Lead The Rest Through Read Fest!

As the doors opened for the Read Fest to be held at School of Inspired Leadership, we could see a plethora of eager volunteers gearing up for the same!
As the flurry picked pace, the excitement grew paramount with participants enquiring for the same, curiosity & inquisitiveness pretty evident from their expressions!

"So.. What's This About? Can You Brief Us?" 

                                                                                      - Anudeep, Student SOIL

The Esha Volunteers left no stone unturned be it through providing information to students or motivating them to record.

Needless to say, the students were very excited & eager to help.
Help implied they had to miss classes & record audio content for Esha..

"We want to help! But we have classes till 6:15! How to go about it?"

                                                                                                - Analytics Student, SOIL

It seemed like an uphill task to convince them to stay back after classes.
The time had come to enlighten the students on how just 10-20 minutes of their time could help a Blind person in understanding & interpreting the world he lives in, in a better way.

The Esha Volunteers did succeed in getting recordings in languages ranging from Tamil to Bengali.
The mission resonated well with the students & they could well understand the impact this was creating on the society they live in..

" Yes, it did take time. Yet, I feel like I've done something of greater value today!" 

                                                                                                   - Marketing Student, SOIL

The Impact could be felt in the conviction & tenacity the Participants showed despite the fact that there were multiple takes at recording owing to technical glitches & noise disturbances.

" We thank you with all our heart & soul. You guys have done a great job!"

                                                                                            - Shivangi Sharma, Volunteer Esha

 

                     In Picture: Two Students supporting Esha in Audio Recordings in Bengali & Oriya at Read Fest

The Experience was enriching & provided lots of learning to both SOIL Students as also Esha Volunteers.

The Impact could be felt, somewhere in between the softened mumbles of students & the sighs of the Volunteers....

Tapas Bhardwaj DPS RK Puram Topper 2015 Class 12

This year, the topper at DPS R K Puram is Tapas Bhardwaj, who scored 91.4% marks, just 39 short of the All India topper.

Last year, he also won a debate competition in the Sahitya Utsav organised by the DPS Society.
http://dpsrkp.net/notices/?m=201410&cat=

Here are the press stories about him:
http://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/visually-impaired-student-tops-delhi-public-school-rk-puram-765933

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/education/cbse-12th-board-results-2015-delhi/

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-blind-boy-scores-914-to-top-class-of-normal-students-2089166

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/visually-impaired-boy-scores-91-4-in-cbse-class-12-exams-tops-school/article1-1351137.aspx

http://newsr.in/n/India/7551kwj3s/CBSE-class-12-results-Blind-boy-scores-91.htm


http://article.wn.com/view/2015/05/25/Visually_Impaired_Student_Tops_Delhi_Public_School_RK_Puram/ 

Max Bupa Walk for Health - October 20,2013 - Delhi and Mumbai.

Esha is very very happy to be a partner in this initiative:

Max Bupa Walk for Health is a first of its kind initiative brought to you by Max Bupa Health Insurance Company. In its second year now, the Walk for Health will take place simultaneously across Delhi and Mumbai on the 20th of October 2013. The event invites people across all walks of life and age groups to participate in the 5km or the 2km Walk, which will also feature a plethora of entertainment and fitness activities for the participants. The event will also see celebrities, large communities, corporates and schools participating in large groups. 

Here is your chance to initiate a long term sustainable change in your lifestyle to keep yourself and your loved ones well. See your city information pages for the latest happenings and updates of the walk in your city and register now to participate.

Max Bupa Walk for Health 2013 is focused on Delhi and Mumbai, as owing to a sedentary lifestyle, people living in these metros are more prone to stress and lead an unhealthy life. Prominent as the IT/Telecom and BFSI hubs of India, the people in these cities work long hours which leaves them with hardly any spare time to exercise. Bupa's global research in 13 countries has revealed that high stress level, unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyle has high negative impact on people's health.

You can register here:

http://bit.ly/wfh2013m

 

Preeti Monga - Esha Achiever of the Month - Part 2 of the guest post by Sandeep Koul

“Ye Bandar adrak ka swaad chakh chuka hai”, she quipped. “Ab ise aur badi adrak chahiye.”

Made sense – for a visually impaired entrepreneur who, instead of moping about her fate made it her job to motivate “healthy” individuals – though she soon dispelled the myth about this purported “health” too. As she said, “Those of us who look “healthy” on the surface are the ones who need the most help – they have been on their own the longest”.

My next canned question fit in nicely here, so I asked, “It is so easier to accept the pity you are offered than to soldier on at an equal footing. What makes you choose the tougher route, and where do you get the energy to do it?” While I got a decent answer to the first half of this question, the second half remained unanswered – probably because she, like the rest of us, has no idea as to what keeps her ticking, “I see life as a choice between being a giver and a taker, and I choose to be a giver”, she said.

“In the early “struggle” days, how did you handle naysayers, and more importantly, your own self doubt?” I asked. She replied, “In my early struggle days, I was a little girl and I used to be very disturbed by the attitude of people around me. I used to get left out of almost everything and used to cry nonstop. My mother and my father were my counselors and they always helped me to look at all that I had and others did not have. They helped me to recognize my strengths and made me happy with that.

