Shankar Chandrashekar
Shankar Chandrashekar, a 30-year-old
techie who was born with no eyesight and
limited use of his arms.He works as an accessibility tester in a software firm in Noida, lives
independently, pays taxes, and is also helping other visually impaired people find the kind of
freedom he
has found.
Now, having found how useful technology is, he wants to help others like him too. In December 2016,
Shankar
started a YouTube channel named "Tech Accessibility Tutorials" where he
uploads
videos explaining how visually impaired people can use different internet applications.
As for living independently, Shankar has been used to it since he was a 3-year-old. Originally from Bellary, his parents enrolled him at Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind in Bengaluru when he was three and he studied there till class 10. This was because accessible education facilities were not easily available in his hometown at the time.
After class 10, Shankar could not find any hostel facilities in Bengaluru to stay and continue his education. So he returned to Bellary where he was enrolled into a college for his pre-university course.
For graduation, he again came back to Bangalore. On his father’s suggestion, he took up diploma in teaching visually impaired people, which he completed in two years and got a certificate from the Rehabilitation Council of India. He then went to Enable India and learned computers. However, on trying for a job in the teaching sector, he could not get one and decided to return to Bellary.
For graduation, he again came back to Bangalore. On his father’s suggestion, he took up diploma in teaching visually impaired people, which he completed in two years and got a certificate from the Rehabilitation Council of India. He then went to Enable India and learned computers. However, on trying for a job in the teaching sector, he could not get one and decided to return to Bellary.
On his way, he met a person named Chiranjeevi who learned about his interest in computers and gave him a laptop. At the time, Shankar was also getting about Rs. 500 in the form of a Disability Pension from the government, which he used to get an internet connection for his home. There, he developed his computer skills on his own. He learned web programming like HTML, C++, Java scripting, etc. using online tutorials.
Shankar had also learned basic computers in school with the help of his teacher Maltesh. “My hands are L and J-shaped. And I cannot see too. Because of all this, Maltesh refused to teach me computers at first. But I persisted. I started learning when I was in class 5 and in class 7 I had learned MS DOS and WordStar,” he recounts.
In the future, Shankar wants to meet the Prime Minister of India and wants to get a job in the National Informatics Centre where he can work on making all state and central government websites accessible for visually impaired people.
Additionally, he is working on a website to provide training on programming skills to the blind. [embedvideo id=”bPhERMRoBXo” website=”youtube”]
A fighter with a never-give-up attitude, Shankar has a message for the government. He wants to convey that India needs to have facilities like many foreign countries, which provide laptops to visually impaired people from class 1 so that by time they are in class 5, they know how to scan their books and teach themselves.
“Visually challenged people should also be given jobs in a way that their efficiencies are utilised. For example, instead of giving them the work of clerks where all they are required to do is answer calls, they should be trained in technology and their skills should be put to use,” he adds.
Shankar concludes with a message for people with disabilities across the world. “Be positive and experience each and every second of your life. Don’t expect that someone will come and teach you or do something for you. You have to explore each and everything on your own; then only can you learn things better.”
