PANAJI
Not having arms and a leg doesn’t stop you if you have big dreams. Sarita Dwivedi is a great example of this. A cheerful woman in her early thirties, Sarita lost both her arms and a leg in an accident when she was just four years old. While playing on her uncle’s terrace, she touched a live electric cable carrying a charge of 11000 volts. Although she survived, her life took a different path.
“I lost both arms and half of my right leg in 1995. It was the beginning of a new journey,” says Sarita, whose determined spirit has been recognised many times.
Sarita, a brand ambassador of ALIMCO (Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India), has taken part in both the Purple Fests held in Goa in 2023 and 2024. She works as a receptionist at ALIMCO in Kanpur and manages three other departments: horticulture, housekeeping, and the call centre.
“It’s the only company making various types of assistive devices under one roof to help all types of disabled people across the country. I assist Divyangjan to get benefits under the ADIP scheme by providing aids and assistive devices to PwDs across the country and to avail benefits of Rashtriya Vayoshri Schemes of the government of India,” explains Sarita, who has two elder sisters and a younger brother and comes from an army family.
“ALIMCO is 100 percent owned by the Government of India. Our aim is to promote, encourage, and develop the availability, use, supply, and distribution of artificial limbs and rehabilitation aids to disabled persons across India. Profitability is not our goal; we want to provide better quality aids and appliances to more people at a reasonable price,” adds Sarita.
After losing both hands and a leg, Sarita’s life took its own course. Many primary schools refused to admit her and suggested her parents look for a special school. But her parents wanted to raise her just like anyone else, without focusing on her differences.
“My mother fought to get me into a regular school to study alongside all other children,” says Sarita, who completed her school education from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Prayagraj. She secured the second rank on merit in the entrance exam at Allahabad University and graduated in Fine Arts.
Studying in a regular school made Sarita a better citizen and human being. “It helped me lead a normal life without complaining about hardships. I’m grateful to my parents who never gave up on me. They believed in my ability and eligibility, that I could do better in a regular school,” says Sarita, whose playful friends changed the rules of games so she could join in the fun.
Since childhood, Sarita has worked hard to improve her skills. With her foot and mouth as her tools, she writes, draws, paints, sculpts, plays, cooks, travels, takes photographs, and has won awards in various competitions.
Sarita received the National Bal Shree Puraskar for Creative Art from President A P J Abdul Kalam in 2005 and the ‘Empowerment of Person with Disabilities for being Best Creative Child’ from Vice President M D Hamid Ansari in 2008.
In 2009, she won Silver in arts for ‘Egypt in the eyes of the children of the world’ from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. In 2010, she was awarded the ‘Godfrey Phillips National Bravery Award’ for ‘Mind of Steel’ (Girl) by the former Chief Minister of Jammu, Farooq Abdullah, and India’s first woman justice, Leela Seth.
Sarita’s latest achievement is in the Paralympic sport ‘Boccia’. Her remarkable performance in category BC-3 at 8th Boccia Sub Junior-Junior and Senior held by the Boccia Sports Federation of India (BSFI) earned her a spot in both the individual event and pair match at the upcoming World Boccia Challenger to be held in Cairo, Egypt from July 16-24, and she is eager to go to Egypt.
“Sometimes fate challenges our physical abilities, but it can never overcome our infinite mental capabilities. As a working woman, I deal with all my routine chores with my left leg and mouth, and I enjoy adding colours to life my way,” says Sarita, whose parents, Vijay Kant Dwivedi and Vimla Dwivedi, raised her to be a confident person who can face the world independently. A chapter on Sarita’s life and achievements is part of the NCERT Hindi textbook for class VI. ‘Adore life. Take it easy. Live one day at a time. Live fully,’ is Sarita’s mantra for living a relaxed, joyful, and content life, making the best of every moment.
“I feel like I am sitting in the lap of the Master and Mother Nature along with my own mother. An epitome of strength and courage, my mum is my best friend and an inspiration,” says Sarita, who dreams of driving a car.
