SudhaChandran is one such personality. At the young age of 17, she lost her leg in an unfortunate accident. What came next were some of the toughest years of her life. She got a prosthetic leg which her helped her regain her mobility. Her passion for dance, which she had been learning since she was three and a half years old, never left her and finally after two years, she was back on stage. Since then, she has never looked back and now has 30 films in various languages, multiple awards, including a national award for her film “Mayuri” under her belt.

Renowned across the globe for contributing immensely to the repertoire in classical music and being in the leagues of Mozart and Haydn, Ludwig Van Beethoven went deaf early in his musical journey. At the age of 21, he moved to Vienna where he learnt how to compose with Haydn. He composed and premiered some pieces such has his First Symphony, Third and Fifth Symphony, his string of quartets in the following years but was facing increasing deafness. After 1810, he wasn’t socially involved much and in 1814, he gave up performing in public altogether. Between 1810 and 1826, he composed some of his most famous masterpieces- the piano sonatas, chamber music, and the Ninth Symphony which is known to be one of his best works.

Harry Boniface Prabhu is inspirational. Born as a normal child, he became a quadriplegic at the age of four due to a blotched lumbar puncture. He was a fan of tennis from a young age. When he took part in the World Wheelchair Athletic Meet, 1996 he happened upon a game of wheelchair tennis, which piqued his interest. He came back to India and convinced a local coach to train him and within two years, started competing in competitions. Having entered the international arena at the World Wheelchair Games, UK in 1996 where he won gold for shotput and silver in discus throw. He won medals again in 1998 at the Paralympics World Championship where he competed in javelin, shot put and discus throw. He has taken part in various international tournaments since then, going on to achieve a career best ranking of 17 and 19 in singles and doubles respectively. He has gone on to contest the final grand slam title multiple times.

Albert Einstien is a name that needs no introduction. Dyslexic as a child, his impairment stunted his speech. He could not talk comfortably until he was six years old. Reading aloud was a struggle for him, as was recollecting words which reflected in his writing abilities.
Dyslexia is known to stimulate out of the box thinking and Einstien displayed this in his eccentric ways. He went on to become a theoretical physicist, helping the world learn more about the universe. His theories intrigue scientiests across the world even today as his theory of Relativity continues to fascinate people. Prestigious universities across the world awarded him Fellowships for his ground breaking work in the field of Physics. He went on to win the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.

These people have inspired millions. Never letting the hardships that the impairments brought into their lives hold them back, they persevered. They have achieved their dreams, and are living or have lived a fulfilling life, just like any other person. Their zeal to get ahead in life has gotten them through so many hardships and they have taken every opportunity that has come their way to not let their disability become their sole identity. Their stories are truly motivational and will continue to influence people for years to come.