An interview with Miss Virali Modi, Miss Wheelchair India 2014 Runner Up

Miss Wheelchair India 2014 Runner Up,Disability Rights Advocate Quora Top Writer 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014

Q. Which part of your introduction you like the most. Being Quora’s top writer for four consecutive years, a motivational speaker, Miss India wheelchair runner up 2014, an aspiring actress/model or the lady who defeated death thrice?

A. ‘The lady who defeated death thrice’ because it’s inspirational and interesting. Everyone can achieve whatever they want in their lives , but getting a title like that is difficult and unique.

Q. So how was your reception in Gwalior?

A. It was good. I arrived yesterday here. I had some issues with my flight  but overall it was nice. I also visited Gwalior Fort yesterday. Everyone has been so kind to me in Gwalior and I’ve been taken care of as it’s my home. I have nothing but good things to say about the administration, students ,organizers and about Gwalior in general. I’m incredibly appreciative.

Q. Did you get butterflies in your stomach before the talk?

A. I was nervous. Being the first speaker, I showed up on the stage directly. It happens to the best of speakers and so it happened with me.

Q. You wrote on Quora once you have a dark and dirty sense of humour. One of your fellow Quora writer approves the same .Does this quality of yours help you to get along with people easily?

A. Yes it does. Usually when talking to people, I get a vibe if they would get along with me. Precisely, whether they seem easy-going in a way in which I could turn their statements into a joke and they wouldn’t mind, or rather approve my sense of humour . If I find this to be the case, then bang on! We are best friends.

Q. Diving in the Mumbai underwater festival, you said you felt like a mermaid or fish and moved freely in water. Despite having past swimming experience, were you in any sort of dilemma whether you should go forward with this or not?

A. Not really because while diving I had to go underwater but I  had  an oxygen tank with me so why to be scared.I was a litte bit nervous though but I pulled it off.By the way I just found out  I am going Scuba Diving this Tuesday.

Q. In the process of wining the big battle of making trains wheelchair accessible. How much satisfaction and enjoyment do you get in winning these small battles? I want to quote an example you posted from your social media account - A passenger travelling to Trivandrum from Calicut by Jansatabdi requested wheelchair via an email. In this process smaller wheelchair and portable ramps were used. It was a step towards accessibility for all without any stress, which seems to be your motive.

A. It gives me a lot of satisfaction because these small battles add up in wining a bigger battle. From booking a wheelchair via an email, porters are getting trained to handle the person who is disabled. If they are properly trained, no man handling will be done. If it is done, they will be fired. Because of this, the porters have become sensitized and they are now escorting the passengers from the train all the way to their car ensuring they are seated properly. This is a big change for humanity and in general especially for porters. I don’t mean to be discriminating but these porters come from an illiterate background .They might not understand how the world works or the hardships that someone with disability faces. They are becoming sensitized. Isn’t that a big change in the society? So if you win these small battles, eventually it all adds up in wining something big at the end of the day. You know, the best part was that they weren’t required to spend anything for this because everything was donated by rotary club, hospitals and NGO’s.

Q. How you deal with situations where someone shows extra sympathy towards you?

A. If someone does it I can tell it straightaway. This is one tatic I always follow in my life .It doesn’t mean that if I am on a wheelchair I cannot help myself. If I can push my wheelchair myself, why would I need someone’s help unless I am facing some difficulty. If I need someone’s help then I will the first one to ask for help.

Q. Your mother has a strong character .You narrated the incident today that she made you to crawl and struggle for cookies. What was going through her mind? In one of your posts you wrote she never cried in front of you?

A. Yes she has a pretty strong character. She was crying behind me watching me struggle. But she didn’t express it me. She questioned herself what she was doing and why was she putting me through this. When I asked her later, she told me - She had two minds about it. One was why she was doing this. Second, she had to do this otherwise I would have never learnt to become independent. I thank her for that everyday. .At that stage I was not able to sit without support but now I much in a much better condition.  Whenever I go through a hardship I remember that incident - if I was able to do that in that situation then I can do anything. If I cannot deal with a boy problem or manage my expenses so why am I cribbing. If I can overcome that stage to what I am doing right now then I can do anything.

Lets play a  rapid fire:

Q. Your inspiration.

A. Myself.

Q. Your favorite movie.

A. Haathi Mere Saathi.

Q. One thing you can’t live without.

A My mother.

