Don’t fall for her short appearance as Harwinder Kaur, aka Ruby, shows and proves that if you are tough nothing can stop you for being an achiever, neither your physical looks nor the ridicule nor bullying by people.
Standing at 3 feet and 11 inches, 24-year-old Kaur is a lawyer and does well to effectively put across her case both in court and life.
Kaur was born a dwarf and was made fun of by her school mates mercilessly. So much so that she started hating school and the idea of attending it. From avoiding school, she went on to skip attending classes most of the time. Being mocked for her height, she withdrew, secluding herself with most of her years as a youngster, being wasted in depression.
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She studied in Jalandhar’s Police DAV Public School
On releasing what she was going through and in what she was sinking, Kaur decided enough is enough, and made herself realise that her short height was not due to her fault.
Residing in Armaan Nagar in Rama Mandi in Jalandhar, Kaur realised her height deficiency when she was just 10 years old. She remained short despite the fact that all the other members of her family were of average height.
Taking to Tribune News Service she said: “I was in Class IV when I noticed my body was not growing normally. With this came a lot of teasing and bullying. By the time I reached senior secondary classes, I started skipping school and spent most of my days at home. But when I decided to face the world and took admission at the KCL Institute of Laws, life changed for the better. The things I missed in school, I experienced at college.”
The key according to Kaur is in self-belief and accepting oneself as you are and not what you should be or others want you to be. According to her this was key which instilled self-confidence and a positive attitude, inspiring her to go ahead and fulfil her dreams.
She told TNS: “Earlier, I wanted to be an air hostess but that was not possible, so I chose to study law and become a voice of the disabled. People with insecurities and inferiority complexes now look up to me and appreciate my confidence.”
Despite a life of struggle Kaur not only completed her law education but also won respect and affection of people through her sheer grit. She completed her BA, LLB from Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar.
Both her confidence and achievement have done wonders for Kaur. Accepting it she remarked: “The scornful looks and words of ridicule forced me to doubt my capabilities as a child. Today, I am just 3 ft 11 inches tall, but now I see respect in the once-scornful eyes and the sly remarks have been turned into compliments. I feel proud of myself.”
Having suffered, Kaur is determined to help others and pledged to work and fight on behalf of specially abled people as she can “feel the pain” they undergo.
The daughter of an Assistant Sub Inspector, Kaur who has more than 50,000 followers on Instagram, believes that hard work, resilience and positive attitude are key to success.
