Lack of eyesight has never been a worry for me all my life, probably because I do not know what it is like to have eyesight, says S. Pavunthai , the Headmistress of Indian Association of Blind Higher Secondary School at Sundararajanpatti near Alagarkoil in Madurai. The woman, who was instrumental in starting the school, goes on rounds, teaches English, History and Economics. Speaking to Sanjana Ganesh , Ms. Pavunthai says she has little time to unwind.
She is the second sibling in a family of seven. Four other siblings are also visually impaired. “I came from a poor and big family in Theni. Through a well-wisher, our parents heard that we could all study in a residential school for the visually impaired at Poonamallee near Chennai. I joined Class 1 at the Government Higher Secondary School For Visually Impaired there in 1959,” she says.
Ms. Pavunthai says she scored first rank in class every year and was undeterred by the occasional pangs to go home. “Moreover the wardens were like parents to us and we hardly felt homesick. We were taken care of well and were treated like their daughters,” she says.
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After she completed Class 11 in 1969, her parents could not afford to spend on her higher studies. Anyway, not many of the visually impaired students finished pre-university course and collegiate education then, she adds. “At that time, Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy, who founded Aravind Eye Hospital, had a trade training centre in Madurai to help empower visually impaired people. The centre taught people to stitch, make cane chairs and weave handlooms. I joined the centre so that I can earn money. That is when I became acquainted with S. M. A. Jinnah, founder of Madurai chapter of the Indian Association of Blind,” she says.
Ms. Pavunthai says Jinnah saw potential in those who completed Class 11 and helped those yearning to study further. Though the fees were high, Jinnah procured government exemption for four people from the training centre. He would coach the students after they are done with their job at the centre so that the students could write the exam with confidence. Ms. Pavunthai joined Thiagarajar College, graduated in History with honours and went on to complete Bachelor of Education there.
In 1981, Ms. Pavunthai joined her first job at a centre run by Jinnah at KK Nagar in Madurai. “I would go to various mainstream schools, meet visually impaired students and help them with their studies. I also helped them after school hours by giving them tuitions at the KK Nagar centre,” she says.
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“One day, a teacher at a private school who was less experienced and less educated than me, demanded that I address her as ‘teacher’ though we were on first-name basis for months. She found it beneath her to be called by name by a blind person. When I brought this to the notice of Jinnah sir, he decided it was time he started a school and provide a decent space for the visually impaired. That is how IAB schoolwas started,” she says.
Ms. Pavunthai says her several years of teaching at various mainstream schools and those for the visually-impaired have enriched her experience. She took charge as Headmistress in 2015 and continues to teach.
“I want to ensure that more visually-impaired children join our school because we have all facilities necessary for their growth. I will continue to serve this school for as many years as I physically deemed fit,” she says.