“I first make the person comfortable by telling him/her about my experience as a scribe. This icebreaker always works. It instils confidence in the person,” says Usha Ramakrishnan, who has been a scribe for those appearing for various examinations, for the last ten years.
It all started when Usha moved to the city in 2001 and wanted to do some volunteering work. “I started by going to Little Flower Convent twice a week for reading sessions,” says the 55-year-old who is well-versed in English and Tamil.
Usha found time after her household chores and started recording for Gopi, a visually-challenged student pursuing B.A. Today, she is one of the most active volunteer of iScribe and does reading, writing and scribing for not just the visually-impaired, but also for others with disabilities that make these processes difficult.
“Once I wrote an exam for a student from an international school, who had a learning disability,” she says, adding that her only request to the organisation is that the assignment must be close to her home. Of late, Usha is concentrating more on recording sessions. She picks up books from Thakkar Baba Vidyalaya that she records for undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral programme students.
In ten years of scribing, Usha has had many unforgettable experiences. A student of Loyola College with cerebral palsy stunned her with his speed.
“Many have praised me that while listening to my recorded lessons, they get a sense of my presence next to them,” she says. Punctuality, a legible handwriting and being sensitive are among qualities a scribe must have, she says
Usha says she has not been successful in persuading her friends to take up such a service. “They say they have lost touch with writing. But, scribing is not all that difficult,” she says. Usha can be contacted at 97105 81208.
