It seemed like a regular Tuesday when 21-year-old Chirag Chauhan from Mumbai left office early to make it home before twilight. But somewhere between Andheri and Santacruz at around 6.20 pm, his life changed forever.
It was during a series of blasts across railway stations on 11 July 2006 when Chirag suffered a debilitating spinal cord injury. He says it took him close to six months to come to terms with what happened to him. Nevertheless, he picked up the pieces of his life and moved on.
Speaking to The Better India, Chirag says, “I was what is often described as a below average student all through school. If I managed to get 50 per cent, I considered it a job well done.” While his school days passed by in this manner, the loss of his father when he was all of 18, left him shocked.
“My father, unfortunately, did not have the means to pursue what he wanted to academically, and given that I could, I did not want to waste that chance,” he says. Once Chirag got into college,…