One-Armed Cyclist Rachit Kulshrestha was an Inspiration for Youth at ‘INSPIRE’ event by SAC
International Fame One-Armed Cyclist and Two time CANCER SURVIVOR Rachit Kulshrestha from Pune, was an Inspiration for Youth, after he delivered a elaborate talk during ‘INSPIRE’ -Redefining Ability programme organized by Sahodaya ( a Outreach Programme) at St Aloysius College-Mangaluru. After losing his left arm to cancer at the age of 5 years, the Pune native was left with a ‘foot drop’ in his right leg due to Cancer disease at the age of 27 years. Rachit has completed several bicycle races, including the Manali to Khardung La track which is 550 km, and the 530-km-long Nilgiri route- and recently in June completed the 400-km cycling event in Maharashtra. He has scaled a 13,500-foot mountain twice. This is the story 32-year-old Pune native, who is no doubt a one-armed achiever!
Mangaluru: “One Pedal at a Time and You can Change the Whole World. You can do anything you want to do. You just gotta go out there and do it.” said Rachit Kulshrestha, a two-time cancer survivor and an inspirational cyclist, during a programme “INSPIRE-Redefining Ability, a talk session organised by Sahodaya-a Outreach Programme at St Aloysius College, Mangaluru on Sunday, 4 August 219, at the Robert Sequeira Hall in LCRI Block. Sahodaya, an outreach Programme for the empowerment of the Specially Abled was started in 2000 to conscientize the staff and the students towards the needs and aspirations of the Specially Abled. The outreach Programme has been constantly working with groups and institutions catering to the needs of such people. Sahodayans have imbibed the spirit of growing together and lending their mite towards empowering people with disabilities even after completion of their studies. The programme began with a prayer song, followed by welcome address by SAC student Vrinda Shenoy. Rachit’s brief introduction was given by SAC student Daryl S.
Addressing the students about his life and achievements, Rachit Kulshrestha said, “I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of five, and at the age of six my doctors had to amputate my left arm right up till my collarbone. When I failed in my 7th class, I lost hope and wanted to give up- and that’s when Fr D’Mello, my school principal called me, and motivated to be strong in life and not to give up at first time, because there are many more chances in life to survive and succeed. I took Fr D’Mello’s words seriously, and carried forward. I also hated Algebra and Math, but it was my master Eric Lobo , who brought me on track, and since then I started scoring good in algebra and Math. Of course it was a struggle while growing up, because other children were making fun of me, not being given the same opportunity as them; whether it was wanting to be a boxer or participate in other tournaments. As I grew up, I began to accept my situation and would often joke about my ‘missing limb’. I was also very determined as a child. I was always a huge fan of football, so I would train really hard to be a goal keeper and all that training paid off — I was selected to play at the Inter-school level”
As a child, Kulshrestha cycled to school every day where he played football. He would play as a goalkeeper, an unusual choice for spectators. Reiterating an incident, he said “Once I got to play for an inter-school match and I was a substitute goalkeeper. When the main goalie got sick, I was called on field. As I walked towards the goal post, the rival team students and coach already began their celebrations. After all, what a one-handed goalkeeper can do, they thought. During that match, I stopped four goals and my team won by two scores. Even though when the coach of the opposite team realized that I was the goalkeeper, he declared that his team would win by ‘at least 6 goals!’ but I didn’t let that bother me. I was so focused on doing my best that we ended up winning the game 4-2! The first match of that tournament was an unforgettable one for me”.
He further said, “That was a day of validation for me— that if I really try nothing is a limitation. And that’s what my entire adult life has been about — trying different things. I’ve worked at a call center, at a movie rental place, as a waiter at a hotel, as a hotel manager and even a brief stint as a bartender in Goa! Even being one-armed I made the best mixers/cocktails/mocktails at that Goan bar, which amazed the clients, which also earned me good tips from the revelers. I began to travel a lot as well and when I was in Goa, I began to write poetry and sell my pieces for 6 months. As another experiment I worked as an AD for a film called Candy flip and that’s when I fell in love with the profession. Ever since then, I’ve started my own company called ‘Secret Locators’, a post film production house and I’m living the life of my dreams!
