Pune: From A Wheelchair To Making Cities More Accessible; 14-Year-Old’s Journey With StairlessJourney
· Free Press Journal
StairlessJourney is a youth-led accessibility initiative that helps people with disabilities find places they can visit with greater confidence. Its main focus is to identify, verify and promote accessible cafes, restaurants and other public spaces, so that people do not have to depend on guesswork before stepping out. The initiative began in February 2025 and currently covers Pune, Goa and Kolkata, with more than 50 locations verified.
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For its founder, Pratik, the idea came from a deeply personal experience. In 2022, at the age of 13, Pratik met with an accident while travelling to school and suffered fractures in both hands and both legs. Living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, commonly known as brittle bone disease, the accident led to a year-long recovery and complete bed rest.
During that period, writing became a way for Pratik to process the experience. That writing eventually became the book Where Hope Begins, which was published in December 2025. But his recovery also brought another problem to light - the lack of information about places where people with disabilities could comfortably go.
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That realisation led to StairlessJourney. While awareness about disability is an important part of the initiative, its primary goal is simple: help people with disabilities find accessible places.
The initiative has a team of around 20 to 30 people in each city, including researchers and volunteers involved in verification. The team does not simply depend on information provided by establishments. A wheelchair user is sent to the location to experience it firsthand.
“We do not just rely on a checklist. The first thing is the experience,” Pratik explained. The verification process looks at the entire experience, including how easily a person can move around, how staff respond and whether the space is genuinely usable for someone with a disability.
The initiative has also expanded its work beyond mapping accessible spaces. It has conducted awareness campaigns, including what Pratik described as India's first online disability film screening. Its website has now been launched, bringing together verified locations from the three cities in one place.
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“When I first started working with StairlessJourney, I was genuinely happy with the way the founder interacted with us. He was more like a friend than a boss. Always understanding, supportive, and making sure that everyone felt seen and valued,” Tanush said
He added, “Over the weeks, StairlessJourney has grown tremendously, from identifying accessible places to finally launching its website. The company is developing firmly yet sharply, and I’m genuinely happy to be a part of StairlessJourney and contribute to its journey forward.”
StairlessJourney is currently not a registered organisation. Pratik describes it as a city-based initiative that is growing gradually and hopes to expand to more cities in the future.
At just 14, Pratik has turned a difficult chapter of his own life into an effort to make everyday experiences a little easier for others. What began with a year of limited mobility has now become a journey towards helping people with disabilities move through cities with fewer barriers.