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Hi, my name is George Abraham and welcome to Eyeway Conversations. My guest today is Mahendra Golani, who lives in Austria, he is a fun loving person, enjoys traveling, enjoys cricket, enjoys playing chess. Mahendra, you went to Austria when you were 32 so let's look at what you were doing in India before. Can you tell us in terms of profession and your academics and so on your life prior to the age of 32?
I had vision till the age of 12, where I went to mainstream school and after my accident and blindness, I went to school for the blind, finished matriculation and finished my studies with MA in political science. I started law degree, studied only first year, but then I got a job and got involved with voluntary activities. I was lucky, at a very young age, I was just 20 and got first temporary appointment with LIC Life Insurance Corporation of India and which was then regulated and worked for 16 years.
You said that you lost your eyesight at the age of 12 because of an accident until then you were part of a mainstream school. Did you take time to rearrange your life? Or was it a kind of smooth transition?
It was quite a challenging thing. I was for one and a half year at home only because my parents they were not aware but luckily, one day my father read in the newspaper that if you have a child who is blind, then there is special schools existing for the blind children and he knew that I was interested. So he wrote to that time was Blind Mens Association, Bombay and Mr. Praveen Tandia, who's unfortunately no more, he was a home teacher, he came to our place and he spoke about how the education blind people, blind children can take with to Braille and other details. And I still remember today that I was fascinated when all my neighborhood aunts were sitting and watching him and when he told the time to all of us even I was also surprised that he could say the time and quite accurately because all my neighborhood aunts were looking at their wristwatches, and so that still remains the fascination. And that inspired me that well, if Mr. Praveen Tandia can tell the time and as a blind person then I can certainly do that and that inspired me, that brought me to the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind and from there on my second chapter of the life started so to say.
In fact, when we were having a conversation about this recording today, you said that you know, the India -Pakistan game is on today in the World Cup, and therefore let's do the recording in the morning. So, since when have you been fascinated by the game and have you played the game and howe have you pursued your interest in the sport?
Like any other Indian child, I was playing regular cricket, but I could see and once I turned blind, of course, my first thoughts were that I can't study anymore, I can't enjoy cricket anymore. And when I went to Victoria Memorial School for the Blind, there were different methods that my fellow students were playing and of course then with the ball, with a rattling sound, and that's how then I continued to play and once I stopped playing after I moved to Austria, the interest in the cricket as a game is still there and I enjoy. And I'm lucky for today's technology that I'm able to enjoy the cricket also in Austria, which is basically predominantly country with skiing and football.
You started working with LIC, it is a matter of curiosity how did the employment actually happen. How did the recruitment actually happen?
Well, I must here express my thanks to National Federation of the Blind and those days, there was a movement going on in India, in Maharashtra and I suppose also in other parts of India, regarding recruitment for disabled people. And since 1981 was declared by United Nations as year for the disabled, and government and semi government bodies, they were all wanting to do the recruitment and do their bit and that's how they advertised vacancies for LIC. And my one of my fellow college student, her father was working for LIC and she gave me the news and she said, well, you apply let's see, and I went for an interview, we were about I think six of us, and they were looking for three people and I was one of those three lucky man who was chosen.
At the age of 32, you relocated to Vienna, Austria. How did that happen?
Well, that's an interesting story, since I told you that at age of 20-21, when I found a job and then I got in involved with voluntary activities, I joined one organization it's called Service Civil International SCI , it's predominantly organization working for international peace and understanding, and basically nothing really to do with disability or blindness. So I got involved in organizational activities and was organizing work camps and part of SCI's effort is to organize exchange program, also international exchange program. And in 1992, I was selected from India to take part in three months exchange program, which was in Ireland, England, and Belgium. So those three months, I took part in different work camps and travelled a bit on my own and that's how I came to Austria in 1992 where one of my reader from India, she was studying here, and I could stay with her. And that's where I met when I was here, my first wife and fallen in love with an Austrian girl and we got married and have one son together and then after 10 years, divorce came and so what is today's normal story, so that's how then we decided that I should resign my job and move to Austria, because for her it was too much to be in India and that finally, I left India and working here in 1996.
When you came back to Austria, how did you get your first job there because, you know, you were moving into a new country and new situations. So, tell us the story behind your job.
