Visually-impaired people do not see the world as we do. However, they are inspired by the same things are the rest of us are – stories of people making the society a better place and helping each other at the time of crisis.
23-year-old Gokul from Tirumala never let his complete visual impairment get in the way of his dream – becoming an IAS officer and working towards the betterment of the country. He cracked UPSC 2019 and ranked 804, reports The New Indian Express.
Gokul realised he wanted to become an IAS officer after watching a bunch of young IAS officers doing flood-relief work during the 2018 floods.
“These were instances which made me realise that the civil services is where I should be. Instances of visually-challenged youngsters successfully entering Civil Services further inspired me,” Gokul said.
He isn’t sure whether he is eligible for IAS of IFS positions yet. In case he doesn’t qualify, Gokul will be appearing for the exam again and will work towards scoring better.
“Physical impairment is noticeable but what we don’t realise is that many people are emotionally impaired too. It is very rare to find a person without any impairment. What we need to ensure is not to let that impairment become a roadblock,” he said.
Another such inspiring story is that of 25-year-old Purana Sunthari, a woman from Madurai. Despite being visually impaired, Sunthari secured an All India Rank of 286, reports TNIE.
“I just turned numb when I got to know the results. I kept asking my family to check it multiple times. This is my fourth attempt at the exam, and I am over the moon now,” she said.
She added how getting all the study materials in audio format was difficult. But it was her parents who read the books for her day in and day out. Her friends also helped her in converting a few books into audio format.
“Aim high, irrespective of whatever the hurdles that may come in your way,” she said.
27-year-old Jayant Mankale from Mumbai had lost 75% of his vision in 2015 after suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa – a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina.
Jayant lost his father at the age of 10 and his family suffered from financial difficulties ever since. His mother sold pickles to support his education.
Even though he decided to sit for the UPSC exam, he could not afford audiobooks and a screen-reader.
“I listened to the news and, and lectures on All India Radio. The debate programme at Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV was very useful for me. Besides, I listened to speeches of eminent Marathi writers on Youtube,” Jayant said.
He first attempted UPSC in 2018 and ranked 923. However, in his second attempt in 2019, Jayant secured an All India Rank of 143, reports TNIE. He worked as a maintenance engineer in a private firm before cracking the exam.
“If we are determined to get success then we can cross all hurdles that come in our way,” he said.
Chennai’s 31-year-old D. Balanagendran first cracked the UPSC exam in 2016. He ranked 927 and was offered Group-A services but he didn’t pursue the opportunity because his goal was to become an IAS officer only.
According to TNIE, he cracked the exam in 2017 too but didn’t make the cut because of 1 mark. However, Balanagendran kept pursuing his goal. This year, he secured 659th rank and qualified for IAS.
“I never felt visual-impairment to be a hurdle, because I was born this way,” he says.
Balanagendran aims to eradicate crimes against children before he retires.
These stories just go on to prove how nothing is impossible if the heart is in the right place! May such stories inspire many more to pursue their dreams despite hurdles!