CAVIN KARE ABILITY AWARDS FOR 2009

[KODAKKAL SHIVAPRASAD]

CavinKare ABILITY Awards 2009
Location: Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall
(Inside Lady Andal School Campus), Chennai

Jury:
Mr. A. R. Rahman - Music Director
Dr. Mohini Giri - Chairperson, Guild of Service
Mr. N. Murali - Managing Director, The Hindu
Ms. Revathy - Actor/Director
Mr. Radhamohan - Film Director

Guests of Honor:
Dr.V.Krishnamurthy - Chairman, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council
Mr.M.S.Sundara Rajan - Chairman & Managing Director, Indian Bank
Mr.N.Ram - Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu


The Award Winners

CavinKare ABILITY Award for Eminence:

JAVED AHMAD TAK (Anantnag, Jammu & Kashmir) The scars of bullet-hit Kashmir are unending. The adversity that can bring out the best or the worst in people. With Javed Ahmad Tak, it was the former. Bruised and maimed by a militant attack nearly eleven years ago, leaving him a paraplegic, with a host of other related problems; Javed turned his adversity into a mission. Spearheading a movement for peace and rehabilitation in a strife torn town, he used the media to create awareness and sensitisation programmes on disability and has established an organisation that caters to the needs of people with all disabilities.
* Click to see the video

The CavinKare ABILITY Mastery Awards:

NITYANANDA DAS (Bhubaneshwar, Orissa) “The beauty of life is an endless struggle". This epitomises the life, struggles and triumphs of Nityananda Das. He has risen like a phoenix from the ravages and scars of a gruesome accident that left him- a professional dancer- with only one leg. His love and passion for Odissi dance, a positive attitude, immense self-will and confidence, sustained by the love and support of his Guru, have helped him overcome seemingly insurmountable odds-physical and emotional. Continuing to dance on one leg, he has also started a dance school, "Kalashram" and is today, a dancer, teacher and choreographer in his own right.
* Click to see the video

RAJIV RAJAN (Chenni, Tamil Nadu) A person with cerebral palsy, Rajiv Rajan has combated innumerable odds - big and small - disability being the least of them. Negative mindsets, condescending attitudes, unfriendly atmosphere - all these, he battled through sheer self belief and a never-say-die spirit, advocating what disabled people can do and no what they cannot do. A born leader and team member through his work at Vidya Sagar as well as a member of several committees, he is the epitome of the saying, 'Where there is a will, there is a way'.
* Click to see the video

SAI PRASAD VISHWANATHAN (Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh) "Life is meant to be lived", an apt quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, best sums up young Sai Prasad Vishwanathan. Defying a crippling, life threatening, progressive disability, this young man, has overcome great odds in his pursuit of academic excellence and has succeeded...and how! He is also one of the few to have been given a full research fellowship in the field of Computer Architecture and Chip Design at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. His recent sky-diving achievement too, sums up his mantra,"...nothing to stop you from pursuing your dreams... Just do it!"
* Click to see the video
Click to see Cavinkare ABILITY Awards 2009 - Jury Meet