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CHECK THIS VISION, FROM A VISUALLY-CHALLENGED ENTREPRENEUR IN GOA
By Anson Samuel
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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MOTIVATION... A man with a vision
Rs. 30
Angelo D’Souza
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Have you caught sight of a butterfly opening a
cocoon? Or a spider spinning its web? Or maybe an
ant storing food in summer? You probably might have
spotted or heard it as anecdotes. Don’t they need
oodles of patience to go about doing this struggle
of a task? And maybe a bit of perseverance and
motivation too?
But, victory is favourable only to a few. In the rat-race of
achieving success, present-day people leave no stone unturned
burning the midnight oil and working indeed very hard. But
failure strikes often, and right in the face. Failure gets
plonked in the palms of so many today.
Aspirants are so simply bogged down to crash. The reason
remains unknown, or does it really?
'Motivation: a man with a vision' is an autobiography written
by Angelo D’Souza. An elderly slim man and an expert at the
typewriter, he is the principal of the St. Jude’s Commercial
Institute at Aldona. His institution is next to the Rosa
Mystica Convent. One may say, what's the reason for creating
a big din over a good and an experienced typist?
Well, this one is blind! And guess what, he's a damn good
writer as well. He has to his credit the National Social
Service Award which further motivated him to write news-items
and articles. He has, so far, contributed two plays 'Will
Power Lead Me On' (1995) and 'Love Triumph Labour Reward'
(2001) to the BBC World Drama Contest.
Writing an autobiography can be tricky. If one stresses all
his triumphs, s/he is likely to be classified as an egoist,
reminding one of the saying that 'a donkey praises his own
tail'. If he underplays achievement, he cannot convey the
real intent and the very purpose of the autobiography is
lost. So the jotting down of all experiences, though a knotty
task for him, he has done it quite well.
This book also includes wise titbits and sayings, such as
'The need of the hour is not pity but empathy' and 'No one is
more interested in you, other than you'.
The Goa State Branch of the National Association for the
Blind recommends the book. Now, don’t cite the example of
late Helen Keller, who conquered a triple-handicap. If you
think about doing it, don't forget the circumstances she was
born in, the social and family support she had, to be able to
fight, totally in contrast with the circumstances and social
environment in India in general and in Goa in particular.
The book deals with various facts of ones life. Chapters are
based on interesting topics on his early stages -- the
revelation made to Agnelo by his mentor that he is a victim
of defective vision, his own reaction to the outbreak of the
sad news and the early stages of anxiety.
Next follows a chapter that is about motivation -- the
driving force within an individual: browse through it and
activate the potentials in you. Take a peep into your own
self. The chapter gives the idea of action, reflection,
action.
Next comes a chapter to enables a person to encounter with
the success he achieves, the fruit of his hard work. "The
award did not permit me to sit and rest,” he says. Guess what
follows: an attempt at being an upcoming playwrite and a
mediaperson, as mentioned above.
Further in the book, the chapter 'Memoirs Of A Virtually
Handicapped' is simply beautifully written. It brings out the
thoughts, feelings and anguish of a blind person. Its anxiety
is well-expressed in words. Deep touching, soul stirring and
an eye opener to people who duck their heads low looking at
their problems as "the" problem and not just "a" problem.
This man of deficient vision shows how to stand face to face
with a problem and encounter it.
The book provides with wisdom on the proper usage of words:
don't get me wrong, this isn't a text for studying grammar
and parts of speech, but rather words that will motivate and
not cause one to efface oneself but to egg-on oneself
forward. He makes us familiar with our very words that cause
bitter torment and painful heart aches within others. The
language has meandered through ones bold encounter with life.
And, at the reasonable price it comes, do go for it.
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Anson Samuel was a participant at the Ixtt e-Mentorship
Programme in Journalism conducted by Frederick Noronha during
the academic year 2004-05, when he wrote this interview. If
you have ideas or suggestions on keeping this programme
running, and creating more socially-focussed journalists,
please contact FN [EMAIL PROTECTED] What we need is your
support, not of the financial kind.
