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| Mahesh, Thrissur |
It was like the ever-tightening grip of octopus that the spino-muscular atrophy crippled Mahesh in his teens. Helpless, his life soon reduced to a condemned existence in a room in a thatched house.
But the young Mahesh who had once dreamt of films and paintings, wasn't to be cowed down. He took paper as his medium and started drawing pictures. Soon he was illustrating characters in the books of fiction and poetry that he read. In addition, he started coaching school children.
His next break came at the age of 27 when a friend Sijoy entered his life. This friend took him pinion-riding in his scooter to see and feel rain and shine, to watch movies or just watch nature. He further coaxed him to learn computer basics. And when Mahesh became proficient, Sijoy arranged a room in his house for Mahesh to teach young students.
With the demise of Sijoy, Mahesh's world of joy too came to a standstill. And yet again, another helping hand of the Unseen was manifest in the gift of an old computer by a relative. With a Net connection, the world opened up for him. He learned AutoCAD, 3D Max and Java on his own.
In the meanwhile, he prepared a plan for the house of Panchayat engineer. That boosted his confidence. He decided to go ahead with plan preparation as a professional. He soon picked up the sasthra of Vastu and did not have to look back since then.
In the meanwhile, he completed his graduation also. Again his friends came to his aid by gifting him a battery-operated wheelchair. He calls it his wings. Today, in all districts of Kerala except Thiruvananthapuram, and then at Mangalore and Coimbatore, buildings based on his plan are being constructed.
Mahesh visits sites and prepares plans based on the characteristics of light and wind. He does site supervision alone at other places, but accepts contract for construction in Thrissur district.
Pravitha is his wife. The couple plan to adopt a child. And true to his teenage dream, Mahesh hopes to act in a movie one day.
Courtesy: Maneesh Chemanchery (text and photo), Mathrubhumi, December 4, 2016
