Filling a Gap in special education

Seven-year-old Tejas was confused when his father told him that an infinite number cannot be pinpointed. Nonetheless, he persisted with the question, but got the same answer. Finally, he relented, saying, “Fine, if the infinite number cannot be pointed out, tell me the number just before that.” A logical question indeed!

 Once, Tejas had written a mirror image of ‘6’ instead of six. Obviously, he did not get the expected ‘stars’ from his teachers. He was sad and couldn’t understand where he had gone wrong. When his parents pointed out to him that he had written the mirror image, he asked, “Why can’t the teacher hold the book upside down, then she could have read it as six.’’ The little boy, of course, sounded logical. But his mother had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

 When a child psychologist told them that he had learning disability, they could not fully comprehend what it exactly meant. The panic-stricken parents started searching for institutions that could help out their boy, which landed them at the Child Development Centre (CDC) of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. There, they came to know that Tejas had dyslexia. “He knows the colours as red, blue, black etc. But he could not pinpoint which is which. We often dismissed such tendencies as laziness. But it was not,” said his mother, Sandhya Prajin.

 It is their frantic efforts to know more about their child’s problem that eventually led them to come up with a school for dyslexic children - Travancore National School - a first of its kind in the state. Within one year of its opening, they could make four dyslexic children pass their tenth standard examination through National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). Flattered by the rare feat achieved, the state government has also extended a helping hand to them.

 “These are good times. But there was a time when everything was topsy-turvy. His father was not ready to accept that he has dyslexia,” reminisced Sandhya.

 “How could you accept that? My daughter is highly competent and is first in everything and the fact did not sink in easily that he had learning disability,” said Prajin Babu, his father.


  What many parents fail to understand is that dyslexia is not a big problem as they think, he explained. “Yes, the child needs proper attention. But it is not something that could brandish their child for life. There are many such children. Once they understand it, their child could be saved,” said Prajin.

 To create awareness in this direction, they made Tejas a little goodwill ambassador. “Our boy has this problem. We are saying it aloud. That could make parents understand it well,” he said.  Singer G Venugopal is the ambassador of their organisation.

Samaritan for the Sightless - Padmashree Dr Tony Fernandez

For octogenarian ophthalmologist Tony Fernandez, age is just a number. The zest with which he has brought light to so many people’s lives in a career spanning half a century, Fernandez will never be past the prime of his life. For his selfless service, the Government of India bestowed upon him the Padmashree in 2008. His eyes still has the spark that glistened 44 years ago, when he took the initiative to set up an eye banking facility for the first time in a private hospital in Kerala.

It was in 1970 that he set up the facility in the Little Flower Hospital at Angamaly, 40 km from Kochi. The hospital then was a small dispensary. Fernandez had special training in corneal transplant and squint from England and was practising at Madurai Medical College when he decided to return to Angamaly.

“I saw a large number of people would be able to see, if corneal transplants were undertaken,” he says. “For some reason, majority of the patients belonged to the financially weaker section of the society. Since there were a few facilities for corneal transplant here, they were referred to an institute in Ahmedabad. Now, how could a financially weak person afford a treatment there?” Thus was born his facility.

However, there was not much of encouragement. “To bring in public involvement, an eye bank association was set up,” says Fernandez. “Corporates and institutions such as the Lions Club and Rotary extended their support, and we started awareness classes. Special equipment was brought from different parts of the world. Slowly, eye transplants began to take place here.”

Since there were no storage facilities initially, the eyes had to be brought from Sri Lanka. Majority of the population in Sri Lanka practice Buddhism; it exhorts them to donate eyes. For many years, Sri Lanka was the major contributor of eyes to many parts of the world, including India. To bring in the donor eyes, special permission had to be taken from the Government of India, apart from paying `2,000 as customs duty. “It was difficult for Angamaly, being a remote village, to get permission. Hence, the government decided to grant permission to set up eye banks at Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut medical colleges,” says Fernandez.

“Earlier, the entire eye had to be taken out; later, it was just the cornea,” he says. It had to be put in an ice box and brought to the state by flight. Then it was taken to Angamaly by bus. But hardly anybody came forward to do this job. It was then that the association for blind came forward to help.



Fernandez is also a pioneer in organising free community camps. Initially, after consultation, the surgery was performed in the camp. Now it has changed. “After consultations, the patients are referred to the hospitals,” he says. Nevertheless, the octogenarian is happy with the way things have turned out regarding organ donation. “But we still have a long way to go,” he says.

Not ready to rest on his laurels, Fernandez has launched another project, Kazhcha 2020, in collaboration with actor Mammootty. “The purpose is to wipe out cataract blindness,” says Fernandez. “Satellite centres will be set up in every part of the state. People can undertake treatment free of charge.”

- Shalet Jimmy

originally published here Filling a Gap in Special Education

Unexpected Delights - SHRAVANABELAGOLA, Karnataka

 The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes
 - Marcel Pronst

I was under the impression that travelling could be an experience only if I travel solo. I was completely fascinated by the tales of solo travelling. But my trip to Shravanabelagola in Hassan at Karnataka broke that myth.

Well! Solo travelling might work for many but for me, a trip with somebody who would just like to travel can work. I have cautiously and deliberately avoided the words ‘share the same passion’. After this trip, I firmly affirm the above-mentioned quotes. Travelling is not about seeking new places but new perspectives.

When I look back, this trip proved to be the most wonderful trip ever.

