Mumbai: Deepali Mule, a class 12 student from Maharashtra’s Hingoli who risked not undergoing eye surgery in November 2022 because that would mean no reading or studying for a long spell post-surgery, eventually ended up with a score of 81% in the HSC Class 12 exams 2023.
The student, who had been preparing for the exams under the ambit of the National Federation of the Blind Maharashtra (NFBM) since her schooling years, was born partially blind but lost her vision completely after she returned home during her Diwali holidays.
Though the family initially suspected it to be a case of Cataract, members of NFBM recognised it to be a case of retinal detachment, which is when part of the eye pulls away from the supporting tissue.
“We have been seeing cases wherein our students suffer from retinal detachment and we immediately identified it in the case of Deepali once she joined us again after the holidays,” said Aarti Takawane, Head of Skill Development Centre, NFBM.
Though Deepali took the help of medicines, eye drops, and other solutions, as suggested by the doctors, to get relief, she avoided undergoing critical surgery until her exams weren’t done.
“I would have had to rest completely after the surgery which would have severely affected my board exam preparation. I underwent the operation last month after I was done with my exams,” Deepali told the Free Press Journal.
The strong-willed 18-year-old, who went to St. Mira's College for Girls in Pune, which is an hour-long journey from her NFBM accommodation in Alandi Devachi, wishes to pursue her career in a subject she fell in love with during her college years.
“Though I didn’t like Economics, I loved studying Psychology. I would like to pursue my academics in the same,” said Deepali, whose parents hail from a farming background.
When asked what her message would be for blind students, who might find their academic journey to be difficult and will appear for their HSC exams next year, Deepali’s wittiness became evident with her remarks.
“We may not have perfect vision but we have brains. Despite disabilities, students should never give up no matter what,” asserted Deepali.
