Eye can do it!

Eight blind students from Kamla Mehta Dadar Andha Vidyalaya are practising for a rare feat — they want to create the shape of an eye while doing the Rope Mallakhamb

ALPITA MASURKAR

Sight is not an impediment. Be it rope-climbing or studying, I can do it as confidently as any other student,” said 16-year-old Habiba Shaikh, as she hauled herself up on a rope with elan and twisted herself around it. Hanging in mid air, Shaikh formed an arc.

Right after she got into position, eight-year-old Anjali Tapal followed suit. Jumping and grabbing Shaikh’s feet, Tapal tossed her agile body backward for Shaikh to hold on to her feet. And thus, the duo formed an eye.

“By forming an eye, the girls want to spread the message that blindness is not an impediment. They don’t want people to pity them. the girls want to stand on their own feet with dignity,” said organiser Bharat Joshi, who actively works for the blind.

Eight girls from Kamla Mehta Dadar Andha Vidyalaya are busy practising for a rare treat - they want to create awareness about blindness through the art of ‘rope mallakhamb’ or rope climbing. The girls will showcase the feat at an event in Matheran on April 10, 11 and 12.

Neeta Tatke, who has been teaching the feat to the girls, shared her thoughts. “Teaching a visually challenged student is not the same as teaching a visually abled.

“A visually abled student has advantages, like being able to see the height and shape s/he is forming in mid-air. But the girls have gotten past such deterrants.” Tatke is teaching the students under the guidance of Uday Deshpande of Samartha Vidya Mandir.

Deshpande has been teaching the students since the early 1990s. Said Tatke, “During Deshpande’s first session with the girls, he had asked them to run. But the girls did not move. That’s when he realised they had never run before.

“Deshpande started with basic movements before he taught them the more complex art of rope climbing. Every movement on the rope, every bend, has to be correct. The girls are first prepared on the ground before they practise on the ropes.”

The principal of the school, Suparna Ajgaonkar shared similar sentiments, “The biggest achievement has been that the sport has increased the girls’ confidence. Besides performance in Matheran, the girls will also be participating in a seminar on disaster management for school students, including the visually challenged.”

The girls will showcase the feat at an event in Matheran on April 10, 11 and 12.