himself knowing fully there is no such training institute or specially designed car for someone physically challenged. His friend was instrumental in teaching him.

During training, His friend sat in between the driver and passenger seat with one leg on the clutch and controlling the gear change; while Vikram ji steered with his right leg and pressed the brake and accelerator pedal with the left leg.

Vikram ji always kept himself in a resourceful state of mind and finally learned the driving and bought a new Auto transmission car.

While he conquered learning the car, but another long, big battle was waiting for him.

He needed a driving license. He applied and got rejected on technical grounds.

Ordinarily, one would have accepted it as is. But Universe had different plans for him. Vikram ji was ready to create history. He went on to re-apply, challenge, negotiate, escalate, and plead. Now, he wanted to fight this for his dignity. He knocked at every administrative door and finally reached the top of the table, the Honourable Union Minister of India Sri Nitin Gadkari Ji.

Finally, history was created in 2016 to initiate an amendment in the Motor Vehicle Act opening the door for millions of people with disability aspiring for independent driving.

Vikram became India’s first upper limb double amputee to get a driving license. Now, he consults and works with many to help them gain driving licenses.

But his self-actualization didn’t occur even here. He challenged himself to participate in the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm moto race and became the 2nd runner-up.

He concedes (in retrospect) with a smile that his Law degree came in very handy for him, but he attributed his success to being persistent and resilient.

Tweet from Sri Anand Mahindra, and…

There was another surprise waiting for Vikram ji. A well-deserved recognition came in from one of India’s most respected top industrialists and Chairman of Mahindra Group Sri Anand Mahindra ji via a tweet. Mr. Mahindra’s tweet went viral and since then Vikram’s phone never stopped ringing with messages. And that further led to another interesting chapter in his life…..

Discovery of an artist:?

When the tweet went viral, his old contacts reignited a conversation. The conversation discovered an artist in him and later he went on to write and publish a book.

His NGO & other activities:

Vikram runs an NGO WiL (Winners in Life) to empower people with disabilities. He also works with corporates to create an inclusive workplace, does motivational talks, and runs his own business. He loves swimming and plays football.

?Bangalore Lit Fest and book launch:

Further to our meeting, I had the great fortune to meet Vikram ji during his Book Launch event at the Bangalore Lit Fest 2022.

His book titled “Look ma, No hands” was published by Tulika Publishers Chennai . It captured his life journey beautifully in graphics for kids. The book was unveiled in the presence of #RadhikaMemon ji, #Deeya Nayar ji, and Preethi B Ajit ji followed by his conversation with the Kids.

The excitement & curiosity was palpable with the kids and within 2 mins of his speech, questions started pouring in and only ended with the session.

The moment session was over, the kids ran about laughing, smiling, and in joy at getting an autograph on his book.

Conclusion:

Vikram ji is an inspiration and truly a catalyst for change. His story of determination, resilience, perseverance, and most importantly his “can do” language for himself is a great source of learning for all.

In all honesty, as an Executive & NLP coach myself, I felt I had a masterclass with him while flipping pages of his life.

I doff my hat to you Vikram ji! and yes, I am excited to gift ‘Look Ma, No Hands’ now to my Mother in law who brought us all together.

Look Ma, No Hands : Order Now !

?Awards & Accolades

Vikram on History TV

https://youtu.be/qe8zVYX2_Xk HISTORY TV18

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