Deaf Role Models

Manan Shah (Manan Rameshbhai Shah) is a charismatic youth leader from Gujarat and an experienced International Sign (IS) Interpreter . He was one of the very few deaf youth leaders from India who have done the coveted ' Frontrunners ' training program on 'International Deaf Youth Leadership' from Denmark in 2011. He has so far travelled to 12 countries, participated in various youth camps, conferences and done multiple freelance assignments. He is part of a unique initiative as Course Facilitator and Manager, Orjet Foundation, Ahmedabad teaching Indian Sign Language (ISL) online to the young deaf kids (age 2.5 to 10 years) of deaf parents. Manan does anchoring, interpreting, event management on free lance basis along with organizing fascinating interviews with deaf leaders on his Instagram channel as the Developer and Provider, Inspiring Educative Creativity Games for the Deaf (@iecgd21).    He is the General Secretary at Akhil Gujarat Badhir Vikas Sangh (AG...

 Saritha Musuku is a highly successful, free-spirited deaf model, actress and social influencer with a huge fan following. She has won innumerable modelling hunts, awards, beauty pageants competing with hearing models and has done work for various brands, music videos, movies and TV shows, and has a web-series underway. Saritha is a pathbreaker as there aren't many deaf models and actors in India. Though her journey has not been easy, her vibrant optimism is devoid of any bitterness. She was born in Warangal, Telengana on 13th August, 1991 to hearing parents. Her parents are from farming background, her father recently passed away. They are three brothers (two of them are deaf) & three sisters (two including her are deaf ). Her family is a bit conservative, and has not been completely supportive of her work. She has been independently managing her expenses for many years now.  Saritha studied in a deaf school till Class X, but later changed to mainstream school, while also...

Saudamini Pethe is a prominent feminist role model, actively involved in supporting deaf women across the country. She is the first deaf law student from the country and is a pioneer in making legal awareness accessible to deaf women, she organized along with other lawyers a 12 part series for deaf women last year (2020) demystifying various laws and legal procedures. Saudamini is an avid reader, loves to travel and watch movies & sitcoms in her free time. Saudamini has completed her M.A. In English Literature from the University of Mumbai and has done the Freelance Journalism and Authorship course from The British Council. She is currently pursuing LLB in Institute of Law and Research, Faridabad, MDU after securing DLAW fellowship.   Saudamini was born on 26th Sep 1977 in Goregaon (Mumbai) and brought up in suburbs of Mumbai (Dombivli, near Thane – Maharashtra). She contracted meningitis at the age of 9 and overdose of medication led to deafness. Her father is now retired ...

Ashley Jain is a technology wizard who is fascinated by the world of sign language that he discovered late in life. He loves travelling the world, he has been to 22 countries and has a weakness for long drives. Ashley stands out as he is one of the very few deaf engineers from India. He graduated from the world renowned Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) completing the Bachelor of technology (B.Tech) and Master of technology (M.Tech) in Computer Science on 2019. He has designed the famous Access Mantra website (https://www.accessmantra.com/), which is widely popular in the deaf community as the 'Google for the Deaf'. He has been working as Data Scientist at Rakuten in Tokyo, Japan from 2019 right after he graduated from college. Ashley Jain was born on 8th September, 1995 at Delhi, India. There are four members in his family. His father is businessman in traditional women garments at Chandi Chowk, mother is housewife. There are only two deaf members in his family - hi...

Mr. V. Gopalakrishnan is a renowned Indian Sign Language Expert and Consultant, he is one of the first teachers of Indian Sign Language (ISL). He is currently serving as the General Secretary (GS) of All India Federation of Deaf (AIFD). Gopalakrishnan was born with profound deafness in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on 14 December 1940. Due to complications during pregnancy, the doctors had to use forceps, which is suspect of causing this deafness. As is the case with more than 95% of deaf people, his parents were both hearing. His father was the proprietor of a bookstore selling books on medicine and law in Trivandrum, Kerala. His mother was a Carnatic musician and a housewife. He has 4 siblings, one younger brother and three younger sisters, all hearing. His formal education started only when he was seven years old! Since there were no schools for the Deaf in Trivandrum at that time, he was sent to Madras (present day Chennai) for his primary education at the Little Flower C...

Bilal Chinoy is a charismatic, creative and vibrant role model, who has the ability to instantly impress and connect with a cheering crowd of deaf students with his stock of stimulating stories and discussions. Bilal works as the Multimedia Designer in Gallaudet University's Office of Communications and Public Relations and an Adjunct Professor for Web Design. The focus of his job is to make the stories on Gallaudet University's website come alive by designing visuals. With the power of ' chai ' (tea) in his veins and a love of adventure, Mr. Chinoy finds himself recharged by biking, trekking, running and traveling. He is a step closer to achieving his dream of bridging the gap between education and employability of Deaf youth in India by co-founding Young Achievers, an organization that aims to provide quality bilingual Deaf educational services. Bilal was born Deaf in Mumbai, India.  Because his parents and brother were also Deaf, he didn’t see being Deaf as s...