( CNN ) Imagine sitting on a dusty , busy street in New Delhi , crowded with vendors and people running quickly about the market . A woman 's lapis-colored sari swishes past you in the golden-colored dusk . You 've been here since morning . A tourist extends a hand with a crumpled paper bill . You try to lift your hand to accept , but you ca n't . The muscles are paralyzed , and your mind ca n't command them to move . You use your knee to balance your arm and grasp the rupee . Then you use your foot to pick up your bag and head home for the day . This is everyday life for Bipin Kumar . Kumar , known as BK , contracted polio as a child , and he has learned to adapt to how he moves and lives . Kumar has no brothers or father to provide for him , so he moved to New Delhi 10 years ago to pursue the only means of income he could -- begging on the streets . Photographer Elena del Estal was in India last year when the World Health Organization announced that polio had officially been eradicated from the country . It had been exactly three years since the last contracted case . Del Estal was fascinated by this . She could n't help but wonder about those already living with the crippling effects of this horrible disease . She traveled to a small village near Kolkata to meet a little girl who was India 's last case of polio . This gave her the inspiration to begin a long-term project on those suffering in a country that 's now `` polio-free . '' First she met a boy named Dharmender who lived in Uttar Pradesh , a state in northern India . Even though his village was poor , his family took good care of him . Del Estal spent time with him and accompanied him during a surgical procedure in New Delhi . She said that while Dharmender is very fortunate to have the opportunity for surgery , he will still never have a `` normal '' life . `` His daily life is hard . ... Everybody around him was working and having a family , and he can not have this , '' Del Estal said . `` So on one hand , it 's ( a ) hard situation , and on the other hand , it 's easier than the other boy I met . '' She 's speaking of Kumar , the young man who moved to New Delhi to support himself and his elderly mother back home in a village up north . Del Estal first met Kumar when she was wrapping up the first segment of her project . From the beginning , she said , he was very trusting , allowing her into his daily life . Del Estal was intent on capturing an authentic portrayal of Kumar 's life -- the everyday logistics of moving through a city without one 's limbs at command . She said she was amazed at how adept he was at maneuvering his world . He could carry notebooks with his neck , grasp a pencil in between his clutched fingers , smoke a cigarette using his feet and prop his arms on his knees to move them forward . Social media . Follow @ CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography . Between the two of them -- Del Estal speaking a little Hindi and Kumar speaking a little English -- they wove a patchwork language of friendship and understanding . Kumar told her of his love interest -- a girl who had feelings for him as well -- but her parents would never allow their union . Del Estal said that while Kumar wants a job , employment is next to impossible for someone in his condition . But his spirit is tenacious . He knows how to read and write and he is skilled at taking care of himself . Before heading to the main bazaar in New Delhi every day , he washes and dresses himself . There are no days off for him . As shops open and tourists fumble through a foreign world in flip-flops and Bermuda shorts , Kumar positions himself in a visible location and smiles and greets everyone who passes with , `` Namaste . '' Del Estal has been so impacted by his friendship that she said her next plans are to do a project on his life . `` I want to go to his village to meet his mother and keep taking pictures about his life because he is such a beautiful person , '' she said . `` It 's such a sad ( circumstance ) yet amazing life . I want to keep documenting his ( story ) . '' Elena del Estal is a Spanish photographer based in India .
In March of last year , it was announced that polio had been eradicated in India . Kumar could n't help but wonder about those already living with the disease .