Reaching great heights

The physically challenged are largely neglected by society. But today they prove that their limitations are only physical and not mental. Many of the physically handicapped prove that they are one better than normal human beings in various fields.

Journalist S Shanmugam has authored a book celebrating such people. The book, ‘Sigarathai Thedi’, illustrates the success stories of the physically challenged who have made it big in various fields.

Shanmugam was working as a photojournalist in ‘Dinakaran’ newspaper at Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He was not able to continue his profession there due to the ethnic riots in that country.

According to Shanmugam, “In 1978, the Sri Lankan army ransacked the houses and shops of Tamil people and fired at them. I was taking shots of those atrocities. The Sri Lankan army personnel saw me taking photos and attacked me and injured me. I was admitted and treated at Jaffna hospital for two years. I get tensed even now if I recall what happened that year. This was the turning point in my life.

”It is sad that due to the brutal attack of the Sri Lankan army Shanmugam lost one of his lungs and had to undergo numerous surgeries at the Jaffna hospital. The ethnic riots resumed in Sri Lanka in 1983. At that point of time, Shanmugam decided to leave his homeland because he thought “his homeland and his government will not help him in any way”.

He escaped with his wife from Jaffna as a refugee and came to Madurai in Tamil Nadu. He stayed at a lodge in Madurai. “I came to Tamil Nadu with a lot of jewels and we survived by selling them. Meanwhile, my wife became pregnant. Since we were alone in the country, I had to take care of my wife before and after she gave birth to our child.”

It is sad that Shanmugam’s brothers and sisters got separated due to the Sri Lankan ethnic riots. They live with the hope that all of them will meet one day at their house in Jaffna.

The second turning point in Shanmugam’s life occurred when he started working as a photographer in Madurai.

As days went by and there was no money left with him and poverty started showing its ugly face, Shanmugam even thought of committing suicide. Then his friend Gopal helped him to get back into the photography industry. He joined as a photographer in ‘Dinasari’ daily news paper.

With the motivation of his friends to become a renowned photographer, Shanmugam came to Chennai in 1990. He worked as a photographer for four years and joined ‘Arumbu’, the students magazine, in 1994. By now Shanmugam was yearning to write but his friends dissuaded him from changing course.

Shanmugam, describing the event that made him a writer, said, “The life of two blind girls affected me a lot. I wrote an article about their life, which was appreciated by many people.”

Shanmugam received appreciation through letters and in person stating that the articles written by him helped boost the morale of the physically challenged. “They also posed me a question - why don’t you start writing articles about the success stories of physically challenged people? From then on, I started focusing on the success stories and published three volumes of the title ‘Sigarathai Thedi’.”

Shanmugam adds that Maria Charles, editor of ‘Arumbu’ magazine helped him in publishing all the three volumes. He has interviewed physically challenged people not only in Tamil Nadu but Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and other places also.

“I suffered a lot during the days when I visit other places to take interviews, I've lost my belongings and had to wait in railway stations from night to morning. I can even write a book about that experience, but that is not my objective now,” says Shanmugam.

Many people from foreign countries urged Shanmugam to write a book about the success stories of the physically challenged in English, after which he authored ‘Hope is Life’ and released it in November last year.

Shanmugam says he would spend the money collected as royalty from this book for the welfare of the physically challenged.