Sometimes life plays a cruel joke, and one is left with no option than to accept the loss gracefully with a smiling face. Raju Chandrakant Bharne’s life is an example how destiny can alter the path of life for someone. An accident in November 2012 led to the amputation of his left leg from his thigh. And a recent accident dislocated his left-hand causing nerve damage, in May 2023.
As a kid, Raju had to change four schools in his childhood before he passed his SSC. He recalls, “I lived a very tough and challenging life as a kid “ shifting from two primary schools beginning from Vasco to Madkai and then to Sarvodaya High School in Usgao and then to Kasturba High School in Panaji.
"The reason was extreme poverty and the loss of my father when I was only 11 years old and in class IV. Me and my three sisters were raised by my mother. I lived in many homes “ formerly with my paternal uncles and then with my maternal uncle, helping their families in whatever small way I could and at the same time balancing my attendance at the school," recalls Raju.
Education was difficult to continue, he admits, “My mother worked at Goa State Marketing Federation. I too did small jobs here and there “ sometimes as a security person, or a helper. I also tried to run a bar at some point of time. Then in 2003 with the help of our local MLA and the then minister Pandurang Madkaikar, I got a job in RTO office at Panaji on contract basis. The job was confirmed in 2007; I experienced some stability. However, an accident on November 27, 2012 completely shattered my life, with an unrepairable loss, as I lost my left leg. ”
Raju was going to office in the morning riding a motorcycle when suddenly a car hit his motorcycle from behind, which threw him off his bike, and he got trapped under the rear wheel of a truck containing tonnes of rice bags. He went through excruciating pain. He was rushed to the hospital. The leg was badly damaged and the doctors at the hospital were in two minds, whether to go for amputation of his leg or not.
Hence there was a delay in deciding the amputation by three days, and by then the infection in the leg began to spread. Finally, immediate amputation was the only option left before the doctors as the damage was beyond repairs. It came as a blow to Raju, whose life suddenly took a pause. He suddenly became a person with 60 per cent disability.
“During the phase of leg amputation and recovery my family members helped and supported me a lot. But the person who was there with me in all my ups and downs till date is only my wife Prasanna, who has been my strength throughout my life. It was Prasanna who gave me the courage to fight back in my critical days, standing beside me as the strongest pillar,” says a thankful Raju. He said it was the first and longest time that he and his wife were away from their children, their 12-year-old daughter and four-year -old son. “We only used to talk through phone calls and only met them for 2-3 times in four months, " says Raju.
At that point of time, Raju was reconstructing his house that he had first constructed in 1989. He somehow completed it. Meanwhile with the help of Rotary Club he managed to get a Jaipur foot. With the help of this artificial limb, he learnt to walk like a normal person. Later, through MPLED funds from MP Shripad Naik, who considered this as a special case, Raju went to Pune to procure the artificial leg from a German company for Rs 1.98 lakh. He finally got it. However, the quotation he was given was for a leg without liner. The liner needed additional amount.
Then there was no looking back. Raju could ride a scooter with side wheels. He actively participated in socio-cultural activities like Ganesh Chaturthi organised by Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal which he had started in his colony in 1996 with the help of his friends and residents. Raju was one of the founders of the trust and the first president of the Ganeshotsav committee.
“We have been celebrating the Ganesh Chaturthi since then. All have supported this initiative whole heartedly. I feel I am blessed to have a supportive team,” says Raju who is socially very active despite the physical disability. Giving back to society is the motto behind his involvement in various socio-cultural activities.
