Art on flying chairs…

They were on wheel chairs but they had wings to fly. We had colors and we were ready to fly with them.

We flew with colors and wheels for the whole day. on our journey butterflies came with us and we spread colors on the walls of the home they live.

They were a bunch of guys physically bound to chairs but mentally they were on the sky with undying spirits.

The first interaction happened on facebook with purushottam who told us about the rugby players on wheels. Their caretaker Guddu wanted us to come and do some creative stuff with them.

The day was hot but still we reached the house in GK1 . Guddu came on a skateboard to receive us. with a blutooth on his ears and constantly managing things on phone, Guddu was more than welcoming.

We started talking to goldy and others about their injury and about their basketball adventures. We decided to make butterflies in a way that all can paint them.

We started our work and then arrived the captain of the wheelchair rugby team, Nikhil. A thorough gentleman in the way he carries himself.

Despite being on a wheel chair with spinal injury, he is a successful professional who works as a computer professional. Nikhil got injured in a silly jump in the swimming pool and injured his spine.

slowly Guddu, Nikhil, goldy, Ishan and  others joined us in painting.  In the beginning they were a bit reluctant as they thought they can’t paint.

The injury in spine makes the hand movements very very hard, we got to know for the first time, but they were excited and involved in the process and had lot of fun.

Slowly everyone was painting and explaining the day to day struggles of a wheelchair bound person and the joys of a group on wheelchairs.  You may be wondering what can be joy so let me point them out the difficulties, happiness and achievements.

1. This bunch of young guys have played international wheelchair rugby in Korea
2. They are arranging camps in various parts of India to make a national wheeelchair rugby team which can participate in para Olympics.
3. Nikhil is a software engineer, Ishan has joined a multinational company recently.

Difficulties

1. They don’t sweat so they have to spray water on their face and wipe it otherwise it makes them uneasy.
2. Going to toilet and passing the urine takes a hell lot of time.
3. They have to train hard for their hand movements.

Happiness

1. As they say- when they move in a group, people feel that they are acting because they move their chairs themselves which people don’t accept.
2. They do small stunts with their wheel chairs which normal people couldn’t think of.
3. They have amazing mental strength and have the capacity to fight with the odds.

for us working with this bunch was a lifetime experience. They told their individual stories which will take one blog each to write. we laughed with them, ate with them, painted with them.

we cried in our hearts learning the fact that even holding a spoon in your hands can be challenging, things which we took for granted.

It is difficult to write about the experience. It can only be felt. we heartily thank Guddu, purushottam, Nikhil and others who invited us to spend time with them.

The best compliment we got was from Nikhil, ‘People come here to meet us and talk to us. You guys came and worked with us….and gave us a unique experience. it was a lovely time we spend with you.’