An Article published in The Outlook Magazine 12th Nov 2001, about Mustafa Thorappa
For 35-year-old T. Musthafa, Race Against Time is not just a song, it’s an anthem. Ask him about his physical disability and he’s quick to quote Albert Camus: "In the midst of winter, I finally learned there was in me, an invincible summer." And it is this indefatigable spirit of summer that’s helped this ex-taxi driver and now owner of a bakery chain from Kerala’s Malappuram district overcome his handicap.
An accident involving a speeding jeep in 1994 left Musthafa with a severely damaged spinal cord. He had been a taxi driver for 14 years then, now he was left paralysed waist below and bed-ridden.
"Before that day, I could do 10,000 things. Now, six years down the line, there are probably 9,000. I can either dwell on the 1,000 I can’t, or focus on the 9,000 I can. I don’t think I miss my legs anymore," says Musthafa bravely. Today, he’s loving every moment of his new role—he moves around town in his specially designed Maruti 800 and loves it when people address him as an "automobile mechanic".
Unwilling to spend the rest of his life in bed, Musthafa, just two years after the accident, designed a four-wheel Kinetic Honda scooter which helped him move around town. But he says, "The seats were not comfortable and I wanted more from it. You know... I always loved the outdoors." He shifted his attention from the scooter and started tinkering with his taxi. And soon he had an idea—a specially-designed gear lever for the accelerator, brake and the clutch. Right then, he knew he’d got a cure for his immobility. With the support of the local Index Maruti Service Center, Musthafa was once again moving around town, this time much more comfortably—he could now control the vehicle with just one hand.
"I have a good life now because of this gear lever. And I am doing things I never thought I could," says Musthafa, his eyes beaming with pride when he talks about the 13 other vehicles in the country which have also been fitted with his invention. "There’s no reason to be fatalistic. And after what I have gone through, the desire to help my fellow men came naturally," he says. A complete set of the lever, for those with both legs damaged, Musthafa says, comes for a price of around Rs 20,000-25,000. A one-leg apparatus for those with partial disability costs as low as Rs 5,000. "I am not looking for any profits from my invention. But this price also promises a new life, so I think it’s worth it," he says. For now, Musthafa says his design has been fitted only on Maruti 800s, but buoyed by the response, he’s already experimenting on a design for other cars as well.
Musthafa’s genius has brought hope for others too. For 23-year-old Juno, an engineering student from Ernakulam, life had come to a standstill after January 14, 1999, when a speeding lorry hit his bike, leaving him paralysed waist below. Today, Juno’s not pursuing his engineering diploma anymore, but his life is no less better—he runs a duty-free shop, a library in the coastal city, has about a dozen people working under him, and often goes for long drives to Bangalore and neighbouring cities. As he says: "I have sort of forgotten about my handicap now. I want to get all that I can from life. Musthafa has given me the means to indulge my love for travel. Right now, that’s what’s most important to me."
Thirty-six-year-old Regi, who runs a body-building workshop for heavy vehicles in Thodupuzha, Idukki district, Kerala, is yet another man touched by Musthafa’s creation. He has been using the design for the last two years on his 800 after being injured while fixing a client’s lorry. And yes, he too is paralysed from waist below. "I am not married but how does that matter. Thanks to Musthafa, I’m able to supervise the work in the workshop, run around for spare parts and do everything like a normal man," he says. Meanwhile, Musthafa still needs his wife Safiya and nine-year-old son Murshid to take him on a wheelchair to the car. But the gear lever, he says, has changed everything in his life—for the better. To know more about his invention, contact T. Musthafa, s/o Pocker, Chenmakadavu Kodur (P.O), Malappuram district, Kerala. Ph:0493—737572/736748
Courtesy:
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?213711
