Address by Siddharth Jayakumar - Power Talk

The second day of L'Attitude 13 05 got underway with Power talks by people who have lived life on their own terms and who, perhaps, for the same reason, are a source of inspiration for many of us.

Mr. Siddharth Jayakumar is a certified 'Documentary Credit Specialist' (CDCS) from Institute of Financial Services, UK & is India’s first CDCS with Cerebral Palsy. He is a recipient of National award in 2008 by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment - The “Best Employee with Cerebral Palsy”.

Highlights of his address (non verbatim) -

Siddharth's speech was one that every person would remember as the most inspirational speech of L'Attitude 13 05. Siddharth suffers from a neurological condition called Cerebral Palsy that affects the coordination between his mind and body.

Always defeat the problem. You cannot allow the problem to defeat you were some of his first words...

How many of you manage yourself? How do you make your presence felt? How do you make people accept you? That is where the challenge lies for me. I learnt to manage my limitations very well...How can I blame myself for something that is not in my control?

I used to talk very fast that even my parents could not understand me. I realized that and then I put in every effort to talk slow. That is a very painful process because it is not easy to beat your own mind...

I cannot write my own exam. I have to depend on somebody. Once, I had a person who did not even know English to write my history exam. I had to dictate the 3 hour paper letter by letter. I became very stubborn then. I decided to become mentally tough to be able to handle these situations...

It is easy to have a lot of thoughts, but how many can we really implement? Implementation was not very easy for me...I succeeded because I wanted to succeed.

A lot of insensitive people just happened to put me down without understanding my problem. The doctors could not diagnose my problem for 9 years. A school refused to admit me because I was different. If somebody else was in my situation, they would have just given up...

My parents are people who never expected something great out of me. I never passed on any responsibility to my parents. Accepting responsibilities for who you are and accepting whatever result you get for your action, that is what I did. It is very easy for me to blame the system, but blaming the the system will make me a loser. After 6 years of my career, I have met a lot of people who cannot come to terms with my ability no matter how much they know me...

I learnt that there is no second opportunity for me. Many people take their opportunities for granted. Every single opportunity I had, I had to grab it and deliver the best I can...

He ended the address with the words Everyday I think about how I can make myself better!

Siddharth's speech was about the story of his own personal triumph over his limitations. On the one hand, it is deeply personal, while, on the other, it is a lesson in exercise of will power, perseverance and a deep seated urge to succeed despite overwhelming odds. One that we would remember for a long time in our lives...!