I still remember the excitement I had in me when I got a mail invite from MD of SAP LABS to speak at IIS 2012. I circulated that mail to my boss and got permission to be there. I was visiting TAJ Vivanta for the first time in Bangalore and I was sooper hyper! My first dinner with all speakers before the event went on quite well with Interaction with Ferose and Joy !
Next day, little did I know that I was about to address the biggest audience of my life (600+ Bangaloreans). I went on stage and did my usual talk not really worried the jam packed hall ! 40 minutes was the time I took and that followed by a 2 minute standing ovation. I was not used to getting such huge applause and that meant a lot to me especially to speak in front of Kiran Bedi Madam, Harsha Bhogle, Abhijit Bhadhuri Sir and many others who went on to become my good buddies ! I rate that experience as one of my best speaking adventures !
The real honour I felt was when I got a call saying I have been selected to be part of advisory board of IIS. I have fought to be part of society’s every activity and this selection meant a lot to my dream of building Inclusive INDIA. Every meeting + event was taking me into a new world where people are highly sensitive and aware about what does it mean to be a person with disability !

I was thrilled when Pankajam madam expressed interest to be part of the event. It really mattered a lot to me to bring in my friends and the impact was huge. I personally felt humbled enough to have people like Ferose, Pankajam Madam around me and I will always hold these moments v close to my heart.

“Born normal… diagnosed mentally retarded by doctors…Started studies at the age of 9…Joined Mainstream education at the age of 15…. Completed masters at the age of 25…
….Rejected at job interviews, now a banking specialist with cerebral palsy with over 11 years experience…
A True motivator whose journey has inspired more than 1.5 million people globally… See my journey all here…” Read more on Siddharth here: http://siddharthjayakumar.com/