It often happens that not all the real heroes of the nation come forth in the frame as they do not fetch that limelight. These are the stars who are much glimpsed when they are hunted for. Such is an inspirational story of a model named Nishtha Dudeja who was accorded the crown of ‘Miss Deaf Asia’ back in 2018.
Nishtha; a sheerly confident woman from the national capital Delhi suffers from deafness since childhood. But that didn’t snag her to achieve her soaring high ambitions.
Nishtha had been a professional tennis player for 10 years and had won the state and national championships. The passionate woman always desired to make a career in sports but back in 2016, she was unfortunately ordained by the doctor to leave the game due to some medical ailments ongoing. On the note, Nishtha says “Tennis had always been my closest friend after my parents. Leaving the friend mid-way was never that easy but I did not let myself down and decided to pursue something more different and stormier than before. I recalled one of my friend’s friends had won the Miss India Blind pageant and so did I thought to google about the Miss India Deaf pageant. This was the moment when I finally bumped into something that illuminated my fate. I participated in the competition in 2018 and won.”
Although, Nishtha cannot express herself through words, here’s the list that astounds everyone. At the mere age of 5, when children hardly do anything except play, Nishtha started playing Judo and won umpteen medals on state and national levels. She continued it for 2 years. At the age of 12, she started investing her interest and time in Tennis and steered the Tennis team in school and college.
Not confined to these achievements, she had even represented India thrice. Firstly, in Bulgaria in 2013 Olympics for Deaf, secondly in World Deaf Tennis Championship in 2015, and last but not least in 2017 in Deaf Olympics Miss and Mr. Deaf World Pageant held in Turkey. It has been the first time in 18 years that an Indian won the title for the nation in the Deaf Olympics.
To the surprise, Nishtha didn’t know the sign language when she participated in the Miss Deaf Asia pageant while the other competitors do. She did not abandon hope and finally appeared the same, raw one in the finale to win the title.
Nishtha have been accorded the National award of ‘Disability empowerment’ under the category of role models by the Vice President of India back in 2018.
The splendid woman herself portrays that her journey until now had never been a cakewalk but she had strived hard for this. She was even mocked in schooling days for her disability but having a willpower worth a million, she geared up herself to reach the horizons others could not. Her parents have been greatly appreciative and benevolent to her throughout her path and that they always pushed her up to explore new skies and be a ‘girl of no match’.
It is very well quoted by philosopher Brene Brown that “the willingness to show up changes us. It makes us a little braver each time.” We many times overlook the fact that it isn’t the limbs that push you up, it’s rather the strong will within oneself that makes people stand on their own despite the disability they have been born with. Nishtha undoubtedly has been an inspiration to the deaf and differently-abled children and their parents but she has also made her way out to be a spark plug to all those who have inborn with a perfect physical trunk.
It’s indeed the volition, that makes an individual write his/her own story and be a ‘gear changer’ among many.
[author title=”Shreya Gohel” image=”http://localhost/gc2/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20210127_014031.jpg”]Journalist, Goa Chronicle
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