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bikram

bikram
bhattarai , sikkim

Bikram Bhattarai (20) sits outdoors on a narrow metal bench, facing the camera. There are trees and potted plants behind him and misty hills in the distance. A pair of pinkish red rubber slippers lies on the ground to the left of the bench. He wears dark brown pants and a tan-coloured full-sleeved shirt over a black T-shirt. The sleeves of the shirt hang loosely since he has no arms. His hair has a side parting and his thin beard is joined to an equally sparse drooping moustache. He is looking down at a red acoustic guitar placed flat on the ground in front of him. He is plucking a string with his right big toe and pressing down on the fretboard with his left big toe. A white cat with a greenish-grey forehead sits on his right thigh with its right eye shut and its mouth open as if it is mewing.
Bikram sits in a chair in a corner of a room with one blue wall and one grey wall. He wears brown trousers and a blue full-sleeved sweater with a zip down the front and a white zigzag pattern across the chest. His right leg is folded at the knee and he is gripping an open book between his big toe and long toe. The L-shaped desk behind him is made of beige-coloured wood and has drawers with steel handles. A flat-screen desktop computer is placed at the crook of the L shape and there are several books to its right. There is a row of books with their spines showing and on either side of the row there are books stacked one on top of the other.
Bikram sits cross-legged on a floor with a plain grey carpet. He wears dark brown trousers and a vermillion windcheater with the hoodie strings hanging loose down either side of his neck. He is looking down at a rectangular sheet of paper placed on the floor. It is a black-and-white sketch of a kingfisher with its beak holding a small prey. With his right foot Bikram has gripped a fat pen between his big toe and long toe and is shading the image. There is a sky-blue metal cupboard behind him to the right.
Bikram, wearing brown trousers and vermillion windcheater, sits outside on a grey wooden bench with broad wooden slats forming its backrest. He faces the camera with his legs lengthwise along the bench. He holds a Rubik’s Cube between his feet and is turning it with his toes. There are bushes and potted plants behind him. Suspended high above his head is a lantern with a bulb inside the glass cover. To the left of the bench is the front of the house, which has a grey wall, white front door and white window with glass panes.
Bikram and his family sit in an open verandah. Bikram holds a mug with the handle gripped between the toes of his right foot while each of the others holds a mug in their right hand. From left to right: father Narpati Bhattarai (45), Bikram, grandmother Sita Maya Bhattarai (80), mother Januka Bhattarai (43). Narpati sits on a cane moda (stool), smiling at his son and mother. He wears specs, a navy blue windcheater and grey trousers; a long scarf in a geometrical design of grey, black and white is draped around his neck. Bikram wearing dark brown trousers and a matching brown windcheater with front zipper sits facing the camera on a broad bench covered with a mat. Sita Maya sits next to him on the bench, wearing a blue full-sleeved sweater over a long skirt in a blue and white print. She wears a traditional flat nose ring, a red woollen cap, and a shawl across the shoulders. Januka sits on a wooden bench facing Narpati. She wears a long, thick, maroon sweater over a magenta salwar and a brown kameez with a lower border of shocking pink roses. There is a teapoy in their midst, covered with a crocheted tablecloth in a white and orange design. The verandah has an iron railing. The background has trees, the Indian flag on a white pole, and misty mountains in the far distance.
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“My big sister inspired me. Seeing how she used her hands I started using my toes in the same way”

Bikram Bhattarai from Sikkim shared one of his black-and-white drawings with us. It shows a hand with a small butterfly resting in the middle of its open palm. The image becomes especially poignant when the viewer realises that this 20-year-old sketched the hand with the only limbs he possesses: his feet.
 
Bikram was born in Gangtok, Sikkim, without his arms. It was a hard life in a hilly terrain but his family, classmates and fellow villagers have proved to be a collective helping hand. His father, Narpati Bhattarai, is an agriculturist who was once the sarpanch with 12 villages under him. His mother, Januka, is a primary schoolteacher in a government school. Considering his parents are busy professionals, his grandmother, Sita Maya, and his older sister, Anjali, had a big role in making his life easier.
 
Bikram did his schooling at the Indira Memorial Academy and the Government Secondary School, Sama Lingdum, both mainstream institutions. He did his senior secondary schooling at Ranka where he opted for science like his sister, who is now a postgraduate in chemistry. Though he scored well, he decided he liked the arts better and is now doing History Honours at the Nar Bahadur Bhandari Government College, Tadong.
 
It has been a long journey for him, way back when he had to traverse the half hour to his school through rough terrain with no roads. He says most days his father used to carry him on his shoulders. But it was treacherous when the rains came. Some days, the villagers came to his aid, carrying him to and from school. As they grew older, he and Anjali started going to school together with her carrying his bag. Being a couple of years his senior, she had always been his inspiration. Seeing her use her hands as a young child, he started using his legs and toes, first learning to draw and then to use a pencil.
 
His teachers were also a big support. Bikram gratefully recalls his teacher, Gyatri Chettri, who taught him how to write. The Sikkim Government gifted him a chair but it was not possible to use it; so his headmaster, Zigme Bhutia, redesigned it to suit his comfort. His father custom-made other pieces of furniture.
 
All through school and college, his friends have been there to help him every step of the way, says Bikram. At home, his mother and sister help him wear his clothes while his father assists him in the washroom. He adds that his grandmother has always had a crucial role in nurturing him as his mother is working.
 
Art is Bikram’s passion. He sketches in his spare time, pouring all his feelings of the moment into creativity. He also writes poetry. He did have a shot at taekwondo but realised that he was better off with art. He now has two more semesters to finish but is undecided on his future as he does not want to think too much about it. When pressed to talk about his aspirations, he says they keep changing (as it would be with any youngster). He initially opted for science because at the time he wanted to be an electrical engineer. Then his interests changed, he points out.
 
In his spare time, Bikram raps and listens to rappers Yama Budda, Mc Flo and Eminem. He is very grateful to all those who have helped him along the way: his family, friends, school and college authorities, and government officials.
Bikram has garnered over 40 awards and certificates in the fields of art, football, dance, singing and poetry. Here are some of them:
·        His first award was the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievements, 2011; Silver medal in the field of art and painting by the Ministry of the Women and Child Development.
·        Award from Indo-Tibetan Border Police on its Golden Jubilee at Kolkata in 2012.
·        Awarded at the state-level Special Olympics, 2017.
·        Received the Class 10 East District topper award in 2021.
·        PwD State Icon award from the Chief Electoral Officer, Sikkim in 2022.
·        Best Influencer award in 2022. 

Photos:

Vicky Roy

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