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Hi, my name is George Abraham, and welcome to this edition of Eyeway conversations. My guest today is very special lady from Hyderabad and her name is Payal Kapoor. So Payal, you know, one thing we have in common is both of us had meningitis, of course, I had meningitis when I was 10 months old that impacted my retina, my optic nerves, and right from the time I can remember, I had a very very strong visual impairment. Tell me a little bit about your experience with meningitis.
I was just sort of 22 years old when I first had this problem and in my case, unfortunately the meningitis was not even diagnosed, there was no official diagnosis of meningitis which was what caused half the problem and it eventually you know, ended up with me losing my eyesight, my spinal fluid pressure rose because of that and because it was undiagnosed and untreated, and it hit the entire sensory system of my brain which in a span of a week took from me my eyesight, which was until then 20/20 and brought it down to zero. It impacted my other senses as well, you know, my sense of taste and smell, my hearing as well as my sense of touch. So it pretty much destroyed my entire sensory system to a great extent.
Total Payal lock down.
Completely! I know we have to be with the time so we can make fun of now, yes it was total Payal lockdown.
But you are speaking now, you can hear now, so how did all that happen?
Yes, I think it was about almost one full year that was spent like this with you know, treatments and with hospitalization which was two stints for over two months, and then, you know, I fly in to Bombay to consult some of the country's best neurologist, things like that. So basically, at that point in time, the best neurologists of the country sort of told me that I would eventually vegetate, you know, nothing could be done for me, and he wanted to perform surgery on my spine and that kind of stuff. And my dad told him that no, please, we'll take her as a vegetable, it doesn't matter. Um, little did he know or little did we know that life would again you know, turn and this time for the better.
Yeah.
Some alternate therapy, some you know, homeopathy, acupuncture, and all of those kinds of things helped me recover up. If you asked me today exactly what helped, I don't know but you know, over a period of time, my sense of smell and taste recovered gradually. My hearing recovered gradually. So now at 28 years later, I can hear from one ear about 99%, I have some amount of perception in my left ear. Although I can't really hear, it doesn't have the, you know, speech part sort of still tuned in, my sight is still zero.
Let's step back a little bit, before 22 tell us a little bit about your life before you were 22.
I grew up in Hyderabad with my parents and a younger sister who's four years younger than I am.
Right.
And we've been in Hyderabad all our lives so I studied in an all girls school called Nasr which was a wonderful experience. And you know, I think the basis, the foundation of who I am today was probably laid there, love for language, love for writing, love for you know...
Talking...
Lot of things came from there!
Any romance that you had before...
There were just a lot of romance with a lot of romantic literature that you know, makes you a usual starry eyed teenager hoping for some fabulous things in life and I you know, did my hotel management, which was a fabulous three years of a lot of hard work, like really put through the wringer but it was extremely interesting. And in fact, I was to be married before this entire thing went down and you know, I fell ill. I was to be married in the next three, four months but unfortunately after this, I think it was just too much to take so it eventually didn't happen.
At 21, you know, when you were kind of finishing your hotel management, and I believe you started working as well?
Yes, yes.
Tell us the story of the turnaround then, how did it all turn around after six years.
Like I said, after I got, I mean, I got fed up and then those well meaning friends who had always hovered in the periphery, and sometimes are brave enough to come in front of me, when I didn't pitch a fit about it. One of them knew this, you know this gentleman who I had also heard of from other friends who was blind himself, he was called Mario Thompson, he was blind himself, and ran this organization called "Carrying it for the visually impaired" and he helped, he rehabilitated people with vision loss. Um, so they said, why don't you at least go and meet him, have a conversation with him and see what is to come of it. And that's what I did, I think it was time, this was the road that was going to finally turn at the crossroads. So I went and I met him and he was an extremely energetic and very very you know, positive and an extremely convincing man who told me that there was life outside of this entire space that I had, you know, locked myself into, this little bubble. And that's when he showed me and he told me all the options that there were, and he told me that there were audiobooks I could listen to when there was, you know, reading and writing I could do with learning braille, and I could do all the things that I did with a little bit of difference. So I think that sort of helped me, you know, put things into perspective and look at a new future for myself.
