Mahpara Bisati, Mohd Saqib
Srinagar, Feb 22: Visually impaired by glaucoma at 33 and confined indoors for more than six years, Abid Ahmed Dar refused to let darkness define him.
Today, the 43-year-old runs a small roadside stall near Soura on Dr Ali Jan Road, selling honey, saffron and dry fruits — a business built not on sympathy, but on self-reliance.
Beside the steady hum of traffic on the road that connects two major hospitals of the city, Dar arranges bottles of honey and packets of seeds by touch. His hands move with confidence.
What he cannot see, he understands through memory and routine. He once rode a bike, ran a business and lived what he calls a “normal life.”
A resident of Eidgah Kakasahab in Sangam, Dar studied up to Class 10 at Eidgah Sangam High School in 2002 and managed life independently.
Then glaucoma changed everything. Despite treatment in Kashmir, Amritsar and Indore, and heavy medical expenses, doctors told him his eyesight would never return.
For six years and three months, he stayed indoors. “It was not loss of vision alone, but the loss of purpose that weighed heavily on me,” he says.
The turning point came at Composite Regional Centre (CRC) Bemina, where a teacher encouraged him to step out again.
In December 2023, he travelled to Dehradun for training in orientation and mobility.
Dar learned to use a smart cane, operate a mobile phone, read basic Braille and handle daily tasks like cooking and ironing. “These skills are essential for independence and self-respect,” he says. The training restored his confidence.
On October 22, 2025, Dar began selling honey near Soura. Gradually, he expanded his stock to include multi-flora and white acacia honey, shilajit, saffron, Kashmiri shahi kehwa — including sugar-free variants — along with almonds, cashews, raisins and various seeds. Honey remains the bestseller.
Prices are modest — Rs 250 to Rs 600 for honey, saffron by weight, and affordable rates for dry fruits and seeds.
“Pricing is decided keeping regular customers in mind rather than maximising profit,” he says.
He chose the location “not for heavy rush, but for accessibility.”
Each morning, he travels by rickshaw and shared transport, sets up by 10:30 am and packs up by 4:30 pm. He works daily except Friday.
A scanner app helps him identify seeds, and a currency-recognition app verifies payments. He also accepts online transactions. Daily earnings range from Rs 50 on slow days to Rs 1,000 on good days.
Customer response has been encouraging. His honey is lab-tested at Dal Gate to ensure quality, and tourists often stop at his stall.
Dar lives with his parents, wife and three daughters. “Family support matters the most,” he says. “Society may talk, but real strength comes from within the home.”
He has never sought Government aid and does not intend to. “If my work grows, I will not need assistance.”
As traffic rushes past his stall, Dar continues his quiet work — proof that visual challenge did not end his vision; it reshaped it.           
  Source: https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/using-technology-visually-impaired-vendor-fights-for-self-reliance/