This boy is blind. He could never do anything — Vasudev Sharma heard these words regularly for 11 years. He was born blind, but he knew that that didn't mean the end of the world. So, at the age of 11, he ran away to Mumbai from the blind school that he studied in Darjeeling to pursue his dream, which was to study, earn a respectable job and then eventually start a school for the blind, where they are treated well and they get to pursue what they want.
"Struggle is all I've had to go through ever since the day I was born," recalls Vasu, as he is fondly called. "I was put in a blind school and hostel at a young age and that did not help me. My brother would come to visit me once in a while and would give me ₹2," he says. Vasu nevertheless refused to believe that darkness is the same everywhere. He wanted to get out of the confines of his small town of Kalimpong and the boundaries of Mary Scott Home for The Blind School.
But where would he go? A neighbour had once told him of Mumbai. He believed that the city would help make his dreams come true. 11-year-old Vasu boarded a train and headed to Mumbai. "I did every odd job there. Mostly, I was doing dishes at a restaurant," he says. Seven years passed, but his dreams remained the same — just dreams.
But everyone has that one person who can be termed a life changer. For Vasu, it was Sivappa, a Bengalurean whom he met at the restaurant he was working in. "He motivated me and told me that I was meant for greater things. Thanks to him, in 2009, I came to Bengaluru," he says.
In Bengaluru, he joined Mathru Educational Trust for the Blind from where he completed his schooling. He worked in a factory part-time to fund his education. Later, he completed his under graduation from Bangalore University, after which he joined a call centre. Fast forward a couple of years later, Vasu is now a master’s student. He wishes to pursue his LLB and PhD soon.
But money still remains a big hurdle for him. Lucky for him, a friend whom he had met a while ago has now started a crowdfunding campaign for Vasu on Milaap and that is his last resort. "I wish to achieve my dream soon. I do not want blind people to suffer like I have," he says.
Here's the link to his Milaap campaign: https://milaap.org/fundraisers/helpvasu
