Facing hardships with the courage of a tiger
Girish More tells how being polio-stricken has not come in the way of becoming a successful IT professional.
For city-based info-tech engineer, Girish More (41), the winner of this year’s national award in locomotor disability category, life was never a cakewalk. Despite belonging to an educated and well-off family, tragedy struck him when he was 8 months old.
“My father took me to a health centre to administer polio drops. After returning home, I had high fever and the doctor diagnosed me with polio,” More said.
In locomotor disability, a person is unable to execute distinctive activities associated with moving both himself and objects, from place to place. More, who is working with IBM Technologies, has a 10-year-old son Anmol. His wife Bhagyashree is also disabled.
“I couldn’t believe my ears when I received a call from the Union ministry of social justice informing me about the national award,” More told DNA. He said although his forefathers belonged to Pune, his father, a mechanical engineer, migrated to Indore for a job.
“It was my family’s support and love that shaped my life,” he said, adding, “Besides being positive in life, I have learnt that everyone doesn’t get what s/he wants. Like many children who are deprived of education, I too have been deprived of a normal life.”
More’s legs are affected and he walks with the help of crutches. He did his BSc from Indore and MTech from IIT Delhi. “I was picked by Infosys in the campus interview and was posted to Bangalore for a few years, from where I moved to Canbay (now Capgemini), then to Nihilent and now with IBM for the past six years,” he said.