Monday, November 27, 2000		Lead Article

by Naveen Garewal

WHEN Ramandeep Singh Suri lost his sight at a tender age, his family spent sleepless nights thinking about the child’s future. But instead of cashing in on pity, Ramandeep chose to exploit emotional strength and confidence that his parents had nurtured in him. Refusing to acknowledge the term ‘impossible,’ he has overcome his handicap by sheer grit. Perhaps, the only blind software programmer in the country he is also one of the most successful ones—much sought after by those familiar with his computer skills. He is now contemplating software exports to boost business avenues.

Despite having been meted with an unfair treatment by Mother Nature, he has taken his proposed fate head on to prove himself equal to, if not better than, others. It is his sheer desire to excel that has made him overcome his handicap and compete with others who in the worldly terms are considered not so unfortunate.

Today, Ramandeep runs a very successful software development consultancy service in Ludhiana where his family migrated after his father’s retirement over a decade ago. First-generation programmer in the family, he uses a screen-reading software to listen to whatever he types. Unlike others, he cannot experiment on the keyboard, but knows exactly what to do while providing a software solution. This compulsion has made him nearly perfect in his field.

"It was around the age of three when I got operated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for a urinary problem that I had since birth. Though the congenital problem was cured, postoperative complications cost me my sight," says Ramandeep.

As is apparent, he never let his handicap come in his way. Right from childhood, he has striven for the lifestyle of a normal person. "I have had to put in a little more effort as compared to others, but this has never deterred me." Ramandeep chose to join a regular public school over a specialised school for the blind and passed out of Mumbai’s New Lourdes School with the Best Student Award in 1987.

Today, Raman Software finds a mention among some of the top software development consultancy services with a list of clients ranging from Punjab’s milk conglomerate Verka to several top business houses of the region.

Recalling how he got interested into the filed of computers, Ramandeep says "when my father retired from the ONGC, the family moved to Punjab from Mumbai and put up a textile-dying factory in Ludhiana. I was expected to provide a helping hand in the running of the unit. This did not interest me as I always wanted to do something on my own that would fully involve me," he says.

"After my schooling was over, I was looking forward to taking up science subjects for higher studies. But since this would have entailed working in the laboratory with chemicals and instruments, I was convinced into joining humanities. After joining the BA course at Gujranwala Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Ludhiana, I felt I was quite unhappy with what I was doing," says Ramandeep.

He then persuaded his parents into letting him join a computer course at the Vocational Rehabilitation Training Centre (VRTC) at Haibowal in Ludhiana. They agreed, subject to the condition that he would have to continue with his BA side by side. While Ramandeep attended the VRTC course in the morning, he went for his BA classes in the evening. Finally, he not only excelled at the computer centre, but also stood first in the BA examination among all the evening colleges of the university, securing a high first division. In 1990, Kailash Impex, a local nuts and bolts manufacturer, provided Ramandeep his first job as a computer programmer. While providing software solutions to this company, Ramandeep also started taking up assignments for developing customised software for other companies. "Before long, I graduated from being a computer programmer to a software consultant," he says. Today he is a consultant to over a hundred companies for whom he provides customised software solutions, and this includes the company with which he started his career. Though the list is exhaustive, some of his client names include Kailash Impex, Moudgil Hosiery, Eros International, Beetle Capital, Verka Milk and Shiva Exports. After evaluating needs of each client, he develops customised software for almost all areas like exports, production control, accounting, stocks, share transfer and Management of Information Services (MIS), etc. Barely six years into programming, Ramandeep was picked up in 1996 for the prestigious National Award for Best-handicapped Self Employed that was given to him by former President Shankar Dyal Sharma. In May this year, Punjab Governor JFR Jacob presented him with the Ludhiana Management Association’s Best Young Innovative Entrepreneur Award. The Punjab Youth Forum would honour him in December to appreciate his talent and contribution to the filed of software development.
Familiar with various programming tools, Ramandeep prefers to work with Clipper on DOS for the software he develops. He uses a screen-reading software or speech synthesiser connected to his computer through a serial port that allows him to listen to whatever he types. Though the quality of the sound this obsolete piece of equipment generates is quite poor, Ramandeep has adapted his ears to the artificial speech. Memorising the placement of symbols, comas, hyphens, etc, in a software programme that could prove to be a nightmare for any ordinary persons, comes naturally to him.

"When I started programming, speech synthesisers for the Windows operating system were not available, so I had no option except to work on DOS where every command has to be memorised. But now software like JAWS have been developed which work as speech synthesisers on a Windows platform. I now propose to convert to them," he says.
At Raman Software, the programming is taken care of by Ramandeep himself, while his support staff looks after marketing and customer support. Despite his achievement, Ramandeep remains very modest and humbly claims to make more money in a month than many do in a year. Beginning to feel stagnation in the local market, he says, "I am now looking at opportunities for software export in the near future."

Ramandeep is in the process of making a Web site for the handicapped that will provide matrimonial services. "I do not want others to face the same hardships that I have been subjected to being a handicapped person," he says. "Despite trying, I have been unable to come across a suitable matrimonial match for myself," he adds. This Web site would cater to the needs of all handicapped persons and provide a platform to the handicapped all over the world.
More than in his achievement, Ramandeep finds satisfaction in his attempt to change the image of the blind. "I think my best contribution to society has been in changing the image of a blind person. Earlier the image of a blind man was limited to that of a religious person, beggar or even a musician. But I wanted to tell the world that there is nothing impossible for a blind person and I have done that," he says. Ramandeep wants other blind people to enter the field of software development; "If I can do it, others can do it too," he says. According to him, "there is no other blind person in India developing software and providing software consultancy, though there are some who use the latest technology in computing to perform their jobs."

There could be no better example than that of Ramandeep for all those who think that a handicapped person is incapable of matching the able bodied. It is the inner confidence rather than physical fitness that gets reflected in a person’s success.