When life knocks you down with its strongest blow, you have two options to deal with it. Either you sit back and cry about it, or you can get back up and show your worth. And here is a true hero, who refused to go by the first option.
Brahmananda Sharma, a civil judge and judicial magistrate of Sarwar town of Ajmer district, lost his eyesight due to glaucoma when he was 22. However, that was enough to stop him from living his dream of a judge.
Unlike other office-bearers, he does not hover over notes during the court proceedings. Instead, Sharma listens to the recorded proceedings to understand the what’s going on.
The first visually impaired judge of Rajasthan had a mountain to climb after losing his eyesight as he did not get any institutional help. It was his family, who stood by him when needed the most. Speaking about the same to TOI, Sharma said,
“I even approached a coaching centre but they refused to help me. It is my family which helped me all through. My wife, who is a teacher at a government school, read out the books and we maintained a recording of the readings, which I listened to frequently.”
Sharma came one step closer to his dream when he cleared the Rajasthan Judicial services Examinations in 2013 securing the 83rd rank. The boy who studied in a government school in Bhilwara was recommended a year’s training by the Rajasthan Hogh Court. He joined service in the year of 2016 and was posted in Chittorgarh.
The 31-year old uses the incredible power of his ears and feeling to recognize the people entering the court by their footsteps.
“Many a times, I sense that advocates and their clients are skeptical and even wonder if a visually impaired man can ensure justice. They seem to forget that even the eyes of the woman of justice are covered. I do justice weighing the facts and merits of a case, just the way it should be.”
Sharma uses an e-speak device connected to a computer, which converts and records the notes made by the reader into speech.
The highly spirited man recommends more use of technology in the judicial system which will enable the illiterate to have a smooth understanding of the proceedings in the court.
Needless to say, Brahmananda Sharma gives us another reason to overcome the challenges in our lives and strive towards our goal for everything is tough but not impossible!