Bhat Imtiyaz/ Toibah Kirmani
Humans of the world are nowadays inspired by quotes and social media influencers. Far away from the noise of the cities is a small village in the Anantnag district of south Kashmir called Jaybal, where Parvez Ahmed Dar has inspired the youth to take to sports activities.
Parvez Ahmed Dar, from Jaybal Shangran, who is physically disabled has been playing volleyball for the past 27 years.
He was in 10th grade when two miserable things happened to him. First, his right hand got paralyzed after he received an electric jolt from an overhanging high tension wire while moving across a forest. Second, he lost his father.
Due to his disability, which prevented him from working, his mother was left to take on the full burden of the family comprising of him and his three sisters.
“The days post the accident was too traumatic for him. All I saw was a bleak future and uncertainty around me. It was one day I was crying on the ground twenty-seven years ago when some local youth invited me to play volleyball with them. Starting from then, I would leave the house to play his exciting game of volleyball,” Parvez told The Kashmiriyat.
He didn’t allow his disability to prevent him from participating in the game. Even though his right hand couldn’t function, he still utilized his left hand to play. Being handicapped meant, he was worthless. Therefore, nobody was interested in where he spent his time in.
Over time, as he continued to dominate the local tournaments across all the districts of Kashmir, he realized that his talent is enough to earn him a good livelihood. He put forth more effort and even competed in two nationals. “It was like a dream come true. I had given up on all hopes. But I learnt the game well enough and made good fortune for my family,” he said.
Additionally, he claimed to have played nationals with the player who got selected for international tournament. “Because I’m from a village, it seems like the selectors did not value my talent enough,” he stated.
One of his neighbours remarked, “He is so talented that he can play at any position in a volleyball court.”
The Local asked the Government to acknowledge his potential and give him a suitable platform.