By Y.S. Rana : A blind man who can ‘see’ every nerve Chandigarh: Meet vivacious and chirpy Gulzar and you can’t say he can’t see. But this visually impaired 35-year-old acupressure expert can see and set every nerve and tone up every muscle. Chased by spells of misfortune, he did waiver initially, and even tried to commit suicide, but God, so it seems, wanted him to summon his nerves and stand up to every challenge. And he did God’s bidding. It will not be inept to say that Gulzar seems to have his eyes in his hands.
The tale of Gulzar’s life reads like an essay in courage, indomitable spirit and fortitude. It gives out a clear message that if one wants, one can stand up to any challenge life throws up, and fight one’s way out, as Gulzar did, rather than allow oneself to be caged and crippled by circumstances. All that one needs is a dream and the determination to realize it. Born in 1976, he did plus two and diploma in automobiles. Nature hit him hard when he lost his father at the tender age of 13. Seven years later, as he was struggling to support his family by washing cars and doing odd errands, came the Nature’s unkindest cut: he lost his vision due to irreparable blocakge in the optical nerve. Hapless and helpless, he tried to end his life but God had willed otherwise. After years of mental agony, physical anguish and brooding over God’s injustice, he finally reconciled himself to his fate. Gulzar would have been either begging on the roadside, or working at an unsafe place, had he not been brought to the Institute of Blind, in Mumbai.
He brought laurels to the Blind Institute from where he did the course of telephone operator by securing 97 per cent marks. He was shifted to the rehabilitation centre where he learnt acupressure therapy in a scientific manner. He was awarded N.M. Chhattarpati Award for being an outstanding student. He also worked for Exide India as sales manager. Harish Bhatia of ‘Big Boss’, a famous saloon in Mumbai, gave him job.”One day, a Chinese professor of acupressure came to the saloon. He saw my hands running on the body and agreed to teach me more about the art. I learnt from his Chinese body therapies, spa and how to treat complicated cases of frozen shoulder.
I have also been to his institute in China once. There I came across a complicated case which doctors refused to treat. The man was suffering from spondylosis and sciatica disease for the past 12 years. ”The pain is sudden, severe or gradual. Most painful points are where the nerves emerges at the pelvis and behind ankles and knee joints,” said Gulzar. After 41 days treatment, I fully cured him and he returned to America”, says Gulzar. He was awarded two gold medals by ‘Big Boss’ for his excellent work. Even Lokmat, a newspaper of Mumbai, has honoured him for his ability to do a hair cut; body therapy and spa. Gulzar accepted the challenge, and has made a name for himself in the acupressure field with grit, determination and drive. And the number of patients he has treated, including foreigners, adds to his expertese.
But doctors advised him leave the salt-laden air of Mumbai and intense humidity. As he was planning to leave Mumbai, he was told about an advertisement put out by Chandigarh-based saloon ‘Famina Plus’ for an acupressure expert. He applied for the job and got it. This brought him to Chandigarh and he is working at the Sector 44 saloon. Gulzar claims to have cured a skin specialist of spondelysis with the help of muscle therapy. After a few days’ sittings, he started moving his neck slowly. Gulzar says he cannot count how many patients he had treated with the help of acupressure therapy.
“Once, a German lady who could not be cured in Germany, came to him. She could not pick up two-kg weight due to some problem in her waist. After 11 sittings, she left for Germany fully cured. I could not see her face but could feel her sentiments. She came and kissed my hand and lifted me like a child in her arms, who a few days earlier, could not even pick up two-kg weight”, Gulzar told this reporter. The turning point came in his life when a school mate of his, offered to marry him. He was married in 2003 and has a son Areep Ahmed, 5-year-old, a student of Shishu Niketan School, Sector 43. Gulzar nurses the ambition of doing acupressure on the Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.