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Hi, my name is George Abraham and welcome to this edition of Eyeway Conversations. My guest today is Poonam Vaidya from Bangalore, and she is a lover of words. Hi Poonam, and welcome.
Hey, George, thanks for having me on your podcast.
So tell me a little bit about your childhood and your growing up days.
I've had a really great childhood. I was born in Maharashtra, but I was brought up completely in Bangalore. When I was a kid, I had a really big house, which, and I had a dog, and we had fish. And we had lots of pets, I can imagine I can remember, every kind of pet. I used to have birds, I used to have turtles, I used to have fish. I used to have even a squirrel, kittens, dogs, you know, everything. And so it was a very happy childhood filled with. When I see the kids today, it's like completely different. I used to swing from trees, like George of the jungle. You know, we used to always play with our friends outside. And it was a very happy, lively, adventurous childhood. And my brother and I used to just sort of really enjoy the outdoors.
When you passed out of your Class 10, what were your aspirations in life?
I've always, even though you know, I've been an outdoorsy person, I've also been a shy person. So at that time, at the age of 16, I was very enthusiastic about writing. As you said, I'm a lover of words. I always love to read and I always love to write. So I was thinking very seriously about becoming either a writer, or a journalist, or perhaps both.
So you mentioned that you love reading even while you're in school. So what were the some of the authors that you actually enjoyed reading?
So I think I've read every single one of Agatha Christie's books. So I really like murder mysteries. I like Roald Dahl, not the key kitty books. But he writes really great short stories as well. So I like I mean, in school, those are the main authors I remember reading a lot of.
It was those around your days at Christ university that you had this problem with your eyes. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
I had a lot of migraines for a while. And no one could tell me what the reason was. Towards the end of my BA actually just finished my exams and I went to a hospital to get my eyes checked out. Because it was really like a lot of migraines, a lot of throwing up and wondering what was going on. And that's when the doctor said, Okay, okay, you have this really serious condition. And I was advised to do an eye operation, which is, after which I did lose my sight. So basically, they concluded that the operation has failed.
It is often very shocking to actually suddenly find that you've lost your eyesight. How did you respond to it? And how did you reorganize your life because you mentioned that you just had one year gap and then you came back and completed your MA.
So it took me a week to adjust to life but blindness. I know that sounds like really quick. I know people take years. And I can say this I took around two years to completely self actualize to you know being a blind person, to having disability pride to using my white cane. But I accepted the fact that I was okay, this is me. I'm blind. What can I do? What are the next steps to be taken? That took me about a week. It was more like because of the philosophy of my life is that I as I'm a non believer in God, I had I think I was free of the burden of you know, people saying that, you know, like people say that you've done something bad in your life, or I'm paying for some sin, or something like that I did not have that burden upon me because I understood and accepted that it was a random thing that happened to me. And it wasn't my fault. It wasn't like I was picked by any higher power.
Okay, so you obviously went back to college. And, you know, you met up with people and your faculty and so on. Now, what was the response there? And how did you adjust?
I would say, see, as a Christite for the last five years, when I went, I was thinking about what my future will be. So it took one year, so 2010 to 2011, that year, I did not do anything, I would sit at home and listen to audio books. But that's about all and learned to use JAWS at that time. JAWS is a screen reader that I can use the computer with. Yeah. So basically, I would say that the reaction of the teachers was very supportive. They kind of they were just kind of checking if how will she deal with. Their main onus was on if I can manage the full curriculum, and you know, like any other student, and I, you know, I introduced them to the screen reader, I said, this is how I can manage and since they all knew me, and that was another major reason I did join the college again, because I was like, Okay, I know the infrastructure already. I already know some teachers. So I would say that, overall, it was all supportive. Though there was you know, a hint of, can she do it?
And what about your classmates and friends and so on? Was it difficult to kind of socialize with them, or it took an effort from your end?
I would say that I got one of my very, very, very serious kind of lessons in life from this. I was hanging out with a group of very popular people at that time, that these kinds of things actually matter. So they were nice, they would help me. I wasn't using my cane indoors, I wasn't using my cane in college at that time. So I would have to rely on them to take me to and fro. And I started noticing the thing is they were burdened by me. And they started saying, Oh, we need to go outside. How will you come with us? If you're going to eat outside? Why don't you bring your own food and you know, have it indoors. And I'm the kind of person who was always adventurous, always wanting to go on always wanting to, you know, be around and do things. So this kind of really struck me. And that time I made friends with one of my older like, from my previous batches in my BA when I was, you know, sighted girl, and at that time, I had made friends with one of those girls from there. But I was never, you know, I was never very nice. I would never very pally with her not nice, but I was not always hanging out with her and stuff. So this time when I was in MA, I remember that one time when I realized that I cannot be with these people, this popular gang, I cannot handle them. They were very mean to me. And they were just yeah. So I reached out to this girl. And I said, I'm so you know, would would I be able to hang out. And she said, she welcomed me with open arms. And from that time onwards, she was my, she was my advocate, she would, you know, she would always be there to make sure that if I needed some help from the board, she would read it out to me. If I needed help to go somewhere, she would always come with me. So she became like a real really good friend. And I think I needed the whole experience of blindness to actually really know who people are and who my real friends are.