Yes, I was most reluctant to leave India as you fellow Indian, you can understand that I have such a wonderful, good paying well paid job in India with LIC and I had to learn a new language here, because German is Austrian national language. Those days were not so many people would speak English, which nowadays a lot of young people are, so that was a challenge, first I had to learn the language. I joined in 1997, 10 month long German language course, along with that the basics of computer and once I did that, then it opened up job prospects. I started working, writing for local news magazine, about article on political science. I was also doing telephone counseling work for people who are lonely, depressed, suicidal and there again, my study of psychology helped. Eventually then I heard about the project, which is called Dialogue in the Dark, which is also in India, apart from another 30 countries and that was, for me most fascinating work.
Dialogue in the Dark is essentially an exhibition, this exhibition puts people through some kind of experiential understanding of what blind people go through in a manner of speaking, would I be right?
Yes, if I may elaborate, the Dialogue in the Dark concept was developed by one Dr. Andreas Heinecke from Germany, he was writing his thesis how best blind and visually impaired people can be integrated into society and he came up with the idea that if we have this exhibition where abled bodied people come and experience in the total darkness, then they would realize how, first of all, that difficulties, what kind of difficulties blind and visually impaired people face. And second, that in spite of those difficulties, what all can be done and how far it is possible, and the third main idea is that it's not just your eyesight, which is important, your other science are equally important, how much you can experience through. So he developed this concept in Germany, in many German cities and all, it's a kind of permanent exhibition where there are different rooms. So, he developed a concept that first room is nature, where you go into a room, you will feel there are bushes that are trees, there are different paths, you can feel with your feet, there is a gravel path, you would hear about sound of birds, you will walk on the hanging bridge, and underneath you will hear the river flowing, these are of course, sound effects of birds or river flowing is nothing in real, but the simulation is so excellent that you really feel, of course, trees and bushes they are real and genuine, there is a park bench, and all kinds of effects which you can find in the nature. The second room is street or a city so, if you go to big cities like Delhi or Bombay and all, what kind of traffic noise you are confronted, what kind of things are parked or they should not be parked on the footpath and you have experience of going into the shop, most of the shops were either readymade cloth or you can try and touch and identify what it is, or fruits and vegetables shop. So again, as the blind and visually impaired person you can touch and try and identify and use most of the time either there used to be a bus ride, which again, is excellent simulation, or a boat ride. And you have a feeling that you really traveled with the bus or with a boat and in the boat, they had all the wonderful possibilities you can as a captain, make an announcement, you hear all kinds of sounds, which you will hear if you are on the sea. And the last room, in most installations is a bar or coffee house where you can order a soft drink or coffee or tea and you have to actually pay cash to the person who is serving you the drink and you'll get the money in exchange I mean the return, your change and in the bar in the restaurant, you will have a possibility while you're drinking to interact with a guide or the guide is, which I was also working and they can ask questions about your personal life or how you manage like people would ask how you shave or you know as a man or what you do how you find or love or all kinds of questions. And as a last thing, you come out and they see you now, I must say that initially the visitors, they don't see you, they just hear your voice and the idea is that they are encouraged to form a picture of you and at the end of the tour, which mostly last one hour, they see you and they try and compare that when we thought you were short or you were tall, or you have a hair or whatever. And then they write the remarks in the visitor's book.
Would I be right in kind of saying that each of these Dialogue in the dark and Dining in the dark and so on, are great platforms where blind and visually impaired people are also employed? And trained?
Yes, it is, absolutely, that it's also that employment is created but as I said, it's not just employment, but also a lot of awareness because companies also come and we used to have bankers coming and, you know, all affiliates or all cements and, and it also encouraged them if they have a fellow employee who happened to be blind to how to interact and they used to give us feedback that well, now we understand why our colleague is doing certain things this way and we will have much more better understanding about him or her now, after this experience.
Mahendra, I had come to Austria, I think it was 2007 and I had the good fortune of visiting and experiencing Dialogue in the dark for the first time as being part of an exhibition and of course, I knew that you were working there and I'd asked for you and I was told that you had gone to get married.
It was 2006, November, George when you came.
Right! Yeah, I'm sure the date is 2006. So tell me a little bit about...
...my wedding day. You can imagine what can happen with my life so.
I know you could be in trouble yeah. So tell me a little bit about how you met and tell us a little bit about your wife.
