THE MAGIC AND POWER OF GRIT AND COURAGE
The winners of the HT Trailblazer Award 2021, presented by Ambience, answer questions posed by our readers and share nuggets of wisdom in the face of trying circumstances. Here are our next set of winners interacting with the readers
You are an inspiration to many. What is the one piece of advice that you would like to give to other young para athletes? - Naveen Kishore, 29, Self-employed
I believe in the principle that whatever you do, do it with all your heart. For young para athletes, it’s important to focus diligently on their sport and be cognizant of the fact that there is enormous scope for para athletes, not only in India but the world over. Upon examination, it becomes clear that para athletes have secured more medals for the nation than their ablebodied counterparts.
For para athletes, there may be limitations owing to their physical abilities; however, the capacity of the brain remains limitless.
You researched before transitioning and your family was there to support you, but how did you gather the strength? Do you feel society has become more accepting towards the LGBTQI+ community? - Gunjan Khera, 19, Student
It took three years for my research on the transition process, and towards the mid part of my research, I started gaining confidence to move ahead. It felt more powerful being a woman than acting like a man. Earlier, I did not have the strength and felt obligated to my family and profession. I finally the gathered courage to do what my mind said, and that’s how I overcame the fear and the male ego I survived on during college days, and started building started my female ego. I was overwhelmed with myself but felt very liberated. And as far as society is concerned, though a lot of progress has been made, there are many who are still conservative and don’t want to accept the reality of us. They want to obey the social norms but certain things need to be changed. The attitude towards transgender people or the queer community needs to change the way. The way people look upon us, we don’t have to be mocked or shown as a ‘toy’. We have a long battle to go and win!
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What advice do you have for youngsters who are trying to make their start -ups run about what it takes to create a successful start-up?
- Sanjay Kataria, 28, PhD student
Build perseverance. Staying at it — through thick and thin — is probably the biggest factor in becoming successful. The first 1,000 days will be hard; expect to run out of money as well, once or twice. But if the customer fundamentally loves what you build, you will find success eventually. Stay with it.