Yep, so you finished your education, Poonam. So what was next on your agenda?
So that was the problem because until then, until my MA one of the reasons that I had opted for my MA was because I wasn't sure if I was ready to work yet. And I mean, I always have enjoyed English and stuff. So I kind of chose to do that. And there was I wanted to always be a journalist, which I kind of put on the back burner. Because see, I knew I could, I knew I could be a journalist if I really tried. But I was kind of, at that time not able to travel by myself. I still did not, you know, use my cane. I knew how to use my cane, but I didn't use my cane. So I decided to work from home from the beginning. And since I, as I said, I like writing, I became a content writer. And I've been a content writer, for a long time. I first started, for eight months, I worked from home. Yeah, and before that, I should mention I went to a place called Kanthari, where I volunteered. This was just after my college.
This is the one year Trivandrum run by German lady. What's her name?
Yes, Sabriye Tenberken. Yeah, in fact, this was I would say, this was my first turning point of my life. So when I met Sabriye, I had my first blind role model. So until then, I was just thinking that, okay, I guess I'll work, I'll earn some money, and my family will take care of me, that was my plan. Until then, unfortunately. But when I met Sabriye, I learned the things that she did, I saw that she was traveling by herself. And, you know, using the cane, which is the main thing I learned from her, how to use the cane and how to use it proudly, which is more important. I mean, using the cane I'd already learned. So yeah, and after meeting Sabriye, and after meeting all the other blind people at Kanthari, where I was a volunteer for two months, I kind of said that, okay, it's going to be possible. I will be able to travel and I will be able to manage. But still, when I got back to Bangalore, also it was difficult to find a job. So while I started to get to grips with, okay, this is the new technology videos, I was for a long time working from home.
Yeah, it'll be interesting to ask you, you know, it's one thing to say that you would work from home, but how do you actually get assignments?
I had like a job. She, the lady who hired me would give me articles to write about health. So I'd interview doctors, I would interview people, and I would listen to their answers. And I would make an article on the spot, and I would send it, but it was very, very, very less work. I would do maybe two or three or four maximum articles in a month. So I had most of the time I would just go swimming. Or I would just, you know, listen to audiobooks. So it is almost like I was doing some sort of intern like very low, you know, workload I had. So it was like an internship almost.
It was around this time that you went to the Colorado Center for the Blind, I think, right?
Well there were a few other things between those things, which I'll just let you know. So firstly, I did finally get a job after I think eight months. I got a job in this company called Dataworks where I was working for five months. And then that part of the company that I was working for, they decided to close that part. So I had to then find another job. And then I worked for Samarthanam for a bit, again, five months. And that's when I got to know about. I mean, that's when I got to know that I had gotten into Colorado Center for the Blind. I had actually applied for this center back in my Kanthari days when my roommate for who is from Colorado told me about the center. So I had been waiting, it was a long wait, which finally was answered and I got in on a scholarship.
Okay, this thing at Colorado Center for the Blind. What was the agenda there?
So, it was a nine month program, which taught all skills of blindness. It's by the NFB National Federation for the Blind. And, yeah, it basically had four main classes and a few side classes. So the main classes were home management, which mainly involved cooking and keeping up the house. Then there was travel, which included taking everything from a bus to a light rail, like a metro that is, to you know just walking around yourself and finding places. And then there was, let's see, there was Braille. And there was tech. So my Braille skills are still rusty. I learned a bit of Braille there, for sure. And with tech as well, it was a very, I knew most of what they had to teach. So for tech and Braille, I didn't, like it wasn't the most useful courses for me. But the other two were super useful. And apart from that we had even stuff like wood shop.
It's some kind of carpentry, is it?
Yes, they made everything that, you know, a regular person would have, they made us work with saws, and drills and hammers and nails. And like, I think main part of the US population actually likes to work with their hands and, you know, make stuff from wood. It's like almost a pastime or a hobby. So that was a very new, you know, culturally different experience for me. And of course, it was scary to work with saws and stuff. But I came out of there with a nice, beautiful box, which I painted by myself and everything. Apart from that we also had self defense, which I really enjoyed. And we also a major part of the center was we had adventure sports, so we would do rock climbing, then I went skiing. And then we would do a little bit of like, you know, you jump like it's, it's, it's, it's it, I can't remember the name right now, but you like jump from a height into like, a little like bag or something like that. So it's a lot of fun.
