They Say the Blind Should Not Lead the Blind. She Proves Them Wrong
Mangalore Today News Network
Dec 24, 2015: She could not walk alone herself once. She now helps others walk. Meet Tiffany, the woman with visual disability who has a vision beyond the ordinary.
What does it mean when people say I cannot walk by myself, I cannot travel by myself? I have a mouth to talk, I have a brain to think, I can walk, and I have a cane to find my way around. Then why can I not travel by myself? I was like a bird in a cage, not allowed to come out without an escort. But now my life has been transformed,” these words and thoughts just tumble out of an excited Tiffany Brar.
The “whys” and “why nots” that once plagued her are now helping her change the lives of other blind people. She is on a journey from complete dependency and is well on the road of independence. Tiffany is a 26-year-old teacher, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and she is blind. Being blind is the last piece of information you need about her because she has created many more powerful identities for herself.
Tiffany created these identities by transgressing the conventions of how the life of a blind girl should be.
Earlier, she was not trusted with the ability to take care of herself and her personal needs. She never travelled by herself. She did not even know that the ‘white cane’ existed. Tiffany’s life, until she was 18, was like that of a typical, totally dependent blind person in India. But it had to change. As far back as Tiffany can remember, she has been blind.
Born into an army family, Tiffany was schooled across India -- Darjeeling, Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Wellington -- accommodating her father’s postings. While her father, General Brar, was busy at his demanding job, it was her mother, Leslie, who was Tiffany’s backbone. She was a gentle, caring woman who strongly influenced the little girl’s early life. Leslie always felt for the poor and went out of her way to help the needy.
And this gentleness is what she left with Tiffany before succumbing to a fatal illness. Tiffany was all of 12 years when her mother passed away. Those were tough times and Tiffany had to gather her courage and learn to live life by herself. Her father was posted in Delhi but Tiffany found herself completely out of place in the big city. She loved a simple life and the high society buzz in Delhi did not settle well with her. Tiffany went back to Thiruvananthapuram, a place very close to her heart and where she lives today, to continue her schooling until 11th standard.
The final year of her schooling was in Wellington, a place that gave her the strongest support in her life, Vinita Akka.
Vinita Akka was the domestic help at Tiffany’s hostel. Vinita Akka affectionately took care of Tiffany, taught her how to dress up, fold clothes, make her bed, and do all those seemingly ordinary things that we do in our daily lives.