GST Gyan - Against all Odds

In a country like India which has one of the toughest competitive exams in the world, becoming a Charted Accountant is no easy task. Clearing the exam on the first attempt is even tougher. Doing it when you are visually challenged is nearly impossible, until now, that is, Bhushan Toshniwal, who lost his eyesight as a child, battled societal opposition, negative attitudes and an imposing physical handicap to become a Charted Accountant. Along the way, he also became an accomplished singer who has won numerous awards and sung at numerous concerts across the country. At GST Gyan Manthan held recently at Sri Balaji University, Pune (SBUP), Corporate Citizen chats with Bhushan about his journey, the challenges that he faced and why giving up was never an option for him

Most schools were not ready to take me. They refused admission to me saying that if a fight breaks out amongst students and something happens to me, they may be held responsible

Tell us about your childhood.

I was born in Nanded in Maharashtra and grew up in Pune. When I was merely 20 days old I lost my eyesight, due to the detachment of the retina.

How did your family cope with such a tragedy?

I was enrolled in a blind school in Pune, where I used to travel by bus one hour each way. till the 4th standard, I studied in that school. It was there that I learnt Braille. They also taught me other extracurricular activities, like music. Music was something I was drawn to right from my childhood. after my primary education, I shifted to a school for regular students.

Did you learn music from the school itself or did you take additional training?

I took separate training for singing. My parents recognised my love for music, and at the age of four, I started my music training. even before that, my parents tried to search for a Guru for me, but since I was too young, nobody would take me on as a student. My first, Guru, Shri Bajirao Sonawane, started teaching me when I was four. I performed five ragas at the age of five. Later on, at the age of seven, I performed at the prestigious Savai Gandharva Mahotsav. I was fortunate to be blessed by Bharat ratna Pandit Bhimsen joshi.

When you shifted from the school for the blind to a regular school, did you face any challenges?

There were several challenges. to start with, most schools were not ready to take me. They refused admission to me saying that if a fight breaks out amongst students and something happens to me, they may be held responsible. My parents never gave up hope. Finally, I managed to get admission to a school. to help me transition, a teacher from my previous school came there one day and explained to the teachers how to teach me. When they wrote something on board, they were asked to speak it load as well, so that I could write it down in Braille. Luckily, I made some good friends in school who would also help me.

"My father read to me, so did my mother. My friends would come and read to me. I had to adjust to the different readers and their speeds"

What made you decide to be a Charted Accountant?

When I passed the 10th board exams, the perception was that a blind child cannot pursue anything other than arts. People tried to dissuade me from taking up Commerce or Science, despite me scoring 87% in the boards. I was contemplating what to do in the future. I wanted to take arts, as I was interested in History and languages, but my father, who is also a Ca, advised me to try my hand at Commerce. When I was a small child, words like audit, income tax, etc. always fell on my years as my father is in that profession. I used to get up at 3-4 AM to practice music. But when people asked me what I did after getting up so early, I used to joke that I did ‘audit’. So there always an atmosphere of commerce around our house, so finally I decided to pursue commerce.

I faced a lot of difficulties initially. There were no books in Braille available for the syllabus. There was no audio material. teachers were earlier sceptical about my ability to cope. Then I invented my own method of doing accounts in Braille when I was in the 11th standard. Later on, in the 12th boards, I came in the merit list by scoring 99 marks in accounts. In German too, I scored 96. Then, a professor by the name of G C Kulkarni, who had guided me in my exams in my school days, called me and asked me what my plans for the future. I told him the names of a couple of courses I was considering. He told me that these options were valid after graduation, but what about before that? I said that I was planning to learn German so that I could become a translator. He admonished me, saying that someone of my calibre shouldn’t be translating other people. Instead, he told me, whatever you write should be translated by other people in the future. He asked me to try my hand at Ca. I reluctantly agreed. My father too joined the chorus and asked me to give it a shot. He used to say ‘aiming low is the crime, not a failure’.

Were there books available in Braille for CA?

No, it was quite difficult. My father read to me, so did my mother. My friends would come and read to me whenever they had the time. I had to adjust to the different readers and their reading speeds. Some read fast, others were slower. That was challenging.

While you were studying, you also found time for singing?

Yes. In my school days, I had won a reality show called ‘tak Dhina Dhin’. Later on, while I was doing Ca, I participated in ‘Sa re Ga Ma Pa’. Whenever I used to take a break from studies, I used to practice. When I auditioned for ‘tak Dhina Dhin’, I had sent a recording of two songs I recorded as they required, and while waiting for the results, I and my family went for a wedding. While coming back, a truck rammed into our vehicle. My father was unconscious for 36 hours, and my mother had her hands, legs and jaw fractured, and I lost my sister. She was just four years younger to me. In this chaos, I got a call from Doordarshan saying that I was selected for the show and I would have to come to Mumbai to participate. My father took permission from the hospital and he took me to Mumbai. The plaster on my legs had been removed but I was still unable to walk. So I was lifted and carried to the recording stage. I was well prepared, and I was declared the winner of that show. Later on, when I was participating in Sa re Ga Ma Pa, my father again had met with an accident. He insisted that I participate. even my Gurus like Padmaja joglekar and anup jalota told me to go attend as such an opportunity may not come again. I participated, and I reached the semifinals of the show. While I was preparing for my Ca finals, I received an offer to sing for movies. Sadly, the movie never got released.

