Singer, social worker, elocutionist and committed disability rights activist Geetanjali Dash tells Rashmi Rekha Das that lack of infrastructure and opportunities in the state is hindering the social development of the differently-abled
“The word impossible is found in the dictionary of fools” said Napoleon Bonaparte, the great military general. Geetanjali Dash who did not let her paralysis hamper her life, dreams and achievement, is a truly brave person in the Napoleonic sense.
She may be orthopedically handicapped due to the reaction of diphtheria vaccine, but that does not stop Geetanjali from chasing her dream of serving society. Geetanjali is a differently-abled girl, not disabled because she is a lady of versatile genius. She chants the Vedas at national level programmes, sings on television shows and paints exceedingly well. Besides, gardening and working for the welfare of orphans are her other interests.
A resident of Kalinga Nagar Ghatikia in Bhubaneswar, Geetanjali used to complain of throat pain when she was in Class II. She was taken to a Unit-VIII based hospital in Bhubaneswar. Doctors, however, failed to diagnose the disease and prescribed medicines meant to tackle cold and cough. When her condition deteriorated, she was rushed to Capital Hospital where doctors said she had diphtheria. She was administered a diphtheria vaccine following which her right leg was paralysed. Despite her disability she never became a burden for the family and from childhood had the uncanny ability of chanting slokas from the Vedas.
Geetanjali who believes that disability is a state of mind, has done her MCA from Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology. She started chanting from the Vedas when she was seven years old. She has showcased her talent in more than 2,000 shows and programmes.
When she was a kid, her father Chakradhar Dash, a Sanskrit teacher, used to ask his students to chant slokas. Geetanjali remembered all the slokas and started reciting on her own. She got the first prize in a singing competition when in Class II. In a school function she saw someone chanting Vedic hymns and asked her father to teach her the Vedas after returning home every day from work. Her father wrote a few slokas in a paper and gave her to recite. She recited them so easily that her father was taken aback. Over the years, she developed a strong passion for recitation.
Talking about one memorable moment, Geetanjali says, “I had once gone to watch a Bhajan programme held on the occasion of Sahid Diwas at Soochana Bhawan. Former Chief Minister of Orissa Biju Patnaik, who heard me chanting Vedas was present there. He called me and told me to sit next to him. He wanted to know whether I had come to perform. When I said no, he asked the event organiser to let me perform. He stood up and gave me a standing ovation for my performance. I cannot forget this moment.”
She has been appreciated by eminent personalities like former CM Janaki Ballav Patnaik, ex-Governor of Orissa B Satya Narayan Reddy, political leader and eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani, ex-Governor of Asam Chintamani Panigrahi, Puri Gajapati, Swami Chidananda Saraswati, noted writer Gouri Kumar Brahma, Manorama Mohapatra, Biswabhusan Harichandan and other stalwarts from different fields. She has won awards from organisations like Nehru Institute of Youth Affairs, Ganakabi Baisnab Pani Smruti Sansad, Srujani, Utkala Bikash Sanskrutika Parisad, State Bank of India, Desh Parishad, Orissa State Council for Children Welfare, Ghungur, Syndicate Bank, Nigama Kala Sansada, Ekamra Sanskrutika Prakashani, Roshni Roopali Memorial, All India Mahila Dakhyata Samiti, Women’s Adventure Club, Ankur, Nupur, Congress Bhawan, Divine Life Society, Radhadevi Foundation, Information and Public Relations Department and Rajeev Bikash Kendra.
Moreover, she has groomed herself as a singer. She started her musical career at the age of five. She now gets a scholarship in Hindustani vocal music from Centre for Cultural Resource and Training (CCRT), New Delhi. She is known for devotional songs on Lord Jagannath. Apart from singing at shrines like Lingaraj and Jagannath temples, she appears regularly on Doordarshan and All India Radio.
She makes it a point to visit orphanages every month and spend some quality time with kids despite her busy schedule. She was in Class V when she donated Rs 200 that she won in an essay competition for flood victims. She had made up her mind to do engage in social service at a young age and felt the need to serve needy children.
Lamenting about the lack of infrastructure and opportunities that hinder the social development of the differently-abled in the state Geetanjali says there is no facility for a disabled person who wants to visit a shopping mall. “Though there is three per cent reservation for handicapped people in the government sector, disabled people hardly benefit. Besides, the Supreme Court has made it clear that differently-abled people having MCA or other equivalent degrees will be given recruitment in multinational companies. But the rule is not implemented which is why many students like me are struggling for a job,” rued Geetanjali who has started fighting for the rights of the disabled with the help of NGOs.