Before my second marriage , I was for a number of years on my own and in 2005, my wife, Arina, she's also known to a lot of people, she was for a number of years member of Access India, and she is from Romania, And when she was a member of Access India, in 2005, she wrote to Access India, requesting that whether somebody can share some websites where she can listen to Indian music, she is very much into music. And she wrote additionally that well, I'm not an Indian, I'm a Romanian, but I'm interested in Indian music and she was associated with the Art of Living Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Yes, so when I read this, so I replied and I wrote to her that well these are the websites where I was listening Indian music, and I wrote additionally also as well, it's nice, you're in Romania, I'm in Austria, it's not such a great distance, and maybe we can stay in touch and then I must say I kept on pestering her and right into her bail and eventually I succeeded, getting her Skype ID and finally her mobile number. I had liking for her and I just was pursuing her. She came to India before we met, there was Art of Living 25 Years celebration in I think it was March of 2006 where, or February, not sure which month and she went to Bangalore for 25 year celebration. And then after she also developed liking and interest for me and we say we let's meet first because we have only spoken, never met personally and when she went, we met and then we had a liking for each other then we decided to marry and that's how our, my journey so to say my second marriage continued. Just to additionally mention, she is a wonderful singer, she likes Indian music and she's singing herself. Many people tell me that you have done great things with you contributing for Indian music. I had almost no contribution except that I help her once in a while to explain the meaning of the song but otherwise she was already into it music, her father is a great musician in Romania and music is in her blood. Only thing I had with Indian classical music which she likes the lyrics part of it, but otherwise the rest she's doing on her own.
So Mahendra, you are also into chess in a big way. How did you get involved with chess in the first place? And what is the extent of your chess playing today?
Chess, I started in India, just before I left a couple of friends in Bombay, they were playing chess, and they told me to come along, and maybe you might enjoy. So I just went learn just the basics of it and then I realized, I mean, after it was, I think a year or so after that, I moved to Austria. And here initially, I was basically still struggling, so it didn't happen. Finally, in 1997, when I started learning German, before that, my first wife, she asked the people in the chess club here, there is a chess club for the blind, whether I can also play and whether they would help me with English because that time only language I could speak was English for Austrian people. So they took me into their stride and I learned basic German, that time how to pronounce the chess moves in German and from then on when it started. And we started coming in doing about it that are in Skype, different people in different countries are organizing tournament. So I started joining those kinds of tournaments, where we would use Skype as a medium to get connected with fellow chess player from maybe sitting in the US or Canada, or in Australia. And somebody third person would arbitrate to just to make sure that, you know, we play with a chess clock, and that everything is fine, and moves are not illegal moves. So they will play on the chessboard, the same thing and this Skype thing took in a big way, last year when lockdown was introduced in most parts of the world because a lot of people, and especially also, blind people were at home and we started our website, and we started organizing chess tournaments. And I am actually one of the person who is organizing and we found the groups there are five of us, in a committee which is running, it's called Skype Chess Google Groups, and we have a website, chess friends, where we upload the games, and we organize international chess friend cafe, where people can come and talk about anything and everything under the sun. Yeah, so and I'm not so to say very good player, but I'm not either so bad so it's more enjoy a passion playing, organising and that way meeting people from different countries. So which I anyhow, as I told you, I like to be with people.
Mahendra you also love traveling you had mentioned, now as a blind person, I don't want to ask you how you travel. But what is it that makes traveling exciting and enjoyable for you? What are the kinds of experiences that kind of inspires you to travel more?
George, I still travel and I enjoy traveling. Recently I was in Slovenia, which is a neighboring country. For me the traveling before when I started, my first tour was in US in 1989 and then I mentioned to you about exchange program in Europe. That gives me an idea about interaction with people, about their music, about food habits, and you hear the language, the thought process of the language and of course, every country, every city has their own fragrance, their own ways. So all these elements make me you know to visit and curious about other countries and culture. Now of course, because I eventually learned the computer and technology and able to find the information beforehand in internet little bit about, you know, that place or where I'm traveling, and because of technology, a lot of audio guides and a lot of information is available, and since the history of the, you know, particular country or city always fascinates me. So all those elements helped me still to enjoy. And I love food of all different countries though I'm vegetarian, so it's relatively restricted, but I enjoy food and that also is one of the elements apart from I'd like to try wine of different countries, especially most European countries. So all these elements really helped me so taste, music, culture and interaction with people.
Well, Mahendra, thank you very much for taking time to speak to me, you had a fascinating journey and wish you the very best as you continue your exploration of the world and enjoyment of life. All the best!
Thank you so much, George and thanks for having me again.
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