Q. You are jealous of?

A. Bipasha Basu’s body and the hardwork she puts in everything she does.

Q. One actor whom you want to work with?

A. It will be Irfan Khan.

Q. If you were to be supergirl for one day first thing you would do?

A. Implement total accessibility for wheelchairs all over the world.

Q. One food item you can’t afford to miss anytime.

A.I have a sweet tooth but it’s surely not cookies. I would say pizza or may be noodles.

Q. Your favorite subject in high school?

A. It has to be science.

Q. Biggest rumour you have heard about yourself on social media platforms.

A. That I am related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Q. Your favorite TEDx talk of all times.

A.  there was a talk in TEDX Oslo about ‘Virginity Fraud’ delivered by medical students Nina Dølvik Brochmann & Ellen Støkken Dahl.

Q. Who was your favorite co-speaker in the event today?

A. I definitely think it was Roshni Misbah and Saurabh Kaushik.

Q. You wrote before you became wheelchair bound, it was your dream to become a doctor; specifically, a heart surgeon. What would you be if you were a doctor but not a heart surgeon?

A. May be a neurologist.

Interviewed and edited by-

Prakhar Srivastava

An Interview with Mr. Saurabh Kaushik ,Founder at PEOPLEIST INDIA. Trusted Business Growth Strategist & Coach for Business, Owners(Billionaires/Millionaires), Entrepreneurs & Fortune 500s.

       

Q1:What led to the inception of Peopleist  India?

Ans 1: I always wanted to do something on my own. I was already consulting a lot of companies and thought why not let’s start something of your own. You are also dependent on others. I found this a great opportunity to do this all by yourself. I’ve got great support from my teammates and I think one should take the plunge and then there is no looking back.

Q2:What is the biggest change you’ve seen in yourself after Peopleist India?

Ans2: I think I’ve grown as a leader. Working with these guys in my last assignment I was the HR manager and I was consulting many other companies for which also I was HR. But during  Peopleist when you’re working with your own people so closely, you grow because you have so many experiences .For the first time it’s like you go to the jungle and hunt your own food. In a job whatever you do you get paid every month but in this you’re hunting on your own like finding a client, delivering a service. The best thing has been growing as a leader and bringing about a change in not only yourself but in your clients as well.

Q3:As a consultant what is your instinctive approach to any problem?

Ans3:Fisrt step is to know the problem really really well. How we operate is we’re like sharp shooters. Often times what we’ve seen is when an organisation calls us, they’re generally talking about symptoms and this is generally one part of the problem. So first understand what it is and where we are and where do you want to go and then devising how could we get there. We take the best of insights from the organisations themselves.

Q4:How do you maintain balance between work and personal life?

Ans4:I have the one principle of really living your life. I think there’s nothing worse than a life not lived and I don’t think my work is work. I really enjoy it and for me its like how would a hobby be for someone. Its something which you would enjoy. Whereas personal life is concerned that’s what we do all the time.

Q5:TEDx ..was that personal or professional?

Ans5:It was a very good opportunity to share my experiences with the youth of our country. My TEDx  experience was phenomenal. I really enjoyed and I think that the 18 minutes concept is really cool.

Q6:Nowadays start-ups have become more of a trend. Can you give some pointers for successful start-ups?

Ans6:They say 90-97% start-ups fail in their initial years. The most  vital thing for a startup  to be successful is for their founder to know who they really are and what they want to do and how they want to do it. Nobody teaches you how to run a startup  in your college education .For a startup to be successful it really needs to be able to add values.

Q7:What advice would you like to give to your younger self?

Ans7:Don’t take yourself seriously. Just do what you like to do. A lot of people I have come across are suffering from many things. You can have a lot of money but still be depressed .You should keep moving and add values.

Reported By:                                         

Riya Khandelwal

Ritika Agarwal

Photographer:

Vishakha Gupta

AN INTERVIEW WITH ACHARYA SRI PUNDRIK GOSWAMI

   

   

Q1. What you are doing presently has been a trend in your family since generations. Didn’t you ever feel like joining some other profession sometime in your life.

Ans. I started doing this since I was 7. According to me, this is just a mindset. Ultimately everyone wants to be happy, either by doing what they want to do or what their family expects. What I believe is if I am born in a family which has already created a mark in some field, then why should I not take it forward from that point rather than going to some other field and start from scratch to reach limited heights.

Q2. You go to different places not only in India but also abroad with people of different mindsets, ages, education level and backgrounds. Do you find any difference while delivering your thoughts? And if so, how do you make sure that everyone gets you well?

Ans.  All in all, everyone is on the same ground. The only difference lies in the age but it’s not that big an issue because if it was so then I would not have been the one delivering but would have been on the receiving side. The distinction lies in realization and my objective is just to make them realize. So all these differences actually lead to no differences.