So along with Mario Thompson, what were the things that you learned? What were the discoveries you made about yourself?
For one, I think the most beautiful thing was that I realized that I didn't need to be able to see to do everything.
Yeah.
I think that is probably one of the biggest discoveries for a person who started with not wanting to sit on a friend's kinetic Honda because she thought, you know, she'd fall off it because I used to when she first told me paddle to and I had ridden with her right through because we studied together and we used to live close by and we used to go and come together. She told me come I take you for a ride and I said, no, how will I get onto that bike, I'll fall, she said are you crazy, how will you fall but I didn't want to do it. I realized then when it came to eating at a restaurant for the first time, I was petrified that, you know, I'd make a mess and I spill everything and my food would not go in my mouth and my noodles will go into someone else's plate and all those concerns I had, but I suddenly realized I didn't need to worry about any of it because I didn't need to see to be doing everything, you know, from my own things, to do things for other people. So I think that was the most fabulous discovery to know that your sight was after all not indispensable. It was not something that you couldn't live or work without. And of course, my strength I realized that I had a resilience that I didn't know was very very well present within me because as much as I wanted to, you know, sort of just throw in the towel and say no, I can't do this and walk away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
So when did you kind of think of getting back to working because I think you've spent close to six to seven years kind of getting to terms with things. So when did you think of actually starting to work and what made you think that you can actually work?
It was very organic actually, I was very lucky that way, it all happened very organically, the organization where I was rehabilitated which we called Carry, I was still you know, going through my rehabilitation, my braille I had learned the basics, and I had done various things and I had also had my orientation with living skills and things like that. Um, when Mario you know, moved he was moving to the UK and at that point in time he told me he said, okay the rest of your braille learning you can do on your own because I've seen that you can manage and things like that, and you don't need my help anymore or the books are available, you can sit in, go ahead with this. And also, since he was moving, he needed somebody to be there to do things with him. So they were the people who first you know, hired me part time to begin with, and then later full time and I became a resource person over there and I realized that it was so simple to sort of, you know, give what you receive. I was, on the one hand, I had received this from them and it was so simple to just pass it on.
After you worked with this rehab center which was started by Mario, where did you move professionally after that?
Two years I didn't do much. I mean, I had just been married while I was working in 2002, I had been married in while I was still working and things like that in this organization packed up, I thought okay let me give myself some time to sort of regroup and see what I wanted to do. And I was still working from home and all the beneficiaries who had come in you know, they had become a lot of them had become friends and we had this entire set of volunteers from various places who used to do their recording of, you know, study materials and things. So I continued doing a whole lot of stuff from there but there was always this hankering to get back into the hotel industry, which was my industry of choice and education but didn't know how, fortunately then again like I said, a lot of things happened that way for me. There was a hotel opening up in Hyderabad called the JuSTa group of hotels and the person who had the founder of the hotel, the CEO and the founder of the hotel was a former Oberoi employee and he was hiring. He was looking for people in Hyderabad while still setting up the hotel and the sales manager who was going to take over was a dear friend of mine And she told me, why don't you try because she knew that I wanted to do this and sort of I met him and then he didn't know how I would go about things. I explained to them how we worked with the computer and various things. So that's what gave me my entry into the hotel which was just for three months for a trial because he needs to see how it would work. And you know, whether it made any sense to him or not so that's where my journey and re entry into the hotel industry began.
And then moving on what happened after that?
