No Challenge Is Big Enough: Wheelchair-bound CA goes places 15 yrs. since 11/7 blasts
Mumbai: As he peeks into his new office space on the eve of its inauguration, Chirag Chauhan cannot stop beaming. His dream of expanding his business has come true on a day that had a profound impact on his life. Chauhan, 36, a Kandivali resident, remembers July 11, 2006, differently – not as a day that left him wheelchair-bound but as one that propelled him to work harder and prove to the world that no challenge is big enough if you have faith in yourself.
Chauhan, then 21, was returning home from this workplace while he was pursuing his Chartered Accountancy (CA) course when a series of explosions ripped through local trains on Western Railway. He remembers opening his eyes in a derailed coach, lying amid hordes of injured commuters at Santacruz and not being able to feel any sensation below the waist. The next three months were spent at various hospitals as he tried to come to terms with his new reality. Chauhan had suffered a spinal cord injury that left both his legs and lower body paralyzed. “I often wondered, during those initial months, why I had to suffer so much, “he said.
The physiotherapy was grueling as Chauhan learned to sit up straight and manage his body. His meals and exercise regime had to be done by the clock. “My mother was a constant pillar of support throughout. I also found solace in the spiritual text, “he said.
Between 2006 and 2009, Chauhan’s daily routine comprised eight hours of physiotherapy and six hours of study. “My father, who passed away a couple of years before the train blasts, had taught us to always remind ourselves that there were people whose struggles were greater than mine. That helped me surge ahead,” he said.
After clearing his CA, Chauhan landed a job with an MNC. But the challenge was far from over. The MNC’s office was in Chembur and Chauhan had to commute 25km one wat to reach his workplace from his home. After one year with the MNC, Chauhan moves to a bank.
In 2012, he opened a small office with a few employees. “I had zero clients as id had moved from a corporate job,” Chauhan said. But he worked very hard and started adding to his clients.
During the lockdown, he founded a platform that offers virtual taxation services. “The portal gets 10,000 hits daily and also has an app,” he says. On Monday, Chauhan will begin a new journey in a much larger office space, against all odds.