Q3. Can forgiveness become weakness of a person?

Ans. No, forgiveness can never become weakness, in fact it is the strength! You can only forgive when you are strong. There is a very famous line- “क्षमा शोभती उस भुजंग को जिसके पास गरल है, उसका क्या जो दंतहीन विषरहित विनीत सरल है” meaning that forgiveness only suits the one who is strong enough, it is not meant for weak.

Q4. When someone is going through bad times then people often say things like trust the Almighty but it seems impractical to him at that time. Is it so that philosophy can never meet practicality?

Ans. Everything starts with a hope, for example if I take a cup of tea I hope that it will be sweet but if I already believe that it is bitter then I will not enjoy it.  So giving hope is a very practical thing and if somebody is giving it in the name of God but the other is calling it impractical then he is really in a miserable condition.

Q5. People often fear future, they fear about its uncertainties or mishaps that can occur. So how can we face this fear?

Ans. Fear is sometimes good like night is good to sleep, not to work, so if there was no night this world would be very different. So those fears are like injections to motivate you to do something better.

Q6. It is usually seen that many times people lose faith when bad things happen to them so can it be seen as justified or not?

Ans. Actually those people never had faith, it was expectation! These two are very different things. Like I expect that drinking a cup of tea will keep me awake, now the level of expectation will decide, the tea will definitely effect and keep me awake but I thought it’s gonna last for 3 nights but it was effective for 1 hour only, so it showed its effect but my expectation was more which disappointed me.

Q7. When something good happens in someone’s life, they say it’s because of their hard work but when there are bad things going on they blame their destiny. So is there really something like ‘Karma-fal’ or Destiny?

Ans. Actually people like to take credit of everything but it is ultimately their actions only. Destiny doesn’t affect your actions, it affects the results of your actions. So it’s always there and that’s the whole theory of Karma. It is not what now you are doing but why you are doing, like a doctor & a thief both possess a knife, cover their faces and cut your stomach but it is their intentions that are different.

Q8. We students have different goals and we all work in the direction to achieve them. But according to you what should be the ultimate goal that each one of us should pursue?

Ans. The ultimate goal of life is to look for the goal and if you know it, that’s the biggest achievement. Its always about knowing the goal, knowing what you are here for and not about how much you have achieved it.

 Reported & Edited By:

Mahima Gupta

Gaurav Agarwal

DOKLAM STANDOFF- tension between INDIA & CHINA

                                                                                                             

 We know that India and China are economic friends but, after Doklam satndoff began in mid-June then began the tension between these two nations. Doklam is a tri junction between India, China and Bhutan. And Sikkim section has a special historical background and this is the only defined boundary between India and China. When India accused China of constructing a road in the disputed territory towards Doklam Plateau, supporting Bhutan's stand and asking China to halt its construction work China claimed Doklam as its territory. Soon there was a stand off between these countries,sending reinforcements at the boarder area. Due to this the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar was cancelled.

On June 30,the People Liberation Army(PLA) spokesperson Col Wu Qian warned Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to “stop clamoring for war” and told reporters: “we hope that the particular person in the Indian Army could learn from historical lessens and stop such clamoring for war”. In response to this,Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley hit back “if they are trying to remind us, the situation in 1962 was different and India of 2017 is different “. A day before the G20 summit was supposed to begin in Hamburg,Germany  China dismissed the prospected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Narendra Modi, saying the “atmosphere is not right for bilateral meeting “. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the border stand off with China cannot be resolved through war but can be settled through bilateral talks. Then Chinese Consul General in Kolkata Ma Zhanwan,said that “shared interest “ between the two countries “far outweigh any differences”.

Ma said “In relationship between nations ,there are always differences. It is like belonging to a family with many brothers and sisters. There can be differences between siblings and even parents. If there are such differences between two brothers, that does not mean that they cannot get along. You don’t stop dealing with that brother with whom you can have differences, on other issues”. Everything can be resolved if both come forward to have a healthy relationship because if we don’t resolve it  then in future there can be greater chance of having more conflicts and possibly it can go further more i.e. war. By shedding blood no one is going to win anything ,there will be sorrow, disturbance and even worse. As China is showing off that they are superior from past and now,as well. And  India is at such an active pace of developing that it can’t compete with their superiority. If this thing continues then our government cannot  concentrate on things which are far more important. At some point both have to get along with each other, both  need to resolve this issue not by war but through rational, objective and constructive means.

