But the way the duo wandered around the campus, hopping over flower-beds and darting around shrubs, belied the cruel fact that they were visually impaired. Like these two seven-year-olds are 70 other children like Nandini, Mohan and Shivalinga, who despite the handicap, carry on studiously at Sharada Devi Andhara Vikasa Kendra on the outskirts of Karnataka's Shimoga town.
The 'lead kindly light' for them and the dozen who passed class X from the school are three sisters - Ambika, Anitha and Asha. Sightless since birth, the sisters have mastered the ability to manage the vagaries of life. They are reticent about their accomplishment and how they supported this school during its fledgling days when it functioned from a rented house in the town.
They insist credit is due to the trustees for turning out confident students who were ignored by their families. "The sisters and their families were of much help to Padmanabha who started the school in '86," informs Swami Purushottamananda of Ramakrishna Mission, Bangalore, a regular visitor and the chief guest at the fete.
Padmanabha was teaching at the Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind in Bangalore and moved to Shimoga with the sisters to start this residential school for children from poor families. But when he had accommodated 30 children, he died in a road accident. Since then, the school is being managed by a trust.
The sisters are trained in teaching Braille, but their responsibilities aren't limited to that. The eldest, Ambika, 35, is the warden and helps her wards from daybreak through their ablutions, the pooja and bhajans to classes. She even trains them in vocal Carnatic music. Her wards don't disappoint: Nandini won the third place in a state-level competition.
Anitha, 33, the head mistress, chalks out the wards' routine, their syllabi, their sports schedule and is one of the nine trustees. She has made arrangements for newspapers to be read out to the children every morning and the students listen to the English bulletin on TV at night. "They are as talented as normal children," she explains. Anitha couldn't be more correct for her ward Mallikarjun has secured the sixth rank in the state-level class X exams in 1998. Anitha has proved another point: despite her disability, she manages work and a family with elan. Her husband is a development officer in General Insurance Corporation (gic) at Shimoga.
The youngest, Asha, 31, teaches high school children and has her fingers crossed for five of her students will take the boards this year. "They have been here for years and I know they will do well. But like every teacher, I'm anxious about them," she says.
The sisters share the daunting task of managing 51 boys and 19 girls at the school. They train the students to compete with normal children in music and quiz contests to instil confidence in them. In sports for the disabled, children from the school bagged 11 prizes at a state-level meet last year.
This year, a vocational training centre has been set up with five boys undergoing post-matriculation training in manufacturing of plastic accessories for automobiles, horticulture and dairy farming. "Some of them want to return to their villages and start their ventures with help from local banks. We pay them a stipend of Rs 800 a month so the enthusiasm does not wane, " says H.V. Subrahmanya, president of the trust running the school.
But soon, the residential school for the visually impaired will be turned into a combined institution for physically challenged children as well. To that would be added a home for the aged. "That is one unique experiment we want to try out," says B.R. Raj Kumar, vice-president of the trust. If you want to help, write to Sri Sharada Devi Andhara Vikasa Kendra, Anupinakatte Road, Shimoga-577204. Phone: 08182-22020 or 21986.
