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“I have strong will power. After my accident my only thought was about rehabilitation”

In August 2022, Arvind Kumar Mishra was travelling from his native place Kanpur to Chitrakoot, standing near the door of the train, when he lost his balance and fell onto the tracks. He lost both his legs in the accident. The 41-year-old described how his stable life had turned topsy-turvy.
 
The youngest of four children in his family, Arvind had been very good in studies in school and had started taking tuitions after he passed 12th grade. After graduation he chose teaching as a career and excelled in it. He used to be an English teacher in Karmayogi Vidyaniketan, and he had been honoured for his teaching prowess by the local MLA Ajay Kapoor and by the teachers’ association. With his wife Shivani, also a teacher, and their son Yatarth, he led what he called a “normal middle class life”.
 
Earth-shattering though it was, the accident could not suppress Arvind’s spirit. “I have very strong will power and a high level of confidence,” he says. “While I was lying in hospital my only thought was, what next? How do I get out of here? How do I rehabilitate myself?” He decided to get fitted with artificial legs. After much delay and confusion over whether the nature of the amputation would allow for prosthetic implants, he finally got it done with the help of the president of the local BJP unit, Anupam Mishra.
 
As if his medical issues were not enough, Arvind then had to battle with red tape. The Indian Railways Act stipulates compensation for deaths and injuries in rail accidents. Arvind has received nothing so far. Meanwhile his father died (his mother had died 20 years ago) and he has been running from pillar to post to get his father’s pension transferred to his name. “The authorities keep asking for this file and that, making me go from one place to another,” he says.
 
Arvind says he is able to do everything on his own without depending on anyone; besides his prosthetic legs he has a wheelchair and a disability tricycle. However, all his energy is spent on trying to claim pension and compensation, and he hasn’t been able to enjoy his leisure, although he did say he likes listening to Mohammed Rafi songs. When he isn’t out chasing government authorities he is home alone while Shivani goes to teach in a private school and Yatarth goes to class in 12th grade. Before the accident, during the Covid epidemic when schools had shut, he had started a YouTube channel “English with Arvind Mishra”. Nowadays, when he has time on his hands he teaches neighbouring kids. Once teaching enters your blood, it’s hard to let go!