Jahangeer Ganaie
Pampore, May 12: A 16-year-old young writer from Pulwama district affected by polio has been fighting her disability with her creative writing skills.
Irtika Mehraj (16), a resident of Khrew town of Pampore hamlet who got affected by polio, has written three books so far about her life and hardships.
Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Irtika Mehraj said she was interested in writing since her childhood but she got more inclined towards writing when she lost her walking ability when she was 12.
Despite facing disability at her very young age, she didn’t give up but she became an example for all those who consider themselves weak in their life and think that they can’t do anything in their life.
“I have faced a lot of difficulties in my life at a young age and am still facing difficulties. I have been keeping my spirits up while overcoming the difficulties in my life,” Irtika Mehraj said.
She has been expressing her creative pursuit sparked by her sense of special-ability through writing and has written three books titled, “The Star Shines in Dark,” “The Deep Secret” and “Desires were Illusions” so far.
“When I lost my walking ability, my movement remained confined to my room for some time. That took a toll on my mental health. It took me some time to get out of the dark moments when I realized that disability isn’t an end to my life and life is full of colours and happiness,” She said.
“Besides touching on different issues in my books, I have written about my sufferings, loneliness, poverty and other challenges of a disabled person in my books,” she said.
She said that disability isn’t the end of her life, it doesn’t mean she can’t do anything. Keeping this in mind, she wants to encourage all the people facing difficulties in this world so that they can follow their dreams.
I have seen many people leaving their dreams because of their disability and hardships,” Irtika says. “But I decided to write about my hardships and overcoming them to inspire people to achieve their dreams, rather than getting discouraged.”
She has chosen the path of writing because she doesn’t want all the specially abled people in this world to leave their dreams behind.
Her unique perspective, shaped by her special abilities, sets her apart from other young writers in the region as instead of feeling limited by her condition, Irtika uses it as inspiration for her creativity.
“It is not everybody’s cup of tea to write their pain with a pen as there are very few people who can give words to their woes. My aim in life is to encourage all such people to overcome challenges and live a joyful life,” she said—(KNO)
