Driving Force

Dr Anita Sharma, the brain behind On My Own, a driving school for people with disabilities, tells Charlene Flanagan what it takes to be independent in the true sense.

Dr Anita Sharma, former Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, IIM Amritsar, was only six months old when she became paralysed from the waist down after contracting polio. It took nine major surgeries before she could walk with the help of crutches and callipers. “I have always had an enduring spirit, and I knew that no matter what, I wanted to be independent,” she says with pride, when asked about eventually learning how to drive. Since her routine entailed a long commute from home to campus, she felt driving was an essential skill. “I called over two thousand driving schools looking for one that catered to people with disabilities (PwDs), but found that none of them offered sessions to such people because they didn’t have retrofitted cars—modified cars with hand controls.” Being the determined person she is, she found a way to learn.