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Tanya... Living it up

I‘ve been given clear directions by Tanya Balsara on locating her house, but as usual, I am lost. For once, I don ’t mind as Malcolm Baug in Jogeshwari, a suburb in Mumbai is a green haven. As you walk in, the traffic sounds melt away and soon the only sounds are birdsong and the buzz of lawn mowers.

There are no high rises here, only trees that kiss the skies. It’s a colony of charming cottages and bungalows. After much meandering, I reach the Balsara house - an 80-year-old bungalow that’s awash in white glory.

A frangipani tree in full bloom shelters the bench on the lawn. Soothing green all around… ironically, it seems to me to be wasted on Tanya…she is visually impaired. But when you interact with her, you forget that she is so. And that is the beauty of Tanya.

This 26-year-old makes you forget that she cannot see and you feel none of that compassion and helplessness you normally feel when you talk to people who haven’t got what you take for granted. She reinforces the fact that you can choose to be miserable or happy.

As she puts it, “I think a disability is only a disability when you let it brother you and see it as a barrier. After all, disabilities create barriers but determination breaks them.” She moves swiftly to talking about her best friends, her cell phone and her computer. Both talk to her, thanks to JAWS technology, and fills up her lonely moments.

Hurt and hope

Tanya’s dad, Sam Balsara, elaborates on her impairments, “We discovered it when she was about a year old. We did not initially realise the repercussions of her ailment, described by the doctor as Retinitis Pigmentosa, and innocent sounding words like “it is a progressive disease’ but of course before long, we understood the full impact of those words. I remain confident and positive that advances in modern medicine will find a solution for her ailment.

After all, what is life without hope? One regret is that we did not teach her mobility, which would allow her to move around independently with the help of a cane.” It took her mother years to accept that her child would not be able to see. It was only after seeing ‘dozens’ of doctors and hearing the same pronouncements that it sank in.

Just chillin’

Tanya on her part, is happiest when she is grooving to ‘Kajra re’ and out clubbing. Her ‘group’ comprises her younger sister and her friends and they try and go out as much as possible, but not as much as she would like to! Movies are another passion.

She loves Hindi movies especially movies which star Saif and Rani Mukerjee , because of their distinctive voices! She doesn’t like English movies because everybody sounds the same…so much for the so-called superiority of Hollywood over Bollywood! And when it comes to going out, the onus of organising it all falls on Tanya. She has to book the movie tickets and coordinate the group.

Purpose point

However, for Tanya, life is not only about partying and celebrating. After a not too eventful school life (she went to a ‘normal’ school, and so had ‘normal ‘friends who helped her with notes, etc) the school trip to South India is one of her most distinct memories.

Her face lights up recalling those days. But, you can see that hint of regret when she recalls not doing well in French, a subject she loves, because the person writing her paper did not know French and it caused her to lose marks.

After college, she did a course in computers. It changed her life, though it didn’t happen too easily. Once the computer course was over, there was a lull in her life. As she had always harbored a desire for RJing as a carrier, she decided to try it. This led her to do a course called ABCD (Announcing, Broadcasting, Comparing and Dubbing) from the Xavier Institute of Communication.

She learnt a lot, but the prospect of being alone in a room with unwieldy headphones discouraged her. Her course coordinator suggested taking up dubbing, but by this time, there was an idea germinating in her mind.

To say she loved the communication channels openings up due to her knowing computers would be an understatements. Sending e-mails, chatting, surfing the Net… all these changed her life and led her to the big idea... “Why not let others like me do the same?” A simple thought, but high on significance.

The ideas took a while to reach fruition, but eventually it happened, and today, Tanya teaches two batches and it is not a cakewalk, as some of her students don’t have the capacity to visualize as she did.

And she also has her share of mischievous students. “One batch is very mischievous and not disciplined at all. They are all in their 20s, however there is one guy in his 40s and he is very good. Language is another barrier as most of them speak only Hindi and Marathi.”

Obstacles notwithstanding, teaching is Tanya’s true calling and it is what she enjoys most…” My dream is to start my own classes. I want to teach a lot of blind students give them certificates and see them employed. ”

Familes ties

“I hate to be alone. I love it when I am surrounded by people I love. I am very close to my family, my Mom, Dad and my younger sister, Lara.” About her mom, she says, “My Mom and I fight a lot. But there is a positive side to that as well.

It is great entertainment for my Dad and sister. And our Maha Yudhs (as my Dad calls them) ought to be the sequel to the serial ‘Tu Tu Main Main’ of the Balsara family, featuring not ‘saas-bahu ’, but ‘Ma-beti’, directed by Dad and produced by Lara!

My sister does a lot for me. When we are going out, she decides what I wear. She’s arranged my wardrobe accordingly, she knows what’s where. Whatever I wear at home or at night, I choose and wear, but ‘going out ’ clothes are decided by my sister.

In return for all that my sister does for me, I download her emails, send her stuff from the computer, if she wants things downloaded from the internet,  I do it for her; if we are going out for a movie, I do the booking of the tickets. In fact, I love to plan an outing.”

This sunny girl does not store dark moments in her light heart. She recounts this incident which made her sister and her giggle for many days.” Once my sister and I had gone for this event and I didn’t realize that I was wearing an odd pair of shoes. My sister noticed this from under the table and whispered to me that I was wearing a black shoe on one foot and brown on the other! We had a tough time controlling our giggles.”

Giving back

The only time I saw Tanya getting emotional was when she said, “I have only taken from everybody and I want to give back. I want to make my parents proud of me. I want to be more independent and not depend on everyone for everything. And if there’s one thing I want to change about my life, I would wish to be sighted.”

Source: Sugatha Menon, Here’s looking at you Tanya, Femina, Mumbai, September 27, 2006