Having faced the tragedy of losing vision during childhood, 23-year-old Karan Singhaniya from this small town in Korba district of Chhattisgarh, realized that vision impairment has less to do with the eyes and more to do with the brain and thoughts. He is the first 100% visually impaired student at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Karan, who belongs to a lower middle class family from Gevra, where his father Rajendra Singhaniya runs a shop, dared to dream his best and achieved it. It was not a cakewalk, but he could make it with the support of his family and friends.

"I am living my true life purpose and it's a great one. I learnt how to see again," he told TOI, while sharing his experience about the hard knocks of life and his journey to IIM-A.

"When I was in Class VI, I started losing my eye sight due to an incurable degenerative eye disorder-retinitis pigmentosa, which left me blind by the time I reached Class X. My school did not give permission to appear in the tenth examination. My life was at crossroads. I was in depression for almost two years till I determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling and exciting life," he explained.

"Subsequently, I scored 93.8% in Class XII with hard work and support from my family. Later, I got admission in Shree Ram College of Commerce in Delhi. While doing bachelor's of commerce, I started preparation for CAT. I used to devote about 12 hours for my graduation studies and three to four fours for CAT preparation. My friend supported me."

"I never learnt Braille for my studies. I always preferred group studies during which my friends used to explain questions and answers. This technique helped me to crack all examinations, including CAT," Karan said adding "I have realized it with my eye disorder. We can carry on with this with adaption of brain and even thoughts. Sight loss is barrier to having vision."

JItin Nagori, post-graduation programme officer at IIM-A, told TOI over telephone "We have five visually impaired students. Karan is the first student in IIM-A who is cent percent visually impaired. He has completed his first semester and he is exemplary in his efforts to study and learn things."
Rajendra Singhaniya, Karan's father, says "I had completely lost confidence and felt shattered when my son's sight deteriorated.

Now, I feel that he will be an inspiration to visually impaired people."

Source: Times of India