XTRASPECIAL
Shankar Kawthankar
Shankar Srikant Kawthankar suffered glaucoma by birth, which left his left eye completely dead and his right eye had only 15 per cent vision. Today, he works at Goa Medical College at the medical superintendent’s office as a telephone operator. Optimistic Shankar wants to continue education, do masters in psychology and enrol for PhD, but he is holding back his dream till his daughter Shriya grows up so that both can study together.
Shankar had a difficult childhood, with no awareness about vision loss. He continued his schooling despite his visual impairment and studied at Government School at Nave Wade Vasco till his SSC. Teachers allowed him to sit on the first bench as he could not see well.
Shankar recalls, “My parents were poor. I was the eldest son, with three younger brothers. We lived a hand-to-mouth life. After my SSC in 1993, I began to work and support my parents. After a gap of a year, I joined MES Higher Secondary in Commerce stream and studied with normal students. There was no resource room concept then. During my childhood people pelted stones at me, they pushed me, made fun of me as I could not see or chase them. Handicap was the only word known to people during those days, and disabled meant paralysed.”
Shankar studied in a group with few students, who helped and taught him. He passed 12th in 1996, working and studying at MES College, running a stationery shop in the campus which the management allowed him to do. Life was crawling. Hoping to bring a change in life, Shankar went to Mumbai in 2005 to learn life skills through a rehabilitation course at National Association of Blind (NAB).
The management at MES was cooperative and offered him a lot of support. Life took a turn in 2011 when principal Dr Raju Harajananis advised Shankar to study further. Inspired by his words, Shankar took admission in Arts, attended regular classes and also ran his shop. He had rejoined education after a gap of 14 years. A year later, in 2012 he got married at the age of 37, and his partially blind wife Sonia began to handle his shop. Shankar continued his BA with psychology and Konkani. Meanwhile he became father of a baby girl Shriya in 2013.
“I wanted to take psychology but since three papers were practicals oriented I could not take it. I graduated in 2014 and wanted to enrol for post-graduation in psychology, but my responsibilities had increased and education took a backseat. I got myself engaged in social work, and helping people in whichever way I could. The Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar acknowledged my work and assured me to give me a job at GMC. He kept his word. A very genuine, down-to-earth and good-hearted man, I owe him much,” says Shankar who is transferring the kindness to other needy through an NGO ‘Kalaji Goa’ which he founded.
Personally, he is self-sufficient. A six-month’s course at NAB Mumbai came handy as he learnt techniques to walk, and do his things without anybody’s help. He repairs his xerox machine, does spiral binding, and solves digital machine problems. Learning to do things on his own boosts his spirit and his supportive wife manages to run the shop.
“I am blessed to have understanding people around me. After my SSC, looking at my financial condition, the Joshi family from Vasco supported me a lot. Lalita Joshi permitted me to set up a shop at MES so that I could earn. Paresh Joshi sent me to Hyderabad on his own expense for eye treatment which unfortunately, could not be rectified. At GMC, Dr Seema Bandekar’s kindness needs a mention,” says Shankar.
After his father passed away in 2001, a supportive mother was by his side. Wife Sonia manages to travel alone by bus though she has no vision in one eye and little vision in the other. A regular caller at ‘Hello Goemkar’ programme on DD, Shankar participated in the Purple Fest. A part of Goa Football team, he played during the Purple Fest. The team is in the process of registering a Football Association for Blind in Goa.
At home Shankar does ironing, cooking, mopping, washing clothes or utensils or even cleaning fans. “I want to explore everything and do all sorts of works done by others,” states Shankar who successfully faced challenging times during Covid pandemic. People used to shut their doors after seeing him, as he worked in GMC thinking he would be spreading Covid infection.
It’s sad that people still troll him. They still make fun of him. Not understanding that he is visibly impaired, they pull his walking stick and he stumbles. Hurt by this, Shankar wishes to launch a YouTube channel for spreading awareness on disabilities. People need to be taught to be more compassionate, feels Shankar.
