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Blind can lead blind
 To light a lamp in the lives of the blind and to take them to the pinnacle of success is the aim and intention of Govindhakrishnan alias Gopi, a blind youth.
One can hardly believe that he is blind as he moves from room to room confidently without anyone's help - a wonder and a surprise for anyone who looks at him.
'Nethrodhaya', a centre for the blind, is situated at Spartan Nagar, Mogappair. It is his dream project, which has been established to help and guide the blind.
"I was not visually impaired at birth. My eyesight started failing gradually when I was eight years old," says Gopi. His class teacher was the one who found this problem when she noticed him copying from the board at close quarters.
'Nethrodhaya' was started 11-and-a-half years ago and today more than 30 people live there. They are self-reliant in every way, whether it is cleaning their rooms or buying things for daily use.
 "They should not feel that they are blind and should not be dependent upon anyone. They should have the courage and self-confidence required for leading such a life. This is what I advocate and so we train ourselves to do all the work ourselves," says Gopi proudly.
As to what spurred him to do this, he said, "Many voluntary organisations come forward to help the blind till they finish their schooling but not beyond that. Even books in Braille form are not available for college students. I had to face a lot of difficulties while in college and this left an indelible scar in me. Such experiences provoked me to start 'Nethrodhaya' through which I want to provide facilities for the blind which were denied to them before."
At ‘Nethrodhaya’ one can see students belonging to different districts from Tamil Nadu staying and studying different subjects like literature, economics, law, etc. Students admit that they feel very much at home here.
 Students are provided food, shelter and facilities to pursue their education, at 'Nethrodhaya'. Apart from this, locals offer assistance by reading out lessons to them or recording them on cassettes.
Others who have helped the organisation include playback singers
Yesudas, Unni
Menon, music director Deva and actor
Surya. In the same way, Justice Karpaga Vinayagam, in some cases, has ordered the fine amount to be paid to
'Nethrodhaya'.
But the organisation does not have a building of its own. It has approached Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalaithaa, who has asked them to locate a place first. Gopi is on the look out for a suitable location for the building.
With a mere Rs 72 in his pocket, this young man has struggled to infuse a new lease of life among the blind and is still toiling hard to achieve more.
“If you are educated, assist the blind in writing their examinations... Read out their lessons for them... Record lessons in cassettes and give them... Share some of your time with them and
instill self-confidence in them. Make them realise the beauty of life,” he says.
 “For the past 10 years, I have been coming here and reading for the students. My husband has retired and my children are living abroad. I wanted to spend my time in a useful manner and so I decided to read for the ‘Nethrodhaya’ students. I feel contended,” says Vasantha
Nagaswamy.
Gopi found that among the 119 blind people who beg in trains, 82 were graduates. He travelled for 30 days in trains and talked to them about their difficulties. He was touched by their condition and through ‘Nethrodhaya’ he has helped them start businesses with minimum investment and has supplied materials also.
He also provides medical assistance for the blind in case of accidents and he sees to it that they keep a card with their blood group mentioned in it. He wants to start a centre for blind women and the aged in future.
 Every year, ‘Nethrodhaya’ conducts competition in sports and invites VIPs as chief guest. It conducted a chess competition recently and had invited Tamil Nadu Social Welfare secretary
Gariyali and chess champion Aarthi Ramaswamy as special guests.
To one's surprise, Gopi thanks God for his blindness. He explains that 'Nethrodhaya' happened because of his deformity. Otherwise, he would have been an average human being, married with children and having a family, leading an ordinary life.
Gopi’s main intention is to provide all facilities for the blind, including employment. He says, “Service is my duty.”
For further information, please contact:
Gopi,
Nethrodaya,
8, Spartan Nagar, Mogappair,
Chennai - 600 050.
Phone : 044 - 2656 5012/044 - 2652 3640/3656 5012
E-mail: nethrodaya@yahoo.com
website: www.nethrodaya.org
K
T Sri
Translated by Radha N
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