No. 2, Mar. 1996
Deaf Achiever
A profile of Nirupama Kaul: performer extraordinaire.

The sound of the ghungroo fills the room; a dancer gracefully executes the intricate moves that characterize all of Indian classical dances and especially Kathak. The girl seems totally one with the music of the violin and harmonium and moving in perfect harmony with the rhythmic beats of the tabla. The musicians complete their score and she bows to the audience, which gives her a standing ovation. The girl, Nirupama Kaul, 23; the occasion, the 5th Asia Pacific representatives meet of the World Federation of the Deaf. A seemingly incongruous place for an expert exponent of Kathak surely? No! Nirupama Kaul is herself deaf since birth. An absolute shock to many of the members of the audience which included the current President of the World Federation of the Deaf, the Minister for Social Welfare of the Govt. of India, President of the Japanese Deaf Federation and other dignitaries.

Nirupama was introduced to Kathak at an early age by her mother and aunt who were very keen that she be involved in the arts. She began attending the classes at the Delhi Kathak Kendra at the age of about 8-9 and has been a regular ever since. She was a very apt6 pupil and her Guru at the Kendra was very happy to have such a talented girl to coach with the added challenge of her handicap. Nirupama soon proved to be every bit as capable as the other students and though it was harder for her to keep up she never let herself lag behind. A persevering heart with the encouragement of her family brought her to the limelight time and again as she performed at various venues around the country.

Hard work and perseverance really paid off when she was able to perform at the White House in Washington D.C. before the President of the U.S.A., Mr. George Bush. She was given a $10,000 scholarship on that occasion doing her country and her parents proud. She is truly the epitome of all that deaf person can do. With determination and hard work nothing is out of reach.

Always a very gregarious person and outspoken in her defense of her friends, Neeru,, as she is affectionately called, is also in charge of the cultural programs conducted by her deaf club. At the National competition of Drama, Dance and Mime last year she coached the folk dance entry from her club and won the BEST FEMALE DANCER AWARD for her magnificent Kathak solo performance. She is a girl of many talents and has also participated in theatre performances for the Delhi Deaf Friendship Club.

Nirupama worked for about a year after completing her 12 Std at the All India Federation of the Deaf office at Delhi and is currently employed with the Confederation of India Industry. She has also done a beautician's training course at the center run by world-renowned beauty care expert, Ms. Shahnaz Husain.

She has already accomplished more than many hearing people ever could and is ever willing to expand the sphere of her activities. The lessons she has learned about persevering and overcoming hard ship do her credit and are a classic example to all others who would follow her sample. We wish her the very best of all life has to offer.

No. 5, June 1996
Deaf Achievers: Sonu Anand. A girl of many talents.

Fifth February, 1995 was a historical day for Sonu and the member of her family, friends and well-wishers, when they saw her photograph appearing very prominently in all the national newspapers as the First runner-up in Ms. SILENT DELHI BEAUTY CONTEST. The Lt. Governor of Delhi presented her with a beautiful sari on behalf of Delhi Tourism and Development Corporation where she is employed.

Sonu was born on 8th March 1975 which happened to be International Women's day. When she was 9 years old, she started going to school independently with her younger brother Dheeraj (deaf) in public transport.

She started her school in Balwantray Mehta Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi. Her participation in cultural activities started immediately from the day she entered the school.

At the age of 12 she was actively involve in Fine Arts, Painting, Dance, Drama, Mime shows, Athletics and Badminton. She won several prizes on the basis of her extraordinary talent. 'The very Special Art' selected her to represent India in the Third International Abilympics, Hong Kong when she was only 16 years old.

Rashtrapati Bhawan's Horticulture Dept. gave her necessary training and Mrs. Janaki Venkataraman, the then First lady invited her at tea and blessed her with all good wishes before leaving Hong Kong.

In 1993 she was a Reserved Badminton Player for the 17th world games for the Deaf in Sofia, Bulgaria. Since then Sonu is actively playing Badminton and representing Delhi State in the National games for the Deaf. This year she was selected to represent India in the 5th Asia Pacific Games for the deaf at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and qualified for the Bronze Medal (team Medal). Now Sonu's ambition is to represent India in Badminton in the next World Games for the Deaf.

