Virali Modi is an absolute phenomenon. I first came to know of her in 2017, thanks to her motivational answers on Quora. So when I got the opportunity to interview her for Mahevash Muses, I jumped on it right away. Let’s hear it from the role model herself now.
From an aspiring actress to a renowned disability rights activist and motivational speaker, you have come a long way. How did this transition happen?
Disability rights activism and motivational speaking kind of crossed paths and came together. I became disabled in 2006 due to a virus that has still not been diagnosed. In 2008, was traveling by an expressway train to go to Delhi and Gujarat. Because of the lack of accessibility, I was groped and manhandled by the porters who lifted me and took me to my berth. The same happened in 2011 and 2013, but I never said anything because I was afraid of being slut-shamed.
In 2015, when the accessible India campaign launched, I was quite happy as I thought the government was finally doing something for the disabled. In 2017, the railway minister announced that they will be launching a train which will have facilities for only those who are deaf and blind. I found that preposterous because you cannot just cater to certain disabilities. At that point of time, I wrote an open letter on Facebook addressing the prime minister and the railway minister, talking about what had happened to me and why we need accessibility for those with locomotive disabilities. Although it was widely covered by many newspapers, it was ignored by the railway ministry and the PM’s office. I filed a complaint on both of their websites but since I was not a citizen of India, it was not taken into consideration.
I was pissed off and launched a petition on Change.org titled ‘#MyTrainToo’. The petition went viral and got a lot of media coverage. Because of that, a railway officer from Kerala got in touch with me. Collectively, we made six railway stations in Kerala wheelchair accessible without any kind of renovations.
We also sensitized the railway staff so any disabled passengers would not be manhandled the way I was. Because of this initiative, I was named as one of the most influential and inspirational women of 2017 by BBC 100 Women. I was also acknowledged by the Delhi government and won the Women’s Achievement Award. Owing to this, I was called to TedX and a lot of colleges and institutions to give talks on my journey. That’s why I say that motivational speaking and disability rights activism happened simultaneously. From then on, I started focusing on my career as a motivational speaker. I have spoken at places all over India, at both small and metropolitan cities.
You are largely responsible for making Indian railways accessible to disabled persons. What’s next on your agenda?
I believe that you can change the infrastructure as much as you want, but you really need to change the mentality of people first. My main aim is to change the mentality of a huge demographic through my motivational speaking. I intend to do so just by giving my example, by talking about what I have achieved at a really young age in a very short time, and how I have overcome my disability through positive thinking and not letting negative experiences affect me.
I want to inspire people and want them to know that disability is really normal because we all have disabilities. Honestly, if you asked me what my disability was, it would be maths!
My wheelchair does not stop me from doing anything. I am a scuba diver, I have rolled on the ramp as a showstopper three times already. We need to stop correlating disability and negativity as they are two separate things. I really want people to understand why it’s so important to have accessibility. Because at the end of the day, we are all temporarily enabled; at least once in our lives, we all need some kind of accessibility device. So the aim of my motivational speaking is to reach a lot of people and impact their lives so they can help create change for the better.
Speaking of inspiring people, I’m curious: what is your take on inspiration porn, wherein people with disabilities are basically objectified solely because they are disabled?
I am in two minds about this. On one end of the spectrum, I feel that I am not a fucking idol or trophy because you take the stairs and I am on a wheelchair. What’s the big deal? But on the other end of the spectrum, I realize that not a lot of people have the willpower that I have, that not a lot of people have the strength to overcome their daily problems as I do. So I feel that it’s kind of okay to take inspiration from me, to use my ideology, morals, and values as a stepping stone to make their lives better. And being a motivational speaker, I am supposed to inspire people, right?
You often talk about the importance of self-love. Why is it crucial for every individual, particularly if they happen to be disabled?
When I became disabled, I had a huge problem with acceptance. I was very accepting of myself, but other people were not accepting of me. I took that personally and wondered what I had done wrong to deserve this.
Over time, I ended up blaming and hating myself so much that I tried to commit suicide twice. I didn’t feel worthy enough to have friends or relationships. That’s when my mom stepped in and told me how important it was to love myself for who I am, to accept myself in order to gain an understanding of life and positivity.
Once I did that, I came to peace with my situation. Instead of staying at home, I started frequenting coffee shops and sheesha places by myself and people became attracted to me. And that’s how I made friends and got into relationships. If you don’t love yourself, how can you expect others to love you? Loving yourself is also important because, at the end of the day, all you have is you. Self-love is important for self-acceptance.
As a society, what can we do to become more disabled-friendly?
Honestly, just be more open to people with disabilities. Approach someone, talk to them, interact with them, don’t think they are weird. Be normal around them and don’t treat them as if they are disabled. When you treat someone that way, you are making them feel like they are disabled even if they are not feeling it themselves. Behave normally with them because, at the end of the day, we are people too. If you get to know the person and not the disability, you know that they are more than their disability. When this happens and infrastructure comes together as well, we become a disabled-friendly nation.
Virali Modi is a motivational speaker and disability rights activist based in Mumbai, India. You can get in touch with her at virali.modi@yahoo.com.
