Dev Mishra of Biharâs Begusarai districtâs Dhakjari village is a contestant in Indiaâs Got Talent, a popular Indian reality show. His extraordinary moonwalk impressed the judges the very first day of the audition. His moonwalk was not the kind people see every day. He moonwalked with his hands.
Dev was born to Vandana Devi and Raj Kumar Mishra and was the youngest of three siblings. He led a normal life, until a fateful day that turned it upside down.
Devâs remarkable story is not only moving but one that gives us strength and a strong desire to believe in ourselves.
Devâs childhood
When Dev was just 6-months-old, his father passed away after being ill for a long time. A landless labourer and a domestic help, his mother worked day and night to run the family. All her money had been spent on his fatherâs treatment.
âWhen I was around 10, I tried hard to help my mother, but I was too young. I remember how painful it was for her, but she never complained. She worked harder than I have ever seen anyone work, and made sure none of her children slept without food in their stomach. However, I had to drop out of school to take up odd jobs,â Dev said in a conversation with The Logical Indian.
With its fair share of ups and downs, life went on for Dev. But little did he know that a day would change his life forever.
The incident that made his life go upside down
22-year-old Dev, who worked as a welder, was travelling to Hyderabad on June 1, 2015, to work for a contractor there. It was a day like any other, and he was preparing to board the train from Barauni station.
âI was waiting for the train and the crowd, as usual, was pushing each other to board it. Before I knew, I was pushed by the crowd behind me and had fallen onto the railway tracks. The train was so close that I did not get time to get myself together,â he said.
The train ran over his legs, slicing them from his thighs. He screamed in pain and begged people to help him, but nobody came forward. Before he could decide what to do, a second train ran over his legs.
âFor three hours, I sat there and begged people to help me. The excruciating pain went on becoming worse, but not a single person came forward to help me. It was as if they were scared to touch me. I saw people taking pictures of me. I have never felt so helpless in my life,â he said.
A friend of his happened to be at the same station, and when he saw Devâs condition, he went numb. Six hours after his accident, with the help of his friend, Dev finally reached the hospital.
He stayed in the hospital for over a month with his mother doing her best to provide money for his treatment. The doctors said he would not survive, but he miraculously did.
âMy mother took care of me after I returned home. She lever left my side,â he said.
Devâs older brother turning on the family
Being already broken inside, what Dev longed for the most during those days was his familyâs love.
âI looked up to my older brother the most. Whatever money I would earned, I would come back home and hand it over to him. I trusted him and loved him more than my life. But life has taught me that when you become useless, anyone can leave you,â he said.
During the hardest time of Devâs life, when he needed his brother the most, his brother told him something that killed him more than his physical pain did.
âMy brother, who had got married before my accident, told me that I would never be able to do anything in my life. Whether I am dead or alive, I would have to be dependent on him, he told me. Not wanting to take any trouble, he left me and my family. What broke me down more was not the fact that he had left me, but that he had left our mother alone, who had done everything she could to feed us and raise us,â he said.
But nothing could make Dev lose his belief in himself. He decided to do something out of his life.
Devâs struggle to get prosthetic legs and some work
Dev travelled to Jaipur as someone had told him that he might get good treatment there. Every doctor he consulted told him that he would not be able to get prosthetic legs because his limbs were too short for the procedure to be carried out.
From Jaipur railway station, he whimsically boarded a train to Mumbai. In the city of dreams, he lived on his arms on footpaths and ate leftovers. He asked anyone he came across for work, but they refused. Nobody thought someone like him could do anything.
Someone on streets once asked him where he wished to go. âI want to stand up for myself, but I cannot see what is waiting for me,â he said.
âMy biggest dream was to meet Salman Khan. Not because I am a fan, but because I had heard a lot about him helping children and the needy, and I thought he might help me find some work. I waited outside his house for a month, in scorching heat and in the rains, but never saw him. Everybody around his place saw me. His security kept telling me he was not there,â he said.
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