Thiruvambady: From the wheelchair that circumstances have confined him to, Sunesh continues to open umbrellas of hope over a future still taking shape.

Twenty one years after the accident that changed his life, Sunesh, a native of Perumalpady near Thiruvambady, continues his struggle for survival by crafting umbrellas, each one a symbol of resilience that shelters both his own life and that of his family. His life took a devastating turn when a spinal injury sustained in a lorry accident on the Nilambur–Nadukani ghat road in October 2005 left him paralysed from the waist down. Yet, refusing to surrender to fate, Sunesh rebuilt his life through the craft of umbrella making.

In 2010, training at the self employment centres of Lisa Palliative Care in Thiruvambady and the Kozhikode Institute of Palliative Medicine introduced him to this skill, which marked the beginning of his journey into umbrella production.

The umbrellas he makes are distributed through the palliative care centre, with orders also delivered via courier. At present, his only steady source of income is the government pension. Sunesh also offers training to members of palliative care families in umbrella making.

He lives with his wife Athira and son Daksh in a modest house built on three cents of land. However, the loan taken for its construction continues to weigh heavily on the family’s finances. The umbrellas he produces are named after his four-year-old son.

Sunesh’s craftsmanship also extends to handmade paper seed pens. During the recent Assembly elections, authorities collected 27,000 pens made by persons with disabilities across the district and distributed them to officials as part of a green protocol initiative. Among them were 600 pens made by Sunesh.