Engineer with cerebral palsy Jasmina Khanna shares the secret behind her incredible spirit

Jasmina Khanna, a Senior Systems Engineer with the multinational company Syntel. Jasmina, is 46 years old, lives in Mumbai and is a wheelchair user.

“I have always believed that if you want something, you have to go out and get it“, says Jasmina. “I had to travel far from my home in the suburbs to St Xavier’s College as it was the only college that had an elevator at the time. I have never allowed myself to drown in self-pity.”

Hard work and perseverance, she believes is the only way forward. “I was determined to be financially independent but I didn’t know how. I had ideas like giving tuition but nothing worked out. In India the mentality is that if you are physically disabled, you are seen as not having a mind of your own. So no parents came forward to send their children to me for tuition.”

She says that even at Syntel, where she now works, she was initially taken on as a contractual employee because of her disability. “In eight months, they took me on the payroll as a permanent employee at double the salary. I proved myself with hard work. “

Jasmina is passionate about her work and spends much of her time in office. In her spare time she loves to listen to music, watch movies and go out with her friends.

Her motto? “Never give up. Obstacles will come but work hard and prove yourself and opportunities will follow you.”

Watch in Sign Language