Radha Kakaria was born deaf to hearing parents in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Her elder brother and elder sister are also deaf, along with one hearing elder brother.
She studied up to 8th in Tamil medium at Little Flower Convent School for Deaf, Chennai. She always used to get first rank in her class. Later she shifted to hearing school to compete with other hearing students. When she asked for the T.C., the Principal said : "You cannot study in hearing school and pass easily”. But her parents were adamant and Principal issued T.C. on the condition that she should never come back to this deaf school in case she failed.
With hard work and determination, she completed 10th standard with very good results - 73% overall and 88% in maths, competing with millions of hearing students. Hence, she proved: "DEAF CAN DO".
Then she completed her 12th in English medium and got 72% marks (Maths - 89% and Accountancy - 88%) . To be able to clear, 12th in English medium after shifting from Tamil medium was indeed an amazing feat and she proved that ‘Deaf can do better”.
After 12th std. she joined the Income tax department as Clerk in the “International Year for the Disabled” i.e. 1981. She completed her M.Com. through correspondence as there was no deaf college at that time.
She had served as General Secretary of Madras Foundation of Deaf Women from 1981 to 1985. Her aim is to integrate Deaf Women into the hearing society and make them confident, empowered and aware regarding various Deaf Women issues.
She married Sh. Mukesh Kakaria who was deaf but belonged to totally different culture. He was a Punjabi, while she was a Tamilian. But they found love and happiness together and moved to Agra where Mukesh lived. Since she has been living in Agra where most people speak Hindi, she learnt a third language (Hindi) somehow and adjusted in a beautiful way in this society.
Meanwhile, she cleared different departmental exams for promotion step by step . Finally, she was promoted as Income tax officer in 2011 . Thus, she has proved that “Deaf can do the best”.
She dedicates all her success to the blessings and support from her family, especially her husband.
She has been an avid player of table tennis, chess and carom. She represented the Income Tax department and won 2nd prize in North Zone tournament. She was selected as Vice president for All India Deaf Central Government Association. Her main aim is to teach tax procedure and important topics to the deaf employees.
She is the General Secretary for “Deaf Women Welfare Foundation”(U.P.)
She is also an Executive Committee Member for All India Foundation of Deaf Women, New Delhi.
She is a proud recipient of National Award for Best Role Model for Deaf from President of India in 2009. She was recently awarded as a "Brave-heart" woman from Inner Wheels Club in 2017.
Congrats
ReplyDeleteRadha ji is a role model for every person born with disabilities.She has come out as a gold from the fire of tribulations n perseverance.May God bless her skills n capabilities for the welfare of the disabled community!
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