Dhanada K. Mishra, Hong Kong, 8 April 2023
My son Anish found AJ on Instagram and told me about him staying near our building in Hong Kong. Since AJ was an avid cyclist, he thought I could go out cycling with him instead on my own. It took me a while before I suddenly ran into him on the water front of the science park where we live. I had not realised that he was a para athlete and rode a special hand cycle. I saw him on his low level flat horizontal long tricycle waiting on the side of the road – perhaps taking a brief break. I was on a rental bicycle taking a short ride from home to my bus stop. I had a few minutes before catching my bus and went up to him to say hello! In that meeting itself I sensed that AJ, as I later learnt that he liked to be called, was a very special person.
A little bit of research online revealed how special the person I had met was in real life. Ajmal Victor Samuel was the full name. Born in 1965 to a Christian family in Pakistan, he had trained to be a telecoms Engineer and had joined the Pakistan Army in its signal corps.. His father was a Bishop, leader of the Church, yet he had many of the family from his mother’s side that belonged to India. As luck would have it an accident on the border while serving the army changed his life in a way that would be a source of inspiration. In the accident his jeep fell in a ravine, the driver died and AJ was left with multiple spinal cord injuries that would make him a paraplegic for life.
There is a sloka in the Bhagavad Gita as follows:
मूकं करोति वाचालं पङ्गुं लङ्घयते गिरिं ।
यत्कृपा तमहं वन्दे परमानन्द माधवम् ॥
mūkaṃ karoti vācālaṃ paṃguṃ laṃghayate giri .
yat kṛpā tamahaṃ vaṃde paramānaṃda mādhavam ..
I salute that supreme bliss, Madhava, by whose mercy the dumb become most eloquent and the lame are able to jump over the mountains.
AJ is probably the best example of the above famous sloka from the Gita. I am not sure if AJ is a spiritual person, but he certainly overcame some odds that would have broken down most ordinary mortals. After his accident he had to undergo 2 years of surgery and rehabilitation while being permanently wheelchair bound. A young person with his whole life ahead of him would have gone into depression. Yet, in spite of the continuous unbearable pain he had to endure, with his debilitating disability, he didn’t give up. Fortunately his family was able to send him to the UK and Germany for treatment and rehabilitation. He took the opportunity to get additional education in computer science. This being the early nineties, he could pick up some very valuable tech skills.
The next chapter of his life begins when his family moves to Hong Kong and he decides to relocate from Europe. For a wheelchair bound south asian albeit with some valuable tech skills, but no knowledge of Cantonese and local culture, finding any job let alone a proper one was to prove a tough ask! After many rejections, he could only find a job as a repair person for computers! But he took it with great gusto and excelled himself so much that his next job came through a headhunter. Eventually he had great success through his hard work in turning around Cityline – a famous Hong Kong ticketing company which was struggling when AJ took over as its CEO.
While testing success in his professional career, AJ was dealing with debilitating constant pain in his legs that was so severe that he would pass away on occasions. Doctors had prescribed a high dose of pain killers including opioids to help him cope with the pain. But in the early 2000s, he realised that the constant use of strong opioids is making his senses dull and affecting the quality of his life greatly. At the same time he discovered through research that endurance sports can help him overcome his dependence on opioids. He was already a polo player and a good sportsman before his accident, now he started taking up paracycling and dragon boat racing. Later he was discovered by Hong Kong coaches and drafted into the rowing team. Soon, AJ would be representing Hong Kong in rowing and winning medals in Asian and world events.
Ajmal Samuel (AJ) competing in Hong Kong Cyclothon 2023
His extraordinary story would soon take a turn into philanthropy. The Ajmal Samuel Foundation would start various initiatives to take up disability rights issues, advocacy and fundraising through events such as his epic hand cycling from Being to Mohe (on the Russian border) – a distance of 2617 km in 37 days to raise funds and awareness. He has also participated and successfully completed in record time, as the first differently abled person, the gruelling Around the Hong Kong Island Race (ATIR) in 2017 and 2019.
AJ’s life story reads like an amazing adventure and proves the adage that the human body and mind are incredible gifts of nature that can overcome extraordinary odds if trained with determination and persistence. Life is a gift not to be endured but to be lived to its fullest no matter what the challenges that are thrown at you. He continues to inspire many who face challenges in their lives to not give up and strive hard to overcome.
In my first meeting itself I invited AJ to come and speak to a small gathering we had organised for the cause of peace and to raise funds for the peace activists in the subcontinent. He spoke eloquently giving examples of his life experience and the audience was mesmerised by his story. Recently my cherished goal of riding with him got fulfilled when we rode together for about 50 kms on the cycle tracks around our neighbourhood. I look forward to riding with him and imbibing some of his great qualities and perhaps even be his companion on one of his great expeditions in the future.