Why should someone not excel in many fields? Sonu has shown by her own example that it is not only hearing people who can do a variety of things and participate in various activities but the deaf can too. Sonu is also an accomplished folk dancer and has several group performances to her credit. She is pictured on the cover of this issue participating for her club in the All India Drama Dance and Mime Competition for the Deaf. A credit to any group she is a very graceful and talented person and we wish her all the best in achieving her new target to represent India and do her country proud.

No. 5, June 1996
Entrepreneur Of The Month.
Narendran Prasad; the tailor who made good!

It is an odd thing that this month again we have a tailor as the entrepreneur but it is a somewhat different story. It seems that the most common qualification that unemployed deaf youth have throughout India is a cutting tailoring certificate course. Without entrepreneurial skills the prospect of lucrative employment is out of the question. Most tailors are very poorly paid and are for the most part beholden to their employers and are living in the next best thing to abject poverty.

Prasad got of to a fairly good start with his little close to the TCAD in Hyderabad. He was also quite popular and got a lot of deaf clientele. It proved to be not enough for this wife and himself. One day while recounting his story to a friend he casually mentioned the fact that his business was not doing so well. The newcomer said, "Maybe if you also stitched lightweight bags it would help you to enhance the business thing would be better." He took the advice to heart and launched a whole series of bags and purses, which have been very well received by the public.

His workload now virtually double it was very hard to make it again. His wife thankfully took up the challenge and pitched in with vigor. The team born that day is still going strong and doing well.

He now receives orders from people and is able to deliver custom made bags to them of their own particular specification. We at THE DEAF WAY tried it ourselves and have beautifully made nylon and cloth bags and belt pouches.

There is no limit to what you can do if you try. Surely Narendra and his dear wife have made that clear in his own way.

No. 5, June 1996
ENTREPRENEURS
Meeta Soodan. Talent and encouragement, a very potent combination.

For Meeta Soodan, life is full of opportunities and the brisk little girl is all out to take everything life has to offer. A boldness that belies her handicap seems to carry her through her life and she is really a picture of a "go getter" as the Americans like to call it.

In Dehradun where she lives and has done fore all her life there is not much as far as opportunities go and after finishing school she was really eager to get on with the rest of her life. A very talented person with her hands, her talent was soon discovered by her mother who decided that nothing would be too much for her to do for her daughter. Meeta was enrolled in training center and learned the art of tailoring which she had a flair for. Before long she was sewing all her own clothes and all the clothes for her many dolls which she also made herself. Everything at home was taken on as a challenge as she began designing cross-stitch patterns for wall hangings and embroidering cushions with great skill and of course her beloved sewing. There is not a single duplicate in all the 200 or more designs of children's clothes she designs for her own boutique in Dehradun. Each is as well made or if anything better than any commercial garment available in the Capital.

Her parents employed other deaf youth to help her finish her work. So prolific was she and for over a year 2 deaf boys were kept busy, helping her to complete her clothes. She held a number of shows and has received acclaim for her innovative fresh style.

Meeta's inherent boldness comes through in the comment she made when told of the All India Beauty Pageant for the deaf held in Indore last year. She heard about it after it had already taken place and was very disappointed. "Deaf girls must wear clothes designed by deaf designers!" she exclaimed, putting herself on the same platform as designers of repute like Ravi Bajaj, who sponsored the Runner Up's outfit. "Why didn't someone inform me? I would have designed every single outfit and I am sure we deaf designers can come up with really wonderful outfits just like anyone else." Well if that is not a girl who is going places I don't know who is!

Her dreams to run a boutique however have been too much for her to realise in Dehradun and the situation she is in does not give her much exposure. "I need a shop on a main street." She says wistfully. "If I had one I would really be so happy and I am sure I could support not only myself but provide employment to others as well." Her father smiles indulgently when asked about her ambitions, "She (Meeta) is an extraordinary girl." He says. "We are full of praise for her and we feel that she has a good future in this line. I am not sure though, if at this stage when she is of marriageable age, we should go ahead with a shop. Maybe after marriage she would be able to do that." Well all the best and we hope you make it!

