I am a professional who happens to have a visual impairment. On a recent air trip from Nagpur to Mumbai, I was fortunate to find myself sea...
I am a professional who happens to have a visual impairment. On a recent air trip from Nagpur to Mumbai, I was fortunate to find myself seated beside a leading industrialist. I looked forward to have an hour-long conversation with him because, ffor any young professional, these are rare golden opportunities to learn, grow and network. Sadly, the experience was a huge disappointment. Far from having an enriching discussion on business, the Indian economy or capital markets, my visual disability seemed to be the only focal point of our conversation.
Though I initially felt flattered by his concern, I was soon put off. It was evident to me that my co-passenger was only doling out false sympathy and praise without actually attempting to understand my challenges.
Over the past few years, as I have begun to venture out independently in professional and social circles, such experiences have becomecommonplace. Most disabled persons face a similar predicament. People such as my co-passenger seek to put us on a pedestal by using superlatives such as “inspiring”, “super humans”, “specially abled” and the like. The suggestion by Narendra Modi that we should be called “divyang” (divine body) doesn’t make things easier.
The media, for its part, covers our...
