These achievers triumphed despite adversity

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 3

With strong will power and determination, five visually impaired set themselves on a path of courageous struggle to rise above impediments, becoming an inspiration to their ilk. Today, these achievers were felicitated by Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi with Excellence Awards on the occasion of International Day for persons with disability at the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (NIVH).

Imagine being confronted with the prospect of going completely blind at the age of 18 years — Being told that you would not be able to do several things including reading newspapers and books ever again. This is what happened to Chennai resident L Subramani, who fell prey to the retinal degenerative disease in his adulthood years.

While Subramani’s life altered considerably, his obsession with newspapers and news continued. “All my plans went a sea change. I had to devise ways to adapt to the changes, even as my family members were still shocked. At that point in time, I thought of entering the field of journalism and soon enough, I started my career as a sports journalist with the New Indian Express in Chennai,” said Subramani.

In fact, he is the first visually impaired person to work as a sports journalist. He covered tennis matches for his newspaper. “It is a fact that one's other senses sharpen up to compensate for the loss of one sense. I used to report, relating to the sound of the tennis ball,” he said.

Today, he is part of the editorial team in Deccan Chronicle and has set up an NGO that helps the visually impaired cope up.

Never losing sight of her goals though she was suffering from blindness, Delhiite Monica Sharma strove an extra mile to fulfil her life’s ambitions. “Since childhood, I knew things would be difficult for me, but I wanted to do everything that persons with normal vision can. It began with good education — I was lucky to be part of an integrated education project that allowed me to study with students with normal vision. I then tried my hand at acting and singing,” she said.

There is determination in her smile as she narrates her experiences working at the IBM company as a voice and accent trainer and learning the art of theta healing.

Being the first visually impaired person to head the Hindi Department of Delhi University is no mean achievement, but Dr Prem Singh is known to set several benchmarks. A PhD, D Litt, she was among the few visually impaired persons who decided to undergo teachers' training for the visually impaired from the famous Perkins School for the Blind, Boston USA. “One cannot ignore the needs of the visually impaired. They require to be taught in a manner that is easy and increases their confidence,” she added.

B-Tech in Computer Science and Engineering, Avneesh Singh of Delhi has carved out a niche in developing software for the visually impaired. “After losing my eyesight, I realised there were limited options for the visually impaired to acquire knowledge. I began developing software for them, including DAISY production tools,” he said.

Baldev Gulati, who is visually impaired, is from Delhi and has been playing a role in making visually impaired persons self-reliant and independent through micro enterprises.