Scribes render silent service to blind students

Meera (name changed), a media professional in the city, is silently rejoicing the success of blind students in the higher secondary exam results. She is part of an informal group of people who double up as scribes -- rendering valuable service to the cause of the visually challenged.

Meera signed up for the service seeing an e-mail requesting for volunteer scribes for the visually challenged. She wrote seven exams for a blind student in the city. "The visually challenged are more realistic about what they want, and I learned a lot spending time with them at the exam hall. They even taught me how to draw diagrams, which was a challenge for me. At the exam hall, I noticed that the visually challenged are more relaxed than normal students who are tense and nervous," she added.

Scribes in the city admit that finding scribes for the blind is a challenge. As there are not many organised forums for the blind, it is mostly the people who are in touch with blind schools and institutions that take up the job. They become an informal collective. The scribes come from diverse backgrounds. But what binds them is a desire to serve.