ANANTAPUR: The newly set up ‘Sign With Hands Hotel’ in the town is quite different from other eateries as it is run by four hearing and speech impaired persons.
They serve food items to customers after taking orders through signs. The menu card displays different signs to be made to order food items.
Taking the lead is Mary Evans, daughter of M Surendra Babu, a retired army personnel, and Sulochana, a retired employee of the health department. Though she was born with hearing and speech disability, Mary did BCom as she is determined to lead a life of her own without depending on others.
She got an idea of setting up a hotel to achieve self-reliance. Her husband BSV Prasad, who is also speech and hearing disabled and works as a junior assistant in the excise department, has extended his support to Mary in her business endeavour.
B Mahbub Basha, the second of three children of M Basheer, a tailor in the town, is also speech and hearing impaired. Despite his disability, he completed his degree.
He has also became a part of Mary’s project, along with S Mahbub Basha, son of a rickshaw-puller of Anantapur, and Siva, an orphan from Kadapa, who are also hearing and speech impaired. The quartet are running ‘Sign With Hands Hotel’ successfully.
“Mary is a hard-working girl. She often makes it clear that she does not want to lag behind anyone despite her disability. We are glad that she is striving to achieve her goal of becoming self-reliant by setting up a hotel,” Sulochana told TNIE.
“I have invested Rs 1.50 lakh on the hotel. My three business partners have also contributed a little for setting up the venture. I am determined to be independent financially. We share the work in running the hotel. We are confident of earning profits in our hotel business with our collective effort,” Mary said through her mother’s interpretation.