People and stories
The light in their lives
Prabha Arunachalam, 67, works with visually challenged students. We talk to her about her inspiring work.
Prabha Arunachalam
Be the guiding light– this is what Prabha Arunachalam wants to convey through this interview. Prabha(67) has been doing just that by working with visually challenged students. A PhD in History, she currently works with a Bangalore based NGO – Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, which works with visually impaired, disabled and underprivileged children.
In her current role at Samarthanam, Prabha reads out textbooks and reference books to visually challenged students. Her students refer to her as their teacher, but she insists that she is just a reader. However, we find that her role as a Reader runs much beyond that. She stimulates their mind by engaging them in many relevant discussions involving current affairs, social, economic and political issues; she is also a friend to them and sometimes a counsellor when their morale is running low.
Reluctant to speak about herself, she agrees to speak to us as she wants to create awareness about her work and wants more and more people, both young and old to come forward and work with disabled people. “One may feel scared in the beginning, as I did too, but with time as you settle down you find the work very fulfilling, inspiring and motivating.”
Prabha’s association with blind students started more than thirty years ago, although indirectly. While in Delhi, she started recording study material on cassettes for National Association for Blind. Later, when she moved to Hyderabad, she used to record lessons for a University library for the visually impaired students. But, the turning point came when she moved to Chennai about twenty years back. Having lost her life partner, she was in a distressed state, when her sister-in-law suggested that she start working with visually challenged students again. Although Prabha had an office to attend to and two children to raise, she started working with blind students after work. Working with them brought a lot of solace and stability in her life. “Their spirit and energy is very infectious. I never feel low as they inspire me to look forward in spite of all adversities”.
Prabha decided to retire from corporate life at the age of 60, as her two children had left home and settled down in US. However, she could not retire from her philanthropic life. As fate would have it, when she moved to Bangalore few years ago, somebody told her about Samarthanam Trust. She approached them and was assigned two journalism students who would come home to study. The subject was so new for all of them, including Prabha, that she actually held their finger and showed them how a newspaper is divided into columns, unlike books.
Soon, Prabha was asked to come over to the NGO regularly and take on the role of a Reader. Today,her daily schedule involves going to Samarthanam premises every afternoon and coming back in the evening to hold Skype sessions with out-station students or students who want a recap. “Today, technology has come to the aid of students in a big way. Microsoft Windows software JAWS (Job Access With Speech) reads out the screen to them, assisting them not only with their studies, but also with their jobs”. “I have students working at TATA Motors, SBI, etc., successfully”, she adds with lot of pride. A lot of her students are now married and have settled down well in their lives. But they still remember their teacher and stay in touch with her and come visiting when in Bangalore.
“I live alone and my children are constantly worried about me. But I prefer it this way. I’ve given up driving and travel by auto rickshaws and buses. So many times my students tell me the bus routes so that I don’t have to haggle with auto drivers”, she says with a smile. “My students crack jokes, sing, go out for movies, read e-papers through JAWS, listen to debates on YouTube, travel in buses and even participate in dance shows. I have eyes and have no excuse to feel vulnerable”.
Prabha does travel to US to visit her children and grandchildren, but whenever she returns to India, she carries back audio books, talking calculators, etc., as her children back home are always on her mind. Such is her unbridled passion and compassion that we sincerely hope through this article she is able to ignite similar passion in few others, which is what she set out doing when she agreed to speak to us.
— Prabha Arunachalam spoke with Nidhi Chawla.
If you wish to work with the visually challenged, here are a list of places you could contact:
Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled
CA: 39, 15th Cross, 16th Main,
Sector – 4, HSR Layout,
Bengaluru 560102 Karnataka, India
Telephone : +91 80 25721444
Email : info@samarthanam.org
Website : www.samarthanam.org
Sri Rakum School For The Blind
Non-Government Organization (NGO)
No 421, Sri Krishna Temple Road,
Indiranagar Ist Stage,
Bangalore, India.
Pin : 560 038
Tel: +91 (80) 25215253 / +91 (80) 25215705
Email: rakumrakum@yahoo.com
Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind
CA-1B, 3rd Cross, 3rd Phase, J P Nagar,
Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Pin: 560 078.
Ph: +91-(0)80-26581076, 26588045.
Fax: +91-(0)80-26580325.
E-mail: mail@srmab.org.in
Website: http://www.srmab.org.in
The National Association for the Blind, Karnataka Branch
CA Site No. 4 NAB Road, Jeevan Bhima nagar
Bangalore – 560075 Karnataka India
Telephone: 0091 80 2528 1590 / 2528 9939
Email: nabkarnataka@yahoo.co.in
Website: www.nabkarnataka.org
National Association for the Blind, India
11, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Road, Worli Seaface
Mumbai 400 030
Phone (Board Numbers): 2492 5013 / 2493 2820 / 2493 5365 / 2493 6930 / 2494 5822
E-mail: nabin@vsnl.com
Website – http://www.nabindia.org
National Association for the Blind (Delhi State Branch)
Sector-V, R.K. Puram
New Delhi-110022
Phone: 91-11-26102944, 26176379, 26175886
Fax: 91-11-26187650
E-mail: nab@vsnl.com
Mitra Jyothi Trust
C.A. Site No. P 22,
31 st Main, 18 th Cross,
HSR Layout, Sector I,
Behind NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology)
Bangalore: 560102
Phone: 080-22587623/24/25
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