Willpower can overcome any difficulty and former fighter pilot MP Anil Kumar epitomised it. He was left paralysed neck down after a road accident at the age of 24 but the warrior did not let it demoralise him.
Kumar learnt to write by holding a pen in his mouth and some of his inspirational articles formed part of Maharashtra’s school text books.
He soldiered on despite his acute physical disability for nearly 26 years, before finally falling prey to cancer, bidding adieu to the world in Pune on Tuesday leaving behind scores of admirers within the IAF and the student community.
An ace fighter pilot, with more than 700 hours of flying experience, Kumar’s career was cut-short when he smashed his motorcycle into a barricade at Pathankot airbase on June 28, 1988. Ironically, he was returning to officers’ mess after completing a night sortie in a MIG-21 when the mishap took place. Kumar was then air-lifted to Military Hospital, Pune for specialised treatment and remained there till the end.
Undeterred by the nature of injuries, Kumar decided in 1990 to claw back and started to learn to write by holding a pen his mouth. In fact, in one of his articles later on which was included in textbooks of Maharashtra schools, the fighter pilot says, “All my efforts to rationalise personal catastrophes have always mystified and at times stupefied me. To adapt to the new challenges posed by the debility, I had to unshackle myself from the self imposed stupor.”
“Therefore, in September 1990, I decided to learn the art of writing by holding a pen in my mouth (because of dysfunctional hands). I began scribbling illegibly but was chagrined to find little progress even after three weeks’ laborious efforts. Then, I decided to change tactic and wrote a letter to Sheela George, the person who kept on chivvying to start mouth writing (earlier I had paid little attention to her exhortations). My joy knew no bounds when I completed the few lines that embodied my first mouth written letter. Initially, I found my hard work to be a mere pie in the sky; but, four to five months’ assiduous efforts resulted in attaining a readable style of writing. This modest achievement enabled me in reviving the chain of correspondence and begetting new friends,” he said.
Kumar’s condition changed for better somewhat in 1991 when the IAF gave him an electrically operated wheel chair, with chin controls for manoeuvring and he later wrote mobility, though only a poor substitute for natural one, has enlivened my lifestyle considerably.”
Coupled with limited mobility courtesy the wheel chair, Kumar also got hold of a customized computer using a keyboard, operated with a stylus held between his lips.
This gift unleashed the writer in him and the air warrior went on to write on line inspirational articles and chatting with his numerous admirers till the last days of life in Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Pune.
In one of the articles, Kumar gave credit to his alma mater National Defence Academy (NDA) for giving him the courage and tenacity to fight tremendous odds.
Born and brought up in a village Chirayinkil, 35 km north of Thiruvananthapuram, he studied in Sainik School, Kazhakootam. After passing out from NDA, Kumar was commissioned into the IAF as a fighter pilot in 1984 and adjudged best in aerobatics in his batch in Air Force Academy, Secunderabad.