Visual impairment is no hindrance for him

“River can be a perfect metaphor for life,” responded 22-year-old Kamal Kumar Prajapati. “A river faces a lot of resistance, but it never stops. I mean it should never stop and that’s how one’s life should be.”

He leads the way to a small canteen located within the campus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. In one of Delhi’s premier institutions of journalism, Prajapati is somewhat of a rock star, his actions, however, can humble the most arrogant.

Born visually impaired, Prajapati has practically forgotten the word “disabled”, sometimes through his political philosophies and sometimes through his humour. “I have been asked the most stupid of questions.

Like, ‘do you have a sixth sense or are you more intelligent than others’, but I keep calm and answer the queries because people are actually not aware,” Prajapati told Deccan Herald. He completed his course from the same institution.

Prajapati now works as a radio presenter with a community radio called Apna Radio in New Delhi. But that’s not his only identity. Prajapati is a writer, a singer, journalist and more importantly, a poet.

“When I was 14 I wrote my first poem and it was on friendship,” Prajapati said smilingly. Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijor district, Prajapati was sent to a boarding school in Dehradun for the visually impaired.

“I did my education from a special school where I learnt a lot. Languages, computers everything that a student is taught but then we do have to struggle more than others. So I have worked harder,” he said.

After completing high school, he moved to Delhi and got enrolled in Delhi University’s St Stephens College where he pursued his history honours. Three years of rigorous studies then culminated in his decision to join journalism.

Prajapati started working for a news channel as a trainee journalist. He reported on social issues for a show titled Aankhien kholo India which according to him was received well by the audience. However six months on the job, he decided to quit and returned to his muse -- the radio.
He very well knew the career he wanted to choose encompassed dealing with a lot of electronics because of his interest in radio. This, however, hardly deterred Prajapati. “My love has always been the radio,” he said. He mentioned some of the things he loves to do on the job. Production, sound editing, design making, writing script, basically everything that happens inside a radio studio.

“I still believe that radio is the medium with which you can reach millions and that’s the reason I started working here,” he said. But he could hardly hide his emotions when asked about the first time he heard anything on a radio.

“Back home, when I used to hear the radio I loved hearing a show which featured poetries from individuals. Radio and poetry being my favourites, I knew it someday I will end up working for radio.

And here I am,” he said. Prajapati pauses for a few seconds, perhaps reminiscing his younger days and then puts up an even bolder face. “I started sending in my work to All India Radio and they accepted. Soon, I was doing a little for them and participating in shows and recited my poems,” he said.

Ask him what inspires him to write and Prajapati sports a gleaming smile as if welcoming a guest at home. “I am moved by the happenings around me,” he elaborated before venturing out to discuss the idea behind one of his poems.

“During my graduation I wrote Azaad Sadak (Free Road). Now, when we use the words Azaad and Sadak, different people draw different meanings but what I interpreted from it was my experience of a particular morning walk. I felt at peace at that moment but the very same time I started to think how these peaceful streets are witness to the most violent acts,” said the 22-year-old.

Prajapati has strong views on rights of the visually impaired. He spoke at length how in some western nations there is a well-placed infrastructure which makes it much easier for the visually impaired to function. “India lacks such infrastructure. I have previously worked on raising awareness on the same,” he said.

Even stronger are his thoughts on issues like communalism and patriarchy. “A lot of people work on a range different social issues but I personally feel more for the socially and economically deprived communities.

I started writing on social issues when I was in college. In fact, I had joined journalism for this specific purpose,” he said listing the number of states he had travelled to with an intention of getting an insight into the lives of those whom he thinks are neglected the most. “If we want to learn how to live in co-existence, we should go back perhaps thousands of years ago when there were no divisions, no castes no creeds,” he said.

“Life should all be about progress. Thoughts and mentalities which can destruct society should be immediately discarded,” he said before finally talking something more merrier. Prajapati is a lover of A R Rahman’s music and expre­ssed his desire to interview the singer in his studios.

“His compositions are beautiful and I love them, also I have a huge respect for the likes of Rahman Sahab and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahab. When asked which one he considers his favourite he responds, “Well that’s difficult question to answer. I love them all. But there is song which I recently heard. It’s from the film Luck by Chance,” he said. “It’s titled “Sapno say bharein naina”.