Meet the Train Accident Survivor Who Trumped The Amputation Trial

Now this is what we call a ‘never say never’ attitude.

Shreya a train accident survivor

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Thirty years old Shreya Sen had lost her right arm in the tragic Gyaneshwari train mishap in May 2010.

Shreya with her mother and a brother.Photo: news rediff.com

But her indomitable spirit helped her fight against odds with a smile on her face.

Shreya Photo: news.rediff.com

On May 28, 2010, Shreya an architecture student at that time, was travelling from Kolkata to Mumbai by train.

In Bengal’s West Midnapur district at nearly 1:30 in the morning, the train jerked to a halt due to derailment. Minutes later, the compartment Shreya was travelling in with her mother and brother was hit by a speeding goods train.

That was how she lost her right arm.

She underwent four major surgeries. She went to the college but the question that was stuck in her mind was ‘what was an architecture supposed to do without an arm?’ She found answer for this question herself.

Lying on her hospital bed, Shreya practiced signing with her left hand. She then started writing with her left hand and learnt how to draw with her foot. That is how she managed to finish her final thesis.

After emerging a topper in her undergrads, she went on to earn her Masters in Architecture degree at IIT Rorkee. In 2013 she was chosen as DAAD scholar at University of Stuttgart, Germany, where she is doing her research in architecture right now.

I neither had the control over the incidents on the day that changed everything for me. Nor did I have a choice but to accept it at that time But it was up to me to not let it define me.

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In a world where we complain about the smallest of difficulties in life, Shreya, with her easy demeanor and sense of humor, is inspiring us to tackle life head-on.

We salute this lion-hearted girl.