A ‘sight’ to behold

Visually impaired girls from all over India arrived in the city to participate in a beauty pageant for the blind. These girls share their stories with The Mumbai Age.

Matching her steps to the beats of the music, 24-year-old Jyoti Mallik struts down the ramp in a shimmery lehenga — her poise no less than that of a professional model. The only catch here is Jyoti’s walk was before a panel of judges who could see, unlike her. the young lady was taking part in a beauty pageant for the visually impaired that took place in the city on Tuesday.

Organised by Princess India, in association with National Association for the Blind - India (NAB), the pageant witnessed 44 women of 18 years and above floating down the ramp with elegance and panache.

While the regional rounds of the pageant were held in their respective states, 44 short-listed candidates from Odisha, Lucknow, Goa, Gujarat, Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra and Telangana were called to Mumbai for the pre-determinative round of the competition.

Jyoti, who represented Punjab was positively beaming. “While I have participated in college fashion shows, representing Punjab is such an honour,” says the PhD student, who was born completely blind. Jyoti was one of the five girls to have been selected from Punjab. The group has already started to form a bond of friendship as they explore the city together.

“We came here day before yesterday and went to check out Juhu beach and eat pani puri,” exults Sandeep Kaur, who took time out from teaching music in Ludhiana to take part in the contest. “It was a lovely experience. This is our first time here and I’m so enthusiastic to represent Punjab. It’s great that we have a chance to come in the mainstream and make a difference.” Also among the contestants was Rashmita Jana. The Constant mocking and teasing at school about her blindness failed to deter this 21-year-old from confidently walking down the ramp in her traditional Sambalpuri attire. This youngster from Odisha held the audience captive as she narrated tales about Odiya culture during her talent round at the pageant. Having grown up amidst her sighted counterparts in school, she feels that she is just as capable as any of her contemporaries. “I’m 75 per cent blind. When I went to school for the first time, classmates teased me and I felt miserable.

My dad made sure I led a normal life and go to a school with sighted children. I don’t feel that being partially blind is an obstacle at all; I feel as normal as others who can see. I want to become a model and I think this is my first step towards achieving my dream,” she says.

The finale of the competition is slated to be held in the city in January 2017 and designer Sanjay Lalwani of Sujata and Sanjay fame will be designing outfits for the 15 women, who make it to the final round. “I’ll be talking to the final contestants and will design the dresses as per each contestant’s dreams and aspirations,” says Sanjay, who adds that the confidence and determination displayed by the contestants have taken him by surprise.

“The girls have their own definite set of opinions. I was not expecting them to be this confident, self-reliant and ambitious. They go way beyond self-empathy and their vision is not cocooned. They see the world beyond us and they don’t need help,” he adds.