Visually impaired counsels dejected souls in Bijnor – The Times of India

Bijnor: At first glance, Surender Prasad Gupta looks like any other carpenter. But he is not an ordinary man. Despite losing his eyesight at the age of 9, Gupta didn’t give up on life and worked hard towards mastering the art of repairing furniture. His expertise got him a government job and the 54-year-old today works in the district magistrate’s office.

 

Surprisingly, unlike other visually impaired people, Gupta never felt dejected because of his inability to see. Instead, he thanked God for helping him counsel other dejected souls and be a source of inspiration for people with weak will power. “I still remember the time when I lost my eyesight. It was a terrible experience. But my parents supported me and encouraged me to move on,” he recalls.

 

During those days, Gupta’s father was posted in the railways department at Gorakhpur and he studied there up to class XII. Later, he learned how to repair furniture, especially, weaving of chairs. As Luck would have it, in 1998 he got the job in weaver’s department at the DM’s office. He was 35 at that time. Gradually, his soft demeanor made him popular in the office.

 

His long time accomplice Neeraj Pal, a homeguard, says, “Gupta is so used to the environment here that at times we feel that he can see everything clearly. He is so familiar with the infrastructure here.”

 

However, more than his work, it is his attitude which is infectious. Amit Prasad, one of his old friends says, “There is always an element of positive energy out of his man. Once he lectured a person who had lost his right hand. Since then, a lot of people come to him, just to listen to him.”

 

“I am fortunate that I am not able to see so much degradation in society. I listen to appalling this people do to other. There is so much crime that I do not have to witness. God has given me the power to better people’s lives,” says Gupta.

 

Curated from Visually impaired counsels dejected souls in Bijnor – The Times of India