Outgrowing the dark, blind student lands PSU job

Mangaluru: As darkness slowly narrowed his world, Voleti Sai Asrith held on to a dream first planted by his father — that NITK was home to some of India’s brightest minds. In 2022, he made it there and enrolled in chemical engineering. Today, the 22-year-old has graduated and secured a position as a management trainee at a public sector undertaking (PSU).From Mangaluru, with roots in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam, Asrith is the son of MRPL employee Ravichandra Voleti and homemaker Venkata Krishnaveni.He was not born blind. A student of DPS-MRPL School till class 7, he gradually lost his vision. “It was painful because I had seen the world before losing my sight,” he said. At Shri Chaitanya Techno School, as his handwriting worsened, he began using scribes for examinations.At NITK, initial uncertainty eased with support from his parents, younger brother, friends and faculty. His adviser, Prof Keyur Raval, now head of chemical engineering, ensured academic accommodations, including scribes. Early on, finding them was difficult, with younger students and even law students assisting, before the system was streamlined.“My classmates never treated me differently. They explained concepts, while professors cleared doubts and even conducted extra classes,” Asrith said, also crediting placement coordinators.“I want to take life one day at a time,” he said, adding that communication helps people understand one’s needs.Prof Raval said Asrith was the first completely blind undergraduate from the chemical engineering department at NITK, prompting system changes. He credited early scribes— Brahmi Maiyya, Rachana Kotiyan and Achal— along with the institute’s community. “He was always eager to learn, and that collective support became a pillar of his success,” he said.