Download - A dream come true
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HT Live wishes its readersHappy Holi
NOIDA
Rajkumari Tankha■ [email protected]
Noida is all set to become dis-abled-friendly. To begin with,the Sector 50 traders associa-tion is making a ramp to makethe market accessible to thedisabled. The Sector 18 com-mercial complex will come aclose second.
But it is not the district admin-istration or the Noida Authoritythat is working towards this.This is because of the hard workof a lone woman who, forced bycircumstances, decided to dosomething.
“I am so happy that Sector50 will be the first wheelchairaccessible market in the city,”says Priyanka Malhotra. “Thearchitects are presently work-ing on the designs of the ramp,”she adds. Malhotra is tryingto build public awareness byenrolling the government admin-istration. “We want to makemovie theatres, schools, mar-ket places and other public facil-ities wheelchair accessible,” shesays.
This resident of Sector 51,Noida, is a mother of two, theelder of whom, son Nipun iswheelchair bound.
Throughout his growing upyears, it was a challenge forMalhotra to assimilate him insociety. Finding an accessibleschool, disabled-friendly buses,entertainment places and col-lege were always her major con-cerns. She had found this amissin all areas of life of the physi-cally challenged, and it great-ly bothered her.
“I could make my son’s lifecomfortable because we arewell off. But there are many oth-ers who are not financiallysound,” says Malhotra.
So in 2006, she joined theNGO, Samarthyam NationalCentre for AccessibleEnvironment and trained as anaccessibility auditor. She laterstarted working withSamarthyam in an honorarycapacity. She was also a part ofthe Samarthyam team that didaccessibility audits for Janpathand the Garden of Five Sensesin Delhi.
“Working in association withthe government through
Samarthyam I realised that onecan get results if the intentionis good. People by far are will-ing to help, they are sensitiveto these issues, the only thinglacking is awareness,” she says.
In 2008, she led a team toMumbai to ensure that electionbooths there were disabled-friendly. She presented a reportto the then Chief ElectionCommissioner Naveen Chawlawith her recommendations.
Last month, Malhotra decid-ed to branch out of Samarthyamand start her own foundation,Nipman. The three focus areasof Nipman are health, dignityand happiness for the disabled.
The auto expo goodwill dayon January 5, 2012, was coor-dinated by the Nipman teamwhere 50 wheelchair usersattended the Auto Expo andwere given an opportunity tointeract with car manufactur-ers to express their require-ments.
Throughout the Auto Expothe Nipman Foundation, in part-nership with Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII), put upbooths at the gates at PragatiMaidan to provide wheelchairsto the physically challenged andelderly.
“The response was so goodthat CII wants to partner withNipman Foundation to providethese facilities at the regionalexpos in other parts of the coun-try,” she says.
“We are trying to build pub-lic awareness by enrolling theadministration and are gettinga very encouraging response,”says Malhotra.
“I started alone in January,and within a month I have gottwo volunteers, Veena Mathurand Gauri Aggarwal, both res-idents of Sector 50, Noida. Iwish more people become sen-sitive about these issues,” shesays. “Nearly 10% of India’s pop-ulation is disabled. We want tomake all public facilities acces-sible to this population, so thatthey become more visible out-side their homes, so that theylive with dignity and happiness,”adds Malhotra.
Apart from this, Malhotra isalso working to develop a web-site that will cater specificallyto the disabled.
barefacts
GOVT COLLEGELIBRARY TO BERENOVATEDThe renovation andupgradation of the libraryin Government InterCollege in Sector 12 hasstarted.
349.5sq m is the area of library
3 months is the time in which theconstruction work will be completed
R500 the annual subscription fees
800 the number of books and magazines in the library
jyoti prasad, D I S T R I C T I N S P E C T O R O FS C H O O L S , G A U TA M B U D H
N A G A R
Since it was opened in April2011, the library had beenfunctioning out of a smallroom. There is no librarian,and till now a staff was giventhe additional responsibili-ty of managing it. This is thereason why it had just a fewmembers and readers. Oncewe have a proper buildingwe will also need staff andfor this we have already senta requisition to the StateGovernment. We also expectmore members by May.
Crusader forthe disabledThrough her NGO, PriyankaMalhotra is trying to give health,dignity and happiness to thephysically challenged
Rajkumari Tankha■ [email protected]
She lost her parents at an earlyage, and was brought up by herpaternal uncle in a large jointfamily. The various experiencesquite early in life are reflected inthe bronze sculptures of Premlata,a resident of Sector 50, Noida.
“Sculpture is a means ofexpressing my feelings. Therhythm of music and innocenceof children move me to shapethe forms I create,” says Premlata,62, sitting amidst her art pieces.
She doesn’t hold any degree,diploma or certificate in art. Itis only her passion for art thathas brought her this far.
