... But Not Without a Vision (Part 2)

Please read Part 1, before proceeding to read this.

Two years after I first met the wonderful sisters, I came in contact with Ashima* during my Bachelors. The college library stocked books in Braille, but most of them were limited to just text books. For additional reading, Amisha had to rely on group of NSS volunteers, who as a part of their projects had to read out to visually challenged students.
Amisha was an attentive listener. She would braille-write the important points and concepts, leaving rest to her memory – including even the page number and the paragraph! It’s true. As I was passing by the Common Room one day, she was requesting the NSS volunteer to revisit the social system of the Toda tribes, quoting the appropriate page numbers and location in the book!

My mind then thought, what a luxury it was to have dog-eared pages and lines highlighted in pinks and yellows, while Amisha depended almost entirely on one-time reading sessions.

Those three years just flew by. When I joined the Masters, I was greeted with a familiar sound of tic-tac-toe. Soon more students in the class began to take notice of Bipin*. His arguments and stance on International relations especially India’s foreign policy held all of us in rapt attention. We all quickly got introduced to Bipin, whose enthusiasm, cheer and laughter was infectious. Initially when he talked, he left people dumb founded. One particular morning he walked in quite late, owing to a mishap. It so happened that he had wrongly teamed his dark blue trousers with a maroon shirt. He then wasted a few more minutes seeking for the right shirt. Finally when he couldn’t find his light blue shirt, he settled for an off-white one. After he finished his narration (in his trade mark humour filled style), thank heavens, we had the good sense not to follow it with a bewildered silence. I couldn’t however help thinking aloud later: “Admirable’ is an understatement to describe a person who has never seen colours and yet displays impeccably dress sense!”

I must also admit, there were times when his questions left me stupefied. For instance, when he asked why I would want to remain standing when there were plenty of chairs around (of course, it is possible guage with acoustics, body movements, distance etc. but still…!). Then, another time he wanted to know why I carrying too many books in my hand!! (Till date, this is beyond my comprehension).

He talked of his dreams of getting into the Civil Services and discussed preparation strategies, confident of giving it the best shot. Amazing resilience and spirit, he possessed. Some day I'm sure, he would be better known to one and all as the Secretary to the Government of India.

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Interaction with each of them at different stages of my life proved to be a fresh eye opener, each time. Each brought with them new lessons, and a new zest for life.
Mitali, Mini, Amisha and Bipin - visually challenged… but not without a Vision.

* Names changed