Mom you are a great human being.

Mother's vision helps visually impaired siblings see

Sunday, May 12, 2013, 5:00 IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Imran Fazal 

Doughty-spirited siblings from Malad battle physical challenge and find success, thanks to mother's support.

When Jyoti Goyal’s son Ashish was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa at age eight, she was concerned about how he would deal with the trauma. At age 15, her younger daughter Nidhi was diagnosed with the same illness. Both her children lost their vision completely by the time they turned 22.
While neighbours, doctors and teachers perceived her children as ‘disabled’, Jyoti refused to see it that way. Ashish, now 33 years old, graduated in Mumbai and headed to the Wharton Business School, Pennsylvania for his masters. Today, he’s the first blind trader in the world and currently works at BlueCrest Capital Management as a portfolio manager working with hedge funds in London. In 2010, he was conferred a national award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, which was presented by former president Pratibha Patil.
Ashish’s sister Nidhi, 27, was the first visually challenged person to graduate in media studies from the Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education. She now works as a social worker for visually impaired persons and is working on a book that is due soon.
Both the youngsters commend their mother’s role in the success they have achieved. Malad-based Jyoti recalls an incident when Ashish was growing up, the neighbours, who were not aware that he was losing his eyesight, taunted him for not greeting them in the building. What they didn’t know was that he was unable to identify people in the corridor. “Ashish was depressed while growing up because he felt he couldn’t be normal like other kids,” said Jyoti.
She adds, “One night I saw him crying. I held his hand and told him to be brave. ‘I’m with you’, I said.”
Jyoti admits that the biggest challenge was Ashish’s final year commerce exam. “He couldn’t read a word from his book, so I read out to him for hours and asked him to memorise. He passed with a distinction,” smiles Jyoti.
There was also an incident when Ashish stumbled into a lady teacher in the corridor of his college and the teacher insulted him in front of his classmates. The teacher didn’t know about his condition. “From that day I asked him to carry a cane so others understand. I told him — you are blind but not disabled,” she said.
But the battle isn’t over. Ashish is now looking to settle down but friends have warned Jyoti to withhold the fact that he has lost his vision. She calls it one of the saddest days of her life. “I’ll find a match for my son... someone who sees his potential, not his