Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Gauri Gadgil - what a girl !!



Very often we search for inspiration – travel places, read books, network at conferences, listen to ted talks …….if we look hard enough, very often this inspiration is in our very own backyard !
I discovered one such hidden jewel, an inspiring girl, Gauri Gadgil in our very own Pune ! Thanks Palak Krishnamoorthy for introducing me to Gauri !

What I read in the media about her before meeting her
1.     Gauri is 25 and has down syndrome
2.     She has won 55 medals in various national and international swimming championships
3.     She was removed from normal school as other kids used to tease and even bite her at times, thereafter she studied at a special school
4.     The award winning marathi movie Yellow is based on her story and after a 2 year search when they couldn’t find anyone to act in it, Gauri in her usual confident style volunteerd to do it herself and did a great job !

When I met her, what I experienced first hand and learned about her
1.     What Gauri is today is all thanks to the support and strength of her mother Sneha. Being a mother myself, I cant even imagine what Sneha must have gone through.  Sneha is so calm, composed and looks like Gauris older sister.
2.     Gauri loves dressing up. Sneha confided that she never takes Gauri shopping or else she would wipe her out clean with her never ending shopping demands/ requests.  I could not believe how Gauris face lit up when we gifted her bags, perfumes, lotions…..made my day to see that smile !
3.     Gauri just completed her BA last year and has been learning Bharatnatyam for 16 years. How she finds time for this after 6 – 7 hours of swimming every day is beyond me.
4.     Gauri does not like junk food. She only likes rotis and vegetables. When we offered her chips and cake, she made a face which most mothers can only hope their kids would make looking at junk food.

Before I met Gauri, an educated, socially conscious person like me did not know the difference between Autism and Down syndrome. I read up on it, I explained it to my children. What kids like Gauri need is inclusion and acceptance and love and nothing really beyond that and yet they rarely get it, not due to their issues but due to ignorance and insensitivity of the society we live in.


It is our resposnibility to spread awareness( good work being done by NGOs Navshitij and Ummeed), support and give a lot of love to these kids and their parents who have admirable strength to deal with their daily struggles and yet never give up ! Lets join them in celebrating their small wins, lets applaud their spirit, lets highlight and felicitate stories of victory of mind over body like our very own, darling Gauri Gadgil !!