The Shero With a Golden Spirit - Bharti Seth

I recently got a chance to interview a woman that I am most inspired by; Bharti Seth. She is an independent and confident differently-abled woman. Bharti has polio but this doesn't define her as a person. We often make this mistake of highlighting the disability upon ability, but not anymore.

Bharti always wanted to be a teacher and she was able to fulfil her dream when she got a chance to teach at Kendriya Vidyalaya, the most prestigious government school. I chatted with Bharti to know more about her journey.

Ques: Bharti, how do you see yourself and what you have learned on this journey?

Bharti: I see myself as a creation of God. I believe that I was brought into this world, with a specific aim. For me, the meaning of success is to be able to ignite a positive change in the life of the individual in front of me. Being a woman gives me strength to understand others’ emotions and to see life from their perspective. According to me, a woman has the potential to spread hope and love in the society, to enable a positive change.

Ques: If you could do something to remove all the stereotypes of disability from the society, what would it be?

Bharti: My message to everyone is that it's not the person, who has a disability, it is the institutions, that are disabled, which can't provide facilities for a physically challenged person. I take life as a challenge and feel that people with extra will-power and inner strength are given such challenges by God.

Ques: Do you feel people with disabilities don't like to talk about love and relationship, or maybe the non-disabled people think they don't like to talk about it.. what are your views about it?

Bharti: In my opinion, physically challenged people have the same emotions as others have about the feeling of love. Like everyone, people who are physically challenged also wait for Mr. Right or Ms. Right in their life.

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Ques: Do you think that there's a problem of employment for the persons with disabilities? What do you think we could do to solve this problem?

Bharti: Norms of society are completely different on paper and in the manner of its execution. I  have also been through this kind of discrimination, wherein, we have the deep knowledge about your subject but the stereotypes towards a physically challenged person often comes into play. I wish that our society develops little more faith in a physically challenged person so that we could also have equal job opportunities.

Ques: What is your advice to parents of children with disabilities - how can they be supportive, and plan well?

Bharti: My advice is to make them independent, to never see the child with pity in your eyes and give them a normal environment, instead of treating them as different or special. Have a significant goal in your mind and work together with the child to achieve it.

Ques: You are a professional teacher. Do you consider it as a dream job? If not a teacher, what would you want to be?

Bharti: Yes, I am already having my dream job. I have always wanted to be a teacher since I was a little kid, and the subject that I really wanted to teach was either science or maths. However, due to some unavoidable circumstances, I was forced to take Hindi, as my basic subject. Yet, I still enjoy my job from the first day of my joining.

Ques: What are your future plans? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Bharti: I really would like to see myself as principal in at Kendriya Vidyalaya School (she says with a shine in her eyes). I also have a couple of dream destinations; I would really love to visit Kerala, Goa, and Mumbai in next five years.

I am honoured to speak to such an amazing woman, who became the SHERO of her own life and the author of her own destiny. We celebrate the spirit of dedication and hard work, which makes her a strong woman, and the person she is today.

Mothers are often the primary caregivers of children with disabilities. To support them, we started our community “Moms Know - No Limits”. This is a space to share experiences, get advice and support, and learn and grow, together as a community.

Download the SHEROES app and join our community for moms of kids with a disability here.