Inspiration for the visually impaired

B Swathi, the visually-impaired television anchor of `Weekend Cinema,’ shares her inspiring story behind the frames

Clad in a white and black striped top, a pink cardigan and a black three-fourth leg gings, there she sits mem orising her lines on her makeup chair. The makeup artiste sets her hair and her fellow anchors help her dress up for the show while advising her on which earring goes well with her attire. After being escorted to the studio, she puts on her dark glasses and the studio gets filled with her voice, which goes ­ Hi. Welcome to Weekend Cinema.

This is Swathi! She is the familiar face we see on screen every Sun day at 8:30 pm on TV9 news chan nel, but B Swathi, a visually impaired anchor inhabits an other world of her own.

Peeping into her life, the author realised that her life has not only taught her to hold her escort’s hand and walk in to find her way, but also to muster courage and do something that even a person with vision would think twice before doing.

Unmindful of whether or not she will get selected, or about what will people will say if a visually impaired girl applies for the post of an anchor, the 21-year-old, landed at the television channel’s office in December 2011 for an audition after her friends informed her about the vacancy.

Swathi says that she wanted to become a radio jockey (RJ) but took up the first opportunity that came her way. Her family and Ravi Prakash, CEO of the news channel, have been a major source of encouragement for her. While her parents encouraged her decision, Ravi Prakash gave her the big break.

Swathi was born with vision, but lost it at the age of one when a doctor wrongly advised her to use eye drops while she was suffering from chicken pox. She is also a student at University of Hyderabad and is doing her BAfinal year in social sciences.

Talking about her strengths and weaknesses, the Hyderabadi girl who lives at Adarsh Nagar says, “I am blessed with a good memory which helps me excel in studies. I have stood second in school in my Class X exam and have received cash prize from the then governor, ND Tiwari.“ She says that whenever the teacher uses the projector to explain a lesson, she faces difficulty in understanding the lesson. She takes help of speaking software to learn it.

Swathi, who wants to continue as an anchor and settle down as a banker, says awards are what have always encouraged her to achieve more. She has received `Adarsha Vanitha’ (A Model woman) award for being an inspiration to other women.
She also has received `Aaradhana Award’ and `Arunodhaya Award’ besides the Padmamohan TV awards on Friday.

Her advice to people is ­ Create opportunities and give visually impaired people platform to show their talent. Only then will they be able to show their capabilities.

And the message for visually impaired people is have self confidence and the will power to do the best. Rest will fall in place!