Speaking Silence….Riya Kartha
What’s the first image that comes to your mind when you think about a school for the hearing impaired? Many would conjure up images of a child and a teacher gesticulating to each other, using sign language.
At Koshish, however, you will find neither child nor teacher communicating that way. This private institution, which provides free education to the deaf, insists on building children’s speaking skills, and enhancing their ability to lip read, also imparting a
sense of independence in the process. “We want to remove some false notions. These children can be taught to speak,” says Dr Ajay Kothari, an ENT specialist, and founding trustee of Koshish.
Kothari started building on his dream of creating an institution for the rehabilitation of the hearing impaired, in 1983. After his friend, the late actor Sanjeev Kumar, suggested ‘Koshish’ as a name after the 1972 Bollywood hit, the first school was set up, with 30 students to begin with. Three schools later and several years later, the institution has grown tremendously.
“We now have a 20, 000 square foot centre in Malad with over 130 students,” says Kothari.
Students at Koshish study up to the SSC level and are given free hearing aids, which would otherwise cost them Rs 22,000. They are also given vocational training in tailoring, screen printing, photography, public speaking, hair styling, along with classes in yoga, aerobics and martial arts. “The basic idea is to make them independent. They can get jobs, or start their own businesses. They also write an exam that is certified by the government. If they want to continue with college, we help with 50 per cent of their expenses,” says Kothari.
Interestingly, every department in the Koshish campus at Malad (East) is associated with the aural. The gallery is called the Labyrinth after the maze of canals in the inner ear; the cafeteria is called Decibel, the library is known as Whisper, and the Audiology Department is known as Echo. The campus also houses a Child Behaviour Counselling Department, a Mental Trauma Counselling Centre, and a Deafness Detection Clinic.
“We started an inter-school cricket tournament three years ago, and appointed a past Ranji trophy player to come and teach the children. Now when they watch a match on the television, they know what is happening,” says Kothari, also adding that the Maharashtra Government has now decided to hold the tournament at the state-level.
The students also enthusiastically celebrate every festival that comes up, including Janmashtami and Sankranti. “They even created a pyramid for the dahi handi, and we had also called a professional kite-maker to teach the children how to make kites. The competition required them to make kites of different shapes, ensuring that they would fly,” says Kothari.
Celebrating their 25th anniversary, students from Koshish put up a show on Sunday evening. Kothari says that being deaf, the children have the beat inside their minds now, so when the music is turned down, they still dance in complete sync to the song.
“When you see that, it makes you wonder who is really deaf — us or them?” asks Kothari
