Prajith Jaipal intends to meet prime minister Narendra Modi and union minister for health and family welfare JP Nadda and submit petitions to make public places, institutions, and transport systems accessible for those with physical challenges. The 2,500-km car journey that Prajith Jaipal, 40, a paraplegic, is undertaking on April 1 is at once an evocative message and an inspiring act. For a society which perceives physical paralysis as a dead-end, this is Prajith's call to recant.
Prajith, a former marketing professional, was paralyzed neck-down in a car accident on April 1, 2011. There were serious injuries to his vertebra. He chose the seventh anniversary of the accident to start his drive from Kozhikode to New Delhi. Prajith plans a week-long stay in Delhi. He intends to meet prime minister Narendra Modi and union minister for health and family welfare JP Nadda and submit petitions to make public places, institutions, and transport systems accessible for those with physical challenges.
Prajith, a former marketing professional, was paralyzed neck-down in a car accident on April 1, 2011. “I want to make our society aware of the monotony and rejection each paraplegic goes through in this country. I have been 'bedridden' for two years after a car accident. But then I got out and worked hard to have a normal social life. I want this nation to be wheelchair-friendly. Paraplegia is not a disease. It is a state. Our society needs to be cleansed of the misconceptions and stigmas surrounding a wheelchair-bound life,” Prajith told Onmanorama.
On his drive, Prajith will be accompanied by his friends Libish, a mechanic-cum-driver, and Manikandan, who serves occasionally as his caretaker. On their way, Prajith will meet and talk to several paraplegic communities in Bangalore, Mumbai, and New Delhi.
On their way, Prajith will meet and talk to several paraplegic communities in Bangalore, Mumbai, and New Delhi.“I have talked to the Wheelchair Rights Foundation and The Spinal Foundation India. They are arranging meetings with their members in major cities we pass through. My aim is to inspire fellow paraplegics and help them lead a normal life in this society,” Prajith says.
He would also meet the heads of major corporates and multinational companies and speak to them regarding the employment prospects and mobilization of skills from the paraplegic community in India. “I had been a marketing personnel with a popular telecommunications company before my accident. Now, I can well perform the tasks I had been doing there. But people doubt the abilities of a wheelchair-bound person,” he said.
The team would take more than 48 days to complete their journey.His parents, Jaipal and Thankamani, a retired government employee-home-maker couple, offer their full support to their son. “We have always wanted our son to achieve his dreams. We are proud of the brave step he is taking with a very insightful vision,” says Jaipal.
Prajith will drive his Maruti Celerio car, altered to meet his requirements. It has a hand-operated brake, accelerator and steering knob. The team would take more than 48 days to complete their journey. It has been planned out to ensure Prajith with proper rest, a six-hour drive time a day and public interaction.
Prajith and his mural paintings.Prajith currently runs an online handicraft jewelry store. He has designed a job portal exclusively for paraplegics, called 'Wheelers club' with the help of a web designer friend. “Wheelers club looks forward to extending paraplegic citizens job opportunities. We associate with several employers and create a platform where a prospective paraplegic employee can meet his/ her employer,” Prajith says. He expects to come up with a GPS- based mobile application that would provide traveling paraplegics ample details of the accessible hotels, hospitals, restaurants and other utilities.
“I rediscovered my life once I got out of my bed where I thought I would spend my life after the accident. I want to inspire every wheelchair-bound person to get out of their beds and start exploring the vast opportunities and places in this world. The trip to New Delhi is my first step to that,” Prajith says.
Prajith will drive his Maruti Celerio car, altered to meet his requirements. It has a hand-operated brake, accelerator and steering knob. Prajith actively involves in the movements to make public places disabled-friendly by installing ramps and elevators. Prajith says being paraplegic has helped him realize the value of many simple things that one ignores in normal life.
