Agartala: There is no denying the fact that it is an inherently hard journey for students with disabilities. However, come what may, a 15-year-old teen from Tripura has simply refused to give up.
Meet Pralay Dey, who’s writing this year’s Class-X exams solely with his feet. He may be born without hands but he did not allow the disability to come in the way. “The exams went well. I am confident of securing 80% in the exams,” said Pralay, a resident of Udaipur Matabari in Tripura’s Gomati district. The village is located about 76 km from the state capital Agartala.
Determined to not let his disability define his capabilities, Dey has been using his limb to write, draw and paint. He has trained his leg to draw pictures and has won many awards competing in state-level art competitions.
“He started drawing by looking at various pictures. He had a drawing book, then he asked me to get him colour pencils. I bought him a pack of colour pencils. He didn’t have any art teacher at that time,” said Putul Guha Dey, Pralay’s mother, who works as a helper at an anganwadi centre.
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Not only drawing, Dey is quite the star when it comes to singing and has won many awards. “My elder daughter used to take music lessons at home. Pralay used to listen to his sister singing. Gradually, even he started singing. His uncle then urged him to take up singing. He started his music lessons along with his sister at home. Now, he got admitted at a music school,” Pralay’s mother added.
“I remember the moment of his birth. It was a C-section delivery. When the doctor told me about his condition, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I wondered how I will make him a responsible person. Whatsoever, the doctors tried to make us understand. They gave us comfort saying not to worry much about the future,” said Sujan Kumar Dey, Pralay’s father, a daily-wage labourer.
“At the time of my birth, my hands were folded backwards. After 15 days, my hands were plastered. After being kept plastered for three-and-a-half years, it was brought to this current position,” said Pralay, adding: “I don’t see myself as different from the other kids. I feel I am also one of them. I can move like them and do things like them.”
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Pralay wants to enrol in the Arts stream to hone up his dream of becoming a professor of English. “I will get enrolled into the Arts stream now. After this, I am going to pursue my graduation in English and will become a Professor,” he added.
Clearly, Pralay has shown us that impossible is nothing.
