I had never known that people on wheelchairs could dance until I saw the members of the Ability Unlimited troupe perform. When they wheeled themselves onstage in their beautiful Bharatnatyam costumes, a lady next to me sighed, "oh look at the poor things!" Minutes later, when they began to dance, the stage magically transformed into a space where anything could happen. Their movements and expressions were perfect, and their skilled use of wheelchairs left everyone in awe. The dance was followed by a yoga performance in which the performers demonstrated handstands and other complex moves on their wheelchairs. It was as if the wheelchair was more of a prop than a support. When the show ended, my neighbour was among the first to rise up to give them a standing ovation. Later, when I went up to congratulate their guru, Syed Sallauddin Pasha, I resolved to visit Ability Unlimited Foundation (AUF) to see how dance had miraculously turned the troupe's disability into such spectacular ability.
There, I met one of the troupe's senior dancers, the 24-year-old Vijay Kumar. He had contracted polio when he was only one year old. Growing up, he chafed under the restrictions of his disability. "But somehow, ever since I was young, I used to look at dancers and envy their freedom of movement. I used to think that this was something I could never do..." he said. Fate had better things in store. Kumar met Pasha, Guru Pasha as he was known, when he was 12 years old.
Thus began a painful training in Bharatnatyam, yoga, martial arts and more. "I used to fall, get hurt, get up and start all over again. Once, I even needed stitches on my head! But something just kept me going," he recalled. "My parents couldn't understand why I wanted to dance. They wanted me to focus on my studies so I could get a decent job." But Kumar was so obsessed that he'd bunk school so he could train. His first stage performance was exhilarating: "Before I went on stage, I was petrified. But once the spotlights were on me, I somehow felt at home," he said. After his parents saw him on the stage, they also realised that dance was his calling. "Today my father, an auto driver, tells everyone his son is an international level artiste..." he said.
Today, Kumar is a full-time employee at AUF. As part of the performance wing of the Foundation, he practises daily and has been on stages across the world including the US, the UK, Canada, Italy and Kuwait. He's married and has a one-year-old child. "I perform in over 70 shows every year with AUF. Having travelled abroad, I can now see how other countries make it so easy for people on wheelchairs to get around. There are ramps, unbroken pavements and lifts. Compared to this, India makes it very hard for people like me to get around..." he said. Yet, Pasha's philosophy has always been: think of the destination and not worry about how one's going to get there. It's been an empowering idea for Kumar and his friends.
"Today, when I meet young kids with disability, I tell them to see how dance has given me wings. If I can do it, so can they! I hope that I am able to inspire them in some way..." As he practised some mudras in front of the mirror, he looked at me and said: "As a child with polio, I used to be scared to face the world. But Guruji's philosophy and training has healed me in more ways than one... Today I feel, not disabled but able to do anything in the world!"
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