I'm Sravani Ramachandran. I have done my done MBA in HR. I met with an accident 12 years ago because of which I am a paraplegic - which means that my spinal cord is cut because of which I am paralyzed chest down and need to use a wheelchair for my mobility. I am currently working with Infosys as a part of the CIS, HR team.

Being an innate optimist, I have not let my disability come in the way of my pursuits and have gone behind many an interest and am continuing to do that. I am an amateur artist, working on exploring many a media and trying ardently to get better at it In the last few years, I have been working on giving other differently abled artists a platform to showcase their talent and let their ability speak for them.

They say, " Falling down is an accident; staying down is a choice". Things changed very drastically post my accident. But I have not let my disability become a hurdle in my pursuits.

• I took to art during my recovery days and that came to my rescue. Initially it was meant to be a distraction from all the pain. But eventually it went on to do a lot more. I started with sketching, tried pastels, moved to oil paints and explored the black and white pen art. I have been getting calendars done out of my artwork for the last 10 years where in every year I work on a different theme.
• As I got better, I got the opportunity of displaying my artwork at any exhibitions and to also involved in Live Painting
• I realized that there are many other differently abled artists who have not let their disability come in the way of their creative pursuits and have chosen art as a medium of their expression and wanted to provide a platform for such artists.
• With this intent in May 2019, via Rotary Bangalore Abilities, I organized Canvas, an art exhibition at the Chitrakala Parishad, where all the 30 participants were artists with disabilities. We had 16 art works sold; some of the proceeds were given as scholarships to 5 meritorious deserving students
• In March 2022, I organized “Art from the Heart”, a 2-day art exhibition at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad, showcasing the art works of 28 artists with different disabilities including but not limited to autism, speech and hearing impairment, down syndrome and locomotor disabilities. I managed the program completely - raising funds, advertising, getting eminent guests, organizing mementos for the artists, arranging for media coverage etc.. Because of all of this, we had 54 art works sold.
• In 2018, I organized an Origami workshop for the Rotary Bangalore Abilities Club where all the participants were people with visual impairment
• In May 2022, I was invited to display our artwork at the Ophthalmology conference organized at IISc by Rotary Club of Bangalore. For this, I teamed up with a few differently abled artists – speech and hearing impairment and cerebral palsy.

I believe in “looking beyond” the disability and recognising the ability of people and hence have been working on initiatives which would bring this ability to the fore. I intend to reach out to a bigger pool of such differently abled but talented artists and give them a bigger and better platform to showcase their amazing talent to the world out there. The fact that I am not letting my “disability” come in my way of my pursuits and I am able to do all this for the others in the PWD community makes be eligible for this award.

“When you refuse to hide your scars, they become a lighthouse for someone else” I

have been wanting more people with disabilities to explore their creative sides and explore art as a medium. If I were to receive this award, I am sure it would be like a beacon of hope for the many other women with disabilities out there. If I can achieve something like this, so can they! I would network with more women and work on bigger platforms which would bring to light the many hidden talents of the artists and showcase the same to the outside world. On the career front, I have just moved to Infosys, getting back to my area of interest- HR. This award would perhaps speak very strongly for my abilities and would ensure that my new colleagues would look beyond my disability when I am working on proving my mettle there.

• Other than being an amateur artist, I have also been taking part in marathons being organized to create awareness about many a prevalent issue in the society
• I have also been penning down notes and poems and a couple of them have been published in some newsletters and spinal groups and I am told people find it very motivating and can relate to me better.
• I have been giving motivational talks - at the local and corporate level. primarily about the lessons that life has taught me post my accident. Through these talks, I reiterate the importance of pursuing our interests seriously and to not let go of opportunities that come our way.