Meet Nishant Khade, a man with true grit, a source of inspiration for many despite a tragic accident that rendered him a person with quadriplegia. He is currently a director at DAS Offshore Engg Pvt. Ltd, a renowned construction company in India with expertise in fabrications, erections, and installations.
HatkeStory got an opportunity to interact with him at his office in Mumbai, and we sure have a very motivating and touching life story to tell our readers.
Nishant Khade Childhood
Like all wonderful dads out there, his father, Datta Khade had a considerable role in shaping his personality.
HatkeStory: What was your childhood like?
Nishant Khade: I was born and brought up in Mumbai. I was in class 6, and I wanted to buy a football. We owned a nursery back then, and my dad asked me to sell a plant to buy a football with my take. I borrowed a kart from the local banana seller and started selling plants after school from 6.30-8.30 PM. Business made sense to me at an early age, and that slowly made me a workaholic.
When I was 16 years old, I asked my father if I could drive his car. I was wondering why he immediately handed over the keys? The words that came out of his mouth next made complete sense then. He said – “There is a Stepney in the dickey (car boot/trunk). Change it and show it to me, and you can drive the car”.
HatkeStory: What is your educational background?
Nishant Khade: I studied until class 12 in Mumbai. I then moved to Sangli district, Maharashtra, for further studies in Mechanical Engineering. My father believed in practical education along with theory. He trained me in welding and gas cutting. My family established a factory that manufactured master springs (used for tractor trolleys), and I used to handle operations there during my college days.
HatkeStory: So you joined your family Business after college. Tell us about Das Offshore.
Nishant Khade: I come from a beautiful joint family. Three brothers (Datta, Ashok, and Suresh) established DAS Offshore Engineering Pvt. Ltd as an engineering and construction company in 1992. I started working there. I remember I was 23, and I just finished working on an offshore ONGC oil rig, and tragedy struck while I was going back to my hometown in 2001.
The Tragic Accident:
Nishant was traveling in a chauffeur-driven Ambassador to his native place. The driver dozed off while driving on Karad highway, and the car collided with a parked oil tanker. This unfortunate tragedy changed Nishant’s life forever. The driver survived with slight fractures, but Nishant suffered a severe spine injury.
HatkeStory: Did people come for help?
Nishant Khade: Yes, people did come to rescue me. However, while pulling me out of the wreckage, mismanagement and not following proper safety procedures led to permanent, irreparable damage to my nerves.
Hospitalization: Nishant spent a total of 2 and a half years in hospitals in Sangli, Kolhapur, and finally Bombay. Due to the carelessness of a doctor, he even had an esophagus injury that took around 11 months to heal. He could not talk, walk, stand, sleep or properly breathe at times.
HatkeStory: Those two years would have been very tough.
Nishant Khade: Very tough, I must say. I was completely bedridden. Bedsores up to the lumbar region were a common occurrence. Blood circulation was not proper, and wounds did not heal properly. I could not eat or drink anything. In 2002, I visited a Rehab center in Delhi. I met Shivjit Singh Raghav (wheelchair-bound himself) at the Indian Spinal Injury Centre (ISIC), a peer counselor. He inspired me. I observed people there and learned how to survive.
HatkeStory: How did your family help you?
Nishant Khade: In 2003, I came back home. I have a very loving family who took good care of me. However, the superstitious beliefs of some of my family members took me down a path that further deteriorated my condition. In 2005, I went to visit my grandmother and stayed for one month. She took me to several so-called godmen/babas/saints, forced to sleep naked in a herd of sheep, made to drink raw milk of a Eunuch sheep, have all kinds of Ayurvedic medicines and oils, and wear animal parts on my neck and whatnot. My relatives were more concerned about my sexual libido than my condition.
All this infected my body, and I was hospitalized. I went into a coma for three days. I was administered Xigris medicine as the last hope, which was the last resort to treat life-threatening infections. Once I regained consciousness, fed up with superstitious practices and babas, I decided to start working again.
HatkeStory: What role did friends play?
Nishant Khade: I met my best friend Arvind R Prabhoo through an NGO called Nina Foundation, which works for spinal injuries. Arvind, who himself uses a wheelchair too, became my mentor, and we decided to put behind our disabilities and travel the world. I must say we are fortunate to have the ability to afford these getaways.
HatkeStory: Can you tell us about your love story?
Nishant Khade: Thanks to the insistence of my friends, I started looking for a life partner. I created profiles on online matrimonial portals. All the matches I was getting were of people with a similar disability. I thought about what we would do if both of us could not take care of ourselves.
I liked one particular profile and sent a request. The Girl’s mother rejected the match and was not ready, considering my quadriplegic condition. I felt heartbroken that this is not going to work out. Friends came to my rescue again. They motivated me time and again. I tried contacting Sheetal (my wife) on Facebook and sent a friend request. She accepted after a few days that led to chatting and further conversation. We soon started dating. After a year, I proposed, and she readily accepted. It has been four years, and I am a happy family man.
Nishant Khade – Back in Business:
Nishant joined his family business again in 2007. Being a quadriplegic who uses a wheelchair did not deter him from doing what he loved. He used to sit next to the security guard and interact with the people at his office. It helped him bond with his staff. He knows all the 1600 plus employees, and he knows 70% of them by name, their work profile, and current salary. He says he learned this quality of keeping people close from his uncle.
HatkeStory: Can you tell us about your Beyond Barriers Initiative?
Nishant Khade: Arvind and I came up with the thought of traveling throughout India by road on a mission. Most of the places in India lack proper infrastructure for disabled people. We made audit reports for all major tourist destinations where there was no infrastructure like ramps. We started making notes of places, which could provide these features. We paired up with two strong-willed women who have paraplegia and believed in our cause. The four of us started an 84-day pan India tour covering a distance of 19000 km that included 28 states and 44 major cities.
Nishant currently handles 5-6 portfolios (like admin, finance) in Das Offshore and is the Director of Access4All Social Foundation, working towards removing barriers that restrict the mobility of people with disabilities.
Defying all odds, he fought back, emerged much stronger and confident, and took it as an opportunity to start over again. The power of passion and perseverance is often underestimated. We want to conclude with a quote that justifies Nishant’s story.
A successful man can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him – David Brinkley
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He proved disability is never an end.