No. 7, 1997
DEAF ACHIEVER
RAJIV SIKKA, A STORY OF COURAGE AND PERSEVERANCE; A LESSON FOR US ALL.

Medium height goatee, beard, winning smile and a camera. Who does that description match? Some one you ought to know! Rajiv Sikka, the best professional deaf cameraman in the city of Shimla. Everyone knows him and they also know about Studio 7, his set up. Rajiv's is one of the original rags to riches stories. He grew up in Dehradun, as a youngster played cricket for the Indian junior team and traveled abroad. Trying to find gainful employment was a nightmare in 1972 with the prevailing bias against employment of the deaf. He finally landed a job as apprentice in a photo studio. Rajiv spent the next 5-7 years at a pitifully low stipend and sweeping the shop and studio was his major occupation. To his credit he hung on and learnt the trade by just watching the people working all around him. He learned the tricks of the trade and saved up his money to get his first camera, "Nikon". He says, "I love Nikon cameras. They are just great." He ought to know, after all, he has 7. Using his knowledge of the trade after all those years of hard labor with no return he was able to start getting booking and people just fell for his style. His winning way soon made him very popular and soon business was booming. From sweeping the floor of the shop he has now risen to where he employs 11 persons of whom 8 are hearing. His managerial style is just like his personality, casual and easygoing. Being the most sought after photographer in the city is not easy and he is kept very busy but he plays it down. "I am just doing my job and I love it" he says.

His passion is fashion photography and has earned a place among the best in the business. His eye for angle and perspective is unique and has a knack to find the most complimentary angle to anyone's face. It is not only models or model wannabes who come to him but just people who'd like a special photograph. It is his rapport with the common person that makes him so popular.

Now with a video editing studio and a shop on the Mall and almost more orders than he can handle, what advice does he have for the rest of the deaf community? "Work, work if you want something for yourself earn it. Don't wait for it to come to you; it won't. Nothing is attained without sacrifice and work. Persevere and you will make it. Don't quit!"

No. 5, June 1998
Deaf Achiever
G.V. Reddy, an all round sportsman

An all round sportsman It seemed to be a good month in which to tell the story of the young Indian deaf football captain G.V. Reddy. A natural sportsman young Reddy was taken to the Little Flower convent by a friend of his family. His parents farming the land in Cuddupah district of A.P. were not free to do this themselves. They had other deaf daughters and a lot to do on the farm. It was at his father's insistence that this son should get a good education that he encouraged the boy to study. It was a good choice. G.V. Reddy or 166, as he came to be called, but a strange quirk of fate, was a star sportsman as well as an apt pupil. He represented his school in all the inter-school events and even went for the nationals in high jump and football and volleyball. At the completion of his schooling he came to Delhi to virtually seek his fortune as it were and lived with his friends from hostel days in Madras. He wrote his SSC exams from here and got through. After joining the Delhi Administration as an LDC his first thought was that of his brother and started an ongoing program to help his sisters and brother get settled with him in Delhi.

He started steady field practice sessions and playing with local teams and also the Delhi team of the deaf, called the DEAF XI.

His hard work was rewarded soon and he was named captain of the Delhi side for the 1992 National Games for the deaf. The final match was the crowning glory as Delhi regained the title after 24 years. He also was chosen to play for the international events after this and represented India at the Asian Deaf Games in Seoul and also subsequently at Malaysia. He is an active member of the Delhi Deaf Friendship Club and is also an eager and enthusiastic participant of The Deaf Way. An unparalleled mime expert he is often seen playing one or the other comic role and thoroughly enjoying himself.

No. 1, Feb. 1999
Deaf Achiever:
Sandeep Dhillon, sportsman to emulate. A Badminton Wizard!

