There's Light At The End Of The Tunnel, Thanks To His Dristidan

Nitin A. Gokhale February 22, 1999 00:00 IST There's Light At The End Of The Tunnel, Thanks To His Dristidan -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

HE's blind but his foresight would dazzle any normal person. Of course, Kishor Bhattacharyya would resent being termed anything 'less than normal'. Founder of an ngo called Dristidan which aims at the welfare of the blind, Kishor is at the forefront of an effort to secure a rightful place for visually challenged people in the Northeast.

As a first step, Dristidan, which he founded with a few like-minded friends in early 1998, opened a Braille library in Guwahati last month. It's the only one of its kind in the region, says Kishor. Our idea is to provide easy access for the blind to books and journals useful to them. For instance, we've secured a Braille copy of a Central government gazette notification that details various schemes and assistance available for the blind.

A post-graduate in history from Guwahati University, Kishor has been a first-class student throughout. Currently an ad hoc lecturer in Guwahati University, Kishor's life so far is a story of one man's successful struggle against all odds. Having lost his eyesight to glaucoma at the age...