“For the first six months I was extremely depressed to say the least. I was shocked when the doctors further suggested that I should stop attending school, as my vision could weaken further due to the strain reading could put on my right eye. I stayed at home for six long months and became a complete loner. One day I decided to come out of this and informed my parents that I needed to go to school again.

Charudatta Jadhav receiving the National Award for Best Disabled Employee of the year 2006 from the then President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

Jadhav says his initial days were difficult but fellow students and teachers were supportive so studying in the normal school was not so much of a problem. “I was always made to sit on the first bench and my classmates were helpful by sharing all their notes with me.” But life once again threw up another unexpected challenge when Jadhav

lost vision from his right eye too. “In 1987 the same episode took place with my right eye and I lost my eye sight completely. Back then there were very little facilities available for patients like us and retinal detachment could not be treated. I underwent two operations in 1987 and 1994 at Shankar Netralaya in Chennai but it was not of any help in my case.”

Before Jadhav graduated in 1989 in the Arts stream with Economics as his majors, he happened to attend a camp organised by National Association for Blind (NAB) that proved beneficial. “At the camp I came across blind people who were pursuing higher degrees like Mphil which really motivated me. I was taught Braille and at the same time got to know of the facilities the blind could use to take their exams and move ahead in life. I was told that the blind could have readers, writers for our exams, record books in form of audio cassettes for studying without straining my eyes. This helped me a lot in the long run,” shares Jadhav.

Despite the limitation, Jadhav slowly realised that education in IT would give him a lucrative job. So he took up higher studies without being afraid of taking risks. “I quit my secure bank job and completed a Master’s degree in Computer Application, an MBA and advance certifications in software programming and network security. At every juncture I was reminded by people that these courses are difficult even for a sighted person so it was out of question that I would succeed. But I did what I felt was right and am right now working with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as an Associate Consultant,” says Jadhav, who is also the proud recipient of the National Award for Best Disabled Employee of the year 2006 from the then President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

The mind game

“A little before 1985 I got on to playing chess. The fact that this was the only game in which I could compete with a sighted person without any modifications in the game attracted me towards it. Then came 1985, which was a crucial year in my life. In this year I gained a lot of self-confidence in a small chess competition. I stood first despite being the only blind participant. It was in this year I felt that I could reasonably well in life. Then gradually I went ahead and won several district, state, national and international chess competitions.”

A few years later in 1998, Jadhav first participated in the International Blind Chess Championship at Czech Republic followed by competitions in Ireland, Spain and Poland. Till date, Jadhav has represented India in the International Blind Chess Championship nine times, has won two international championships and bagged four national championships. From 2000-2004, he was also the captain of the Indian team for blind chess players.

 “It was at the international competitions that I realised the advantage foreign participants enjoy because of better training and technological advancements. I then decided to provide professional Indian blind players with the same kind of technological support and training,” says Jadhav. He then went about authoring a remarkable book called Spanish Opening for the blind who could play chess and wanted to improve their gaming skills. He also converted the book into digital format so that it could be played and heard on a computer or an audio player. After Spanish Opening he also authored books like My Tribute to Bobby Fischer, Anand, the Indian Chess Genius, Basic Opening Traps, Anand, The undisputed world Chess Champion, 555 Modern Opening Traps and Kasprov Vs Anand WCC 1995.

Developing softwares

Combining his passion for chess and his work, Jadhav has gone ahead and developed  Talk 64, a first-of-its-kind chess training and gaming software that helps the blind improve their gaming skills independently. This software was launched during the 11th Individual world chess championship for the blind held in 2006. He has also created a model for chess in schools for the blind and also introduced the concept of a Global Chess Library, Online digital library and an Online Training Portal.

His other technological initiatives include developing a screen reader for windows, a navigational system for Mumbai that will help blind people move independently in the city. He is also in the process of developing a pocket reader, a mobile software that will help blind persons to read any print material. “After office hours and on weekends I love developing software and meeting people and spreading the word that even blind people can live life independently. I meet people at corporate houses and other establishments and have taken it up as a social responsibility to help blind people like me.”

Himalayan expedition

“In March 1992, I successfully scaled peak Shitidhar, which stands at a height of 17,220 feet. Two months of intense training and practice went behind making this project a success. In fact, in 1985 and 1986 I had a lot of professional trekker friends who encouraged me to develop this hobby and would take me to various forts in Maharashtra. So I started gaining confidence. Later, I completed a 15-day long trekking camp that proved to be beneficial and helped me achieve this. With this I just wanted to prove that losing eye sight is just a small limitation that one can overcome it if he/she is determined,” concludes Jadhav.

Charudatta Jadhav was awarded a Positive health award on November 11 at the St Andrews Auditorium, Bandra. This award was presented by Dr Batra's Positive Health Clinic Pvt. Ltd.