Youth displays exemplary zeal in the face of adversity
A bullet injury to Yanphar’s spine put a full stop to many of his dreams.
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| Chichusie Francis Yanphar in his room |
Kohima:
Lying buried beneath heaps of books and electronic goods is a cherubic young face. He is bubbling with energy and in the prime of his youth but alas confined to bed.
A bullet injury to Chichusie Francis Yanphar’s spine put a full stop to many of his dreams. Yet he is not complaining rather making the most out of the hapless situation, exemplifying the adage that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Having learnt the intracacies of some electronic gadgets with the aid of books, he is loaded with CDs, computers, mobile sets and switchboards waiting to be repaired.
Born to T.M Varghese and Churhutshu Mary, Yanphar is a resident of Meluri village, 166 kilometer east of Nagaland capital Kohima.
Exuding unbelievable optimism, he says he is happy his condition has brought the family members closer. “Often I become a reference point for their coming together. I am grateful to God for it.
God is someone who is ever with me. I feel his presence. I speak to him as he does to me. I argue with him. I scold him, I hold on to him…”
Yanphar’s world came crashing down one February day in 1999 even as the euphoria of having got a job with the Sashastra Seema Bal (armed border force) was to sink in.
He had gone with his friends to bathe and refresh in the Tissu river. On the way, they stopped at a forested area and his friends decided to go on a hunt. No sooner were they gone he was felled by a bullet of another hunter who mistook him to be an animal.
“In a moment of few seconds my past, present and future and all, together, seemed to rush like a movie in my mind,” he recalls.
“When I realized, I was unable to stand and began to roll down the jungle slope, I shouted at the man: Why did you shoot me?
From that day on to the next few months I was transported to several clinics and hospitals - from Meluri to Kohima in the northeast to Vellore in Tamil Nadu in the south.”
Finally the best of doctors gave their verdict: “scientifically it is impossible to make you walk or stand up.”
The 38-year-old said “after reading and re-reading all the books before me, I chanced upon my father’s tool box. I meddled with a non-functioning DVD player and an unknown force prompted me to work on electronic gadgets.
“I learnt a bit of electronics. It was self taught through books. Several years of work improved my confidence besides providing me with little income. More than anything else it helps me to spend time productively and bring meaning to my life.”
Yanphar concluded saying “will and determination brought the best out of the one who is in worst of situation.”
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