BLIND SIGHT

In 1963,she started her education in an integrated school with normal kids. “Of the five siblings,I was the only one born blind. My parents were worried about my future but were determined to enroll me in an integrated school at the age of seven,” recalls Desai.

With the help of a reader,Braille and a voice recorder,she went on to complete her masters in English literature. She has also got a diploma in journalism,public relations and advertising and another diploma in management studies.

Astrology still beckoned her.

In 1981,Bhartiya Vidyabhavan included her in batch of around 100 students for a degree course in astrology. “My mother was asked how I will manage to grasp the subject studying with people having normal sight. I was made to sit in a corner,unattended,” recalls Desai. “ But my keenness and my questions saw me being promoted from the last to the first bench. By the end of the course,there were only 10 students left. My batchmates also sought my help.”

“What I had learnt from my mother also helped. She often consulted a renowned priest in a temple in Bharooch,who lived next door,about my future. That’s how she learnt the basics of astrology,” says Desai who now lives with her ailing mother at Mira Road.

How does she advice people? “I ask people to read the horoscope for me in a set manner and then I give remedies. Not all come to me for predictions though. Ten out of 80 clients want to test my knowledge,because I am blind,” says Desai.

She says that she can predict the future of clients by running her fingers on their palm. “This needs intense concentration and my health does not permit it. So I restrict myself to horoscopes and giving vaastu advice,” says Desai.

Her clients acknowledge her efforts. “She predicted that my daughter will not get married for two years which proved true,” says Neha Pawaskar,a mountaineer and swimmer from Amravati,who often consults Desai.

There are others who doubt the accuracy of her predictions. Her office colleagues are the first to defend Desai. “Being blind is a blessing in disguise as she works sincerely to prove she is a good astrologer,” says Madhusudhan Joshi,her colleague and the legal officer at the bank.

Desai’s marriage of 11 years with a blind person ended on a tragic note. “My husband died in a railway accident by getting down on the tracks by mistake. We met only on weekends as both the families disagreed on our marriage but I am content that I was married,” says Desai.

Despite upheavals in personal life,she is quite happy because of her achievements. She now wants to pass on what she knows to the next generation. She wants to do her bit to keep alive the ancient wisdom. “I want to write books so that this science remains alive and at the same time is simplified for today’s generation,” she says.