I continued like I said, three months is what he said but I remember he used to sit in his office, and he used to listen in because his office was right at the back office where I used to work. And every time he was in Hyderabad, he'd sit in and sort of listen in to my calls while he was doing his work, obviously could hear me and he was very surprised that I was effective with you know, introducing the hotel and inviting people to come and see the hotel and things like that. And so he said, okay fine, and we can continue and then it went on, slowly my area of work expanded from being just a simple tellecaller to becoming a sales executives and I was given my own portfolio, initially I didn't have a revenue target and things like that but then as it grew, I started generating my own clients and prospecting and things like that, and went full fledged into full time sales, both unit and regional sales, I did that quite a bit for almost, it lasted for 12 years eventually.
So you connected with your clients on the phone and it must have been some experience when they came face to face with you.
Yes, some of them, I didn't have an opportunity to meet a whole lot of them because my primary portfolio was, you know, regional. I did very little local things local sales, but when it when they did travel in and things like that. I've had some funny experiences with people where I still remember my first client who I sort of, you know, earned from and he came in and he wanted to meet me and things like that I walked out to meet him and he was completely stunned. He could not open his mouth and say a word to me because he was so stunned to see this person standing in front of him who we've been interacting so closely for weeks.
Yeah.
Was eventually blind and, you know, he gave me a very limp handshake and a very you know, under his breath greeting and things like that and disappeared. I had planned to you know, take him to lunch and do my regular sales executive thing, but he didn't give me an opportunity. So yes, but, but there were some who were extremely happy to meet with me and very very forthcoming and told me to my face how happy and encouraged they were to see, you know, a blind person doing so much and you know, so it was encouraging.
At some point of time, I believe you decided to move on from the hotel and start something, do something else. What was it that you transitioned into and is that what you're doing even today?
I did various things actually, while I was with the hotel also, there was you know, as much as I like doing what I did, and things like that. But there was a space in time where I suddenly started feeling redundant, you know, mentally redundant and that I think there's nothing more debilitating or destructive than a redundant mind. And I started feeling because there were other things that I wanted to do within the hotel, but you know, a small hotel company had certain functions, which they didn't really necessarily need, like a separate training department or things like that. So lot of it was on the job but these were things that I was interested in, you know, communications and stuff, but they didn't seem to need that work. So I continued doing the same thing and I thought till I actually got bored and I discovered, thanks to you know, few people who used to read and comment on small things that I wrote, and they told me that well, you can write, why don't you start writing. So I started writing, I started my own blog, and I started writing for other people as well. Some amount of content writing and things so that I used to do on the side which I still do in, you know spurts in bits and pieces even today. Then I also started meeting people you know, some amount of motivational speaking, I used to do have conversations, did some counseling with other people with disabilities, especially blindness and since people view me around there. So on the site I used to do a lot of this type of activity was my activity for the soul, it truly kept my mind and my soul alive. And last year, was it 2019, yes, it was last year, when I finally sort of called it quits with a hotel. And I was asked to join, this was again another friend who used to you know, run this organization called Merquri Medica. So, we are at Merquri Medica, we primarily work with emergency you know, medical services, equipment for emergency medical services and also with evacuation equipment, CPR and first aid training and equipment. So he asked me to you know, work with him and he said why don't you come and see you know, come in touch and feel all the equipment that is there and I'll give you a better understanding of what it is. So you could probably you know, you're in any case interacting, used to interact with good corporate clients and things like that, you could do some amount of sales and you could learn you know, how to train people with CPR, in CPR and first aid and things. So I went there and it was a fascinating, it was a totally new space. And it was something that was so diverse from like somebody told me you went from hospitality to hospitals, and I'm still doing my calling and things like that, talking to people in establishing relationships and the new things that I did was I started working with b2b, you know, sites. And I learned, it was a learning experience, then the most wonderful thing that I did was I went and I got myself a certified as a first aid and CPR service provider with the American, what's it called American Health Association. So are the people who certify you as a trainer or a service provider. So I took that and I think I would probably be the only blind person who's actually certified to you know, teach people how to use, to give CPR and first aid so that is some of what I'm doing right now.
There are three things that you said and or I perceived, that you were passionate about. Number one you said you're passionate about cooking somewhere down the line, you also mentioned that you were passionate about talking and there was a third passion that you mentioned, which was books.
