“You must meet her,” says R. Muniappan. The treasurer of the College Students and Graduates Association of the Blind (CSGAB) teaches history at Nandanam Arts College. Visually-challenged, he insists that we meet Mangai Krishnaswamy, his reader for several years. Muniappan holds a Ph.D. and he says he couldn’t have done it without her. Seventy-year-old Mangai beams as she talks about her student. “I accompanied him for his viva voce,” she recalls. “It’s an experience I will never forget — to see him take on questions with flair.”
The bond a visually-challenged student shares with his/her reader is one that cannot be easily described in words. For the student, the reader’s voice is everything — it forms the basis of his/her education. Most of them continue to remain in touch long after they finish college and settle down. “My reader calls to check on me regularly. Even my mother doesn’t do that,” smiles Muniappan. In view of the 208th birth anniversary of Louis Braille (January 4), the CSGAB observed ‘Reader’s Day’.
It was a day of thanksgiving to the readers who have journeyed with them since the year 2000. Held at Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya, where readers and students meet every day for sessions, there was warmth and bonhomie. While some readers assemble at one of the 14 centres in the city during weekends for reading sessions, some others volunteer from home.
Usha Ramakrishnan from Perumbakkam recalls her days as a reader for almost 17 years. “I enjoy teaching, and after my kids finished school, I decided to volunteer as a reader to continue teaching,” she says. “I can never forget M. Gopi, a student who was pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Tamil. He would come home exactly at 1.25 p.m. We would have a glass of fresh juice, study till 4 p.m., and end with a cup of coffee,” she says.
Sarada Sambamoorthy and Janaki Vaidyanathan turned readers after retirement. “We volunteer at Thakkar Bapa every day from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.,” says Janaki. She adds that she would record lessons in audio cassettes. Some readers go the extra mile to help their students. Sarada, for instance, recalls making around 100 educational charts for a B.Ed. student. “My students inspire me,” she says. “I considered doing my Ph.D. after retirement, but gave up the idea to become a reader instead. This way, imagine the number of Ph.Ds that I can help out with.” Readers who volunteer with CSGAB come from various backgrounds. There are retired bank employees, home-makers, working professionals… Muniappan says there are people who sacrifice their lunch hours at work to read. “Meera, a reader, comes here during her one-hour lunch break to volunteer. If Braille invented the dot system, it’s readers such as her who add more meaning to it.”
