Duo shows spine to save others’ blushes

One day in 2012, Ganesh left his house and drank at a local liquor shop. “I didn’t want to live. I thought that if I booze and become unconscious, it will make my life better. But that was not to be. Somehow I made it home, and when I saw my mother and sister beside me when I woke the next day, I knew I had to change myself for the good,” said the 35-year-old.

Ganesh then began pursuing his passion and took part in marathons, though he had to take frequent breaks to complete the task. During one such 42-km marathon, he met with 33-year-old A Kasinathan, who also was suffering from a spinal cord injury. They soon became friends, and it was then that the idea of a road trip on a cycle was born.

On February 13, the duo took off from Chennai Gandhi Statue to complete a round trip to Kanyakumari and back. Covering 32 districts and nearly 3,000 km over 65 days in a special cycle, the ‘Dreams Invited Drive’ hopes to touch the lives of their friends and raise awareness on spinal cord injury.

“I wanted to see my friends with spinal cord injury come out of depression. Just two days ago, I met with an old friend, who is virtually confined to the four walls of his house due to the spinal cord injury,” said Ganesh.

Ganesh hopes to crowdsource Rs 3 lakh via Ganesh Murugan’s Facebook page, the proceeds which will go to buying tricylces for the needy.

Many whom they meet during the ride have asked them about their Motivation Tricycles, a handmade tricycle for people with disability. “These are mostly villagers who do not know much about our disability. I asked them to let me know if they know those like me, so that I can do whatever possible for them,” said Ganesh.

It was Vaidhyanathan Singararaman, co-founder, Ganga Trust, who helped the duo map out their ride to perfection. Kotak Mahindra Bank and New Motion Wheelchair came out to sponsor the trip.