He was only 18, with a life full of possibilities ahead of him. Suryadeep Pandey had gone to a friend’s house for a small celebration. He and his two friends were on the first floor, engaged in a friendly banter.“I don’t know when it turned into a small physical game. We started pushing each other playfully. One of my friends was pushing the other, and in turn he pushed back. I was standing at the edge near the wall, and I suddenly felt it was going too far. I asked them not to push, but maybe they didn’t hear me. Then there was one hard push. The wall collapsed. I fell down… and my neck broke.”Today, Suryadeep is 23. Because of that freak accident, his body below the neck is paralyzed. Doctors said there was a severe injury to his spinal cord, and he will have to live the rest of his life in this condition.At 23, Surya—as his friends lovingly call him—shows a shocking calmness about his situation. His father is a farmer and his mother is a homemaker. He is dependent on his family for each and every chore.“I had just finished my 13th when this incident happened. I couldn’t study for some time because there was no way I could read, write, or go anywhere. I used to do trading and Wikipedia editing to earn some money, but I can’t do that anymore because I’m unable to operate computers. I don’t have one. I can’t afford one.”Surya did not give up. He took up a sales job, but now they are terminating him because he could not achieve the expected target.

“I wanted to save money and buy a computer. Tomorrow is my last day,” Surya told TOI.He first tried to use a mobile phone by joining several pen caps to create a tool he could hold in his mouth, but he couldn’t type properly. He could only see when Wi-Fi was available, and that too with a lot of pain.Then, while researching online, he came across houseware by Dextroware Devices. That is when he met Anuj Arora.Anuj suffers from multiple sclerosis, due to which he is unable to use his limbs. After using Mouseware, his life became easier. He then started volunteering for Dextroware to educate people suffering from similar problems.“He explained to me how it had made his life simpler. He also helped me get this device for ₹6000. Now I can move my head, use my mobile, and type with my voice. It has transformed my life tremendously.”Surya has been facing multiple challenges—from disability to severe financial struggles—yet he continues to keep his dreams alive.He has taken admission in Economics (Honours) through correspondence and wants to pursue a PhD to work in the field of environmental studies and help people like him. He has accepted his situation and talks about it with a kind of bravery you cannot imagine in someone so young.But here is the saddest part.Despite having received a device that can help him operate a laptop, he does not have a laptop — and he cannot afford one. Something as simple as a laptop could change his life. It could take him one step closer to his dreams. He would be able to study properly, do trading work again, earn some money, and build a better future.Yet sadly, he does not have the means to this necessity.In a world where people spend thousands on clothes and food without a second thought, a young man is struggling for something so fundamental—a tool that could restore his independence.Is it really a fair world?