Of love that needs no first sight

Agra: It was not love at first sight. But that’s only because the eyes were not there.
When 28-year-old Dinesh (name changed), who works as an assistant manager with a nationalized bank in Dehradun, met a woman of his type (as he likes to put it), they hit the right notes from the word go. Dinesh, however, insists it is just the right beginning and they will take their own time before deciding on the future.
Marriage remained the main topic of daylong discussions on the second day of the three-day national blind convention being held on the campus of Dr BR Ambedkar University in the city.
The 147 participants from all over the country are members of a Facebook page, called Blind Stars, which was started in October 2012 to provide the tech-savvy among the visually-impaired a platform to connect with one another. This is the group’s first gathering, a leap from the virtual to the real world.
Speaking at the event, 27-year-old Avinash Shahi, a PhD scholar at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, expressed his desire to marry somebody who can see. While a few questioned him at the interactive session, Shahi explained, “I cannot walk on road alone. I want my wife to take me for walks and tell me how the crowds in markets look. I am good looking and doing well in life. I can provide her a good life.”
Many, including Nikita Patil, a computer instructor at Kamla Mehta Institute of Blinds in Mumbai, did not agree with Shahi. The 28-year-old woman who was one of the most confident at the event, said, “I cannot make food or do many other things. If I marry a man with eyesight, there are fair chances of marital discord arising out of my handicap. I would rather like to marry someone like me.”
There was also some guidance for these youngsters at the event. The convention was also attended by some visually-impaired married couples who shared their experiences and busted several myths the youngsters seemed to have about marriage.
“I dated and ended up marrying a blind man. We met online and he didn't tell me for a while that he could not see. Once he did he ask if it made a difference to me. When I said no, he told me the truth. He was amazing and still is. He is strong, smart, funny and a wonderful man — he just happens to be blind,” Shakuntala Prasad, wife of Sukh Sagar Prasad, a government teacher in New Delhi, said.
For Prashant Rajan Verma, a visually-impaired IT expert, and his wife Veena Mehta Verma, country’s first blind MBA who works as an HR manager in NTPC, New Delhi, their marriage is as perfect as of the people with eyes. “We complement and understand each other. This is what marriage is all about,” Prashant said.
Akhil Srivastava, organizer of the event and member of Antardrishti, an organization meant to create awareness among masses about eye donation, said he was overwhelmed to see the confidence of the participants.