Nakul Shivani/ New Delhi
In the winter of 2009, Insha Bashir had just returned from school. Suffering from ulcers and oral bleeding, this 12th class student of Mazrul Haq School, Beerwah in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir decided to soak in the sun in her home balcony only to fall down flat on her back following a bout of nausea.
That day to today, is a journey of a lively little girl from being wheelchair-bound to becoming the first woman from Jammu and Kashmir to represent India in Basketball.
“After my fall, I woke up the next day at a hospital surrounded by doctors and family. I did not know what had happened. No one was telling me anything,” says the 29-year-old soft spoken Insha.
“I thought this was a routine injury and I would be discharged after necessary first aid,” she adds.
But that was not to be. Her next three months were spent in the isolation of a hospital in the care of doctors and nurses.
Little did Insha know that her world had changed forever. The incident left her paralyzed waist down making her bed-ridden for five years.
The doctors kept giving her hope. “They said I will be fine, I should be brave. I saw my parents crying. Gradually, I figured out on my own that I was paralysed. But I thought I will be fine after sometime,” she says.
“For many years, nobody shared with me the gravity of the injury,” she adds. Whenever she asked her parents about it, they would change the topic of discussion. Her parents, who have stood by her like a rock, kept telling her that she will be fine one day.
She was taken to as far as Mumbai and Delhi in the hope of a miracle.
“But miracles happen in films, not in real life,” says Insha with a tinge of regret.
Finally, in 2012, the news was finally broken to her. She will never be able to walk again. For the aspiring doctor who loved playing cricket in her neighbourhood, the world came crashing down.
Insha Bashir practicing her moves on a Basketball court
“I went into depression. The next few years were very tough. I was confined to my room, did not speak to anyone, did not know what to do,” she says.
Sometimes it’s an adversity that turns life around. In 2015 her father, a retired-school teacher, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome. Her father’s condition shook her badly. That is when she gave up self-pity and moved on to make most of her life.
Dr Salim Wani at SKIMS Medical College in Srinagar told her that with her father suffering from an incurable disease, she should take charge of her life.
“And that’s what I did. I went into rehab. The Voluntary Medicare Society based in Bemina, Srinagar held my hand and showed me the way,” says Insha.
At the society she learnt doing daily chores by herself. The time she spent there allowed her to feel independent and taught her to be mentally strong.
This was a huge change after having been physically carried by her father all this while, she was able to use a wheelchair and do a lot of stuff on her own.
And things were only going get better. One day she saw a group of boys playing Basketball, and decided to play with them. She was the only girl among all the boys.
After having gone through bouts of depression, she was beginning to fall in love with life again.
“Sports has made me spring back to life,” she says with excitement.
She played at the district level, then state and finally wore the India jersey when she went to USA to play in a Basketball tournament in 2019.
"Sports has helped me spring back to life" - Insha Bashir
Her success there led to the then Union Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju gifting her an expensive sports wheelchair. That literallu gave her wings to fly. After sharing a sports wheelchair with others for playing, she finally had one of her own.
“My father always used to say beta make me proud one day. After my selection, I fulfilled his wish,” she says.
Insha was part of the Indian team that participated in the Wheelchair International Basketball tournament held in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, that won silver medal.
She has not let her physical challenges come in the way of becoming a role-model for Kashmiri girls.
“I come from a conservative society. Girls have a tough life. Anyone with physical challenges has a tougher life. I wanted to be the pioneer of showing the way to girls whose dreams were broken,” says Insha with confidence.
A B.Ed from Kashmir university, after finishing her Masters in social work from Delhi university, Insha currently volunteers at the Voluntary Medicare in Srinagar.
“I want to make future safe for girls in the country. I don’t want them to fall into depression when they face an adversity. I am working to help people not let their dreams break.”
She is aiming even higher.
“I want to become the first Kashmiri to win an Olympic medal. Playing for India at the Paralympics is my big dream,” she says.
She has inspired many physically challenged girls in the state to pick up the sport and excel in it. Along with her, another girl from Kashmir valley, Ishrat too was part of the silver medal winning Indian team that took part in the Noida championship.
From an ordinary girl next door Insha has moved to become a role model, an inspiration for people suffering from physical disabilities.
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“Disability is a state of mind. My wheels are my wings,” says Insha before turning her wheelchair for a throw at the basket.
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