Lipin yearned to be a journalist, he became one when he worked for a Malayalam daily, he yearned to be teacher and cleared the NET with JRF even before completing his post graduation and after PG he cleared PSC exams, and when he wished to clear the coveted Civil Service examinations he did that too with flying colours. All of 24-years, there is nothing that this young lad hasn’t achieved, which he had set eyes upon. In college there wasn’t a single competition that he missed, and bagged prizes for everything that he participated. He even made his alma mater proud by bringing the Chazhikadan trophy for debate competition back to his college after a hiatus of 22 long years.
Lipin Raj, the 24-year-old from Naranganam, Pathanamthitta, an alumnus of Mar Ivanios College here, is the second visually impaired person from the state and from the whole of South India to clear the Civil Service Examinations. And all the more commendable is the fact that he achieved this feat without any coaching. Having an impairment like his, it was all the more difficult for him, but he thanks the new-age technology for easing out his efforts.
Coming from a moderate family with limited means and a handicap that fate threw his way, Lipin never let any of those be a hindrance in achieving his dreams.
“Dream, give wings to your dreams, do not let others dictate what you are capable of, do not be afraid,” says Lipin.
Lipin currently working as an assistant manager with IDBI bank Kochi says: “Sympathy is not what people with disabilities want from others; it is your acceptance that they yearn for. They are individuals with a varied set of qualities and abilities. Taming your heart to understand their capabilities which are much similar to your own is what is needed.”
Even when Lipin came out victorious in the face of such adversities and achieved a dream that he had been cradling ever since he can remember, he wonders about the road that lies ahead of him. It is not in his ability that he has doubts, but about the bureaucratic set up, on how accommodative they will be to such a person. But having faced and coped with even graver situations, Lipin is unperturbed.
“I could be satisfied with the civil service, get married, build a house and be settled in life. But if I do that these people like me will still remain unknown among the masses just scrapping through life. That is not what I want; I want to show them that even we can achieve great things. All that is required is a drive to accomplish your dream and a mind to work hard to conquer that dream. Hence I chose the Indian Information Service (IIS) and journalism to make the public more aware of the opportunities that they have,” he says.
Lipin earnestly wishes to see people like him make it through civil service in the years to come. And with that aim in mind he even started coaching civil service aspirants from rural background in his home town. He is also planning to start a library at his home so that they can come, read and refer anytime they want.
Lipin never felt that he ever had a handicap and never wished to get the benefits due for him. He always wished to appear for any tests and interviews under the general category. But most of the time he was forced into the reserved category, because the society has branded him and the many number of people like him as handicaps and they are constantly underestimated.
For today’s generation who constantly rebuke and is embarrassed to say they are a Malayali it is commendable that Lipin wrote all nine papers in the his mother tongue. Asked about his choice of Malayalam, when youngsters these days run behind English, he says with simplicity that: “I am a person who studied in a Malayalam medium school and for me I can express myself better in my mother tongue, a language that comes to me naturally.”
And unlike most civil service aspirants preparing for the exam, who dedicate themselves to this entirely without any other activity in their lives, Lipin studied just 5 hours a day that too after a hectic day at the bank. Lipin who is all set to join service in September thanks the Almighty and his teachers and well-wishers who prayed for him and helped at every stage for his accomplishment.
Lipin wants to tell the youngsters like him not to be afraid to come forward because of a handicap. “Once while speaking to a group of youngsters at ‘Chakshumathi’, a non-profit trust researching in latest assistive technology for the upbringing and empowerment of the blind and visually challenged, barring a few girls all the others were scared to even aspire for IAS. All I want to say to the kids is that there is nothing to be afraid, technology has developed so much that there are a wide variety of software and technology that could assist us. People like us are in front of you to guide you and lead you,” Lipin says with determination.