-Laxmi Saro Hembrom

  ( 2017IMG-049)

Interview of Mr. Gautam Kumar

Q. Sir, please tell something about yourself, your journey.

A. [professional journey] In 1992,I had completed my Engineering and then I started my job. I did my MBA from IMT, Ghaziabad. I used to work in HCL and it has given me a platform where a person learn how to change the target. We used to work on monthly not weekly target. We have to work on every Friday evening and achieve our target, same thing we have to achieve next week also. On Saturday we have a meeting with board members which was pathetic because if you do something which they don’t like then you will be in trouble. If you have your own set of business modules then you can enjoy your quality time. That’s the reason today, I am telling everybody don’t be a Job seeker, it is not going to help you. In cooperate world there are many ups and downs. From initial stage a person should have focus on career building as they don’t have liabilities and priorities. I have a daughter who is studying medical in Manipal, I tell her don’t be hurry, take time.

Everywhere you will face competition and try to build Up your career.

Q. Sir, How did you manage your emotional balance when you have so much Competition in IT. How do you maintain your position?

A.That is what I am today. I give you a reason – when you are working with cooperate world, something is there in your hand, what is your role, what portfolio you are carrying. Most important thing are you doing justice with yourself. Whatever happens tomorrow you have to be confident

to face the challenges.

Q. Failure and rejection are part of life, you have also faced

It. How do you overcome it?

A.    Always learn from your failure, try to minimise your same mistake which should not happen again.  If you don’t make mistake then how can you learn to grow and have development in yourself, learning after having failure is good.

Credits

Reporters: Himadri Singh and Trushita Agarwal

Photographer: Vishakha Gupta

An interview with Ms Roshni Misbah (A Hijabi biker).

Q: Ma'am, you saved money for your first bike. So what were your feelings when you bought it and had your ride on it?

A: I saved it for a 150 CC actually, My dad added some money and I got a 250 CC. Riding a motor cycle was always on my mind and I had waited for 6 years. I had my first ride when I was in the 9th grade. Riding has always thrilled and having my own motorcycle was even better. It was also like a therapy for me as I was going through a rough patch. It  was fantastic.

Q: People usually have  stereotypical  mindset when it comes to women riding motorcycles. Can you share with us an incident that first revealed to you this adverse mindset?

A: OK, there have been really good incidences and some bad incidences, as such. I would like to share one of the good ones. There are more than 100 girls riding motorcycles in Delhi  itself, but it’s a very a rare sight, a girl riding a sports bike. Once I was at the traffic red light and a student in a school bus started shouting "Arrey  Arrey Arrey Didi  Didi Didi,  please lift the visor ",and the whole bus started shouting and the students started clapping. They really got excited and then all people in the cars, bikes, everyone there started looking at me, everyone gave way to me to move forward and that was really nice.

Q:Ma'am your family, except your father, was not very supportive with regards to your passion. So what gave you the courage to go on despite that?

A: Not really the family, but the friends and society, they were not really okay with me riding a motorcycle. My parents were really supportive, whatever the obstacles that came, my father used to say that, let my daughter do whatever she wants to do.

Q: I believe your fathers bike must have been the first one which you rode, so what role has he played in your life?

A:  My dad has been like a role model to me. Not just in the biking but I have learned everything from him. Biking is like in my genes, because my mother was also enthusiastic about cars and speed. So I think that’s  the combination I got.

Q: When you have girls come up to you and praise you for your work, how does it feel to have them look upon you as their role model?

A: It feels fantastic, it feels great, and sometimes I feel demotivated, but when I see those girls who started riding bikes after seeing me,. Moreover I  also ride bikes for a cause that is education for girls. So all these  gives me good vibes and motivates me to carry on.

Q: People have given you the title of ‘hijabi biker’. So what is your take on it?

A: Hijab is a very wide concept. To be recognized as a hijabi biker is very great. But I don’t say that I am a hijabi biker.

Q: What profession line would you like to carry on in future?

A: I will like to carry on my passion further,  that is motorcycling. Whatever studies I am currently pursuing, are  for  my own  interest. I would like to become  alma, that is a Islamic scholar who preaches.

Q: It is very difficult to pursue both your passion and studies. So how do you maintain balance between the two?

A: I try juggling my passion and studies together, by riding to my college on my bike , as my college is 20 km away from my home. So that becomes quite a good ride for me, riding 40 kms a day.

Q: What are some of the changes that you like to see in mentality of a common people.  What is your message to the community?