Sandeep Singh Dhillon was born on 29th July 1969 at Amritsar. A healthy child at his birth with all his faculties intact, he was tragically afflicted with German Measles when only 16 months old and his auricular nerves were severely damaged. His father Col. G.P.S. Dhillon took premature retirement from the Army and settled at Bombay. At the Central School for Deaf, Sandeep was trained in lip reading and speech therapy. He was integrated in a hearing school in 1983. He passed his S.S.C. in 1988, H.S.C. in 1991 and BA in 1997 from Bombay University.

Sandeep in his young days, was a wizard in rolling skating but in the absence of a proper rink in Bombay, he had to abandon skating. He won a number of trophies at tournaments/championships in Swimming and Athletics in his schools days.

He started playing Badminton at a fairly late age and showed a tremendous flair for the game. He won the Bombay Inter School Championship (Opens) in 1986, and since then has been playing at State, National and International Level and has won laurels for the country. By sheer perseverance, grit, determination and hard capped toil. He has represented India at the 16 World Games for Deaf (Silent Olympics) in New Zealand 1989, 17th World Games for the Deaf (Silent Olympics) in Bulgaria 1993, 5th Asia Pacific Games for the deaf held at Malaysia in 1996 and 18th World Games for the Deaf (Silent Olympics) held in Denmark 1997. He won Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals and brought honor to the Country. He has represented States of Maharashtra and Punjab in the National Championship.

In January 1989 he was felicitated by then Prime Minister Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi at 7 Race Course Road, New Delhi for his outstanding performance in Silent Olympics in January, 1989 in New Zealand.

He was picked up by ONGC in October 1989, to play for them National and International Tournaments. In January 1994 he was honored by the chairman ONGC for his sterling performance in 1993 Silent Olympics held in Bulgaria.

Today, dedicated to the game and immensely hard working he puts in long hours of practice. He is well disciplined, an excellent sportsman and is a natural leader.

He was conferred with the 'Arjun Award' 1996 for Excellence in Badminton on 29.8.97 by His Excellence the President of India at New Delhi.

He was conferred with Shiv Chatrapati Award 1996-97 for Badminton by His Excellency the Governor of Maharashtra on 14.9.98 at Nagpur. This is the highest State Sports Award.

He was conferred with National Award for Best Disabled Employee 1997-98 by Honorable Shree A.B. Vajpayee, the Prime Minister of India at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 3.12.1998.

It has been all in all exemplary record and we know he will do us proud again. All the best to you, Sandeep.

No. 3, Apr. 1999
Deaf Achiever!
C.M. Rajeshwari, a crusader for deaf women's rights.

It is a great pleasure and privilege to share my innermost feelings and thoughts about my life. I am fortunate to live an independent life and be able to read, write and understand. For this I am grateful to all those who encouraged me throughout my life; my beloved mother, who has sacrificed much to make me an independent citizen, my late husband, S.M. Chandramohan, and my daughter, the pride of my heart, C. Ramadevi. My mother was my first teacher and still continues to be one. I owe a great deal to my teachers and the educational institutions that I attended both have made my accomplishments possible. I taught by the oral method. Because of this, I feel I have missed out on many things during my education. Sometimes I could not understand what was being discussed when in a group situation. I now feel that if sign language had been used as part of a Total communication approach, my comprehension would definitely have been better.

I attended several schools in India and one in England. The school in England was Woodford School, now called Sir Winton Churchill School for Deaf Children, Essex. In India I attended three schools, all based in Chennai. They were Little Flower Convent School for the Deaf, Church Part Convent (an integrated school) for girls, and Clarke School for deaf children's a part-time student.

With gratitude I remember my education at Woodford School. There I was taught to hear and understand the sounds around me, speech therapy, lip-reading and the use of hearing aids. However, I was not taught to sign as part of total communication, like many deaf and hearing families today. The Principal, Ms. B.I. Ingall, of Woodford School was very strict and did not allow us to sign or use gestures. As A result, I stopped using my hands but instead spoke a great deal, which finally earned me the name of 'chatterbox' of the class.

