Bhakti Ghatole
Even millions of difficulties cannot stand in your way if you are determined to work hard and achieve your dreams.
On the off chance that you need something really, all the universe schemes in helping you to achieve it. The person who attempts, never lose. Bhakti Ghatole is a Political science student who is blind since birth. Retinoblastoma is a kind of cancer that influences one's retina. This disease is rare and seen exclusively in young children; it can develop either in one eye or in both. Bhakti was six months old when she was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma in her right eye. The treatment left her cancer-free but the good news came with the loss of her right eye. Unfortunately, at the age of seven, she returned to the oncologist and was diagnosed with cancer in her left eye. Since Bhakti’s family hailed from a small village of Katol, it was tough to find expert doctors and quality treatments. Her family traveled from Nagpur to Chennai and Hyderabad as and when required. After a long battle and as many as 25 chemotherapies, she lost her left eyesight as well. She was nine at that point and it was hard for her. When she returned to Nagpur, she visited Yoga Abhyas Mandal and picked up yoga and meditation. This helped her a lot to cope up with the change and embrace her with a positive mindset.
“Disability is only a state of mind. It is will power and belief which takes a person to his ultimate dream.”
Bhakti never liked learning braille but things became easier for her after she started learning how to use a computer. One of the most inspiring moments in her life was meeting her mentor and teacher, Jidnyasa Kubde. Kubde founded Atmadeepam Society, an NGO that believes that technology is disabled-friendly. Through this, Kubde teaches and trains visually impaired individuals to use computers, enabling them to be more autonomous.
Bhakti was then able to browse the Internet, manage her social media accounts and that's not enough, her potential was reflected when she scored 94 percent in her 10th class board exams. She was even the topper in the state for the handicapped class. She went on to be the second in Nagpur in her 12th class board exams with 88 percentile. Bhakti’s family was on cloud nine! And why wouldn’t they be! As she continues college, she is maintaining her high grades.
Bhakti looks forward passionately about becoming a psychologist and then eventually she wants to follow her dream of becoming an IAS officer. Bhakti's hope to get on with the tougher journey ahead is quite admirable and it is something the young people everywhere can take a positive lesson from and look at life more expectantly. In one of the interviews she gave, her words and those were full of humility and inspiration:
"I felt so happy to have made my family proud. It's never been easy, but I have never felt incomplete. Yes, my disability could be a hurdle sometimes, but it certainly cannot stop me from pursuing my dreams. Life is beautiful and I intend to live it to the fullest."
My self Anu Bhardwaj. I love to share about inspiring and motivational stories.