Hearing impairment no barrier for Bidhan

Meeting life's biggest challenges can take tenacity, and then some. And it isn't usually a solo effort. Being surrounded by a supportive family and community can make all the difference in achieving success in the pursuit of one's dreams.

In both aspects Bidhan Boiragi, 17, from remote Balibabla village in Pirojpur's Nazirpur upazila is lucky. The boy, who grew up mostly deaf and unable to speak but wanted nothing more than to go to school, has reached college. He's a first year business studies student at Nazirpur College, thanks to his own persistence, thanks to support from family, friends and the community at large.

"From an early age Bidhan couldn't talk or hear anything clearly," says his mother Shova Rani Boiragi. She notes that when he was just one-and-a-half years old Bidhan fell into water; the family is unsure if that mishap brought about his difficulties.

"But Bidhan always had a strong will to go to school," she says. "He was able to learn reading and writing; he completed his primary and secondary schooling." Bidhan achieved this outcome despite the village schools having no specialised facilities to cater to his condition.

Bidhan primarily communicates through body language and writing. At school he found in his classmates willing accomplices. "We used to help Bidhan," says one former classmate Sujit Boiragi. "Before and after school we assisted him. For us it was never a burden; rather, if we could help him in his studies we felt proud."

"Bidhan is really popular in our locality," says Bidhan's sister-in-law Suchitra Boiragi. "He socialises so nicely that all our family members and the neighbours cannot but love him. We got used to the way he communicates with body language; and we respond with expressions and gestures too."

Like Bidhan's mother, his father Bimol Krishna Boiragi, a farmer, is equally supportive of his son's education. "We never created any obstacle for his studies," Bimol says. "Indeed we tried to give him all the support he needs."

It was a goal made easier by Bidhan's primary and high schools, both of which organised for him to receive his text books free of cost, neither of which would take any fees from the family.

"We always tried to help Bidhan," says Dilip Mandal, headmaster of Balibabla Adarsha High School where Bidhan completed his Secondary School Certificate. "But actually there was no suitable school for him in the village. Here, he studied alongside regular students; and the main weapon he had in his quest for high school success was his unshakeable determination."

These days, as Bidhan embarks upon tertiary studies his father Bimol is more concerned than before about expenses. "My son is so curious to pursue higher education," Bimol says, "but I am anxious about bearing the costs since, with my eldest son Binoy who works with me, I have to earn enough to support our eight-member family." Of Bimol's four daughters, three are married and the youngest is a student of class eight. Another son, Bishwajeet, studies in class five.

In the meantime Bidhan's enthusiasm for study and for life in general has not dimmed. He helps his family working in the fields and at home. He studies. He wants to be a police officer; and although uncertain if it will be at all possible, Bidhan's determination and the support he has around him can only improve his chances of making it so.