My Story: 'Lack Of Disabled-Friendly Spaces In India's Smaller Cities Is The Bigger Barrier For People Like Me'

I was diagnosed with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC) when I was a teenager. AMC is a condition that causes a newborn to have stiff, crooked, and contracted joints at birth that causes a loss of range of motion in more than one joint (hands, feet, hips, knees, elbows, shoulders, wrists, fingers, toes, the jaw and the spine). I have both muscular as well as joint problems.

Unfortunately, in my case, the condition was diagnosed pretty late. When I was a kid, some doctors called it cerebral palsy, while others would link it to any other state. I got the proper medical certificate for AMC when I was in my 10th standard, that's how I realised about my condition.

There were a lot of societal challenges during my childhood. I could not make many friends in school. When I used to get good marks, other kids would think that the teachers had given it out of sympathy, which was not the case. But as I grew up, I came across good people and everyone was so friendly to me.

'My Husband Is My Biggest Support'

My husband and I met on Facebook in 2010. I was in the first semester of my engineering. He sent me a friend request, we instantly clicked, became good friends and later fell in love. I confided Shashi about my condition, but he never bothered about it. I never felt that he was uncomfortable or felt strange at any point. Even after the day when I discussed about my disabilities, we talked daily like we used to before. He stood rock solid there in every phase of my life and never make me feel like a burden.

When our families got to know about our relationship, they never took it seriously at first. They thought it was a temporary thing and both of us will part ways at some point in life. But recently, when we decided to get married, his family went against it, we did try to convince them but they disagreed. We decided to get married anyway as there was no point waiting for it anymore. However, recently, Shashi's family also came around and threw a reception party for us last month.

'Need For Better Infrastructure'

I feel that our society lacks better infrastructure for differently-abled people. In Delhi and other metropolitan cities in India, most places are accessible, however, a lot needs to be done in smaller cities or towns to make the infrastructure better for people like me.

Secondly, we should spread more awareness and make people understand that even differently-abled people are the same and deserve equal rights as others. If we treat someone differently, they will also behave the same. If we start considering everyone equal, this world will be a much better place to live.

If you too have an inspiring story to tell the world, send us your story at mystory@thelogicalindian.com