The experience and that ‘so good feeling which you feel from inside’ could not have happened if I had travelled solo. The 600 steps to reach the biggest monolithic statue would have been a big hurdle if I had travelled alone. I could not have managed them by myself.

Those hours, we spent under the shade of a rock after climbing majority of the steps chatting about personal, professional and worldly things made the experience more personal. A slight breeze that blew during those hours made it more memorable.

Neither am I against solo travelling nor am I making a sweeping generalisation. My point is: if you love travelling, grab any opportunity that comes on your way. Whether it is solo or group does not make a difference. It’s all about you and your personal experience.

We travelled to Hassan from Bangalore. As it was an unexpected trip, we started off a bit late. It took around four hours to reach Hassan. Once you are out of the chaos of city traffic, the rural landscape will make your drive a pleasant experience. When you reach Shravanabelagola, you can see the statue from afar.

As I am a person who does not love being amidst a crowd, the month of September proved to be the right time.

At the entrance, I saw her.

As footwear are not allowed, you can buy socks from the local vendors for Rs 60. After the visit, most of us discarded them in a dustbin kept there.

If you think you cannot handle the steps, there is chair - carrier like a palanquin.The views are different and mesmerizing after climbing each steps. It’s all about rocks.

This white pond and the view is majestic. 

When you think that you have finished the Herculean task of climbing the steps, this appears. You can sit for a while here and start the next phase of climbing.There is no doubt that you will get thirsty after climbing all those steps. There are big tanks set up for drinking water.


 Now let's get some facts about the statue

The 58 feet tall statue of Jain deity Gomateshwara is the tallest monolithic statue in the world.

Shravanabelagola has two hills Chandragiri and Vindhyagiri. The statue is located on the    Vindhyagiri.

The statue is one of the most important thirthas ( pilgrimage destinations ) in Jainism.

The base of the statue has inscriptions in Devnagari script, dating from 981 AD. The inscription praises the king who funded the effort and his general, Chavundaraya, who erected the statue for his mother.

Every 12 years, thousands of devotees come here to perform the Mahamastakabhisheka, a spectacular ceremony in which the statue is anointed with water, turmeric, rice flour, sugar cane juice, sandalwood paste, saffron, and gold and silver flowers. The next Mahamastakabhisheka will be held in 2018. It is called 'Statue of Gommateshvara' by Kannadigas, but the Jains refer to the same as "Bahubali".

A view of the city and the sky from the temple

The descent was much easier. We returned by around 6 pm.

- Shalet Jimmy

PS : All pics are copyrighted

published in bfirst as UNEXPECTED DELIGHTS

A Nightmare for a Lady Gatekeeper

Jhansi, the gatekeeper with the Indian Railways, was her usual self after closing the railway gate between Aralvaymoli and North Panakudi stations. The Nagercoil - Bengaluru Express was about to pass. Little did she know then that, what was about to happen to her. As the time passes, out of the blue, five miscreants arrived at the gate and started yelling at her to open it.

She was all alone with hardly any person around her. The place was also devoid of houses. Every moment was fraught with danger. If something goes wrong, the train would not pass safely. And she could not let that happen.


Risking her life, Jhansi took every blow inflicted on her by her attackers willingly and let the train pass safely. Balu Chandran, a Kanyakumari native who tried to save her, was also brutally assaulted. Their efforts bore fruit when Railways honoured them. The bravery certificate was handed over to them in April 2015 by the Governor at Thiruvananthapuram.

28-year-old Jhansi, a Nagercoil native, still reminisces about that night with a chill down her spine. I was alone. The train would come at any minute. I wanted to avoid a tussle, she says.
When the miscreants tried to open the gate by pulling the lever lock Jhansi told them that she would do it herself once the train passes. This irked them. “They started hurling abusive words. I ran to inform the Police Control Room and locked myself in my room. But, in no time they came after me and had beaten me black and blue. I was hit on my head, chest, abdomen and back,” she recollects.


There was hardly any public except one or two. Then, a small boy came and asked them to stop assaulting her. “They left me writhing in pain and chased that boy. By that time, two or three persons who turned up threw the miscreants’ bike key away. After coming back, thinking that I might have done that, they assaulted me again. I was phoning my Station Master then. They pulled my hair, dragged me and beat my head against the lever.

 It was then that Baluchandran arrived at the scene and tried his best to stop them from harming me,” she says with a gratitude in her eyes.
Even he too fell prey to the brutal attack of the miscreants. “They beat him so hard that he was lying in a pool of blood. They even rolled the bike on top of him. Then they ran and hid somewhere in the dark. Police arrived by then and took us to the hospital,” Jhansi says. By then, the train had passed safely.

Sadly, the assault affected Balu’s life, heavily. “I get acute head and back aches, frequently. Because of it, I could not go to work for months,” he says.
He used to work in a company that makes fishing net .”Earlier,I used to draw a salary of Rs 12,000. Now, every thing is topsy- turvy. I am literally struggling hard to earn my bread and butter. I have a wife and two kids to look after. My wife could not go to work as our first born could not walk and the second child is too small to leave her alone,” he said with helplessness reflecting in his voice.
Jhansi is now a gate keeper at Kaavalkinar. The shift is from 6 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 10 am. “If I get a second shift, my husband would accompany me”. Inquiring, if she is still afraid to go to work, she replies “Yes, But I have to work.”

- Shalet Jimmy

originally published here http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2015/jun/17/A-Nightmare-for-Lady-Gatekeeper-770468.html