The fateful night of 28 Jun 1988 saw young Flying Officer MP Anil Kumar, a fighter pilot, returning after night flying on his mobike crash into the horizontal bar at the security post of the IAF base at Pathankot . Three of his vertebrae close to the region of the neck had got shattered in the accident and the unfortunate young man became a quadriplegic(completely paralysed below the neck). His story is that of grit, courage and determination in the face of all odds and how he outlived the adversity will be a story that shall continue to fire the imagination for generations to come.
To spend 26 years on a wheelchair with minimal freedom of movement of the body, requires extraordinary strength from within which MP Anil Kumar had in abundance!
He'd joined school in '73 and had passed out in '81 only to join the 65th course of the NDA. He, then, passed out of the Academy as the Best Air Force Cadet of the passing out course and had won the coveted medal for excelling in aerobatics as an under trainee in the IAF.
MP, as he's popularly known, did not resign to his pitiful state and while being an inmate of the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre at Kirkee, for the past 26 years, used to write articles in the national English dailies and the journal, Indian Defence Review. Initially, he used to make his literary forays by holding the pen in his mouth and had later on, graduated to the computer with a special keyboard and used a stick held by his mouth yet again, to punch his thoughts on the keyboard . His autobiography 'Airborne to chairborne' gives an excellent narration of how he'd overcome all odds and as to how he was at peace with his life without any regret.
His story has since been incorporated into the class X English syllabus by the government of Maharashtra and five years back, the Kerala government had included it in the class VIII syllabus.
He'd celebrated his 50th birthday on 05 May but the sad news was that he was fighting another deadly enemy, in the form of blood cancer, by that time. Despite his fighting spirit and the prayers of his relatives, friends and school mates, he'd passed into the mist of time yesterday. His mortal remains were consigned to the flames at the Bopodi crematorium at 1130h today. He's survived by his mother, a brother and two sisters.
RIP, MP! My salutes for your grit in the face of great adversity and the positive outlook that you exuded always. Here's wishing that your family is able to muster the strength to pass through these difficult times. And I'm certain that your life story shall be the inspiration for generations to come.
Tailpiece.
I'd last met MP in Jun '12 when we'd a school get together at the NDA. He was a keen participant in all the serials and showed a childlike eagerness to interact with each and everyone of us.
PS.
And yes, he was roll no.1122 at school!
To spend 26 years on a wheelchair with minimal freedom of movement of the body, requires extraordinary strength from within which MP Anil Kumar had in abundance!
He'd joined school in '73 and had passed out in '81 only to join the 65th course of the NDA. He, then, passed out of the Academy as the Best Air Force Cadet of the passing out course and had won the coveted medal for excelling in aerobatics as an under trainee in the IAF.
MP, as he's popularly known, did not resign to his pitiful state and while being an inmate of the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre at Kirkee, for the past 26 years, used to write articles in the national English dailies and the journal, Indian Defence Review. Initially, he used to make his literary forays by holding the pen in his mouth and had later on, graduated to the computer with a special keyboard and used a stick held by his mouth yet again, to punch his thoughts on the keyboard . His autobiography 'Airborne to chairborne' gives an excellent narration of how he'd overcome all odds and as to how he was at peace with his life without any regret.
His story has since been incorporated into the class X English syllabus by the government of Maharashtra and five years back, the Kerala government had included it in the class VIII syllabus.
He'd celebrated his 50th birthday on 05 May but the sad news was that he was fighting another deadly enemy, in the form of blood cancer, by that time. Despite his fighting spirit and the prayers of his relatives, friends and school mates, he'd passed into the mist of time yesterday. His mortal remains were consigned to the flames at the Bopodi crematorium at 1130h today. He's survived by his mother, a brother and two sisters.
RIP, MP! My salutes for your grit in the face of great adversity and the positive outlook that you exuded always. Here's wishing that your family is able to muster the strength to pass through these difficult times. And I'm certain that your life story shall be the inspiration for generations to come.
Tailpiece.
I'd last met MP in Jun '12 when we'd a school get together at the NDA. He was a keen participant in all the serials and showed a childlike eagerness to interact with each and everyone of us.
PS.
And yes, he was roll no.1122 at school!
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