Books: Blind ambition

Prakash Suriyamurthy may be visually impaired but he shows AREF OMAR that his work is never lost in translation

IT’S an afternoon of appreciation for the works of Datuk A. Samad Said. Reciting an excerpt from the national laureate’s short story, Dosa Pejuang, it is obvious that Prakash Suriyamurthy is a little different from the other participants.

While the others read out their chosen stories, Prakash literally feels his way through the text, gracefully caressing an assortment of bumps on relatively blank pieces of paper.

“Being blind is definitely not a hindrance to me,” says the 26-year-old in an interview before the event, which was held in conjunction with the Selangor Book Fair at PKNS Complex in Shah Alam.

When Prakash was just two months old, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, or cancer of the eye. A successful operation cost him his eyesight.

“I feel blessed to have very supportive parents and a loving family,” says Prakash, who lives with his lorry driver father, homemaker mother and younger sister in Sungai Besi.

He started his early education at the Batu Road Special Education Primary School in Jalan Raja Laut, where he learned to master the tactile language of Braille.

Along the way, Prakash discovered that he had a natural affinity for other languages too and now speaks in fluent English, Malay and Tamil.

With a Bachelor of Malay Studies from Universiti Malaya under his belt, Prakash took up a translation course at the National Institute of Translation and has been doing lots of freelance work for lawyers and publishers in writing and book translations in all three languages.

Some of his projects include translating the Indian epic, Thirukulai, and a couple of psychology textbooks written in Tamil by Dr Kadir Ibrahim into Braille. Preferring to toil in the cool and serene ambience of the night, he often works on till early morning.

Prakash uses a special voice synthesiser and screen reader programme called Jaws (Job Access With Speech), that enables the blind to use computers, run application software and surf the Internet.

“Whatever text that usually appears on the monitor will be read out by the programme instead and I just listen,” he explains. Prakash is now pursuing his Masters in Translation, also from UM, and is already thinking of taking up French and Japanese after he completes his course at the end of the year.

“I’m thinking of doing my PhD but only after I’ve gained a few years of sufficient working experience. I plan to open my very own translation agency one day,” says Prakash, whose big dark shades can barely mask his steely determination.

The spunky, independent translator confesses to experiencing no trouble in getting around, relying on public transportation via regular taxi drivers who have long since become friends.

When asked what he likes to do in his free time, the soft-spoken young man lists reading, listening to music and surfing the net to catch up on current events.

“Just like everyone else,” he says with a smile.

Prakash is also a nature lover who loves travelling. So far, he has had the opportunity to visit all the different States except Sarawak.