Article from The Telegraph
Husband and wife Rajat and Geetika Dalmia start their day at 10 in the morning. He heads for his factory in Taratala. She takes charge of her travel agency in Ballygunge. Back home after a full day’s work, evenings are spent watching television and Facebook-ing while weekends mean poker, clubbing and fun. So what? Both Rajat, 31, and Geetika, 27, can barely see. The couple from 1 Mullen Street, near Lansdowne, are battling degenerative retinal disorders that have robbed them of 80 per cent of their sight. “I was preparing for my Class XII board exams when I realised that I was having difficulty focusing on the lines in my book or on the TV screen. I was taken to a doctor, who diagnosed retinitis pigmentosa (a retinal disorder in which blood circulation in the eyes slows down and vision deteriorates),” recalls Rajat, whose grandfather, aunt and elder brother have all suffered from the same condition. Geetika was also 17 when she discovered that the reason for her failing eyesight was rods and cones dystrophy, a retinal degenerative disease that causes the deterioration of photoreceptor cells in the eyes. “Rajat and my problems are very similar. The cause is different but the effect is the same,” explains Geetika, who, like Rajat, is left with 20 per cent vision. With only one-tenth of normal vision left, Rajat and Geetika can at the most distinguish “light and dark or a wall and a large object without knowing what it really is”. The rest is all a blur, though lack of sight has not diminished the couple’s ability to visualise what they can’t see and lead happy, successful lives. “I am very fond of blues and blacks,” chirps Geetika, reaffirming that colour is very much a part of their lives. Rajat is now the proud owner of Plastechnics, the only supplier in the country of transparent plastic covers for Philips streetlights and tube-lights. “I needed to regain my confidence, which I did by joining the family business. Four years ago, I completed a BBA correspondence course and wrote my exam with the help of a scribe,” he recalls. Rajat uses talk software on his computer to keep track of all official documents and accounts. “I also touch and inspect each product for defects. No one can trick me,” he insists. The same talk software also played Cupid for Rajat six years ago. “I was looking for the talk software when someone recommended that I get in touch with Rajat. That’s how we met,” recounts wife Geetika, looking pretty in a stylish satin top teamed with metal and pearl danglers. “Yes, she came over to my place and we bonded instantly. We dated for two years. I used to take her out for meals and then we decided to get married,” adds Rajat. The couple’s favourite memories from those days are of their honeymoon in Goa, when they went water scooting and bingo riding. “We make sure we don’t miss out on the things that everyone around us does. We go on holidays whenever we find the time,” says Rajat. For Geetika, who did her graduation from Rani Birla Girls’ College and finished a travel and tourism course before floating Geetika Travels Pvt Ltd in 2005, travel is both work and play. “I have always loved travelling and this seemed like a great thing to do,” she says of her four-member firm. Another thing that binds Rajat and Geetika is music. Despite their busy week, the duo have reserved Thursday for music lessons. Geetika has been learning to play the synthesiser and Rajat the guitar. “We have already performed at Kala Kunj twice. We have also started recording the music that we play,” smiles Rajat, pointing to his new acquisition: a music mixer. Poker is the couple’s latest indulgence. “Every weekend we play poker with friends. We have even got special tokens made to help us differentiate between the different tokens,” reveals Geetika. So is there anything else that Rajat and Geetika desire? “A breakthrough in silicon retina chips, gene therapy and stem cells to restore vision. Scientists are working on it and I am sure it will come through soon,” says Rajat, the city co-ordinator for Retina India. “Our job is to build a database of those suffering from retinal disorders and spread awareness about the need to bring micro-chip implant trials to India,” he signs off. *Do you know of more such real heroes in the city? Tell *[email protected] Voice your thoughts in the blog to discuss the Rights of persons with disability bill at: http://www.accessindia.org.in/harish/blog.htm To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
