On Father’s day, meet real-life heroes who stand like rock for their differently-abled kids

They may not express their feelings openly, but can go the extra mile when it comes to helping out their children and protecting them from every negativity like a shield. They are the fathers! This Father’s Day, Tribune correspondent Aakanksha Bhardwaj and lensman Sarabjit Singh have come up with awe-inspiring stories of these real-life heroes who have always stood like a rock for their kids.

A home for Down’s syndrome kids

Father of 36-year-old Jasjit Kaur, who is afflicted with Down’s syndrome, Amarjit Singh Anand (67) is one of the brave fathers you will ever know. “Humaare pairo ke niche se zameen nikal gayi thi, jab humein bachi ki disease ke bare mein pata chala,” he says remembering the time when he got to know that his daughter was diagnosed with the disease. He winded up his business and dedicated his life towards working for people suffering from Down’s syndrome. Around 10 years after his daughter was born, he opened Punjab’s first parents’ association for such people called “Chaanan”. “The only motive behind opening a centre was to provide these kids with a home where they can stay even if we are not alive. They will at least be having this centre where they will be taken care of,” the emotional father said.

No sight, but has a vision

Harjinder Singh, father of visually-impaired cricketer Tejinder Pal Singh who had won the Cricket World Cup for Blind held at Cape Town, South Africa, has only one wish to see his son at a respectable post. “My son didn’t suffer from any ailment till he was in Class V. Later, due to reaction of some medicine, he lost his sight. We have faced a lot of problems in our life, but my son has proved that no obstacle can stop him. He has won several other tournaments too, but is posted as a peon. I want the government to give him a job that he deserves,” the father said.

Cerebral palsy no hurdle for this karate kid

Arvinder Singh’s son Navjot Singh (24) suffers from cerebral palsy, but despite it, he holds a black belt in karate. Arvinder said the journey was not easy. “But it is the will power of my son that made him reach this level. His inner strength is much higher than normal people,” he shared. He had also been to several places for his son’s treatment. “We did all possible things for him and will always be supporting him in the future too,” he said.

Single dad does it alone

Raghu Behal, a businessman, is a single father to his 11-year-old son Sanyam. Sanyam was diagnosed with autism when he was just two-year-old. This is when Behal’s whole world came tumbling down. He travelled the length and breadth of the country to find proper treatment for his child’s problem. In this journey, he also lost his wife to cancer last year and is now looking after his son all alone. But he didn’t sit back, crying over the ordeal. He now runs a “Centre for autism” foundation for other autistic kids. Initially, the centre was started with just two rooms, but it now has grown to cater to a large number of needy kids.

He opened hospital in son’s memory

Life of Kamaljit Singh Bhatia, former Senior Deputy Mayor, was shattered when he lost his 16-year-old son in a road accident. Chanpreet Singh was his only son. He died in September 2011 and it was in 2012 on his death anniversary that Bhatia opened a charitable hospital. With 10 beds, experienced doctors, ambulance service, labs and X-ray facilities, Chanpreet Memorial Charitable Hospital helped a lot of people during the Covid pandemic. At the hospital, patients were given free of charge bed tea and healthy food, including three meals, turmeric milk, fruits, juice and coconut water. “I did this to keep my son’s memories alive and to get needy people’s blessings,” he said.

Helping him improve his dancing skills

Manish Aggarwal, a teacher and father of 19-year-old Bhavnish, is proud of his son’s achievement. Aggarwal identified his son’s passion for dance while he was young and in the past two years, Bhavnish has won several awards for his talent and is also learning dance at an institution. Being a teacher himself, he also teaches his son and ensures that he does exercise daily. “My son wishes to open an academy of his own. I’m not sure if people will be hesitant in learning dance from a differently-abled person. But being his father, I always support him in his life decisions and provide him with every help that he needs,” he said.

Strength behind this chess champion

Mallika Handa, a city-based speech and hearing-impaired chess champion, is a known personality. She won a silver medal in the World Deaf Blitz Chess Championship. Her father Suresh Handa shares a beautiful bond with his daughter. An accountant by profession, Handa said it was not easy to accompany her everywhere, but he did go with her most of the times as she was his priority.

Super granddad of autistic kid

Three-year-old Ajeeta Sharma was diagnosed with autism around a year ago. Inderjit Sharma, her grandfather, who is from Nangal, often travels from there to Jalandhar with her for her treatment. “She is my family. I will do everything possible to make her health and life better,” he said.