A post-graduate in English from Goa University, Akshay Mohandas Bhangle is preparing himself to answer competitive exams. “I have been 100 % visually impaired since birth,” says Akshay who is currently attending ‘Deepastambha Manobal Foundation, Pune’s online classes five days a week, and Bodhi Academy’s preparatory course for GPSC which is six days online and one day offline, on Sunday.
“This keeps me busy through the week,” says Akshay who wants to excel in his career and seek a stable job.
Akshay, who has cornea issue, has undergone surgery for cornea replacement three times “ twice at Mumbai, and once at Shankar Netralaya at Chennai. “My parents had struggled a lot for my eye treatment. But my body is not accepting foreign corneas, so these surgeries have failed,” briefs Akshay.
Though visibility is an issue for Akshay, his passion for learning remained undeterred from childhood. Eager to share about his academic journey which began in his hometown Sanquelim, the 28-year-old has fond memories of school, friends and teachers. From class I to VIII he studied at Progress High School, Sanquelim, and did his 9th and 10th from Lokvishwas School at Dhavali in Ponda. Scoring 73% in SSC, he joined Santa Cruz HSS for 11th and 12th.
Getting in touch with National Association for the Blind (NAB), Goa state branch at Santa Cruz brought a turning point in Akshay’s life. “I shall always remain thankful to NAB for their guidance and support in steering my career,” says a thankful Akshay who underwent computer and music training at NAB.
Akshay also learnt to listen to audio summaries of books on YouTube, and operate a talk back feature on the smart phone to read PDF files, to use a laptop, and to travel independently by public transport. This helped him to overcome many of his obstacles. It’s a story of continuous struggle “ getting admission in a regular school, answering exams, and clearing them at first attempt.
Akshay vividly remembers his graduation years at Dhempe College, Miramar from day one. He participated in all college activities. In 2020, he was felicitated for being ‘The Outstanding Differently-abled’ student. “I answered my TYBA during covid pandemic on my own, without any writer. It was an online exam through Google Meet call, and the staff read the questions for me and I answered orally. Still I scored 78%. Later at Goa University, I got 39th rank in the entrance exam and was selected on merit basis. I did MA with English literature and got first class,” narrates Akshay.
For him, one of the challenges while studying at the university was online classes. There was no face-to-face communication due to covid. Here also, NAB came to help. “I got successful in the first and second semester as NAB staff came home to read question papers. I answered orally,” adds Akshay.
The soft-spoken youth has been into singing since the age six. “Music is something that I cannot live without. I began training in vocals at the Bal Bhavan during school days. At Kala Academy’s Sanquelim branch I learnt to play the harmonium. After my SSC, two music tutors came home to teach me. I have participated in inter-class as well as State-level singing competitions and won prizes. I won the All Goa Singing Competition for Visually Impaired in October 2023. I also represented Radio Udaan Idol and passed two rounds before being disqualified,” recalls musically inclined Akshay who loves public speaking.
At Goa YMCA Toastmasters Club, he learnt to speak publicly and bagged Travelling Toastmaster, Best Table Topic Speaker and Best Speaker awards. He learnt networking too.
Akshay recalls, “Regular schools were reluctant to admit me and had doubts about how I am going to manage, but with the help of NAB and the Department of Education, I got admission in a normal school. My performance was very good. They still remember me, and give my example to other students. So given an opportunity, we PwDs can also compete with the normal people.”
Akshay’s suggestions are, “Do not stop after your 12th. Pursue higher education, take a degree. The government should make all public places accessible for visually impaired persons. Some of the places are still not accessible. The government is trying its best to be accommodative, which is good. Our schools and colleges should be made accessible. The PwDs can also do the same jobs that normal persons do, if transport as well as buildings and offices have easy accessibility.”
