"As an artiste, Leonardo Da Vinci is my hero. The great scientist Einstein was born with learning disabilities. Confined to a wheelchair, legendary physicist Stephen Hawking also overcame disabilities,” (1/7)
Says Swapna Augustine, who was born without arms at Paingottoor in Ernakulam.

Swapna's parents -- Augustine, a farmer, and Sophie, a homemaker -- enrolled Swapna at a home for the disabled in Changanassery when she was six and she attended a school nearby. (2/7)
Perhaps, it was this early life away from home that made the eldest child independent and confident despite her disability. (3/7)
"My greatest strength and source of motivation through all this had been my father who passed away a few years ago. He never let me feel that I lacked something. (4/7)
Swapna would go home for festivals, but rest of the time, she learnt to do everything with her feet including, drawing and painting, which would later turn out to be her calling in life. (5/7)
It was a neighbour, noticing her flair for drawing, who suggested the Swapna join Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPA), which is headquartered in Switzerland and has an office in Mumbai. (6/7)
This helped her sell her works along with similar artists. There are 24 such artistes all over India and their number totals 700 spread across around 80 countries.
Today, Swapna is known for her beautiful paintings that have won acclaim from across the world. (7/7)

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More from @thebetterindia

28 Jul
#IncredibleIndia #DidYouKnow
Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery): The Sweetness of Bengal Winters. (1/13)
Nolen gur or date palm jaggery, that highly prized seasonal produce that lends a smoky sweetness to milk, occupies a place of pride in Bengal’s already accomplished mishti-making history. (2/13)
As far back as the 4th century BC, Panini wrote, Gurasha auang desho goura, which means Gour is the place of gur. (3/13)
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28 Jul
#DidYouKnow #TimeLapse
According to Kanailal Basu’s book 'Netaji: Rediscovered', the Azad Hind Bank was formed in Rangoon (now Yangon) in Burma (now Myanmar) in April 1944 for the purpose of organising funds to finance the war effort against the British. (1/11)
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In the 1980s, Ram Kishore Dubey, a retired contractor with the State Irrigation Department, discovered one of these note in his grandfather’s Ramayana book, but did not realise its historical significance till later. (3/11)
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27 Jul
(1/15) About a decade ago, a Boston-based social entrepreneur and cognitive scientist of Indian origin, Venkat Srinivasan along with Sanjay Gupta, previously Chairman of American Express India came together to build a unique company, @EnglishHelperEH
(2/15) They wanted to use technology to provide learning solutions for students in government schools. What started with a few hundred schools has now managed to expand its impact to thousands.
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26 Jul
1/ In a rather courageous act, a pet cat prevented a mishap after she stopped a cobra from entering her owner’s house in Bhubaneswar. Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media. Image
2/ The incident took place in the Bhimatangi area of the city where Sampad Kumar Parida and his family live with their pet cat Chinu. Chinu instantly reacted when the reptile entered the premises of Parida’s house from the backyard and ran towards it.
3/ For 30 minutes, both of them engaged in a fight. However, Chinu didn’t budge an inch from its place.

Sampad immediately called Snake Helpline for help. Arun Kumar Baral, a volunteer from the helpline, reached the spot and found the cat guarding the house.
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14 Jul
#DidYouKnow #JagannathRathYatra
1/ Aswini Mishra, an engineer from Brajrajnagar, Odisha, used his skills to develop brakes for the majestic chariots back in 2006, to make the chariots safe.
2/ After reading about a tragic death of a devotee, Mishra came up with a brake system that can stop the contraption in case of any incidence, which also increases ease of use. He showcased his brake system to the temple administration, which accepted it with open arms.
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