their artwork | Express
CHENNAI: Dhinesh D was at the Madras Institute of Technology in Chromepet to showcase over two dozens of his sketches- pencil sketches, watercolour works and crayon drawings. But more importantly, he was there to tell a story.
Around 100 visually challenged individuals, mostly students, put their best foot forward at the ‘Youthfest 2017’, organised by the Institute for the third year on Sunday. The fest had a line-up of events such as memory games, quizzes and poetry writing competitions for those with visual impairments.
A participant at the fest for visually-impaired
people at Madras Institute of Technology
“Only when I was in class 2, my parents found out I couldn’t see well. I wouldn’t write anything in class and so my teacher got tired of yelling at me,” said 19-year-old Dhinesh. His vision eventually deteriorated and today, he’s partially blind.
He started drawing, he added, since he often ended up hurt when he played outdoors because of poor vision and after a point, none of his friends wanted him in their team. He never stopped.
Dhinesh studies BA in Tamil literature in Loyola College - something that he had never dreamt of, he said, as the son of a tailor in the village of Nedungunam in Tiruvannamalai.
The organisers also hold an annual ‘youthfest awards’ to recognise visually impaired achievers. This year, they have picked five state rank holders in the class 12 board exams to receive the award.
Gokilapriya R, with a score of 1164, was one of those chosen for the award. A student of political science in the Government Arts College in Coimbatore, she comes from Kumarapalayam, a village near Nambiyur to receive the award. The wind beneath her wings, however, was her friend Shivapriya who read aloud all her lessons. “I would understand it and then memorise it,” she said.
The typewriting competition at the event drew a number of participants in the forenoon session with participants typing out what was dictated to them as quickly as they could while trying to make the least number of mistakes.
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