Onkyo Braille Essay Contest 2006 -- International Section (Middle East, Central and Southern Asia) ■ International Runner-Up "How Braille Changed My Life" Mr. Kamal Veer Singh (India: 44-year-old) |
A script tends to become part and parcel of one's entity and I wonder if a sighted person would ever need to write on a similar topic, simply because his knowledge of a script is taken for granted. It is not the same with the visually challenged; many of them would not have learned Braille; many others may not have acquired proficiency in the script; a majority of them may not be making much use of it. I for one cannot imagine life without Braille-success in life, much less so. As the topic given above demands the treatment of a first person narrative with autobiographical touches, I will present an overview of my life and be nostalgic at the outset. My advent in the family as a new born-babe was highly unwelcome because my elder brother was also born blind and was 'enough of a burden'. I was admitted at Indian public school along with my sighted younger brother at the age of seven. During my one year in that local school, I always remained a subject of curiosity, discussion, pity and imminent exemptions due to my impairment. At home too, being the naughtiest among six siblings, I was taken as a nuisance that had to be got rid of somehow. During his quest for a residential school, my uneducated father came across a couple of 'special schools' in the capital city and decided to dump me at one which appeared to him (and proved to be) the best. The administrators of the school advised my father to forget all about my elementary education at the previous school and admitted me there along with the beginners. By now I was already ten; yet this was a blessing in disguise as I was always ahead of my classmates in all the other subjects and thus I could spend a lot of time in learning Braille. To my young mind, the script appealed more as a unique plaything. Consequently, I learned it fast with speed and accuracy. It would be an understatement to say that Braille has changed my life. I would rather assert that Braille has shaped and molded it. My academic performance was beyond mere satisfactory at the school level. Even the scarcity of textbooks in Braille was not an obstacle; my mentors exhorted me to prepare Braille material on my own, rather than resorting to sighted readers or audio-material. Unlike my peer-group, I had realized it much early that a firm foundation cannot be laid without 'self-reading' ; the audio-material cannot instill first hand experience of the text with adequate opportunity for acquiring skills of reading and writing, inclusive of the sub-skills of spelling, punctuation, minute details of grammar, indentation etc. All my claims regarding use of Braille textbooks were likely to have been falsified at the college and University level where I opted for English literature as my subject for higher studies. I was, however, very fortunate to have received assistance in the form of Braille books loaned to me by different libraries across the continents. Even the tardy ship-transportation of these books did not dissuade me from a routine hunt for them; bulky and voluminous? I love them the way they are! I scored less in all those papers for which I could not manage Braille material. My sighted counterparts were amazed as well as pleased when they saw me engaged in taking class-notes with Braille slate and stylus. Most of them had a healthy competitive spirit; few of them --low-achievers in particular-- were even jealous. This reflects a normal college and University life, for which the entire credit goes to Braille and the consequent self-dependence. Where else can self-dependence be a pre-requisite than in the pursuit of one's profession! The employer and the colleagues would not easily accept someone with limitations or disabilities unless a challenged person proves an asset. For me, Braille and self-dependence are synonymous in my profession as well. While teaching English to my sighted students, I must inevitably have the Braille copy of the textbook in hand as the essential tool. I prepare their attendance and terminal test reports also in Braille, hence leaving no scope for dependence on my colleagues, and making my wards realize that there should not be much of a difference between their sighted teachers and me. In case I asked them to read aloud in the class, the purpose is merely to develop their reading and speaking skills as I constantly follow text in my Braille copy side by side. Notes prepared in Braille in advance are also of a lot of significance. I have to perform the role of a teacher-trainer on a number of occasions: this task is much more challenging. I invariably prepare the entire lecture in Braille so as to keep a regular track of the topic, avoid digression and handle queries with confidence. Even after doing one single topic in 10 sessions, I am an utter failure in case I have to discuss it without my Braille copy. Similarly, the tip of the forefinger of my left hand is always at work deciphering the embossed dots and sending signals to the mind on all those occasions when I am addressing the audience on stage, putting forward my view points in the meetings, broadcasting and telecasting programmes on different networks, busy reading the entertainers or journals, engrossed in perusing scriptures for spiritual dose etc. More recently, as a member of NFB-AICB Joint Braille Literacy committee, I have been conducting and coordinating state level Braille reading and writing competitions for school students across the country with a purpose of motivating youngsters to have keenness and enthusiasm to learn Braille for self-sufficiency. It gives me immense pleasure and gratification when I speak to them and distribute cash prizes among them along with the certificates on behalf of the committee. For these varied engagements in life, I am indebted to Louis Braille, the torch bearer, whose invention prevailed, leaving behind all the scripts that preceded his own; I owe a lot to all those who have made Braille accessible to me and whose efforts have culminated in my humble subsistence. My Laptop also is only supplementary to Braille. It would not be a rhetoric or exaggeration if I conclude with the submission that I will be a non-entity without the indispensable Braille. |
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