SALUTE..!! Kiran Kanojia lost her limb when two miscreants made away with her bag. But she hasnt let that stop her. On December 24, 2011 Kiran Kanojia was travelling from Hyderabad, where she works, to Faridabad her hometown. The train had chugged into Palwal. Another half hour and she would be home. It was the evening before my 26th birthday, she recalls. And I was looking forward to being with my family. I was on the side lower berth near the door and was preparing to get off when two boys snatched my bag. I was dragged with it; I got pushed, my leg got caught in the door. Passengers pulled the emergency chain so the train stopped. They laid me on the berth and we reached Nizamuddin where I was admitted to the hospital. Some time later, she was staring at a form that she would have to sign to permit the doctors to amputate her left leg. It was a little past 1 am, she remembers. And it was her birthday. She signed. There was no other way. *** Three years later, January 17, 2015. A young father makes his little daughter stand next to Kanojia. He takes a picture of them on the phone. Kanojia is wearing a prosthetic foot and a pair of bright new trainers that Reebok presented to her a few weeks ago. A carbon fibre blade, made famous by Oscar Pistorius, lies nearby. When she runs the half marathon, she will replace the foot with the blade, which makes it easier for her to run. The foot, she points out, is fine to walk. But when you run, the weight falls on the stump. The blade works differently. Because of its design the curved blade takes most of the weight falls making it more comfortable for her to run. Isnt it inspiring? a middle-aged man waiting to meet her exclaims to me. Where do you get this foot? another man wants to know. Everyone wants to pat her back; everyone wants to be photographed with her, even one of the journalists. She admits it is all very surreal. Kiran Kanojia spent a good part of 2012 fighting depression. Her employer, Infosys, had contributed to her recovery; they had even granted her a long leave of absence. But how do you fight a battle with yourself? Running long distances with one artificial limb isnt easy, she admits. The last five kilometres are the toughest. Your entire body weight unconsciously or consciously falls on the right leg. And despite all of it, the stump gets bruised. The recovery takes at least a few weeks. But it is all worth it. She is occasionally at the receiving end of pitiful glances. Among the running group though, she is like any other runner. She isnt the girl who lost her limb; she is the girl who fought back. Kiran Kanojia completed the Half Marathon in Mumbai on Sunday, January 18 in 2 hours and 44 minutes.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 08:03:20 +0000
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