As for naysayers, an example here: When visitors came home my mother made sure I served them water, made tea for them and served them. This would be done amidst horrified shrieks of, “No, No don’t bother Mrs. Singh, we will help ourselves! Don’t get the poor girl to do all this! “ And then when my mother would happily smile and encourage  me to continue my duty with a smile; and all the work was done, all would be OK! The visitors would settle down to the normal chit chatting and go away crestfallen as they realized that their pity was not at all required or welcome! And all ended well, slowly the condoling about the loss of  my  eyesight came to an end!

My next question was, “Who has been the one significant influence on your life and how? She replied, “My parents,  My Mami (my mother’s brother’s wife), Helen Keller,  and many  others. How is  a difficult one to answer in just a few words. They inspired, and motivated me and still do.”

Here, I decided – enough personal stuff let’s get general here. I asked, “Do you think the silver line philosophy applies to today’s dirty political world too?” Without batting ane eyelid, she countered “There is  nothing dirty or clean. It is how you choose to look at it. There is always a Silver Lining to everything; it is you who has to develop the  sensibility to look for it. There are always 2  sides to everything.”

Fair enough – it was a valid point of view, and I understood that I wouldn’t get far talking about global stuff here. Safety lay in sticking to personal stuff. So, I changed pace again, and asked, “Do you not often encounter cynicism (external as well as internal) and if yes, how do you cope with it?”  She replied, “I just be myself, everyone is welcome to his/her prospective.  Also, I try not to judge, everyone is entitled to be as they are.  Same goes for me too.”

Preeti Monga - Esha Achiever of the Month - Guest Post by Sandeep Koul

I was new to this, had no previous experience taking such an interview (although I had been on both sides of the table for countless job interviews…). So, I kind of looked forward to the experience, hoping the exercise would enrich me – give my overloaded resume another skill to boast of. Alas, it was not so – speaking to Preeti Monga ( Director, Silver Linings ) was just like having a friendly chat with one’s mom. I had kept a few canned questions prepared, so that I came across as a professional guy, and hoped that their answers would lead to further questions. I had also decided to admit up front that this was my first time and seeing the extensive media coverage that the subject had been exposed to previously, I thought she would have a better idea about how to go about it than I would.

With this, I launched into a planned spiel about Esha – what it does and why. This did not go too well, since she began telling me about the visiting cards she wanted Braille inscribed and began asking me how to go about it. I had been mistaken for a Salesperson from Esha, and I set out to correct this mistake as soon as possible. I gave her Nidhi’s coordinates, and said I had called for an interview. This non – vegetarian who loves to read, knit, travel, chat and investigate spirituality took the hint, and allowed me to move on.

With that, I jumped into my first brilliant question, the reply to which I hoped would generate enough new questions to last me the interview. I asked, “Tell me the story of your life in your own words.” The answer I got, though factual and informative, did not do the trick for me. She said, “That’s what I have written an autobiography for. You can get the info you want at our website too - www.silver-linings.org/.”

 

Touche, maam – guess  that was the first lesson to at least conduct background research before barging into someone’s life. Then, I wheedled that this question had been my “master question”, which I had hoped for it to lead to many “corollary” questions – so she gave me a perfunctory response about being a “successful granny”.

Hey, I just realized that I am committing the cardinal sin – writing about the interviewer and the interview, not about the interviewee, as I should. So, to set the right tone here and in the interview, I jumped to my second “canned” question – “How do you motivate yourself to face the world every morning?” The answer to this one had me stumped for a moment – she said, “how about you, how do you do it?” I sure as hell hadn’t been expecting a counter – question, and my mumblings were ignored, as they deserved to be. Then, finally, we got a quotable answer, and the interview was underway. She said, “I set goals – and drive myself to achieve them. Once I taste success, I set larger, tougher goals ad infinitum”.

 

In between, she made an attempt to make me more comfortable at this by telling me that her younger brother was also named “Sandeep”. Our identical taste in music, in terms of loving Rafi saab and oldies, was another source of comfort. Though the similarity did not extend to the kirtans from Granth Sahib she adored.

My next canned question fit in nicely here. “The kudos palls after a while – so why go on?” “Ye Bandar adrak ka swaad chakh chuka hai”, she quipped. “Ab ise aur badi adrak chahiye.”

 

On that note.. to be continued...

Beyond Sight Exhibition in Delhi - October 2012

thats raised relief version of a beautiful pic. next to that is braille,
followed by audio.

here you can see the entire display - the picture, its story in english,
 the raised relief version so that the photographers are not
left out of experiencing their own pictures..
the braille description, and the audio mp3 player.

my favorite picture from the exhibition.

this pic stands out for this technical perfection. notice again
the raised relief version, english print, braille and audio description.
i was very impressed.

this little boy was too young to read ,
so he listened to the audio to understand the picture
 on his own. It WAS an experience.

 

And what a treat it was! so much to learn, so much to see!!