- Graduation: English literature
Lost eyesight at the age of five but this Tamil Nadu girl never stopped dreaming
For Purana Sunthari, the day would always begin with her parents reading out the newspapers to her. And last week the news was all about her—as the first visually challenged candidate from Tamil Nadu to have successfully cleared the 2019 UPSC exam.
Having lost her eyesight at the tender age of five, Sunthari, named after the family deity, has never let blindness come in the way of studying well and scoring high marks in school exams. “It was during middle school that I decided to become an IAS officer after reading about the selfless service of district collectors during the 2004 tsunami. I may not be able to do active field work like them, but I hope to help formulate policies that would really help the people and make sure they get implemented,” says Sunthari, 25, who hails from a middle-class family in Madurai.
Having done her entire schooling in Tamil medium she opted to write the UPSC main exam in Tamil and also chose Tamil literature as her optional subject. “Whatever my mother Avudaidevi had read out from Tamil classics and history came back to me as I plunged into the optional paper,” she recalled. Having attempted this competitive exam thrice before, and failing only at the interview stage the last time, Sunthari was confident that she would be able to crack it this time.
She overcame her handicap by using technology like Non Visual Desktop Access, a speech software that would convert any written material into audio, and she would jot down notes on her laptop with the help of her batch mates at the All India Civil Services Coaching Centre, a state-run centre to train IAS aspirants. “In fact, each of them took over one subject, helping me with notes and research material. I owe it to them and my parents for achieving this dream,” she says.
Her father Murugesan, a salesman, says the family never saw her lack of eyesight as a handicap. “It made us determined to help her achieve her dream,” he said.
At the interview, Sunthari was asked if banks were justified in employing private agents for loan recovery. She replied that such agents should only be the last resort. “Since the banks had done the due diligence before handing out the loans, it is their duty to directly interact with the borrowers. The managers should own responsibility for the recovery, I told the interviewers,” she recalls.
Sunthari (rank 286) and Jayanth (143) from Maharashtra are the only visually handicapped candidates of 2019 and would be given their home state or its neighbouring state. As an IAS officer, Sunthari wants to contribute towards education, healthcare and women’s welfare. “Are not all three interlinked? Only healthy mothers can give birth to healthy babies, who, in turn, can achieve something only through education,” she reasons.
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