Having accepted her physical challenges, Nishtha Thaker is set to help others facing similar issues.
When a spunky woman with special needs tells you that women do not need to be empowered, and that all they have to do is accept themselves as they are and recognize their own potential, you sit up and take notice.
If you spot Nishtha Thaker whizzing by on her four-wheeler scooter in the green environs of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), where she has worked for 14 years, you will also notice the smile on her face and the cheerful waves she gives passers-by.
Brimming with optimism, Nishtha, has not let muscular dystrophy, a rare, genetic, progressive disorder deter her from enjoying life. Moreover, she is founder trustee and MD of an NGO Spreading Smile Charitable Trust which works with people with not just muscular dystrophy, but other special needs as well.
“Early symptoms of loss of balance and falling were not taken seriously by my parents. Till a family friend, who was a doctor, suggested that I have a check-up. When I was diagnosed at 11 years by a doctor in Mumbai, my parents were told that I may not live up to 25. Now, I am 46 years old! My parents showed amazing courage and positive acceptance. They took up the challenge to make my life as fruitful as possible. Parents of children with special needs need to cultivate this attitude.”
It took her sometime to come to terms with her condition and what it meant for her future. “Once I accepted my limitations and rebuilt my confidence, others accepted me too. Schooling went on normally. My sibling and cousins gave me a lot of affection and support,” she relates.
Source of strength
Who has been her primary source of strength? “My mother, as I lost my father early in life. She taught me not to dwell on what I don’t have in life but to focus on what I do have, and work on that. When I was bedridden for nearly seven years, it was my mother who motivated me to sit up and get moving.”
Other than her mother, Nishtha says two women touched her life and changed its course. “Sanjana Goyal, president of the Indian Association of Muscular Dystrophy (IAMD), inspired me to get involved in helping other people with the condition. I am also greatly motivated by Dr. Sumitra Prasad, psychologist and general secretary of Chennai-based Dorai Foundation, which works towards improving the lives of individuals with special needs,” she says.
Nishtha is married to an architect Krishna Anand and has a nine-year-old daughter Aakanksha. She met her husband at a camp on muscular dystrophy that she conducted in 2008. Krishna was studying at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad at that time, and attended the camp as a volunteer. He proposed within a week, but she took two years to accept the fact that it was not pity but love that was driving him to want to spend his life with her.
“He is a Punjabi and I am a Gujarati. There was some opposition from his parents about that as well as the fact that I had special needs. But it all worked out in the end. We had an Arya Samaj wedding and my in-laws attended the wedding with a baraat of 15 members,” she says with a laugh.
Adventurous spirit
Her love for adventure has made Nishtha visit Ladakh several times braving altitude sickness and low oxygen levels that even able-bodied people find difficult. She has also completed the strenuous Amarnath Yatra.
What has kept her going? Family love and support and her own positive attitude are big factors. So is the fact that she leads a very disciplined life. “I am strict about my diet and practise yoga regularly in addition to the physiotherapy I need. There is no cure for muscular dystrophy. I am only on vitamins and calcium supplements. Fortunately, in my case, the disorder has not affected my internal organs,” she says.
Her message to women on International Women’s Day? Says Nishtha: “Acceptance can create a miracle. That’s what I have learnt from my life. Women have immense power within. Limitations exist only in the mind. Women should convert their life from ‘Oh’ (attracting pity) to ‘Aha’ (getting appreciation)!”
By: Aruna Raghuram
