Short is this boy, high are his stakes

COIMBATORE: Broad mouth, square jaw, receding chin, unwieldy tongue, bushy eyebrows, punctured neck between head and shoulders, you''re bound to mistake this hirsute as a mentally retarded person.
For, the 23-year-old Harissh who has a stocky build and short trunk doesn''t exceed the height of 115 centimetres. Adding insult to injury, he can neither lift his hands beyond a point nor hear what you say without the aid of an earphone.
''We see many such in our day-to-day life.What''s special?'' Question is taken well. A first class graduate in Computer Science and Engineering, Harissh is special. For the simple reason he could''ve gone insane in a society, which treated him with disdain. He could''ve worn the cloak of that circus clown who wears an omnipresent smile burying the tragedies deep within, when his father left him and his mother to their fate. Last, but not the least, he could''ve ran a telephone booth which the ones like him do wherever there''re mofussil bus stations.
Any or all his actions would''ve got justified in the backdrop of his debilitating abnormality, namely, mucopolysaccharidosis, which made him a dwarf in a world that walks, talks, acts, and recognizes only the tall.
"On his birth, he appeared very normal. We noticed stunting of growth when he turned eight. We took him to Vellore CMC in 1997 where he''s diagnosed for mucopolysaccharidosis", says his 50-year-old mother, Sulochana.
The disease, in fact, has a number of categories some of which result in severe behavioural problems, including sleep disturbance, temper tantrums, destructive behaviour and physical aggression.
However, Harissh was categorized under Hurler-Scheie, which enables him to live an adult life with normal intelligence but with severe physical deformities.
"I went through a hell bringing him up. When I wanted to give him education, many people, including some relatives mocked at the idea. But, I had faith in God", says Sulochana who''s running a photocopying centre in a tiny room for which she''s paying a rent of Rs 1,500 per month.
"This is our sole livelihood. But, we don''t get enough to save for the rainy day", says Harissh.
True. Otherwise, today, he''d have landed in US to study MS in Computer Science and Engineering at Saint Joseph''s University, Philadelphia.
"I got admission and visa. My student identification number is 10290122. I was to attend the orientation for international students on August 27. But, I couldn''t make it for want of money", he says with an element of despair.
Yes, the total expense for higher studies works out to $23,130. Of which he''ll get $12,630 as scholarship.
"I''m falling short of another $10,000. If someone is ready to give a loan, I''ll lap it up", he says and adds that he still can join the university in the next academic year (in January 2005) since the admission he received will remain valid.
Maybe he''s short. But, certainly, Harissh is not short sighted. In fact, he''s trying to hard to reach out to the skies. Will someone lend him a pair of wings?