Though she used to sketcheven when she was in school,making a career of it was some-thing she never thought about.This was only expected sincethere was no one to guide her,advise her, judge her and no oneto motivate her either. But thisdidn’t sadden her.
“I got married immediatelyafter Class 11 and got busy withdomestic life. I completelyenjoyed married life, workingfor my husband and children,”she says. And finding a voca-tion of her own was somethingthat never occurred to her.
It was only in 1995, after herdaughter was married that shethought of doing something.“With all the three children set-tled, I had ample time, whileearlier, I didn’t have any freetime” she says.
So on her daughter’s insis-tence, Premlata joined TriveniKala Sangam, just to kill time.This gave her some mission inlife. She looked forward to hersculpture classes in Triveni.
Slowly she was drawn towardsthe art. So much so that shestarted visiting Triveni five daysa week.
The first sculpture she made,Dharaatal, was selected by theNational Gallery of Modern Artas a permanent exhibit. Thisboosted her morale and shestarted making more piecesin bronze. “I love this medium.The different colours this metalgets at different temperaturesis simply awesome. You can’tget these shades with any kindof colour mixing,” she says.
“I owe a lot to Triveni. Mylife got a direction there. Myart blossomed here. And it isat Triveni that I have made
friends with other womenartists. I enjoy having discourseswith them on art and other sub-jects,” she says.
She has had five solo showsso far and participated in a num-ber of group shows. Most of herexhibitions have been at the AllIndia Fine Arts and CraftsSociety or at Triveni Kala Sang-am and Lalit Kala Akademi. Herlatest show, Akaar Prakaar, washeld at the Triveni Kala Sangamlast month.
Her works are included inmany private collections in USA,Germany, Canada and England.“I have had the privilege ofexhibiting abroad since my sonsare there and they motivate meto hold shows there,” she says.
Other than sculpting, sheenjoys travelling and has beenalmost all over India and abroadtoo. “My husband worked withthe Indian Railways, which gaveus ample opportunity to trav-el. And now both my sons aresettled abroad so we keep vis-iting them,” she says.
SculptingexperiencesFor Premlata,sculptures are ameans toexpress herfeelings
■ Premlata’s first sculpture has been selected by the National Gallery ofModern Art as a permanent exhibit. SUNIL GHOSH / HT PHOTO
TALK TO US■ HT Live has two regularcolumns, My Colony and My BestHoliday. My Colony is about whatyou like about the colony you areliving in, and My Best Holiday isthe best holiday you had in recenttimes. Both go with the photo-graph of the contributor. Anybodyinterested in contributing for thesame can write to:[email protected]
I could make my son’s life comfortablebecause we are well off. But there are many
others who are not financially sound.P R I YA N K A M A L H O T R A
■ Priyanka Malhotra is trying to build public awareness by enrolling thegovernment administration. SUNIL GHOSH / HT PHOTO
Aparna Singh Gupta■ [email protected]
Dr Murugan Pillai, 48, hardlylooks his age as he leaves youspeechless with a swift swordshow. Meet the guru as he prac-tises Kalarippayatu, the martialart form of Kerala. An art formhe has been practising for thepast 27 years.
It all started when as a young-ster in Thiruvananthapuram, hewas mesmerised by karate.However, as he belonged to afamily of businessmen and physi-cians, these art forms were lookeddown upon as a means of living.
“Over the years I realised thatKalarippayatu just had noparallel. More than anythingelse it taught self-healing.So I just wanted to learn it,”
he says. Once he made uphis mind, there was no stop-
ping him. After eight yearsof practice, the turningpoint came when he wasselected by his instituteto perform at the TajMahal. The show was
organised by the UttarPradesh tourism depart-
ment. “My performances hadthe audience spell bound,” headds.
But as luck would have it, Pillaishifted to Delhi in 1993 becauseof family pressure to take up ajob. Living on rent in MayurVihar phase 3, he decided toearn some money by teachingKalari to some eager children.Today he conducts workshopsall over India and abroad. He
also has regular presentationsin schools in Delhi, Faridabad,Noida and Ghaziabad.
His institute Nithya Chaitha-nya Kalari is empanelled withthe Indian Council for CulturalRelations and affiliated to NehruYuva Kendra (under the UnionMinistry of Youth Affairs &Sports) and is also recognisedby the Sahitya Kala Parishad andIndian National Trust for Artand Cultural Heritage. “It hasbeen a dream come true for me.I love my work and I am veryhappy that I believed in it whenno one else did,” he says as hegears up for his performance atthe ongoing book fair.
A dream come true...
PREMLATA IS ALWAYSWORKING, IF NOT ATTRIVENI THEN HERBALCONY THAT SHE HASCONVERTED INTO ASTUDIO.
...Is how DrMurugan Pillaiexplains his risein the field ofKalarippayatu inNCR
■ Presently DrMurugan Pillai isbusy preparingfor hisperformance atthe ongoing bookfair.
WASEEM GASHROO/ HT PHOTO
