Physical disabilities may affect, but can never limit or define a person, as all humans are unique with their own special talents and abilities.
Take the case of Chetan K Shiva. He can be seen in CHRIST’s main campus or working by himself in his cabin on the 9th Floor of the Central Block. He is not a faculty member despite being a Ph.D. and certainly not staff. But, he’s a genius – the financial guru that he wanted to be, if you may.
While conversing with a friend as we both worked on a book to mark the Golden Jubilee of CHRIST (Deemed to be University), my friend described Chetan as CHRIST’s own Stephen Hawking.
In my personal chats with Chetan, I told him what my friend said, and he laughed. “It is for others to say what they wish. I am not a scientist, and my interest is finance. I used to diligently follow stock market news even when I was 8. I was born with CP (Cerebral Palsy) but Prof. Stephen William Hawking was born a normal person.”
Indeed, theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author, Prof. Hawking, born in 1942, was diagnosed with the rare motor neuron disease (or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS) at age 21 in 1963, when he was given a life expectancy of two years. He went on to live for another 55 years till his death at the age of 76 in March 2018, though the disease gradually paralyzed him and led to loss of speech, forcing him to communicate through a speech-generating device.
“My parents took me to several schools for education. Invariably, I used to be rejected due to my physical condition. Staying the course in the face of rejection became a part of my life. Finally, I was admitted in the Spastic Society of India (SPI) school. When I was in the first standard, my dad suffered a stroke and my family had financial challenges. But this taught me to be strong and independent to face challenges. I used to walk about 1 km daily to catch the school bus, which, I think, made me physically strong”, he says.
Taare Zameen Par
Chetan recalls that there was a painting competition in his school in 1994 that he wanted to win but he lost. “Obviously, destiny had other plans for me”, he reminisces. If that incident reminds one of 8-year-old dyslexic Ishaan in Aamir Khan’s film, ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (Stars on Earth), it is purely coincidental.
“In the year 1998, I could not write my 10th standard public exam because of SSLC Board’s rule allowing a scribe of my choice, as only 9th standard student could be chosen. I found a student who could understand my speech and wrote the exam the next year”, he says.
“I scored 75% in my SSLC exam”, proudly recalls Chetan. “But the real break came in 1999, when software giant Mindtree came to my school asking children to create a logo for them. I was among the 10 students who took part. My work was selected and Mindtree rewarded me with 2000 equity shares. I became a shareholder of an IT multinational at the age of 17.”
Met US President Bill Clinton
“In the year 2000, CII invited me to their summit held in Hyderabad. I had the rare honour of meeting then US President Bill Clinton and was introduced by then HRD Minister Kapil Sibal”, mentions Chetan, wistfully pointing out that his “dream was to meet the Indian Prime Minister one day but destiny gave me an opportunity to meet the US President!”
Finishing his PUC in SPI, he opted for computer science, on his family’s advice, and joined CHRIST for his BCA course in 2003 as he knew he could not take up science due to poor hand function. He completed his MBA in 2008.
“After one year of working, which I found was quite onerous due to my condition, I decided to join pre-doctoral course in management and joined the Ph.D. program in management. I selected the topic, ‘Explanation for anomalies in semi-strong form of Efficient Market Hypothesis’ (EMH). It was a very challenging topic in the domain. Finding a research gap was near impossible. The first 3 months of doing this research were the toughest in my life. I had no solutions to my Ph.D. problem. I took three winters to find an acceptable solution. Dr DNS Kumar (Management faculty and Centre for Research Project Associate Director) was my research guide”, says Chetan pointing out that, “lessons learnt from Ph.D. can be used for finding solutions in the real world.”
“My Ph.D. gave me knowledge and valuable insight into stock market”, he says adding, “In 2015, I sold my Mindtree shares to buy and sell shares of other blue-chip companies like Tata Motors, TVS Motors, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank etc. and earned a million in profits. I suppose entrepreneurship is in my DNA because my brother is the co-founder of Cyber Bazaar and my Dad was running a law firm. When I completed my Ph.D. in 2017, my family gave me money to start business.”
Warmly appreciating the support and encouragement given to him by CHRIST (deemed to be University), especially by then Vice Chancellor Fr Mathew Thomas and others, who provided him with an office space and facilities, Chetan established his own venture in stock market and even employed a fresh M.Com. graduate from the University. He manages investments of 10 clients and is an active investor himself.
Like the celebrated Stephen Hawking, who used to address distinguished gatherings in different countries by using a speech generating device, Chetan too has had the privilege of addressing august gatherings through mechanical devices and power-point presentations at IIM and even University of Austria, among others.
Chetan’s article on higher education and disability, which was published in an international journal, and released by the then HRD Minister Kapil Sibal at the CII summit in Hyderabad in 2000, makes the following arguments on the complexities in the lives of people like him: “With my speech problem, it was an uphill task to write exams. Many of my friends from SPI are facing similar problems in colleges and are unable to showcase their talent. When I entered pre-doctoral course, the faculty of research were surprised at my assignments because I was able to produce high quality research work without exams.
“In fact, many published research papers question the pedagogy of exam-based learning in higher education in the global context and point out that it may be good for middle and high schools, but lose relevance from there on. There is a new pedagogy of problem-based learning (PBL) where students are given complex problems to solve.
“In PBL classes, students work in teams to solve one or more complex and compelling real-world problems. They develop skills in collecting, evaluating and synthesizing resources as they first define problems and then propose solutions. In most PBL classes, students summarize and present solutions in a culminating experience. The instructor facilitates the learning process in a PBL class by monitoring the progress of learners and asking questions to move students forward in the problem-solving process.
“In the past decade, Indian primary schools have adopted action-based learning for children to learn new words and concepts. It is high time that Indian higher education system adopts the pedagogy of PBL and ensures that both, students with disabilities and even the so-called “normal students”, can learn effectively.
Churchill & FDR
Some of the points in Chetan’s talk at IIM, details of which were shared by him, are worth recording:
“Truth is stranger than fiction. Two of the most powerful men of the 20th Century, who shaped and even changed the course of history - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the longest serving US President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt - had disabilities.
“Churchill himself has admitted that he had a ‘speech impediment’ that he constantly tried to overcome and had specially designed dentures to aid him in his speech. After several years, he declared, “My impediment is no hindrance.” Roosevelt was permanently paralyzed waist down and had facial paralysis and other ailments halfway through his presidency and yet ran and got elected for a record breaking fourth term, fitting his hips and legs with iron braces and walking short distances with a cane, but using wheelchair in private.
“Both Churchill and Roosevelt knew their abilities and limitations but became successful in public life.
“I have no plans to run for public office. But it is necessary to know the strengths and limitations of people with CP so we can make a better tomorrow. I have conducted a small research on people with CP, who are good in the realm of creativity, and their major abilities are:
Making good judgements in life;
Helping in catching white criminals, solving corporate and high crimes- FBI and CIA used such people to solve cases in the 80s;
Writing research papers in social sciences;
Playing managerial roles as many of my school friends hold key positions in various MNCs and Indian companies; and
Writing poems and essays.
“After my secondary schooling, I went to CHRIST to study computer science to become a good programmer but turned out to be a philosopher.” The part about becoming a philosopher and writing poems is evidently true as can be seen from the following verse penned by him: See the destiny! I cannot cook food but destiny says I should eat food at hotels I cannot make coffee but destiny says I should drink coffee at Café Coffee Day I cannot drive a car but destiny says I should keep a driver I cannot write computer programs but destiny says I should only write business plans After all, I love destiny!