Zarana Maheshwary was a two-year-old when she diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)—a genetic disorder of the eyes which causes loss of vision, over a period of time. Her condition began to deteriorate when she was in Class 5, and she is currently completely blind.

However, she did not let the impairment come in the way of her dreams and received her PhD in English Literature in 2017. She was the second visually impaired woman in Gujarat to be awarded the degree.

Zarana Maheshwary. Photo Courtesy: Rittika Bhattacharjee

Currently, she works as an Assistant Professor in the Center for Comparative Literature and Translation Studies at the Central University of Gujarat (CUG) and has been teaching academic writing to students pursuing their masters in English Literature, and comparative literature to students pursuing their MPhil, since the last five years. She uses a screen reader and text-to-speech converter to teach the students.

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When asked how she felt when she first got to know that she was suffering from an incurable eye condition, she said, “When one sense of yours doesn’t respond, other senses are required to work harder as you have no option left.”

Zarana’s parents ensured that she had a normal upbringing. They enrolled her in a regular school and stood by her as pillars of support. Her mother used to read out lessons to her, while her friends would help her keep up with the rest of the class.
Source: https://www.thebetterindia.com/128630/zarana-maheshwari-visual-impairment-retinis-pigmentosa-gujarat/