Her life is an inspiration. Yet, she says it was the negativity of people that inspired her to achieve the many milestones in her life and helped her bounce forward. (She despises the term “bounce back”).
When repetitive tumour formations in her spinal cord left her a paraplegic, paralysed chest down and bound to a wheelchair, people assumed she would “die within the four walls of a room”.
And, it was this assumption that she wanted to correct. Thus began the journey of Deepa Malik, who today proudly bears the tag of being the country’s first and oldest para-swimmer-athlete-biker and car rallyist. Para sports are sporting events played by those with disabilities. Besides the local and national levels, they can also represent their country at the Asian Para Games and Paralympics.
A free spirit with a great love for the outdoors, especially biking, Deepa grew up as a daughter of an Army officer. So, as a young girl when she was diagnosed with her first tumour in the spinal cord, her world came crashing down. It was her parents who saw her through surgery and rehabilitation and she could stand on her own feet.
But her happiness was short-lived. After her marriage to an Army officer and the birth of two daughters, Deepa learnt that hers was a case of repetitive tumours and realised she would lead a life of a paraplegic in a wheelchair. Says she did not realise the enormity of it all, till friends, neighbours and relatives started offering her their “condolences.”
The three painful surgeries, 200 stitches on her ever-degenerating spinal cord, lack of bladder control, and various other ailments did not hurt her as much as the words of these people.
But today, she is thankful to these very same people who made her even more determined to break the stereotype.
Deepa made alterations in her home and slowly learnt to live in her new body. She was into fitness with regular physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. However, it was difficult to alter the mindset of the people who ignored her and did not include her in any social activities.
It was then that she decided to make efforts to join the mainstream. She started a small garden restaurant that turned out to be a great hit. She started catering for large parties.
A television channel featured her and her restaurant. Someone saw her swim and called up to ask whether she could take part in swimming at the national level para-sports meet. That was the life-changing moment for Deepa for whom her second innings began at 36.
After winning several medals for her State and country in para-swimming, she moved on to athletics. Here too, she won laurels. Then it was biking and later car rallying. Every step came with hurdles – sponsorships, clearances for modified bikes and cars, obtaining special licences. But she moved on, regardless.
She created records, won an Arjuna award, travelled around the world and helped formulate policies for people with disabilities playing sports. But Deepa wants to be much more than the clichéd “role model”.
She would rather be known as someone who inspired those with disability to take up an active sport. She urges them to move out so that the society becomes more open to their needs and creates disability-friendly infrastructure.
On her wish list is scuba diving, an Academy for training people on wheelchair, creating awareness in the corporate world and among individuals about sponsoring people for para-sporting events.
Forty four-year-old Deepa calls herself ‘wheelchair-liberated’ and not wheelchair-bound. Deepa Malik was in Coimbatore to inaugurate a two-day national conference on women empowerment organised by the UGC Women Studies Centre of Dr. G.R. Damodaran College of Science.