As a baby, I was not happy wearing hearing aids. They looked funny and felt odd. However I soon got used to them when I realized that they made me aware of the varieties of sounds and noises around me. I even started using the phone and listening to music. Now I wear hearing aids all the time even with an 88-decibel loss. I only take them off while sleeping. Parents should make it a point to see that their children wear hearing aids when awake.

When I was studying in Church Park convent, a regular school, there were times of double person surrounded by hearing peers and secondly due to a lack of communication with both deaf and hearing friends. When I was in Grade 2, I found it difficult to cope with my studies and also experienced great difficulty in learning a second language--in this case, Tamil. At that time, second language study was compulsory, even for deaf children. Fortunately, this is not so today. My mother then decided to send me to England and I studied there for five years.

After five years in England, I returned to Church Park convent to study from Grade 6 up to Grade 9. I experienced a number of difficulties in listening to the teachers and had a hard time understanding every word and everything that was spoken in the regular school. Ii enjoyed watching school dramas and plays, but could never really understand what was going on. I could not lip-read from a distance and my hearing loss in such that I was unable to understand spoken words, so I simply watched the movements. Watching mime performances made me very happy, but even then I could not understand the meaning of the proverbs being enacted, as the story for the proverbs was often spoken. Assemblies were always a nightmare. I could never lip-read the speakers and had to rely on friends to explain at least part of the announcements and lessons given. In the laboratory, when the professor was explaining the experimental set-up to students, I was mostly ignored. I managed to get directions from others, whom I coerced to help me. Some teachers become very frustrated whenever I asked questions or asked them to repeat instruction. I did not care because I wanted to get good marks. Even my private tutor would get frustrated and irritated when she had to explain things to me over and over again. I found it difficult to lip-read her. When she was tired of explaining orally, she would simply write down the answer without giving any explanation. I was a curious child and really wanted to understand the lessons. Fortunately, I had a very patient and interested mother, who would explain everything to me until I understood. I overcame all these obstacles and passed creditably in all classes. My achievements were possible only because of my will power and the strong encouragement and support of my mother.

I was married to S. M. Chandramohan, with whom I had the utmost happiness. He was a hearing person and very understanding. So were my in-laws. I had been married for almost 20 years when he passed away.

I remember the first time I met him. I found it extremely hard to understand his fast speech. We started writing on slips of paper to words I could not understand. He was very patient, and soon we started conversing slowly and clearly. I would talk all the time so that he understood my words and modulation, which was not normal. He taught me to drive a car, ride a two-wheeler, the financing business, general knowledge, etc. He also advised and encouraged me to be brave and face life independently. With his help I passed both the driving exams creditably. After a gap of eight years, I tried to complete my school exams. Again, due to his encouragement, I performed with flying colors with only six months of intensive coaching. In 1981 I received the first rank in the State of Tamil Nadu among the Physically Handicapped. Halfway through my plus 2 course, my husband suddenly become ill and had to undergo extensive treatment. It was then that I stopped studying. After my husband's death, I began pursuing a B Com degree through a six-month correspondence course, but stopped on account of depression and loneliness at the recent personal tragedy I continued my education through my daughter. When she went to school I helped her with her homework, just as my mother, just as my mother had helped me. Going through her books I learnt many new things which really helped me improve my English.

After recovering partially from my husband's death I started a tailoring business, which employed six hearing people, all Tamilians. Communication proved to be very difficult. However, I gradually learnt to speak Tamil and with signs, gestures and mimes, we managed. It was through the tailoring business that I met a deaf English man who was involved with a project for deaf youth in India called Nambikkai Foundation. His name was Ian Stillman. He and his wife Sue, an Indian hearing woman, have become good friends of mine.

Ian suggested that I meet Lekha and V.G. Krishnen, who were also involved in deaf welfare and deaf association in Chennai. I met them and we communicated with gestures. They taught me a great deal and I become a member of the Madras Association of the Deaf' thus started a lasting relationship with the Stillmans and Lekha and her family. The tailoring business was abandoned and I decided to work for the welfare of the deaf. I become an assistant secretary for the Madras Association of the deaf for two years. I also worked as an assistant teacher for the Clarke School for the Deaf for one year.

