(Hindi to English)

My name is Tinkesh Kaushik.

Basically, I belong to Haryana. Currently, I am living in Goa, for the last 3 years.

When I was 9 years old, I was flying a kite on the roof.

Electric wires of 11,000 volts pass from inside my house - and my kite got stuck in that.

I was barefoot and got electrocuted and was flung 2 feet away. As a result my left arm and both my legs got completely burnt on the spot itself.

Later on, they had to be amputated.

Um after that um, after the amputation I was admitted in the hospital for 3 months.

When I got discharged, life had completely changed for me.

Mobility and how to go about moving was a big challenge for me. 

So, in the beginning my mother really helped, she supported me immensely. 

Mostly, it was she who used to carry me in her arms, whether it was to school, in the bus, to the hospital or for anything else at all.

She did this for nearly 3 years.

However at home, I started walking around on my knees and slowly that became a habit. 

When I am not using my prosthetics, I use my knees to walk, when at home.

After graduating in 2015, from 2016 I started my journey in fitness and ventured into sports. 

In 2016, I participated first in the marathons in Delhi. 

Till then I was using Jaipur foot, for about 13 or 14 years. Since getting hurt at 3 years of age, I was using Jaipur foot. But when I came into sports, my requirements were different. 

So, I needed advanced prosthetics to continue my passion.

So, from then on…when my video went viral, a foundation from Hyderabad reached out to me.

They sponsored my first advanced prosthetic.

Further, they trained me in Para-Cycling for 2 years all over India.

After my name featured in the Limca book of records, I continued my journey.

Then in 2020, in Pune, I opened my…India's first inclusive gym where I used to train both non-disabled and people with disabilities.

But it did not work out because I had started it just before COVID and it had to be shut down, as there were maximum lockdowns in Maharashtra at that time.

Then I shifted to Goa with my family.

As soon as I shifted to Goa, I set another record.

I am the first Indian disabled person who has dived under 10 metres in   open seawater.

So that is too a record that I set automatically.

And apart from this, I am active in many sports.

I play sports for fun.

Mostly I am passionate about adventure sports and I continue that.

Then uhh, after this, currently, I am working as a fitness coach consultant.

I guide people with disabilities on how they can train themselves, no matter what type of disability they have. How they can do everything and how there are alternative ways to train every muscle in the body.  

For me, disability does not matter.

This is my personal point of view because there is nothing that I cannot do with my body.

I have chosen a profession in which I use my complete body without any excuse.

So, it does not matter to me.

But there are a few things which I cannot do, for obvious reasons.

Like, for example, I can't drive because as per government rules I am not allowed to.

But I can drive an automatic car, but that goes against the rules.

For me, nothing is impossible.

In April this year, I am going to go one step further. 

I plan to set another record, I’m going to trek to the Everest Base Camp.

I will continue to do all the adventurous things that are there on my bucket list, where I will use my body. 

I will not make any excuse, not use my disability as an excuse.

That is a different factor.

So, for me, those things do not matter.

Thank you.