Tears roll down the cheeks of 56-year-old Jagannath Shetty while he explains the way he has been leading his life for the last four decades. He lost senses in the lower part of his body after falling off a tree when he was 16 years old.
“I feel sad when I see my classmates doing well, while I am confined,” he says.
But Mr. Shetty has not lost hope yet. “I will not end my life just because of my disability. I want to be useful by donating my organs to the needy. I am against burial or cremation of my body,” he says.
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Mr. Shetty lives in a shed next to his elder brother’s house near Kateel, 40 km from Mangaluru. “I eat less to avoid going to the toilet,” he says.
He eats a few spoons of food in the morning along with some tea, before leaving his house on a modified three-wheeler scooter. It is on this scooter that Mr. Shetty sells wares made of nylon wire that are tied around buffaloes in Kambla (buffalo race).
He earns a few rupees this way. “This helps in meeting my expenses.” He also gets an additional Rs. 1,200 as disability pension.
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Mr. Shetty is also a swimmer and has saved many lives. He takes pride in leading an independent life, but does suffer from within. “It is indeed difficult to lead a life like this when you have lived your prime in a normal way.”
56-year-old Jagannath Shetty sells wares
on his modified
scooter for a living