48-yr-old helps disabled across the world get back on their feet

Ramesh Thakur may not have invented the famous Jaipur foot but with the help of the revolutionary prosthesis the 48yearold has helped thousands of people spanning races creeds and continents get back on their feet For the last eight years every individual who has entered the King George Memorial Hospital in Mahalaxmi with hopes of being able to walk again has been able to do soAfter spending 25 years helping people in different countries Ramesh Thakur is now working at the Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust at Mahalaxmi to continue his lifersquos mission PicSuresh KKBe it as a Red Cross volunteer or working under the Untied Nations and even as a representative of India Thakur working along with the peace mission battalion of Indian Army has reached out to people in over 15 countries including Sudan Afghanistan Vietnam and Namibia with just one mission to get disabled people back on their feetA former colleague of Baba Amte and the Limca Book record holder for completing the 100 meter race handicaps in 1729 seconds in 2005 the fastest Indian to do so Thakur now works at Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust an NGO in Mahalaxmi to help people get rid of their crutches and wheelchairsHumble beginningThakur was born in Bharuch a village in Gujarat to a middleclass family His artistic aspirations came to a screeching halt when he lost his right leg in a train accident at the age of 16 ldquoI was admitted to a civic hospital where I witnessed doctors trying their best to save my limb but couldnrsquotIt seemed liked the world crashed around me when they amputated my leg A few days later a doctor showed me a magazine article about Jaipur foot a new affordable and effective prosthesis invented to help disabled people walk in matter of hours That article changed the course of my liferdquo said ThakurHe travelled to Jaipur and met Devendra Raj Mehta founder of Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahyata Samiti Thakur not only requested Mehta to get the prosthetic leg but also asked for a job Mehta asked the 16yearold what kind of work he would be able to doldquoI had completed an electrical supervisor course after my Std X examination I told him I could fix machines and electric circuits but he didnrsquot believe me As a test he took me to a machine that had not been working and I fixed it within a few hours He gave me the jobrdquo recounted ThakurLearning the artThakurrsquos aspirations did not end there He spent years working under Ram Chander Sharma and Dr P K Sethi the inventors of Jaipur foot and decided to carry the baton of this inexpensive prosthesis around the world to help disabled people who cannot afford the costly variantsAside from participating with 87 cyclists travelling from Arunachal Pradesh to Okha with Baba Amte for his Bharat Jodo Abhiyan Thakurrsquos journey to help people took him to 15 countries alongside the Indian Army ldquoAs representatives of the country our mission was to attend to the disabled needy and injured peopleWe did our work without fear and consider it the highest service towards mankindrdquo said Thakur Asked if he was ever intimidated while working in volatile areas of the world Thakur said that he was instead amazed and humbled by the generosity of people ldquoIn Afghanistan the security guard assigned to me would refuse to eat till I did not sit with himIn Vietnam we helped a man walk again who had been disabled for 20 years He praised us in front of their Prime Minister who impressed by the efforts of the Indian doctors personally called P V Narasimha Rao then Prime Minister of India and promised that the Vietnamese army would teach Indian soldiers the famous Guerrilla Fighting technique in returnrdquo recalled ThakurRemembering a Nairobi doctor he mentioned how he offered his food and could not even look back when Thakur was leaving the country ldquoWe made many wonderful relationships made many smile when they could stand walk and run on their feetMany countries and their ministers applauded our efforts but in the end it was our countryrsquos name that was being praised which was an enormous satisfactionrdquo said Thakur After spending 25 years serving the world Thakur finally settled in Mumbai in 2006ldquoI was happy that our work in different countries helped improve their relations with India but I realised that it was time to work for my own people That is when Rajubhai Mehta asked me to handle his Mumbai centre When I see someone walk with crutches I want himher to walk free of any supportrdquo he said