“In 2014, my cancer resurfaced in another form, which affected my right leg, but I beat it for the second time. Or like I usually say, ‘my invisible hand is always showing the invisible finger to cancer!’ Jokes apart, these things happen in life — it’s how you deal with it. I prefer to take it with a pinch of salt and move on and I wish people would do the same and stop being sympathetic towards me, I’m not disabled, I’m differently-abled! People need to understand that being sympathetic makes it worse — I mean look at me! I play cricket, chess, table tennis and I’ve climbed a mountain, 13,500 feet above sea level, with a 75 Ltr backpack…twice! Does it really look like I need any sympathy?” added Rachit.
While concluding his talk, Rachit said, “I started to believe in myself, and tried never to give up. It’s true that God looks up after us so well like his own children, I feel that I am God’s creation and His lovable child. To get motivated in life I started reading various motivational books, and it helped. We need to be always positive and think of success. Try to make your dreams come true. It’s okay to make millions of mistakes, but don’t repeat the same mistakes. We all learn by our mistakes. I have always embraced my failures, and it has helped me- the right word would be “Improvise”, which I will never forget. You too need to embrace yourselves. Not just looking good to be in academics, try to take up sports also, it will help you in long run in your lives”.
“These days CEO’s of companies during hiring process look for your talents in solving problems and how capable you are in handling your job more than your ranks or high marks. Involve yourselves in co-curricular activities and also sports. Never..never give up in life. Even though I am a two times cancer survivor, presently I a bit deaf too- and will be buying a hearing equipment soon after saving my little earnings. Also love your parents who gave you life and brought you up. Each one of us can do anything- all we need is determination, courage, commitment and hard work- and surely success is on your way. So go out there, make the IMPOSSIBLE, the POSSIBLE” concluded Rachit Kulshrestha, after a elaborate inspirational and motivational talk, which received a loud applaud from the young crowd, followed which a bunch of them posed a few queries to Rachit, and he answered them appropriately.
To a question asked by a student -“Who was and is your inspiration in your life?”- in reply Rachit said, “Apart from my parents, teachers , well-wishers, books- it was INTERNET and GOOGLE? With Internet, your knowledge is served on a platter. Google is my best friend, and will always be ny best friend, for knowledge on inspiration and motivation”. Fr Praveen Martis SJ -the Principal of St Aloysius College in his concluding remarks said, “It was one of the best inspirational and motivational talk that we had heard at our institution from a differently-abled person, who has shown us that anyone can come up in life if we have a will and determination. Rachit has redefined Ability, his change in life has been a mantra for him. Sometimew we too face hurdles in our lives, but we need to overcome them. Go beyond your academics-explore the vast opportunities, explore the world, utilize your hidden talents, and follow the life example of Rachit. Be pro-active, look for a change,a nd make a difference in your lives and others also. Rachit has en-kindled you all, so do something different”
Post the talk at St Aloysius College, Kulshrestha interacted with Yours Truly of Team Mangalorean and got more details- Even though Rachit had lost his left arm to cancer at the age of five years, but found the right support from his father to pursue a normal life. His father had said, “If you want to do it, then go ahead and do it”, which remained etched to his mind and heart and has given him the ability to pursue his passion thus so far. It wasn’t until he was 27 years that he took to cycling again, when he was diagnosed with limping sarcoma. He got a foot drop [a kind of nerve paralysis which makes it difficult in lifting the front part of the foot] in his right leg and gained an enormous amount of weight. His friends pushed him to lose weight, but due to foot drop, he couldn’t plat football anymore. And, since he wasn’t a gym person, he opted for cycling. “That’s when my cycling started and there has been no looking back from there,” said Rachit.