A: Society has always been stereotype, mean , conservative and  oppressed . Changes that I would like to see  in them is that not judge a  book by its cover and  as I said in ted talk Don’t judge me by what I am wearing,  my external attire and all . My motorcycle    don’t discriminate. So why are we discriminating. My bike just knows my skills and it does not know  who is under the helmet.  My message is for the family and their parents just keep supporting your child and   they will  surely succeed one day.

Credits

Reporters: Vishakha Gupta and Ritika Agarwal

Photographer: Mahima Gupta

Interview of Mr Gaurav Yadav, alumni of IIITM Gwalior.

Q. Sir, can you please tell us something about yourself?

A. First of all, I think I should introduce myself, I am Gaurav, an IPG 2008-13 batch pass-out. When I joined this institute I can say I was dumb because you guys are looking so smart that if I compare myself back then with you, I will give myself 4 marks and you 7 out of 10. In the first year, I was not that open that I could have taken someone's interview.I didn't have that much courage. I was a localite so I was not staying in the hostel. I used to attend classes and then go home by bike. After some time I realized that these things are not that hectic and everyone has to go through it. It is actually beneficial, You get to know different kinds of people and personalities. Because of this, you would be able to face interviews easily and do things in a systematic manner. Here in the institute, you will get a lot of time, four or five classes would be there in the day that may get canceled sometimes and you would be free at night and on saturdays and sundays. You can give all this time for your complete development. Just focus on your skill development because ultimately that's the thing that pays you. Try to keep your CGPA above 7.5 and then it won't be an issue because it's just a starting point criteria and nothing else. After that just try to develop your skills so that no one can deny that you have potential. 

Q. How did you manage to develop your personality over the period of five years?

A. In the first and second year, I worked a lot on my personality. When I came to this institute I was afraid to talk to people and if someone asked me questions I would stammer because I had fear in my mind. To overcome this fear I thought to myself that the person in front of me is just a normal person, He is not some dracula or vampire who will eat you up. He may have some perception, there is a possibility that for him I may be hundred percent right or hundred percent wrong, but it won't matter to me, I am in front of that person, whether he likes me or not it doesn't matter at all.

Q. Any memorable moments that you had with your friends in this institute?

A. At the initial time I invested a lot of time on my development, so I didn't invest any time on cafeteria or canteen. Back then SH 211 was not there and there were only two classrooms. Classes used to get canceled a lot because of insufficient seats. We had to coop up by ourselves. In tests questions come only from what the teacher teaches, its the main beauty of autonomous institutes. If the teacher teaches four pages, questions have to come from that only and rest you can clear somehow. Initial two years I invested on my development only. Back then the main gate was also open, if you go out at 2 A.M nobody will ask you where you are going and also you didn't need to make any entry in any register. If you had a two wheeler you could come in and go out anytime, there were no restrictions at all. Girls were allowed to go out till 10 P.M. For boys there was no restrictions at all. We used to go out at 1 A.M and spend two hours at a dhaba. The most memorable moments were the night walks with friends. A lot of knowledge interchange was there because there were people from different backgrounds and cultures.

Q. How did you manage to interact with your seniors?

A. I think you will initially have the system that first years are made to reside in separate hostels, for girls only single hostel is there. At that time interactions happened usually during night, not formally but informally.

Q.Do you believe that those interactions helped your personality development?

A.Frankly speaking, I didn't get involved in such kind of interactions much. Personally I don't think that those interactions help you develop your interpersonal skills or something, of course you will get some positive things and added values but for that points how much you are paying in terms of various things I don't know so I can not comment on that. In my opinion if you can do things on your own that's the best.

Q. Sir could you give us a last message before you leave so that we could share it with our peers especially about learning C language?

A. C language is the basic, the main logic for many programs is built using that only. If you want to build any system logically you have to use C at the backend. You have to mug up some things like loops because in all languages the same things will come again and again so if you learn it once and master it, you will be able to learn any language whether it's Java, C++ or something else. Just the Syntax will differ a little. I am saying this because I don't want you to repeat the same mistakes that we did i.e wasting our time. I am not saying don't go out or don't hangout, this is the part of the life you enjoy the most and the moments will be memorable for lifetime so enjoy it but for professional part plan it, at least give two hours searching study related things on internet. Internet speed is too good, when you go out from here you will realize that you have to pay a lot to get that much speed. You have a lot of resources so utilize it, because if you gain knowledge that never goes to waste. So be knowledgeable that's the final message.

Credits

Reporters: Akansha Tiwari and Rucha Pallewar

Photographer: MNS NIshidha