GADAG: In 1999, a retired government employee thought that he had reached the end of his life. Then 70, he was told that he was unlikely to live more than six months due to heart disease. He thought then, that he had built a good life for his family, but had done nothing for society. He began to ask around and realised that among the many disadvantaged groups of people, not much was being done for children with visual disability. He realised that a lack of Braille textbooks was a major obstacle in their education, and decided to fill that gap. What he thought would be the end of his life, turned out to be a new direction.
Born in Lakkundi in Gadag district, Ramachandra Dhongade did his schooling in Gadag, and began his career in 1948 as an employee of the transport services department of the newly formed government of Mysore. He retired in 1984 as an employee of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and settled in Dharwad, where he now lives with his family. His son and daughter-in-law are both entrepreneurs and run their own businesses in Dharwad and support him.
“We are happy that he can pursue his passion. It gives him the strength to live a joyful and peaceful life. Students who read his books thank him for giving them copies of books in Braille,” says Ramachandra’s son Vijayakumar Dhongade. Although Ramachandra himself does not know how to write Kannada in Braille, he learned that publishing in Braille was no easy task. The cost is prohibitive to begin with, and both the price and weight of books rise with the length of the text.
A 50-page book costs Dhongade about Rs 400 and a 100-page book around Rs 600. Also, although Braille has been adapted to write Kannada, conjunct consonants (otthakshara) -- when two consonants are written without a vowel -- sometimes make for difficult reading, and so require simplification. He started with writing and printing Braille books containing moral stories, and the vachanas of Allama Prabhu and Basavanna. Gradually, he realized that school and college students often do not have textbooks.
“Although the government provides Braille textbooks to schoolchildren, supply does not reach everyone. Many students still don’t get copies,” he says. Through NGO Vidyavardhaka Sangha, he would learn of school kids who needed textbooks and supplied them free of cost. Since 2003, he has headed the Dharwad branch of Sahana Trust for the Disabled, through which he has been able to reach more students.
Ramakant Doni, a pre-university student, is one such beneficiary. “I was a Class 8 student three years ago when Dhongade sir gave me books to read in Braille (Kannada). Now, I am in II PU. Even though online classes were there, the sense of touch and reading those letters, gives us a better understanding of the subject. We thank Ramachandra Dhongade for his selfless work and effort in providing Braille books to people with visual disabilities,” said Ramakant Doni.
Most visually impaired students take up Arts courses, but here too, Ramachandra found a gap he could fill. There were no textbooks in Braille (Kannada), so he bought copies, simplified the text, had them printed, distributed them for free.In the past 22 years, he has had around 15,000 books converted into Braille and distributed all over Karnataka at his own expense. These include copies of 50 books that he has written, translated from English into Kannada, or abridged for Kannada in Braille.
Still, Ramachandra feels that he has miles to go. “There are many students who are not aware of my work. So I’m not able to give books to many people. I approached MLAs, MPs and even the education minister three years ago and told them about my dream of providing books. I am still waiting for a response. I do not want money for my work. I just want to see blind students get equal opportunities and platforms which other children have,” he says. Ramachandra spends four or five hours a day working on books. “I think it is because of the people I have given books to, that I am 92 and still healthy,” he says.
15,000 books converted into Braille and distributed all over Karnataka at his own expense
50 Number of books he has written/translated from English into Kannada
Belaku magazine
In 2018, Ramachandra started Belaku, a bimonthly magazine with a circulation of 200 copies containing information on current events, poems and stories. Each issue costs D 450 but he distributes them for free to charitable institutions, NGOs and individuals who request a copy.