During this time I became acutely aware of the many needs of deaf people such as the need for trained interpreters, improved educational opportunities, the need for the development of a uniform sign language, etc. In deaf associations, deaf people usually develop their own signs. When member of different deaf associations meet they need to adapt their signs when communication wit each other. Many deaf people believe that teachers in schools should use sign language for the deaf.

I have been particularly sensitive to the situation of deaf women. An organization that focuses on this aspect is DAWN (Deaf Adult Women's Needs), of which I am the current secretary. The work of DAWN is very important for deaf women in Chennai today. Deaf women do not have sex education, marriage and house management preparation child rearing skills, etc., and many cannot read or write, even after being to school. Many have never even been to school. I am very happy with my oral abilities, but in retrospect I realise that I have missed so much because I wan not taught sign language or by the total communication approach. Now I am fortunate to have e-mail, fax and pager facilities to communicate with others. I find it interesting to be an independent citizen, in spite of the hard times. I wish that all of you encourage the hearing impaired to come up in life, by using total communication and oral methods to overcome the effects of the hearing handicap. If I were given the opportunity to become a hearing person with the cochlear implant, I would never opt for it. I have become used to 40 years of being hearing impaired, and would definitely be unhappy with any changes to this regular life of mine.

No. 3, Apr, 1999
Deaf People in the Work Place. --Where they are! What they are!
Neepa Kshatriya: A story of fulfillment.

A very interesting story had just come to an end and I looked at the girl opposite me in a daze. I think the contradictions in her narrative floored me.

She doesn't look a day over 20 and yet she is 30. She could pass off for a student in any college anywhere but she is in fact a teacher. She looks like a little wisp of a girl who would need sheltering but she is in fact very much in control of her life.

This was Neepa Kshatriya, deaf, teacher of art and craft to the deaf children at Sanskardham Vidyalaya for the hearing impaired, Mumbai.

Meeting a deaf person who really loves to work, and in fact does work, with deaf children is always a great experience and this was no exception.

Neepa told us in animated enthusiasm of her lifelong passions for color and expression. Her father was the encouraging factor in her life and he shaped her creativity. Her second love was to work with deaf children. After she completed her SSLC she went to the art and craft teachers training course. She did not do the whole course however, until it was time to apply for a Govt. job. Her mentor Lata Naik saw her potential as a teacher and invited her to come and teach in the school where she still is today.

After all the bit parts in her life, working at unfulfilling jobs in small scale factories and the life, Neepa has finally found her niche.

Her work and her level of communication and identification with the children is very healthy and she is inspired to teach.

No. 5, 1999
The spirit of ENTERPRISE
DEAF PEOPLE in the Workplace

The print shop looks like any other except that it is somewhat more modern in appearance and has all the signs of being a very popular establishment. That is at the first glance. At the second glance perhaps someone would notice the somewhat subdued atmosphere of the workspace itself and the high quality of the finished products arranged on shelves around the shop. Then upon talking to the owners of the shop you would realize that they do not in fact speak but rather use another person to explain things to them. Why? They don't hear! The proprietors of the most popular screen-printing establishment in Ranchi are Sunil and Sanjay Bagla and they are deaf since birth.

Skreena Print has not only deaf proprietors but also helps other deaf persons get training in printing. A number of youngsters have been through the regimen of training and quality conscious work ethic, which characterizes the Skreena Print work.

How did it all start? The brothers Bagla took a cue from their hearing brothers; far from being treated as burdens they have turned around and become high achievers in their chosen vocations. The support of their hearing family cannot be discounted from their success story and the more we see hearing and deaf people working together well especially within the family we have a reason to rejoice. The example set by the family of Bagla's is really something to write home about. The 2 deaf men married happily and fathers of hearing children are a prime example of how, given appropriate support, deaf people can hold their own in any situation.

No. 3, 2000
DEAF ACHIEVER: Manmeet Pal Singh; a painter par excellence.

