Sunil Kumar Jain.
He may be puny, but his eyes reflect extraordinary grit and determination. Knocking on the doors of success in the world of finance and social responsibility is Sunil Kumar Jain. Physically challenged, Jain has come a long way from being a tax consultant to mentoring young entrepreneurs and empowering physically-challenged persons in Karnataka.
Thirty eight-year-old Jain’s motto in life is: nothing is impossible. He aspires a world where every disabled person is empowered with the concept that nothing is impossible. “Unless, we transform our thinking and stop treating them as objects of pity, nothing will change,” says Jain who lost his mobility to a severe attack of polio at the tender age of two.
Born and brought up in Bangalore, Jain is a qualified chartered accountant, whose regular itinerary is choc-a-bloc with activities. Nothing stops him as he manoeuvres his specially-designed scooter on the busy, congested streets of Bangalore and then hops on to a wheelchair to attend to his practice, look after his NGO and then dash away to mentor young kids.
Jain’s life is an open saga of achievements against a lot of odds. “I did my XI and XII in Science and then switched over to Commerce. I studied in a mainstream school and college which gave me a lot of confidence to face the world. Apart from my parents and sisters, all my teachers and friends encouraged and supported me a lot, so I never felt dependent,” he recollects.
Hailing from a big traditional family, his younger brother Suresh took care of the family business so that Jain could pursue his studies. “I had fabulous support from my parents and siblings who encouraged me to no end in every phase,” Jain says. When things were gradually falling in place, calamity struck again when he lost his wife Seema who was also wheelchair bound. “It is the saddest day of my life. There hasn’t been a day when I haven’t thought about her. I came out of this disturbing phase more humble and compassionate,” Jain says.
Today, as a successful corporate taxation expert, Jain provides employment to five more people. “I was rejected by corporates as they were not confident of hiring me. But to my good luck, I got to work in a lawyer’s office for three years. Whatever I am today is because of my mentor K S Ravi Shankar, advocate.
He never treated me differently and gave me in depth knowledge of taxation for me to practice on my own,” Jain says.
His desire to do whatever in life has been fulfilled. He travels, communicates, interacts and watches cricket matches in stadiums. “Even I had mental bondage, but I managed to get out of it. I felt that I am an asset to the society and not a burden,” says Jain. He has also been extensively involved with a company called Landmark Education as a trainer, leader and a guide, enhancing opportunities for people in education and employment. He has been mentoring young entrepreneurs to convert their ideas into business ventures.
Majority of the people with different abilities live with a mindset of limited options. Jain set up his NGO Astha to offer a helping hand to them. “Brooding and cribbing at home cannot solve the problems of the challenged, one has to confront the challenges to realise one’s potential. The first step at Astha is a capacity building project followed by addressing the issues of accessibility not only in buildings but also at the infrastructure level in the city. For example, we have identified two wards in Bangalore to make them accessible and started working on it. We are in the process of identifying 200 people with different disabilities and social backgrounds trying to ascertain their needs and the challenges they face in their families. In fact, I appeal to the large workforce of retired people and youngsters to come forward and associate with us in this project as there is a huge need for researchers,” says Jain.
He has also set up an informal group called ‘Kidimpact’ which focuses on nurturing and promoting leadership qualities in children and instilling in them the belief that they can change what they believe in. For the past two years, this centre has worked with children aged between eight to 15 years in more than 1,000 schools of Karnataka promoting leadership skills and building their confidence.
Taking his dreams further, Jain has performed the cameo role of a tea shop owner in a Kannada Movie Kanchana. He further took part in the 2011 marathon while actively pursuing other hobbies like swimming, music and reading books.
He is an avid traveller, hopping on buses, trains and planes visiting every place in the country.
Having led a successful life he further adds, “There is a lot of work to be done in our country, if we have to bring in major and significant changes to the huge volume of disabled people. My aspiration is to facilitate and support challenged persons through Astha and turn them into valuable assets for the family, society and country where their talents can be nurtured.”
Compared to 1990s, the environment today is friendlier for the physically challenged, however, there should be a willingness to do something, achieve on your own. “In fact, parents should stop cocooning their children and allow them to take the hard knocks of life. Every human being wants to make a difference and I too want to,” waves off Jain with a hope and cheer on his lips.
Source : The New Indian Express ( 28th April 2013 )
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