Students attend a computer class at Antarjyoti Girls’ School. Picture by Sachin

Patna, Dec. 20: Nothing but darkness prevails in the life of 14-year-old Pooja Kumari.

Born blind, she had no hope of getting vision. And even if anything was possible, it was very unlikely that her parents, both labourers in Chhapra, could have afforded that. Being blind meant that all day she would keep sitting in the verandah of her little thatched house and make scant contribution towards household work. Education was like a far-fetched dream.

Then came a change in her life. Someone suggested that she be sent to a school for blind girls in the capital. And her father, already burdened with four other normal children, hurriedly sent her to Antarjyoti Girls’ School at Kumhrar, Patna.

Pooja says the past five years that she spent at the residential school have been the best of her life. She, along with 72 other girls, all of whom are visually impaired, are trying to search for a ray of hope at Bihar’s only school for blind girls.

The school run by an NGO, Bihar Netraheen Parishad, is lacking on funds and infrastructure to support its cause. But the school, set up in 1993 with only two girls, is the only hope for many families in the state who believe their “lesser fortunate” children would be able to get some meaningful education in life.

“The girls can study from classes I to X here through Bihar School Education Board. They started appearing for the Class X board examinations in 2001 and since then, except for once when a girl passed with a second division, they have been clinching 1st division marks without fail, year after year. We are really proud of all of them. They do not have eyes but they are so intelligent and are fast learners,” said Naval Kishore Thakur, the caretaker of the school.

Recently, the school has also started providing computer education to girls in higher classes. “The system comes with a keyboard with a speaker so that these students know what they are typing. It’s been only a few months and they have picked up speed to work at the system like any other children. It is so amazing to see their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn,” said a teacher at the school.

Teachers and the supporting staff at the school are all praise for these girls who surprise them with their sense of discipline and learning speed. “If there are hundreds of clothes spread in the courtyard, even the youngest girl would know which cloth is hers. So developed is their tactile sense. All their energy goes in making up for what nature has snatched away from them,” said Renu Kumari, the hostel warden on the school premises.

“If these girls are standing in shade they can tell whether it is a building’s shadow or a tree’s. We have a specialist mobility teacher at the school who teaches them things like these and they come really handy for these students. They learn to identify so many things that even people with vision would not be able to recognise,” Renu said.

Several girls who have passed out from the school have done well and are earning members of their families.

“Some have got government jobs and are working at faraway places like Delhi and Mumbai. Some teach at blind schools in Delhi and Pune. They have done all of us proud,” Thakur said, a proud smile on his face.