Lost legs to polio, but standing tall on hard work, grit

KOTA: "I wish I could dance and run like others," said Deepak Kumar, 21, studying at NIT, Temple branch, Upiya, Arunachal Pradesh. He was in Kota for a felicitation ceremony on Sunday.
Deepak lost his mother when he was one month old. If that was not enough, he lost his legs to polio when he was four months old. Now he wears his slippers on his hands to move.
His mischievous, spontaneous grin reflects his spirited approach towards life.
Though physically challenged in the eyes of the world, he dreams big to rise above his shortcomings, and aspires to teach BTech and MTech students.
My all India IIT-JEE rank was 1,189 in 2015, he said.
Deepak said, "I hail from Paryon village in Bihar. My village, 45 kilometres from Patna, has a population of about 500 to 550 people."
For 12 years (2002-2012), he moved 10 kilometres every day in wheelchair to attend his school located in Paliganj. The daily journey took 35 minutes.
"Instead of waiting for help, I would patiently turn the wheels of my wheelchair which was a gruelling task," said Deepak, showing his calloused hands.
"There were days when I would feel like quitting my classes. I would be travelling in the morning for my mathematics class and then return home for lunch and again go in the evening for English, Hindi and science classes," he added.
"I am the youngest with three elder brothers and one sister. My father Ram Pukar Singh is a farmer. I was taken to various doctors for treatment but nothing helped," said he.
After passing his class XII, he came to Kota as he friends told him that the city could change his destiny.
He said, "My father has just five-bigha land. He took a loan for my studies. I reached Allen Career Coaching which waived 75% fee and motivated me to pursue my goals. This is what gave me the confidence that I could succeed."
"When I left Kota, I donated my wheelchair to an old man who, like me, couldn't walk," Deepak said.