Double amputee artist and former climber turns adversity into art, one brushstroke at a time

Time of India

28-05-2025

Nainital: Shachindra Bisht, 52, a resident of Nainital, is a testament to the indomitable human spirit. Before life took a dramatic turn, Bisht had carved a niche in the film industry as an editor, working on documentaries and ad films.
But a deeper calling pulled him away from city life and toward the mountains. In 2008, he began rock climbing under the guidance of Anil Belwal, the Indian cricket team's then climbing coach. Seeking a more meaningful life, he left his corporate job and moved to Nainital to reconnect with nature and live simply through climbing, filmmaking, and painting.
Then came March 2023. A sudden fever led to septicaemia (blood poisoning), and within days, Bisht was fighting for his life.
Doctors gave him less than a 10% chance of survival as all his organs began to fail. He was on a ventilator for several days. When he finally emerged from the ICU, both his hands and toes had been amputated.
Bisht told TOI, "My idea of wealth is survival skills, not the money earned. The wealth I gained made me someone who could survive the toughest times, something money alone could never do." He said his pursuit of "wealth," not money, prompted him to walk away from a high-paying tech career and move to Nainital to connect with nature before the tragedy struck.
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He also established a learning centre in Nainital and is now seeking financial aid to offer free painting and climbing classes to underprivileged and disabled children.
"In 2001, I became the first Indian to be selected by Adobe as a software tester, and notably, the first non-software engineer to hold that role," he said. "My journey has never been conventional. I home-schooled my daughters for two years, and both scored above 90% in their board exams even while I was going through a personal health crisis.
My wife, who is from Kerala, stood by me with unwavering strength during that time.
"
Post-amputation, Bisht faced a long and painful recovery. He was bedridden for months, learning to live with a new body and grieving the loss of his limbs. But it was painting, one of his oldest passions, that brought healing. Using adaptive techniques, he learned to hold brushes again. Within seven months, he was back to exercising and began walking without toes, defying medical expectations.
Today, he paints expressive landscapes and spiritual imagery on walls, T-shirts and bags, and climbing holds. "Each brushstroke is a testament to my resilience and unwavering spirit," he told TOI.
Despite physical setbacks, Bisht refuses to see himself as disabled. Inspired by conversations with mountaineer Jamie Andrews, who lost his limbs to gangrene, Bisht is now training to return to the mountains, with a focus on ice climbing in the US. "My story is not one of limitation, but of resilience, purpose, and the unshakeable will to give back and keep climbing both literally and metaphorically."
Now based in Nainital, Bisht continues to inspire through his art and story, using creativity as both catharsis and purpose.