31-year-old Arpan Arora from Delhi was diagnosed with dwarfism soon after he was born. This confident youngster did not let public attitudes towards his disability come in the way of choosing what he loves most and that is disco jockeying. Arpan, who also has a learning disability, tells us that determination is key to reaching new heights on My Take.
Soon after birth, doctors diagnosed me with dwarfism. Until the age of five, I could barely walk. I also lost my father at a very young age. So my family comprised of my mother and sister. Today, they are my strongest pillars of support and have also taught me how to live life to the fullest with my head held high.
My mother is undoubtedly my biggest inspiration. She has beaten many hurdles to raise us. Since I had a learning disability, attending school was also hard. Throughout my journey, my mother was with me.
Early lessons in independence
It was at the age of eight that I joined The Shri Ram School. Thankfully, the school, children and teachers accepted my disability. They were inclusive to a large extent, but there were many people who saw my disability first.
There were kids who mocked and harassed me, but this happens to every person with dwarfism. That is how the society is. At some point it can even get scary that you might fear for your life! It is unfortunate that even today, society has not understood about disabilities.
At school, I couldn’t do well in academics because of a learning disability. I chose to finish my studies in an open school.
In 2001, I had a car accident. I was about 13 years old at the time. I thought I was going to die and couldn’t believe my stars when I recovered. Now, I am grateful to God and believe in living life to the fullest.
I always wanted to join college. So I completed a BA Vocational Tourism Course from Delhi University. My campus was great. Most of them were supportive.
Discovering music
Though I was interested in music, I never thought I would pick up something wherein I would be involved in a full-fledged way. I started having an inclination towards disc jockeying in college. I liked music and I also liked playing musical instruments. So one of my friends asked me, “Why don’t you become a DJ?”. That triggered something inside me and I decided to give it a try.
Most of the DJ’ing, I learnt on my own. Someone used to come home and teach me too. So I started DJ’ing from the year 2013. I must say that this is a very competitive field. When I got to play at public functions, weddings or shopping malls, people look at me as a disabled person. They do not want to see what talents I have got.
Choosing to be positive
I also love acting and has done many theatre performances. Also TV shows and ads. I have a YouTube food review channel too. All these are something that I love to do. I work at the reception of a mall. But due to lockdown, that has gotten affected.
My world view is “Just believe in yourself and rest everything will fall in place. Accept your disability and move on. Do your duties and do not stop at anything”.