The final scene of Takeshi Kitano’s 2003 Samurai masterpiece, Zatoichi, ends with the hero singing, ‘Even with my eyes open/I can see nothing’. Uday Deshpande understands the philosophical depth of that song. After all, the Padma Shri Awardee will be guiding the 11 visually-impaired students from the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind (VMSB), Tardeo in one of the unique displays on the opening day of this year’s edition of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.
The journey for the coach first began in the early 1990s. Mahesh Mhatre was still a student under Deshpande when he first joined the Victoria Memorial School as an instructor. “As someone who enjoyed working out, mallakhamb was an opportunity to combine multiple facets such as yoga, strength training, and flexibility,” the instructor at the school reveals.
Uday Deshpande (in deep blue) guides Venkatesh Mandadi through a routine
Teaching unsighted children might sound almost impossible. Not quite, both instructors assure us. It requires an adaptive training technique. Deshpande shares, “It was difficult when I began in June 1990, but eventually, I realised that they are keen listeners and intuitive. Every action had to be clearly stated and described.”
Precision is key. To bolster the commands, Mhatre would himself hold a pose on the mallakhamb, allowing the children to sense this posture through touch, and replicate it. The school batch of 25 to 30 students practice these routines thrice every week. “It takes them a year to master the basics. The progress is down to practice,” Mhatre reveals.
Mahesh Mhatre
On the inaugural day, 11 students from the batch, instructed by Mhatre and Deshpande, will be performing complex poses, including a 11-man pyramid structure on the pole.
For principal Rajani Hiremath, the experience shapes the children. These exercises offer more than physical fitness, he believes, “When they learn complex poses, they learn to focus, gain awareness of their surroundings, depth, and height. They also learn to listen, and react.” The facet of team work, and adapting to their team members’ needs is another crucial aspect, she adds.
Like the fictional Japanese character Zatoichi, none of these students consider their lack of vision a weakness. Mhatre observes, “Sight can be distracting sometimes. They are laser focused.” For the veteran coach of the Shree Samarth Vyayam Shala in Shivaji Park, the experience is a lesson in itself. “By teaching them, I have learnt to teach better,” Deshpande concludes.
ON January 31; 6.25 pm
AT Cross Maidan, Marine Lines.
ENTRY Free
