Determined amputee paddled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari with one leg.
What keeps you worried all the time? Your acne? Overweight? Your skin colour? Your height? Your tummy? Your falling hair? What's that trivial reason you shall give for lamenting in life? Let me introduce you to the life of India's only female para cyclist, Tanya Daga to make you understand that nothing in life is worth sitting and shedding tears for.
An Accident That Turned Her Life Upside-down:
It was 2018 and Madhya Pradesh's Tanya Daga met with a terrible road accident. The chances of her survival were very low and even doctors lost hope. She was kept on ventilator for 7 days. CPR - an emergency life saving procedure was performed and her life was saved. Though her life was saved, she was still at risk. Her Hb levels started dropping to 2g/dl and the doctors finally suggested the only option to save her life - leg amputation. She had no other option left apart from saying yes to it. The left leg was amputated and Tanya was physically, emotionally, and mentally drowned. Her only strength was her family who kept supporting her through thick and thin. After a few months, Tanya underwent nine more surgeries and started recovering slowly. It was a tough time to Tanya. Tough could be a small word for that matter. Everyone who came to visit her dropped words of sympathy for her and looked at her as a burden to her family. Their sympathies disturbed and depressed Tanya even more rather than pacifying her. She then decided to do something proving everyone that she isn't a burden on anyone. She challenges herself to make the impossible, possible.
Faulty road construction between Dehradun to Haridwar take my leg away and makes me amputee(Handicapped).
— tanya daga (@tanyadaga94) August 27, 2019
Who is responsible for this?@PMOIndia @narendramodi @nitin_gadkari @YashpalArya10 @tsrawatbjp @RajatSharmaLive @ArnabGoswamiRtv @ravishndtv @MajDPSingh @KirenRijiju @ndtv pic.twitter.com/UOBIQYwJ0e
Aditya Mehta Foundation - A Ray Of Hope:
When Tanya heard of the expedition Infinity Ride K2K 2020, a brainchild of Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF), she knew she is going to be a part of it. Without further ado, she started to practice cycling and prepared herself physically and mentally for the expedition. This expedition was a charity program that was organised to create awareness on para-sports and thus Tanya wanted to do it so she could tell everyone who is suffering from amputations that they can do anything if they want to, and that their lives are not gone with gone limbs. It was a 30-member team and Tanya was the only para cyclist. The expedition started on 19th November, 2020. It was from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, a distance of 2,800 kms. Tanya faced numerous challenges on road but kept herself going. But life tested the strength of her spine yet again. On December 18, 2020, she heard the news of her father, Alok Daga's demise. Tanya was in Hyderabad at that time. She went back to stay with her family. This shattered Tanya badly as her father was always her backbone. The kind of encouragement she received from him always was beyond words. However, Tanya didn't let this loss affect her expedition. After attending her father's funeral, she went back to join the expedition because it was her father's dream that his daughter should complete the mission. “I wanted to live his dream and wanted to prove his message that losing a part of the body does not deter you from achieving your target in life,” shared a Tanya.
A Physical And Emotional Turmoil:
Tanya met with a terrible road accident and thus it was quite difficult for her to cope with the fear of roads. She also had to suffer deep wounds that made her cycling journey painful. However, Tanya decided not to let anything affect her willpower. "I believed in ‘No Pain, No Gain’ and took the challenge forward and I am proud to have completed it,”, said Tanya.
The Woman Of Substance:
Tanya who is currently pursuing her diploma in Sports Psychology says that being dependent on others for small things hurts them badly. "A lot of times we feel neglected due to lack of accessibility. If public spaces, offices, schools, colleges, etc are made accessible, then it will not make us feel side-lined and neglected. We are independent, confident and capable. But there is a long way to go to make accessibility. The society should expand their vision in accepting that it is not disability but it is a special ability that helps us in moving ahead in life,” she states. She wishes to empower girls to take active part in sports and wants to spread awareness that anyone can achieve anything in life.
Gutsy indeed to pedal from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, a distance of 2,800 kms in 43 days. To all those who crib about simple everyday problems, go get your dose of inspiration from Tanya.
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