PARA'troupers rally on

They are dauntless and undeterred and have time and again proven that disability is only a state of the mind, by excelling in various fields in spite of their disability. The recently-concluded Paralympics is a testimony of how they inspire us every day, even though people still view them with a sense of pity.

That is exactly why this Bengalurean team from Project Rising Above is doing its bit to portray the challenged in a different light with a coffee table book and a calendar. Preeti Rai, Kumaran Ganesan, Vinci Raj and a few other noted names from fashion, photography and advertising started Project Rising Above to showcase and celebrate the specially-abled.

Bringing a different approach to disability portrait photography, to educate common man, they believe that they can make a difference in the society and are raising funds to bring this dream to reality.

The photo series would have powerful photos of confident amputees posing proudly with their amputated body parts. Preeti Rai, ex radio professional and an honouree for BIBO awards 2016 Los Angeles of Mission Smile, Pledge your day (that got two Limca Book of Records for most innovative initiative and maximum number of celebrities endorsing a cause) who works towards the cause of education for underprivileged, started working on this cause and reveals, “Blade runner Shalini Saraswati who lost her all her limbs to a rare disease led us to form a team.

We're featuring amputees who have excelled in different fields from across India in a series of photographs in the form of 2017 digital calendars that might turn into a coffee table book later. We soon formed a strong set of team working for the cause, with Kanick as the art director.

Raghu Dixit, Vilas Nayak, Shoojit Sarkar and Tapsee Pannu have tweeted about our campaign.” Shalini adds, “The Olympic winner got so much recognition, but the Paralympic winners didn’t get as much. There needs to be a positive imagery of people with disabilities to make them a part of the public tapestry. We’re also happy and strong people, the disability is just probably a lipstick shade gone wrong!”

Vinci Raj, who has executed social awareness content that has won several awards including the recent work for Rajinikanth’s movie Kabali) will be lending his expertise to the project. Talking of the idea to showcase and celebrate the specially abled people who have battled against all odds and have reached the pinnacle of success by their sheer courage, determination and perseverance, Kumaran who is into ad photography and has won many national and international awards, states, "What some of these physically challenged people do in every day life is a big rise in terms of confidence to many of us; in truth they ‘Rise’ above many of us. We’re raising funds for them through crowd funding on http://ket.to/RisingAbove.”

Sithara Kudige, a stylist on the haute list of celebrities, adds on what got her to be a part of the campaign. “Listening to stories of these extraordinary individuals, their struggles and their determination, I couldn’t help but feel that it was time to share these stories with the world for everyone to be inspired.” Kanickraj Samuel, art director chips in saying, “This is something that fills me with a sense of responsibility and passion. If I can bring this alive through visuals and inspire others, then I think I’ve done it right.”