Vivekananda Naredulla, a bilateral amputee has big plans for the future

Vivekananda Naredulla, a bilateral amputee without limbs is a blogger, traveler and entrepreneur pursuing his MBA at IIM Bengaluru. In ‘My Take’ this week, Vivekananda talks about his journey and how he has beaten odds after an unexpected disability in life to become a successful youth.

I was born and raised in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. My family comprising of parents and an elder sibling have always been supportive of me and my dreams. I had a normal childhood and since a very young age, I was studious and wanted to put my heart and soul into academics.

Life changing incident

It was in 2018 October when I got electrocuted, an incident that changed my life. I lost both my hands below elbows. I was working as a software developer with a company in Hyderabad during that time. I had so much plans for the future and wanted to become an entrepreneur. So soon after the accident, I wondered what was going to be there in store for me in the future.

“Those days were tough. I did multiple surgeries and spent many days in the hospital. I came back home and my mother was with me throughout. I needed help for everything and that made me sadder. How will I survive alone? Can I do anything independently without my hands from here on? These questions kept flashing on my mind”.

We all know that it is our hands, one of the important parts of our body, which helps us to become independent. I lost both of them. So what next? I decided to gather all broken pieces to start anew. I had to learn to do things on my own. So for a month, I tried doing things with my legs. I ordered a laptop and designed it to suit to my needs and requirements. Slowly, I realized with practice, nothing was impossible.

Path to being independent

Since I was a software developer, working on technology wasn’t hard. I could do things on my own. Once bandages from my hands were removed, I realized I could use my hands also to an extent. From holding a spoon to using my mobile, I’am doing everything on my own now. In fact, I started becoming more positive and gained confidence.

Since I had to learn to do new things, I started doing my research on it as well. I even started travelling on my own to know the experience. It was bliss and liberating!

In February 2019, I opened my start-up company Helplena Solutions to promote businesses. I always wanted to become an entrepreneur and this I believe, was the first step.

“My parents always pushed me to find a government job because it makes your life secure. There are quotas for people with disabilities. But none for amputees without hands. I knocked doors of many government offices, but they said that they cannot provide opening to someone without hands since that is the law”.

Success comes with determination

I wrote a few competitive exams and got placed in a leading Bank as an Information Technology Officer. But I wasn’t happy there though my parents were. I did not see any prospects and I knew my career wouldn’t grow either. So I decided to write CAT exams. I had to drop the plans earlier due to my accident.

I scored a 97.63 percentile for CAT and got through all IIM’s across India. I chose Bengaluru IIM because of the support they have given to students with disabilities in their previous batches. My classes commenced in August 2020.

“I want to start my own company and become an entrepreneur. That is my long term goal. As of now, I want to learn and extend my skills in management”.

Watch in Sign Language

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