10/01/2020
“Umar bhar Ghalib
Bhool yahi karta gaya,
Dhool chehre pe thi
Aur darpan saaf karta raha”
My son, Bhaskar, was born premature and suffered from immunity diseases like jaundice in early childhood. Later we got to know one more bad news that his eyesight is very poor and further degrades with age. I admitted my kid to a nearby school and in 6 months, the school recommended me to shift him to a special school. That’s when I got to know about special schools.
My sister recommended me Ashtavakra Institute for my son and it was my luck or serendipity that I saw the newspaper ad “Sarkaari Teacher Bane!” Under the guidance of J P Sharma Ji, I too joined the Ashtavakra Hearing Impairment diploma course and later joined the same institute as a special educator.
I suffered a lot in my life. Being differently-abled, riding my tricycle, reaching this institute, taking reinforcement was not easy for me but persistence was my key. I kept on doing things until I get perfect in it. I follow my hobbies very passionately and want my kids to follow their passion too. I recently wrote a poem, here are a few lines of it-
“Hum vikalaango ki duniya
Badi gazab hua karti hai,
Kabhi hum vastu par gir jaati hai
Kabhi vastu hum pe gir jaati hai.”
Bhaskar left the institute a couple of years ago but even now, I see Bhaskar in every kid studying here. I will never leave this school and a salary is just a number for me. The only thing that matters for me is these kids, their future and development. I feel so proud that kids whom I taught once by joining dots are now doing calculations on the blackboard and making me and their parents proud.
I want the government to provide more funds to these institutes to help so that we can help students coming from a very poor background and enhance our reach and their life. Life is a bit unfair with me, but I never took it as an excuse and always came ahead and gave my 100%.
- Leeladhar Upreti Sir (Special Educator at Ashtavakra)