Meet 25-Year-Old Visually Impaired Woman Who Cleared UPSC

Sunthari, who cleared the civil services exam 2019 after her fourth attempt, dedicated her success to her parents.

According to a report by The Times Of India, Sunthari's eyesight began deteriorating when she was five years old. Diagnosed with a rare degenerative disorder, doctors at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai told her parents that her right eye had been completely lost and that they would try to save her left eye. However, the surgery was unsuccessful, and Sunthari gradually lost sight in both her eyes.

"I just turned numb when I got to know the results. I kept asking my family to check it multiple times," Sunthari told The New Indian Express.

Sunthari, who has been a clerk with the Tamil Nadu Grama Bank since 2018, studied in Madurai Pillaimar Sangam Higher Secondary School.

"I started dreaming of becoming an IAS officer when I was in Class XI. I want to serve in areas such as Education, Health and Women Empowerment," she said.

"I would not get all the study materials in audio format. So, my parents would read books for me day and night, and my friends helped convert a few books into audio format. They would even find helpful material and subscribe to it for me. It is all of them, who has now made me an IAS officer," she added.

She further said that hearing about IAS officers like T Udhayachandran and U Sagayam inspired her to appear for the civil services exam.

Praising her, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif tweeted, "25yr old visually impaired Purana Sunthari from TN beat the odds and cracked the UPSC exam. Since audio study material was hard to find, her parents and friends helped her in reading & converting books to audio so she could become an IAS officer. Never stop chasing your dreams."

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