RASHMI MARUWADA: an outstanding achiever in 2016 West Bengal Board Madhyamik examination
TAYYARI JEET
KI
As the bell rings, slowly the children of
Patha Bhavan High School,
Kolkata, come out of the gate to their parents who are waiting for them. Among
them, a 12 year old girl busy talking with her friends comes out very
confidently. Her mother calls her and holds her hand and brings her out of the
gate. This girl, Rashmi Maruvada is a Visually Impaired (VI), studying in class
VI.
Rashmi Maruvada was born with
Sclerocornea, micro-opthalmus and nystagmus eye condition. She underwent cornea
transplant at Chennai. But unfortunately it turned out to be unsuccessful. Our
dreams, hopes were shattered. We slowly picked up the threads and accepted the
fact that our daughter Rashmi will never be able to see this beautiful world.
Thus we began acquiring knowledge about bringing up a Visually Impaired child.
Rashmi’s training started with the
completion of milestones at the right time. We met Ms. Henna Basu and Mrs. Ruma
Chatterjee of Society for the Visually Handicapped (SVH), Kolkata. Under their
counseling and guidance, I started learning Braille. It was the beginning of my
learning, and then I passed this on to Rashmi. Rashmi is a very active,
intelligent and quick learner.
We wanted her to study in a normal school.
We faced many rejections from the principal of many schools. Finally principal
of Patha Bhavan School,
Mrs. Pradipta Kanungo, gave her admission. Under the training of Mrs. Supti
Mukherjee, she learned her lessons and activities. Slowly she climbed the
stairs of her academic year’s I-V. Each day was a new learning day for her as
well as for me. I became her full time teacher providing her with all the
assistance and experiences a normal child of her age would ever have.
She learns Carnatic Music from her guru
Mrs. Girija Sivasailam. She has given
many public performances and also participated and won many competitions.
She had been to a trekking camp and
learned rafting and kayaking in the month of October 2010. It was the most
memorable experience for us. She was the youngest of all the campers at
Rishikesh-Haridwar for this white water rafting and kayaking. This exposure has
really made her more confident and independent. She had also undergone a
mountaineering training at Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling in the month of February 2011.
This time she had gone alone with a group of 50 people. These trekking camps
were organized by Society for the Visually Handicapped.
On 28th Of August, 2010, she
dreamt about riding a cycle which is pre-programmed with the route. She could
go to all her usual places on her own with just one button pressed. When she
shared this dream and asked whether such cycle existed, I was not sure if it
did. Just two days after, I came across a national competition for children
below 18 yrs being organized by National Innovation Foundation (NIF). I sent in
her dream idea, for the competition. On 14th Oct.2010, we got a call
from NIF informing us about her idea being selected out of 2,139 entries. We
could not believe until we got a mail from them confirming the news. She has
been awarded by none other than the Ex. President of India and the greatest scientist of
our country Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam , on 8th Nov. 2010. This day was
the most important day of our life. She has proved to the society that she is
no less than a normal child. Given an opportunity, she can do wonders!!! This was the message she has sent to all the
disabled people through her achievement. She has also got the patent rights for
this idea. The link to know more details:
“A tricycle with Pre-Programmed Route for Visually Challenged”,which has
also been awarded with Patent Titled “
Vehicle with Pre-Programmed Route System” Patent No.1243/KOL/2010 by the
Indian Patent Office.
http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-achievers-amazing-innovations-from-indian-school-children/20101119.htm
Her achievement was unbelievable for some
people and this has changed the attitude among the people who had doubts on her
capabilities. She was interviewed by many TV channels and AIR Gujarat and Delhi.
She has a long way to go and achieve her
goals. And we are confident; she will make us proud again and again.
Home is the first place of learning. She
has got full support and encouragement from her elder sister, cousins,
grandmother, aunt and uncle who were always there in need.
There were times, when we were confused -
not knowing how to bring her up or how to deal with the concepts of upbringing.
As parents, we have always encouraged her in all the ways. She is very
enthusiastic and curious to know about various things. She loves to explore new
things and the environment around her.
She has always been supported by many people
including friends, teachers (Patha Bhavan High school),
mentors from SVH and Mrs. Sue Rogers from Bristol.
She has made us proud parents by her
achievements!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Annapurna Maruvada and Kali Murali Maruvada
PH. No. : 9163548561, 033-40014686, 9051016384
Email : anu9630@gmail.com
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