19-year-old with only 10% vision makes it to IIM-Lucknow

LUCKNOW: Being the youngest person in her batch and having received calls from all but two IIMs is a remarkable achievement by any standard for a 19-year-old. But this achievement by Jaipur girl and IIM-Lucknow fresher Paridhi Varma becomes particularly special when one considers the fact that she has lost 90% vision to macular degeneration. Paridhi, who has enrolled in the PG programme in management at the premier institute, will be staying away from her parents for the first time in her life.

"Initially, I was not able to manage because preparations involved a lot of reading. At home, dad read out lessons for me. There was a time when I thought of quitting, but then my seniors came forward and volunteered to help me overcome my challenges,” says Paridhi.

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"I have a disability, but I focus only on my abilities.” The challenge of living alone became worse when she had a ligament tear in the very first month at IIM-L. "I slipped due to poor vision. I have problems in walking on the campus at night. In hostel, I manage everything on my own as my senses are sharp. Just by touching, I can tell the colour of a dress,” she says.

Born in Jabalpur, Paridhi spent the formative years of her life in Delhi. She moved to Dehradun in class VI when her parents, father Satendra and mother Krishna Prabha Varma, both working in defence ministry, were transferred. She joined class XI in Kendriya Vidyalaya in Jaipur, the city from where she completed her graduation.

ABBA graduate from ICG, Jaipur, and a diploma holder in mass communication and video production, Paridhi aspired for civil services till she met a friend who suggested that she prepare for CAT. "I took it lightly and just studied for two and a half months for the exam. The CAT results were a surprise for me,” says Paridhi, who is passionate about radio jockeying and plans to pursue it after completing MBA. She says,

"RJing is all about talking which I can do the whole day. No one would come to know that I am visually-impaired."