Deccan Herald Article 4
29th Feb 2008
Determined duo
by L Subramani
Fighting their disability, two siblings from Bangalore are doing their best to become musicians.
When episode number 42 of `Eyeway Yeh Hai Roshni Ka Karawan’ went on air on February 13, it brought gentle smiles on the faces of two siblings from Bangalore. This was a moment of quiet celebration for the duo whose hard work had finally started to produce results, albeit a small one.
The programme, produced by Delhi-based Score Foundation, disseminates information about training and career opportunities for persons with vision challenge and narrates stories of people who defied their disability and succeeded. It also allows budding visually challenged musicians like Vishal and Amit Jain to perform small instrumental or vocal pieces of any genre.
"We felt thrilled to learn that it was aired on 29 stations of Vividhbharati across the country," said Vishal, who along with his brother Amit performed on instrument the song 'Sur mai akhiyon mai' in the programme. "We were happy because this is the first time our performance has been broadcast on radio."
For the brothers from Bellary, getting a tiny air space is the first step towards realising a dream. Despite beginning life at school like other children, they started to lose their eyesight due to a progressive degenerative condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa. This led to a few frustrating years outside school.
While many would have cursed their fate and felt largely happy curled on their couches, the brothers made use of their time learning music. Curiosity to learn computers brought them to Bangalore a few years ago and, with the help of Samarthanam Trust for the disabled, the brothers honed their music skills and also started to use technology to further their discontinued studies.
"In fact, we first recorded this song using an MP3 recorder," Vishal said, giving an indication of how far he has travelled in handling technology. "With a limited repertoire, we couldn't produce the same effect as the original.
So, we used a better keyboard and with a few more instrument sounds, the effect was better in our second recording. This time, instead of an MP3 recorder, we used a software."
Handling a normal electronic keyboard and rhythm pad, of course, posed a problem for the visually challenged, as musicians have to see the keys and identify the functions. So, Amit, who plays the lead keyboard and Vishal, who plays electronic rhythm pad, spent hours memorising the functions.
"We grew familiar with the keys largely by long hours of practice," Amit said. "We needed to get used to the feel of each keys and had to learn to play them in sequence."
Vishal can play five percussion instruments and is currently learning the western drums. And Amit can add melody to it. "We want to compose our own tunes," said Amit. "Though playing cover is good, we can't create an identity for ourselves unless we start composing."
Besides music, the brothers are also kept busy by their studies. "Thanks to Samarthanam, we can now use the screen reader (that gives voice output of content that appear on the monitor)," said Vishal, who is in his second year B Com at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain College.
"We can access study materials on the Internet and can also scan printed text using scanners and read them. In addition, volunteers come during weekend to Samarthanam and teach us our lessons," added Amit, who is also doing B Com from IGNOU.
Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Feb292008/metro2008022854698.asp