I often tell people that I feel it’s okay to lose eyesight, but one should never lose vision. I believe we should focus on our strengths than weaknesses

Bhushan being felicitated by Vice President
of India Venkaiah Naidu.

Once you finished CA, did you face any issues finding a job?

Even after overcoming so many difficulties to pass Ca, people were still sceptical. They agreed that I passed the exams but were doubtful that I could work. I had written on my resume that I was a visually challenged person. That didn’t register with many people and once they understood it when they met me face to face, they would reject me. They would take the interview as a formality but they already had their minds made up.

In the instances when they understood before the interview that I was visually challenged, they would reject me upfront. In the meantime, I had started taking online classes. Many people had requested me to teach accounts, and I decided that until I found a job, I would do that. I was also working with my father. Later on, I started working in a private company. For two years I worked there. Then I gave a competitive exam of insurance. I cleared it and then got a job in an insurance company called oriental insurance as an administrative officer.

Did you have any interest in studying further?

after finished my Ca, I finished my Sangeet alankar, in which I came first all over India. Later on I did Ma in Music. While doing Ca I had also completed my MCom and PGDBM. Later on, when I got a job, I also completed a Diploma in Health Insurance. along with Ca, I have six post graduate degrees. I also do concerts. I sing Hindustani and Karnataka classical music. In fact, when I gave my first Carnatic classical music concert, the locals came up to me and started to speak in tamil, because they thought I sang like a native. My teacher had to tell them that I didn’t speak tamil. I am now a graded artist of all India radio and Doordarshan. I also sing ghazals and bhajans. I also do motivational speeches.

Do you think there is a dearth of infrastructure for the visually challenged in India?

The support system in India is certainly lacking, but a bigger problem, in my opinion, is the people’s mentality. It would have been easy for my parents to give up on me due to society’s pressure since I was handicapped, but they didn’t. I have been fortunate to have such parents. Most handicapped people in India are perhaps not as fortunate. Many people told my parents that I would sit at home and won’t amount to anything. Most people can’t seem to accept that a blind person can take up commerce, much less become a Ca. When I became a Ca, many handicapped people came from all over the country came and met me. They said that even they want to pursue their dreams, which up until then society told them was impossible. This sceptical attitude is more prominent in the northern states. In rajasthan, a friend of mine who is also visually impaired faced many difficulties in giving exams thanks to the non-cooperating attitude of the examiners. In the West, there is state-of-theart infrastructure as well as a very supportive attitude towards people with physical handicaps. In the bus, too, there are announcements about the next stop. In India, too, that practice has begun but there is still a long way to go.

What has your father’s contribution been to your success?

My father taught me to be adventurous. My mother was my pillar of security. My father took me to swim and pushed me into the water. He believed in making me try everything. He believed that one doesn’t know whether one can do a particular thing or not until one tries it. He taught me Yogasanas like Shirshasana. My mother used to ask him why he was insistent on teaching me if I was so afraid. My father said that if he tries, he may be afraid in the beginning but once he gets confidence, he can do it. We had went for treks on rohtang pass, where my father would hold my hand and guide me. He was the main motivator behind me for doing Ca. He wanted me to at least attempt the exam. Fortunately, I passed the exam in my first attempt. Not many people clear it in their first attempt, visually challenged or otherwise.

Since you are both a CA and a singer, which of these two professions do you like more?

Personally, I always wanted to be a singer. But there is a stark reality of arts and Sports related professions. If 1000 people come into field this like, one of them succeeds in making a decent living out of it. The others will struggle. Unless you are of superlative quality, like Pandit Bhimsen joshi or Lata Mangeshkar, it is difficult to solely make a living by singing. Our success in arts depends on the acknowledgement of people. That is why I always knew that I must have a Plan B in place as well. If I couldn’t make a living by singing, I should have something to fall back on. I was good at studies, I was good with numbers, and that’s why I could become a Ca. even now, when I come back home from my job, I practice for two hours. I listen to new trends in music. I have composed some Sanskrit shlokas recently, through which I want to bring back our Indian culture. This is my humble effort, and in the future, I plan to release an album of those shlokas.

Do you plan to someday pen a book, as your life story can inspire a lot of people?

What are some of the notable awards you have won?

When I was nine, I was felicitated by Mr Sharad Pawar with the Swar Bhushan award. Later on, I won the central government scholarship for music. I also received the Savai Gandharva scholarship for music. When I came in the merit list, I got the Dhirubhai ambani scholarship for further studies. I received the Swami Vivekanand award and Swami Dayanand Saraswati award. I also got a youth inspiration award from a leading newspaper. I also got many youth icon awards from the Pimpri Chinchwad municipality. The highest award I have received is the national role Model award, awarded by President ram Nath Kovind.

What advice would you give to students who face physical challenges and are battling the same societal prejudices as you did?

I often tell people that I feel it’s okay to lose eyesight, but one should never lose vision. everyone has some weakness or other. I believe we that instead of focussing on them, we should focus on our strengths. We should be positive. When you are positive, whatever you wish for will materialise in most cases. If you are positive and visualise good things for yourself, if you picture yourself as a winner, chances are you will become one provided you work hard for it. Life is not like a game of twenty20 cricket where one can hit sixes and fours all the time. Life is like a test match where one has to battle it out in the long run. It’s important to stick through it and never give up. also, find the right support system and surround yourself with people who care for you.