Creativity is an essential component of art. Thus God is an artist. In every created 'man' artist is therefore inherent. Man is not perfect. Every man has some handicap. That handicap often asserts itself inn the form of creativity.

Manmeet Pal Singh, the young budding artist, makes his auditory disability an asset by imparting total dedication to his art, namely painting. His parents, who dote over him, have a background of military service. His father has experienced actual warfare. The background is reflected in the works of Manmeet Pal Singh in the form of 'wild energy' and uncommon daring. His imagination takes him into "surrealistic realms" and quite uncommon compositions. His craftsmanship is so meticulous that he doesn't allow his brush to make a single false stroke. There is almost architectural precision in his words. It can well be said that if he had chosen architecture as his professions he would have made an outstanding contribution in that field also. Even so he has found his footing in the field of painting. Undoubtedly he is going to go a long way. His paintings reveal some suppressed power yearning to find expression It would appear that when he sits down to paint, his entire being is absorbed in his work. That he cannot hear perhaps helps him to concentrate with extraordinary power. He creates well-balanced compositions of imaginary situations. I feel that he should continue to push into the direction of surrealism for that will give him greater freedom of expression. He should continue to explore his own personality.

Manmeet Pal Singh is a born artist. I know him from his childhood as I used to visit his house occasionally, being the friend of his father. In his early age he started preparing small sketches and used to show me when I happened to visit their house. I always appreciated his prepared works on making more and used to give some guidance by which he kept on making more and more drawings.

One day when I went to his house he showed me a portrait prepared by him which was of Hon'ble K.P. Singh, DEO. The portrait was of such a good standard that I was fully convinced by seeing his keen observation and characterization of the personality through line drawing and wished him to be an artist of repute. The process continued to prepare and show the drawings and paintings to me. The outcome of that process is his six solo exhibitions. Just to get artistic environment he used to visit Bama Academy of Art, Panchkula.

He has almost prepared more than 100 paintings till today. Some of them are very high quality. It is not possible discuss all of them but I would like to discuss two of them.

One of his paintings "Sea Goddess" which is on the title page of his catalogue is a marvelous one. It witnesses extraordinary power of his imagination, composition is suffused with the hazy, luminous atmosphere of the early morning and its center is occupied with Sea Goddess consisting of different symbols mechanically composed. There is a vast ocean at its back.

There is another painting, "King Sunflower", in which he has used various elements and integrated them with sovereign mastery to highlight the King Sunflower. Three more figures of separate sizes having heads of sunflowers illustrating these flowers, dominating the whole atmosphere with cloudy sky. The contrast of colors is quite appealing to the eyes.

No. 3, 2001
Meet Meeta Tomar!
SELF-EMPLOYED AND DOING WELL IN A HEARING WORLD

How would you react if your beautician did not speak to you? What would you do? Meeta is a deaf lady in Lucknow who knows the answers to those questions. She says, "My customers think it is great that I am doing this and hardly anyone goes anywhere else after they see the good quality of work I am able to perform." She rune the "Soundarya" Beauty Parlor in a nice section of Lucknow Civil Lines. The parlor is her full time occupation and though when her child was born she had to discontinue for a while it remains uppermost in her mind. A graduate of Shamute Parlor in Delhi she has been running the parlor since her marriage to one time teacher, Bimlendra Tomar. They met at the Multi Purpose Training center for the Deaf in Delhi.

She studied in a regular school for a few years and shifted to the famous AISH Bagh School to finish 8th Std. She then went to Agra to do 10th Std and thence to Delhi where she studied computers and beauty care for two years. Obviously computers did not hold much interest for her and her natural bent is in the beauty care direction. After her marriage in 1995 she started the shop and has gained a tremendous amount of popularity. She often has more work than she can handle. When asked why she never gets an assistant she replies, "I need to improve my own speech skills and if there was an assistant I will get a deaf assistant." She is a very confident young woman and drives her scooter all over Lucknow herself. She also has been teaching herself English to be able to talk and communicate with the foreigners who come to the shop. "They only know English so I have to be able to work with as well." She says.

Hats off to Meeta, obviously.

Where there is a will, there is a way!