PANAJI
Rasita Pravin Prabhu Ajgaonkar, who lives in Bhatlem, Panaji, has been married since 2018. For a long time, she thought her disability would stop her from doing things like dancing, trekking, or going on picnics. But reading an article about Sudha Chandran, the Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer who succeeded despite her injuries, changed her thinking.
Rasita remembers reading that article when she was just eight years old. “Something within me whispered that I also should try to be the best in whatever I do. And I was blessed with such a supportive family and friends that I never felt like I was not like them,” she recalls.
How did she overcome her challenges? “Will power places an important role. If you decide of doing something, it will happen with ease. I have realised this,” she says. “For me, motivation does not come from one person. Every day every person I meet gives me a kind of motivation to live my life the way I want,” says Rasita, who holds a BCom LLB degree and works as a junior stenographer in the office of the Mamlatdar of Tiswadi taluka, North Goa Collectorate, since March 2008.
“I was in the first year when I got the job. So I did the remaining two years of college simultaneously while working,” says Rasita. She studied at Vidya Prabodhini, graduated in Commerce from Dempo College, and completed her LLB from Salgaocar Law College, Miramar. Her 75% orthopaedic disability has never stopped her from doing her work, either at the office or at home.
Her husband, Pravin Prabhu Ajgaonkar, is a talathi. “I have two brothers, elder Roshan Kirloskar and younger Rahul Kirloskar, both of who are married and well settled. My in-laws have retired – father-in-law from Fire and Emergency Services, and mother-in-law as teacher. My father is an ex-Army and ex-Serviceman. He retired from the Army in 1994, and later worked at the Sainik Welfare office. Now he has retired from there too,” says Rasita. She feels lucky to have travelled across India with her parents and enjoys travelling. Her favourite subjects in school were English and Hindi.
“Reading, writing poetry and listening to music has been my favourite hobbies. I am also the most active person for organising office picnics with the supportive colleagues who all are my second family,” says Rasita, who is known for her drafting skills and ease in interacting with the public. “There is a power within each one of us. If you will for something strongly it’s yours. I always feel blessed for what I have. I am perfect the way I am,” she says confidently.
Rasita, now a mother to a four-year-old daughter, shares that she has had her disability since birth. “I was just one month old, I am told,” she says. Still, she believes, “Disability just makes a person different from common people otherwise there is nothing that we cannot do. Don’t lose hope and stay strong.”
She adds that technology has made life much easier, especially for people with limited mobility. Mobility devices have helped her stay active. “My body will keep changing and I’ll adjust along the way, but the best part about being 35 years into my disability is that I understand my body so much better and now I feel confident about it. That brings inner peace,” she says.
A few lines from Rasita’s poem express how she feels about herself:
Kabhi kabhi lagta auro se alag hoon main,
Toh kabhi lagta inshi mein se toh ek hoon main.
Haa kuch khamiya hai mujhme, par khubiyo se bhi bhari hoon main.
Tum saath do to duniya ghoom lu, yeh dharthi hi nahi, aasmaan choom loon...
