Tiffany wanted to shed light on the path of the blind people like herself. The urge sowed the seeds of Jyotirgamaya, a mobile school for the visually impaired.Tiffany Brar was born blind. The Punjabi girl’s childhood centered around her father’s career in the army. She went to schools in England and various places in India such as Darjeeling, Ooty, Coimbatore, Kottayam, Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram.
The skirmishes along India’s border with Pakistan upset her world. As Indian army prepared to counter the infiltration in Kargil, Tiffany’s father was called into the line of duty. He left behind his ailing wife and blind daughter. The country came first, he told the crying Tiffany.
Tiffany lost her mother when she was 12 years old. Her father was forever busy with the army affairs. One day, Tiffany told her father to take her to Kerala. She said she wanted to study and live in the southern state.
Kerala was always close to her heart. She had fond memories as a student in Thiruvananthapuram. The fisherwomen and vegetable vendors treated her lovingly. Everyone took a moment to talk to her. Tiffany thought she would feel at home in Thiruvananthapuram.
She had her way. She went to Cotton Hill School in Thiruvananthapuram, Girideepam in Kottayam, JMJ in Thrissur and the Government Women’s College in Thiruvananthapuram. She excelled everywhere.
Leading light
Tiffany wanted to shed light on the path of the blind people like herself. The urge sowed the seeds of Jyotirgamaya. The idea started as a mobile school for the visually impaired which was started by Tiffany in 2012.
Three years later, she opened the Jyotirgamaya School in a rented building at Ambalamukku in Thiruvananthapuram. She designed a three-month program on the lines of the gurukula system. The institution offered training in English, computing, latest technologies including Android, yoga and programmes to boost confidence.
The students were not charged a paisa as tuition fee or towards food and accommodation. As many as 46 students passed out of the school in nine batches.
The school functions out of two floors of a building. Tiffany envisaged the school to be an environment-friendly campus, complete with a playground for the blind students, computer lab and an audio library.
“Students of the school should be an asset to their parents,” Tiffany shared her vision. The social entrepreneur has found ways to make the school a sustainable venture. She did not have to ask for financial help from her father, who now runs a business in Thailand after retiring from the army.
Tiffany receives the national award for best role model among the visually impaired category from president Ram Nath Kovind.Big salute
Tiffany never felt confined by her visual impairment. She can speak fluently in English, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam and Tamil and can read and write in Braille script in all these languages except Tamil.
She is an avid traveller too. She has travelled to Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Poland. She has also traversed the length and breadth of India.
Tiffany is an avid traveller and she relies on public transport.She is a solo traveller and she relies on public transport. No place is far enough for this brave young woman. When a visually impaired person seeks her help over phone, she is ready to hop on a bus to a place as far as Kasaragod.
She keeps walking, armed by the white cane and a smile. “The day never ends for me. I am always surrounded by light. I do not feel night,” she said.
Tiffany deserves a big salute, just like her father who sped away to the border to protect the country.
Read: On a Roll | Back to the wall, Kunjamma climbed coconut trees and broke the glass ceiling
