When I was a child, my father used to tell me that God whispers the purpose of one’s life on the day we are born and will ask us if we have fulfilled it after we die.

I discovered my purpose at the age of 40. The year 1998 marked my sister-in-law’s death anniversary and we, my husband and I, decided to donate blood on the occasion. We went to a blood camp at a school in Chennai, where I noticed a large number of blind students gathered around a tree. A reading session was also arranged for the students and visitors. It was my introduction to reading sessions, where volunteers read books aloud to blind students. Here, I met Gopi, a blind boy who opened my eyes to a whole new world.

My daughter, who was then in Class VIII, read to Gopi first. When she couldn’t make it the following week, I stood in for her and this became a routine practice. I took the 1.30-3.30 pm slot at the Little Flower Convent, a school for the blind, to do my reading sessions for various students, twice a week. Next, Gopi requested me to record some books for him. He would drop off the books at my home and I would record the audio version for him. As Gopi pursued his BA, MA and B Ed (2001-2005), I read, recorded and wrote exams for him as a scribe.

People started calling me Gopi’s ‘teacher’ but, in reality, he taught me so much. He taught me how to be with visually challenged people and how independent they are. He would walk across the busy T Nagar area with no help at all and land up at my flat without losing his way. Married to a banker, I have relocated to various cities across India with our children in tow. In 2005, we shifted to Thoothukudi, where I went to a Christian organisation close by and would read newspapers and books, or write letters for a group of middle-aged women who were visually challenged. In 2007, we came back to Chennai and I continued with my reading sessions at Little Flower Convent. I also signed up with iScribe, which lets volunteers write exams for visually challenged people as well as special children.

I have written exams for children with various mental and physical disabilities. We don’t maintain personal relationships with the children as they need to get used to new scribes regularly. But I do ask for their marks after the results are released. In fact, my entire family prays every time I write an exam for someone. And, yes, my first student Gopi is married, and well-settled with a lecturer’s job, his own house and a car.

After shifting base yet again, reading sessions have become difficult. So I spend more and more time recording books. It gives me immense satisfaction; my son can tell when I have completed a recording session just by looking at the joy on my face.

There have been times when it was tough. Once, I had a hairline fracture in my leg and somebody from Kanyakumari had come all the way to ask me to record his syllabus. Despite the pain, I recorded for 45 days and, somehow, it made me feel better. I take special care of my health, especially during exams. Once I commit to help, the Lord always helps me get through it like a breeze.

I have written exams for Class 1 kids and PhD students. At the age of 55, I maintain a diary to practice my hand- writing. The good news is that my husband is now retired and has become a scribe too, so we now write exams together.

—Usha Ramakrishnan, Chennai

Photo: Nivedita Raja
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
January 2017