Having completed his graduation in Arts from Pune University, he has worked in the post production team of movies like Avengers, Zero etc. Currently, he works for an NGO called Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation, which brings abled and disabled bodies together and conduct adventure events. He said that during such events, the participants “forget their differences” and come together in celebration and have a good time. The biker said he wants to get the title of SR, or Super Randonneur. “I am already a Randonneur [A rider who has successfully completed a 200-kilometre brevet is called a Randonneur]. A Super Randonneur is a rider who completes a series of 200, 300, 400 and 600-kilometre brevets within the same season,” he added.
Rachit was felicitated on the occasion by Fr Praveen Martis SJ, joined by Dr Alwyn D’Sa (Controller of Examinations-SAC), Ashok Prasad ( Coordinator of Extra Curricular activities), Naveen Mascarenhas ( IQAC Coordinator), Ms Jeshma D’souza and Dhiraj Sequeira (Coordinators and Presidents of Sahodaya)- the felicitation citation was read by Dhiraj Sequeira. The vote of thanks was proposed by Miss Afsheen Ayesh, and the programme was compered by Miss Karen Hezron Maben, both SAC students.
In conclusion, in my perspective, Determined to try different things, Rachit has been living life to the fullest. Expressing his wish to participate in the Deccan cliffhanger race on 9 Novermber 2019, he said, “I am going to push myself to whatever I can.” The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings. It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. What an inspiration story of Rachit. We need to Love his positivity! Also, his sense of humour is on point! He taught us an important lesson on how to change our perspective towards life. He has Super fantastic spirit- he fact that he has climbed an actual mountain and some metaphorical ones are only little evidences of his stellar strength and bravery. Rachit is an awesome motivational speaker for rest of the people, who helps them to develop same level of confidence and show that nothing is impossible! People who say they can’t, are simply making excuses. You’re an inspiration! Keep inspiring others around you. Team Mangalorean wishes you all Success in your future endeavours and dare-devil cycling expeditions! You Rock Rachit!
A BRIEF PROFILE OF RACHIT KULSHRESTHA :
Rachit Kulshrestha lives in Pune, India. A two-time cancer survivor and single amputee, Rachit is the epitome of positivity and a fountain of energy. His mantra has always been to try different things and he has not let his disability stop him from achieving his dreams and aiming high. An ardent adventure enthusiast and highly skilled single-handed cyclist, no terrain is too tough for him to take on. Rachit has cycled from Manali to Khardung La—one of the world’s highest motorable roads at 18,000ft, toured the Nilgiris (across three states) in just 6 days, and completed the 200km and 300km BRM in April and May 2019 respectively. He also enjoys trekking and has scaled Kheer Ganga twice at 13,000ft.
Apart from outdoor adventure sports, he loves playing football, cricket, chess, and table tennis. A strong advocate of inclusion, Rachit hosted the Indian Inclusion Summit, an international conference held every year to focus on the need for creating inclusion in our society, in the year 2014. In June 2019, Rachit was invited to be on the Super Idol Panel—Stories of Change and Empowerment, at the Sarthak NAAI West Zone Regional Abilympics, Mumbai. The Abilympics event was hosted with the aim of sensitizing and urging corporates to adopt inclusion and diversity policies and initiatives. He was also one of the panelists at the Vividh Diversity Job Fair 2019 held in Mumbai, a first of its kind Indian diversity focused career fair that brings candidates of all genders, sexualities, ages, and disabilities together with employers who are interested in creating work environments that value and promote workforce diversity.
Rachit is far from a one-trick pony. He worked as an Assistant Director for Candy Flip, a film that was released on Netflix in 2019. Rachit has also worked in a post-production capacity for such films like Black Panther, The Avengers, Antman 2, Zero, and so on. A PedalX speaker, his story of courage, strength, grit, and optimism has been highlighted in leading publications and online media, including Humans of Bombay, The Better India, Pedal Pal, East Mojo, and Huffington Post, among others. For Rachit, life will always be beautiful no matter how hard the going gets. In fact, he more often than not jokes about his “missing limb” and is living proof of the maxim that nothing in this world is a limitation. From being a barman to working for an Italian chef, he chooses to make most of life and its opportunities.
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