“Could you clear that table also please? Excuse me! Hello?” Mr Anuj Panwar, just in time, observes the impatient guest and with a humbling smile attends to his next task first. Finishes his work with implacable sincerity that calms the guests. Visibly satisfied but the guest avoids saying thank you. “Sometimes, people are just having a bad day”, says Anuj, “and obviously they don’t know I can’t hear or speak so at first they get irritated thinking I am ignoring them. It’s not intentional, I know that.”

24-year-old Anuj Panwar is a room attendant at Mahindra’s Mussoorie resort working for 5 years, 6 months.

My father used to work at a restaurant in Mussoorie, but the single income was not enough to support the entire family. So, I had to discontinue my studies after senior secondary school and start working.

“I joined as an on-job trainee. Initially I was nervous, however the resort team made me feel so comfortable and helped me in the best possible way. All the team members at resort are extremely helpful. I feel proud to be associated with Mahindra Holidays.”

While Anuj doesn’t have the normal forms of communication, he has a superpower – he can express himself through a more creative and complex form - classical dance.

“I’m a good classical dancer and I perform at Mahindra’s Champ Shows. I have won several awards and recognitions from the management.

I have given several performances during New Year and Christmas celebrations over the years.

It was the night of my performance when this guest, who was impatient with Anuj, saw him dance at night and realized about his disability. He came over and told Anuj how much he loved the show.

“When guests recognise me and mention that during the day, I was servicing their rooms and in evening I performed for them as a member of the Champs Team, they appreciate me a lot and this makes me proud.”

“My disability is not apparently visible, but my talent is. People may sympathise with me for my disability, but I know they love me for my talent. That makes me happy.”

We have many such stories of our heroes with superpowers from across Club Mahindra resorts. Stay tuned for more of them.

We would love to hear more stories from you too, write to us on [email protected].