To write and read need not be the privilege of only those blessed with eyesight. The visually challenged too could read and write. Many of them have gone on to attain advanced educational qualifications and secured jobs.
On Tuesday, the day of Vidyarambhom (initiation into writing), a couple of visually challenged children too had their first experience in the world of letters, at a function organised by Chakshumathi, a Thiruvananthapuram-based NGO, and Puthalath Eye Hospital here. Actor-director Sreenivasan introduced them to writing.
When the organisers invited him for the function, they may not have thought of the fact that one of his finest performances as an actor came as a blind man, in Aathmakatha . But one of the visually challenged young men present at the programme made a reference to it. That young man, K.P. Mani, is a student of Development Studies at IIT, Chennai.
This is the fifth year in a row that Chakshumathi, which works in the area of assistive technology, is organising Vidyarambhom in the State. “We decided to have it in Kozhikode this year because there are an unusually large number of visually challenged people in the Malabar region,” Ram Kamal, managing trustee, Chakshumathi, told The Hindu . “We also wanted to spread awareness about blindness here; we have had discussions with Dr. Suresh Puthalath, medical director of Puthalath Eye Hospital.”
At the programme, the visually challenged were also introduced to reading digital text, using assistive technology. “Now, the visually challenged have access to lot more books,” said Ram Kamal.
