At 12.45 am on Monday, live rendition of a melodious song from the 1995 Telugu movie Peddarayudu on the footpath of the M.G. Road drew the attention of the many people savouring their favourite ice creams and food at the nearby shop and night food court.
It was S. Subramanyam, a teacher and head of an educational and training institution for the differently-abled in Gudivada, presenting the song, originally sung by legendary singer K.J. Yesudas, seeking funds to support his visually impaired peers.
The onlookers and passers-by were surprised to witness the performance at such an odd hour. But Mr. Subramanyam, who holds an MA (English) degree from the Sri Venkateswara University, had been rendering religious and cinema songs since 7 pm.
All he wants is to get some donations for his organisation on which more than 30 persons including children are dependent.
“We hardly get funds. Our prime source of income is live concerts that we do in schools and colleges. Each of us has a special skill and with the team of singers and musicians we arrange live concerts,” Mr. Subramanyam told The Hindu shortly before ending the show.
“We are getting no help from the government or the public and the institution is running out of funds. Also, no private educational institution offers me a job due to my disability. Hence we planned this concert to meet our needs at least to an extent,” the 42-year-old said.
Mr. Subramanyam is not alone. His wife Krishnaveni, a contractual teacher at the Jawahar Bal Bhavan operated the audio system while another visually impaired singer chorused his master.
“We were told that the open food court and the ice cream shop are usually crowded till 2 am daily and we chose Sunday to perform.
“The ice cream shop owner helped us a lot by giving free power supply. Their customers also extended help by donating money. The police were also cooperative,” Ms. Krishnaveni said.
All-round training
About their institution ‘New Light Educational Institute for Differently-abled’, the couple said, “Apart from schooling for children, we provide vocational training in making soaps, candles and teach English, computers and others along with board and lodging for free.” The institution is run from a building with a rent of ₹12,000 and requires about ₹40,000 per month to meet the needs of all inmates.
“Most of the parents in villages do not send visually impaired children to school. Whenever I come across such children we make an appeal to join them in our institution. Most of them resist fearing that we take away their pension amount,” Mr. Subramanyam added. The trio came in an auto-rickshaw from Gudivada, 50 km from here, with the loudspeakers and audio mixing console that were hired. “I am a native of Chittoor and worked for eight years in an NGO in Hyderabad where I met and married Krishnaveni. Later we moved to Gudivada for her job,” he said. They plan to come to the city often depending on the response.
