Woman with cerebral palsy launches a memoir

Ahmedabad: She cannot hold a pen, but Maitri Jha, 33, is already an author with her life story published as "Maitri" earlier this year in Aug. Born with cerebral palsy, she finds true freedom in the swimming pool. She writes, "In the pool, I felt lighter, freer, as if my body remembered something my mind always knew — that I could move." Her premature birth in 1992 resulted in her condition affecting her motor skills, speech, and balance. But it was her parents, Sanjay and Manisha Jha, who resolved to raise her as a normal child.The process of compiling a book itself was a task every family member remembers. It stemmed from the idea that she wanted to share her life with the world and also advocate for practical support and not just empathy.Family friend Urvish Kantharia agreed to publish the book, while caregiver Ankita served as her writer and took notes. Vimala Thakkar gave the text an emotional translation, with her brother Miraj and sister-in-law Meghal serving as guides on her journey to express herself and her thoughts. She terms water therapy in Tashkent a transformative experience that led her to swimming, and counts simple car rides as true joys of life. The book also mentions her meeting with Shah Rukh Khan.In the end, it is an appeal to the policymakers to ‘see' these individuals with special needs for whom there are few facilities in public spaces.