Yes.
So how do you keep in touch with these three passions?
Books first, books audiobooks thankfully, somebody introduced me to audiobooks and I still remember the first set of books, the first book that I ever read on audio cassettes at that point in time was John Grisham's Pelican Brief. I don't think I'll ever forget it, it was the most you know, fascinating experience and I cannot tell you the joy at you know, actually being able to listen to a book, have someone you know, just lie back and put a plug in your earphones and have somebody read the entire book to you. So that was totally life transforming because I discovered audiobooks from there and from time to time, then this app cabbie itself also, there were a whole bunch of audio books that they keep and we used to keep in our library. So I used to run through all of that and slowly as we went on then you know, join these whole lot of email, emailing lists for blind people that share books and things like that.
Right.
So that was what opened my life to audiobooks and mp3 players and of course, now Audible and you know, the Victor reader stream and all that. And voice stream readers are life fabulous where my books are concerned.
What about the second thing?
Well cooking was something that I've done a lot of over a period of time after I learned. Mario taught me how to cook I mean, he really reintroduced me to cooking safely. I've done a lot of cooking and strangely enough, while there were a lot of people that used to cook, blind people who were you know, absolutely proficient and fabulous cooks and things and there was really nobody who went out there and spoke about it. And in their own small circles they helped people and things like that and over a period of time I think even through Eyeway I used to get you know, when they were questions about food and cooking and things like that, and Helpdesk used to sort of somehow everyone discovered that I might be a person who can help people and I've got so many calls that have been redirected to me to help people with cooking and things like that. So suddenly I found myself in this middle of this entire teaching blind people how to cook space, which was so so fulfilling, and I cannot tell you how much I've enjoyed doing this over the years.
So what are some of the what are some of the favorite dishes that you actually make?
I love to bake George, I enjoyed baking a great deal. So I love to bake, a baker. I have few signature things, one of which is my chocolate banana bread. Then I make a chocolate cake, and then our chocolate mousse and things like that. And I love to experiment with salads. And I love the Indian food, of course that we cook regularly and experimenting with that, I do a whole lot of experimenting with the regular Punjabi food and the South Indian food, which is where I live so a whole lot of that so I basically like to experiment with things and now thanks to YouTube and all that is available. It's pretty simple. So coming to YouTube, recently when the lockdown hit, I again found myself in the middle of a whole lot of cooking activity because we had a whole bunch of blind people who were stuck in various places cooking on their own and not being able to buy food from outside and things like that and there was a demand for wanting to learn how to cook so I had invitations on webinars to talk to people about cooking and safe cooking and what they could buy and what they could use. Then a few friends said why don't you start giving lessons and make recordings or something like that. That was born in April, my YouTube channel which is called Rasoi ke Rahasya where I teach a blind person, I have audio tutorials which teach a blind person how to cook from scratch, I orient them to their kitchens, to ingredients, to methods of cooking, to storage, refrigeration, identifying accessible cookware, and a lot of it with you know, how to cut fruits and vegetables, certain things that a lot of people seem to not know how to do. I gave them a glossary, a glossary of ingredients, of names in English and Hindi spices because they were all ordering online and sometimes didn't know how what was called what you know. So I did all of that and it's been received really well because I've got people telling me that you know, they never thought they could cook but my channel seems to have helped them and motivated and encouraged them, I couldn't ask for more. So my talking, the talking bit of it comes pretty much in this whole thing, talking to people about cooking and food and then of course, motivational speaking a whole lot of inspirational talks and sensitization workshops and all of those kinds of things. So the minute you start getting noticed and people here a few where I'm part of the Indian women network of the CII here in Hyderabad. So I've been you know, in the meetings I've been noticed over there and because of that I've met and I've had a lot of opportunities open up there.
So thank you so much for sharing your life and wish you all the best. Thank you.
Thanks, George. Thank you so much for having me. It's been wonderful running this Down with you.
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