Is that a bungee jumping, bungee jumping?
No, it's not bungee jumping, but it had a strange name, which I'm not able to recall. But we did everything like we took, we went down the slide, it's not a water slide or anything, it just went down the slide. And we jumped from a high height into like this bouncy castle kind of foam. And so every, every second week, we would be doing something adventurous, taking a hike, going to like a museum where we can feel. So it was it was not just in the center, but we kept traveling outside and learning new things about the world.
So very empowered and motivated Poonam came back to India, and what did you then do in India?
So I mean, now I have a new lease of life completely. And for a long time, when I got back, I was really keen to go back to the US. I thought, okay, I'm just gonna see if I can move there. And you know, I can because things are just so easy there. And so different. And I don't know. So I had before leaving, I had a conversation with the Lighthouse for the Blind. And I had suggested, you know, I said, Can I do an internship with you guys? Or can I help out in some way that, you know, is there in some way for me to get back, even for a short time to the US and when I had that conversation, I was very happy to learn that I'd been accepted as a summer counselor at this place called Enchanted Hills camp, which is in Napa, but it's, it's, you know, it's a part of the Lighthouse. And I got a really wide experience. I mean, I worked with all kinds of people who had blindness right down from like babies to, you know, people with other physical disabilities other than blindness, so someone who was using a wheelchair, who was blind. So it was a very, very varied experience. And yeah, so I was there for three months at Enchanted Hills.
So you know, you now work with a corporate house as a writer and a content writer and so on. So it's just a job that you picked up when you came back or you did something in between.
Oh, there were, there was one more thing in the middle. So when I got back, again, I kind of had realized that I don't think it would be possible to move to the US and I made my peace with it. It's, I mean, there are definitely some advantages to living in India as well. And I was like, Okay, let me travel. So I traveled to several places. It was, it was also just before, this is in 2018 is before the pandemic, and I'm glad I got all my traveling. So I went to Singapore, I went to Kerala, I went to Nepal as well. And Nepal I went alone, Singapore, it was a partial family, partial single trip. So my family came with me. And then they left and then I was in Singapore for two or three days, staying with some friends, but traveling around alone. And then yeah, I went to Kerala for at this time I went for just for an ayurvedic treatment. So I went, I traveled there as well. So there was a lot of traveling in the beginning of 2018. After which I said, Okay, I've traveled enough. Let me try to find a job. And I guess, everything, I just was very lucky. Because the first thing I saw was a company called Meghshala. That was being publicized by a lot of people I knew on Facebook, and I said, Okay, let me give this a shot. So I mean, for me, because I'm usually the kind of person who goes for many job interviews, and then weighs all the pros and cons, and then thinks about it, and then then finally makes a decision. But for me Meghshala, I walked in, I spoke to the people, I spoke to my boss and spoke to my HR. And they asked me are you in? And I said, Yes. So that was a company I worked for. Until now I think it's the longest company I've worked for, two and a half years. After which I got this opportunity in this corporate company that I'm working in right now.
Yep. So you're a fiercely independent person, and for a woman to live independently in a city like Bangalore, what are the necessary requisite skills and qualities that you need?
So I manage all my chores, everything I the great part was that my family themselves, they're in and out, they travel a lot. So oftentimes, I have to manage all the chores, myself. And which was great, because at Colorado center, that's exactly what they told us to do. We had an apartment, which we shared with one other person. And we'd have regular inspections from the staff at Colorado center, who would look at, you know, everything from how clean the kitchen counters are, to the fridge, to the bathrooms to the bedrooms. So we knew how to vacuum, we were taught how to clean and I up to now I don't we don't have a maid and I manage all the cleaning, my share of the cleaning by myself. Apart from that, just to be fiercely independent. I think you just need I guess that confidence. And also that, I guess I'd have to say it's like, you know that you have a part to play in society, you know, that it's not like, Oh, my God, you know, like, you're just there. You are there to play an active part as a citizen, as a person, as a woman as a, you know, just a contributor of a country. So I think that, for me has I mean, I seriously have that belief, I can know, even if when everyone else says you can't do it. I don't even listen to them. I just go ahead and do it. So that kind of belief can really help you. And also, you know, just being prepared as well. I carry pepper spray with me when I go out and though I've never had a chance to use it, but I have it so just the small preparation and keeping your head at a difficult moment.
So, Poonam, it's been wonderful chatting with you and you have an unusual story in the sense that you lost your sight at the prime of your youth and the fact that you accepted it and got on with life within a week is amazing. And, the way you've actually got yourself equipped to deal with life going forward and you now are well on your way with this job with the corporate entity. So it's great for you and congratulations and all the best and thank you very much.
Thank you George, this was fun.
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