The saga of a Tech-buff
- Poonam Rose Abraham
"Dreamers are those who dance to the tune of a different drummer". Akhil Joseph, the man who turned his passion into a profession, never lets the circumstances win and instead focused on building a life where he could accomplish every goal.
In the early stages of his life, Akhil's mother Philo Joseph- who was working as a nurse, noticed his difficulty to stand and walk like a normal child. Along with his father KM Joseph, they consulted a doctor, and Akhil was confirmed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which is a disorder that causes loss of certain nerve cells in the
spinal cord and is a progressive ailment. As a child, Akhil never felt any difference, because he thought that was how all children were, but things began to change, gradually. He saw his friends playing and running around. Though he was sad, he never let it slunk into him. Instead, he cheered and encouraged his friends on the ground, sitting in his wheelchair.
Akhil faced a lot of challenges during his school and college days. Due to his disability, many schools were not willing to enrol him, but later he got admission at a school, run by Swami, where he attended regular classes till he was in fifth grade. He was homeschooled later, because of being bullied by other children in the school and that drained him emotionally. But, he was determined to study hard and this helped him to achieve good grades.
Being a tech enthusiast, Akhil wanted to become a software engineer, but he couldn’t attend the regular classes due to many reasons. So he decided to join a college near his house and took admission for ‘English and Communication’, but after a whole year, before his exam, he got to know about the unavailability of a scribe so he had to leave the course and the institution. He didn't let this be a downfall; instead, applied to the University of Delhi for Economics- which was his favourite subject and went to college to give examinations. After three years of his efforts, he became a graduate and those were the best moments of his life.
It was during his school days he got interested in writing and he decided to follow his passion by starting a blog page. Initially, he posted only two or more blogs per month but later, when he was in college, he took up this interest to the next level.
He learned Graphics designing with the help of Google and YouTube and he also learned web designing and many things related to blogging, SEO, and digital marketing which helped him to improve his blogging skills. After graduation, he decided to take his passion to be his profession. He presented his works through social and other media which led him to get more projects from companies and he completed all those without fail.
In 2014, Akhil created a website on Google's blogger platform where he started to write articles. Later, in 2016 he decided to switch it into a self-hosted website, which means, there are no other mediators between you and the client. Being stung by a bug called technology, Akhil labelled his website 'Technobugg'.com. Presently, Technobugg has a total number of 9 sub-websites which includes different categories of services.
Employment and services are the websites under his wings where companies can contact directly for projects and articles. Apart from the flagship website Technobugg, there are blogging sites called Androiden that deal with information on Android phones and technology. Sports news is dealt with on a website named Sporting Avenue.
The Autobugg website includes the latest news on automobiles and many such websites regarding the same. Akhil being a hardcore fan of superstar Mohanlal, he has created a website 'MohanlalWood' where
fans of the famous actor can write about his works and other articles about him.
For Akhil, a person born with a disability is not disabled as they find many opportunities to reveal their abilities other than those people who get chances to do things but are unable to make an effort. He also says “it is not fair to say someone is disabled because everyone is abled in their manners”. "Never fear or feel bad about your problems"- he wishes a person with a disability. Open up your wings and fly to the high, defeating all your worries along the way and showcase to the world that you have more ability than disability.
Akhil has come a long way from being a child who quit going to school due to the torture of a man who now provides opportunities to many like him and others. Amidst all this happiness he misses his little brother Nikhil who is not with him anymore physically but is always surrounded by his love. With all support and care from his parents, Akhil looks forward to a day where the country becomes more accessible to people with disabilities.
Reference
Technobugg
Android Den
https://androidden.com/
Sporting Avenue
https://sportingavenue.com/
Autobugg
https://autobugg.in/
MohanlalWood
http://mohanlalwood.com/
Akhil Joseph
https://akhiljoseph.com/