Virali Modi with her husband Kshitij Nayak in Goa.
Having spent much of her life in the US as an overseas citizen of India (OCI), Virali Modi can also be aptly named ‘Nirali’ because she is exceptionally different than girls her age. Sharing with a smile, her life’s struggles and experiences, Virali has been constantly bringing a change in the society by being vocal for the rights of the disabled. She was in Goa with her husband Kshitij Nayak for the International Purple Fest that concluded recently.
A disability rights activist and TEDX speaker, Virali who came second in ‘Miss Wheelchair India Contest’ in 2014, has a large following on social media. People remember her for the ‘change.org’ petition titled ‘Implement Disabled Friendly Measures in Indian Railways’ as a campaign to make railways more accessible and this paved her way to be among the ‘100 Women’ (BBC) in 2017. The same year she bagged the ‘Women’s Achievement Award’ given by the Delhi Women’s Commission. Her campaigns for the disabled, ‘MyTrainToo’, ‘RampMyRestaurant’ and ‘FlyWithDignity’ have been successful.
Virali’s story would make anyone believe in miracles – she is India’s first wheelchair model. “I was approached and chosen to work with Salman Khan for his brand ‘Being Human’ in 2018. Later in the same year, I did my first project on the ramp with the brand ‘Ethnicity’ and there was no looking back after that,” smiles Virali.
Irrespective of the fact that she cannot walk since the age of 15, and can only move with the help of a wheelchair, Virali is no less than any other model in the fashion industry. She is neither paid less than others, nor is she treated differently. With over two dozen projects under her belt, Virali has been the proud face of several popular brands like Being Human, Tailor and Circus, Nykaa, Earth Rhythm, KAY Beauty, WeWork (a workplace solutions company). Brands like JPMorgan Chase, Unilever, Accenture, Bank of America and Bank of India also chose to work with her.
“I kept chasing my dream – of acting, of modelling. I never gave up on this one dream, and I am sure I would find my deserving place on the canvas of this industry,” shares Virali, the only child of Pallavi and Jitesh Modi. Virali, who lost her mother in 2019, remembers the immense contribution she made to make her life easy, to motivate her and to make her believe in herself. Virali, who was declared dead for seven minutes, revived. This had happened when she was 14. Miraculously she got a new lease of life – a bonus, a gift which the 32-year-old is enjoying now.
Virali shares, “We were returning home to Pennsylvania in the US after a trip to Mumbai. I had fever. The doctors prescribed some pill for the high fever and sent me home. The next day, I was not able to walk properly so was rushed to the hospital. The doctors performed a lumbar puncture after an MRI revealed a shadow in the cervical region of the spine. As they tried to extract the fluid surrounding the spinal cord, I went into a seizure and threw up; half the vomit went into my lungs. I could not breathe and went into cardiac arrest. After being declared dead for seven minutes, I stayed in a coma for 23 days.”
The doctors advised the parents to take off the plug on September 21, 2006. But Virali’s late mother Pallavi had a strong feeling that Virali will come out of this. She requested the doctors to allow her to celebrate Virali’s birthday, which was a week later, on September 29. The doctors agreed. Friends, relatives gathered in the hospital. Cake was cut in the ICU at sharp 3.05 pm, the time when Virali was born. “As soon as the cake was cut, I opened my eyes. It was a real miracle,” recalls Virali who came alive for 40 minutes and then slipped back into coma again.
But now the doctors were hopeful that she would one day come out of coma, and it happened. Virali came to her full senses, out of coma on October 5. However, she was paralysed neck down. Thinking it would be a vegetable life, Virali was depressed. Nonetheless, her mother stood strongly with her, and instilled will-to-live in her. They both flew to India in 2008, to find effective treatments. Her mother’s prayers did work. Virali recovered to a large extent. Her disability remained restricted to her legs. She uses a wheelchair, but can do rest of the things herself.
Today happily married Virali is blessed with a new mother, Sarita Modi, who is as much loving and caring. Virali’s biological mother Pallavi Modi passed away in 2019. Married to Kshitij Nayak just last year, in 2023, Virali feels that life is unpredictable. Sometimes it gives unexpected blows, but many a times, it also comes out with bouquets of pleasant surprises. And her life is full of these!
The fact that she could no longer walk to the acceptance of a wheelchair that followed, to the chasing of an old dream, all became easy because of the positivity in the Modi family. Virali adopted and adapted to the new life. Gradually she pursued her long cherished dream of modelling and finally became India’s first wheelchair model. Her die-hard spirit and her consistency in voicing the issues of the disabled saw some rewards coming her way. Virali’s voice has reached out far and wide and her efforts made nine railway stations in India disabled-friendly.
