A 79-year-old plastic surgeon and a charitable hospital in Kerala have managed to revive a 15-year-old's dream of singing.
Mumbai-based Jayanth Pawar idolises A R Rahman and dreams of emulating him. He plays the keyboard, but because of a cleft lip and palate problem he could not sing like idol. "The boy had always wanted to sing, but because of his deformity, the sound would come out through his nose," said Fr Dr Francis Alapatt, director and CEO, Jubilee Mission Medical College Hospital in Thrissur. Jayanth, who lives with his family at Barve Nagar in Ghatkopar, was born with these impairments and also suffers from blindness. He studies at Happy Home and School for the Blind at Worli. It was in school that he learnt how to play the keyboard. The school's director Meher Banaji said though Jayanth plays for the school choir he always wanted to sing. The Class IX student underwent surgery in Mumbai some years ago, but the cleft problem was not solved completely. His lucky break came when the school referred him to the Thrissur hospital, where he underwent cleft lip and palate correction surgery on June 9 which costs between Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000. However, in Thrissur he was not charged for the treatment. Dr Alapatt said after the operation Jayanth's singing has become better. He is now one important step closer to fulfilling his dream of becoming a popular musician like the double Oscar-winning maestro. However, Dr Adenwalla said nothing can be done about Jayanth's eye sight, as his optic nerve is permanently damaged. Having recovered from the operation the boy, whose father Jayaram works at a jewellery shop in Mumbai, gave a performance in the out-patient wing of the plastic surgery department before being discharged from the hospital. What is a cleft? A cleft is a fissure or opening. It is the non-fusion of the body's natural structures that form before birth. Clefts can affect parts of the face, such as the lips, eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and forehead .. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2009062020090620042446245c80c05ef/Kerala-doc-helps-boy-sing-Jai-Ho.html ..
