When Pulkit Sharma, a wheelchair-based Delhiite who is a full-time content creator, uploaded his Bhangra dance video on Insta, little did he know that he’ll welcome unwanted brickbats. But not one to bow down, the 34-year-old soon tweeted another video of him matching dance steps in perfectly synchronised choreography with his sisters. Within no time, his tweet went viral and has amassed more than 300k views so far.
“Comments like ‘Haath sidha kar, ₹20 dunga’, ‘Disabled hai toh enable kardo’, ‘Why dance like you’ve received an electric shock’ are some that usually pop up on my account,” says Sharma who felt devastated by the trolling until recently when he reached a brink and decided to give it back to the naysayers. “Those who doubt the capabilities of a differently-abled person are sick... I might be a person with disability, but before than I’m a living person and that’s something that many forget,” says Sharma, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth. He adds, “I’m a ‘boy on Batmobile’ and sometime back I had even shared a video in collaboration with another influencer, Naman Kapoor, to sensitise people towards persons with disabilities. But trollers had a problem with that, too.”
But his spirit to live life finds a new meaning in his Insta handle @theboyonbatmobile where he loves to showcase his dance skills. “In 2019, I decided to showcase my real life by creating an Instagram page, and share everything that I identified with. I wanted to be somebody who could make others laugh. But alas! That’s not how social media users looked at me,” says Sharma, who is a resident of Karol Bagh. He has made it in real life through the hard way and thought that reel world will be more sensitive. “I struggled to get admission in school and college. But I’ve been rejected for so long that now I’ve made rejections my motivation. Rejection is what drives me to accomplish something... I wanted to be financially independent as I aspire for everything like any other able-bodied person, and hence took to content creation to earn a living. I know someday I will accomplish my dream as that’s Chelsie Hill (an American wheelchair dancer) taught me: If I can, we all can. This is why, I’ll never stop dancing!”
{{/usCountry}}But his spirit to live life finds a new meaning in his Insta handle @theboyonbatmobile where he loves to showcase his dance skills. “In 2019, I decided to showcase my real life by creating an Instagram page, and share everything that I identified with. I wanted to be somebody who could make others laugh. But alas! That’s not how social media users looked at me,” says Sharma, who is a resident of Karol Bagh. He has made it in real life through the hard way and thought that reel world will be more sensitive. “I struggled to get admission in school and college. But I’ve been rejected for so long that now I’ve made rejections my motivation. Rejection is what drives me to accomplish something... I wanted to be financially independent as I aspire for everything like any other able-bodied person, and hence took to content creation to earn a living. I know someday I will accomplish my dream as that’s Chelsie Hill (an American wheelchair dancer) taught me: If I can, we all can. This is why, I’ll never stop dancing!”
{{/usCountry}}Author tweets @maishascribbles
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