Gujarat's Muskan spreads smiles in New Zealand

AHMEDABAD: When she was born 19 years ago in an Ahmedabad hospital, doctors had cautioned the parents that their daughter may not survive even 100 hours — she was premature, had less weight, had partial hemiplegia, weak eyesight, holes in her heart, underdeveloped lung and potential neurological disorder.

But she was not named Muskan for no reason – today the 19-year old peppy teen in Auckland, New Zealand, has written two books, has been a radio jockey, a TEDx speaker having won multiple awards in New Zealand. Earlier this year, she was awarded ‘Young Achiever 2018’ award by the local Indian community – the event where she met NZ PM Jacinda Ardern.

“We were touched when the PM mentioned Muskan while promising to make NZ an inclusive country – not looking at the person’s disability but potential,” said mom Jaimini Devta, a banker.



Muskan wrote her autobiography at 9

Muskan in her TEDx talk spoke about accepting one’s self and borrowing courage from others. With her medical condition and a new country, growing up was not easy. She mentions that she had no friends for many years, the time when she turned to books and writing. Her autobiography ‘I Dream,’ written at the age of nine, was included in the school curriculum where she was still a student!

Muskan has now trained her guns on depression. “I now inspire youth to fight depression and spread smiles. I was depressed as I went through the tough phase of understanding myself before I could break my cocoon and gain confidence to engage with the world. I now am doing the same for youths like me – I am connecting to them online and through public talks. A number of teens found resonance in my story,” said Muskan who wishes to practice psychology and reach out to ‘difficult’ children like herself so that they can also realize their potential.

A college student now, she works at a department store to sustain herself. She credits her parents and brother Aman as her emotional anchor who never let her feel that she was special in any way. “There is lot of stigma attached to special children in many countries. I want to change that perception in my own little capacity,” she said.