GK Mahantesh Conferred With National Award

A revolutionary, said Jane Fonda is to be a human being who cares for people with no power. By this yardstick, GK Mahantesh is a walking definition of a revolutionary, though he looks anything but a fire-breathing rev. The latest endorsement of his extraordinary service to humanity, came earlier this week, when the Ministry of Women and Child Development conferred the National Award 2009 for his relentless service to the disabled and the society, as the Founder-Managing Trustee of the Bangalore-based Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled.

The award was presented to him by the , President of India, Smt Pratibha Patil, at a glittering awards ceremony in New Delhi. Sri Mahantesh is the only (VIP) Visually Impaired person in India to receive the award.

In his thanksgiving message, Mahantesh said the Award was an appreciation of the unflagging support of scores of volunteers and benefactors and a due recognition of their work to promote the cause of underprivileged and physically challenged children.

The National Award 2009 was an important milestone in his journey that started with his losing vision as an infant that set off a series of great personal challenges, Mahantesh recalled. “First my family showed extraordinary faith in me, and then my conviction sustained me in my youth culminating in the successful completion of my M. Phil degree in Comparative English Literature from Bangalore University. This gave me the strength, confidence and spirit to start Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, to serve the cause of my fellow brothers and sisters,” he said.

Samarthanam Trust does not just strive for equitable opportunities for the disabled, but also to empower them so as to do their own thing and find their own paths to excellence. The Trust has been rendering yeoman service over the years such as:
* Providing boarding and education for 650 visually impaired and physically challenged students
* Trained over 600 visually challenged youth in the use of computers
* Launched a grassroots Project for Integrated Education of the Disabled (IED), that has brought 350 differently abled children into the mainstream
* Runs an integrated school for 60 students in a poorly developed suburb of Bangalore
* Provides “mid-day meals” to over 35000 students in several adopted government schools

Driven by Mahantesh’s vision, Samarthanam Trust has also extended its goalposts beyond education and enabling livelihood for the disabled. It has given wing to their creative pursuits, through ‘Sunadha’- its cultural and sports troupe, which among other things, promotes cricket for the blind.

Sunadha has blossomed into an inimitable group of artistes who have successfully showcased their talent in India and abroad, often performing on stage with stalwarts from the Indian music industry. Mahantesh travelled with the troupe this summer on a two month tour to the US where their performances were received with warm hearts and rave reviews.

In England recently, Mahantesh was with the victorious Indian blind cricket squad that drubbed the home team 3-0. The visually impaired need every opportunity to be a part of the indomitable Indian cricket juggernaut, he says. With that in mind, he represented the nation at the World Blind Cricket Council conference in Cape Town, South Africa and endeavour constantly to organize tournaments, both domestic and international, for the disabled sportsmen.
Apart from serving the disabled through the Samarthanam Trust, and representing India in cricket, Mahantesh has also given voice to the disabled’s aspirations at the global front, representing India at the World Blind Union conference at Geneva, Switzerland and at the international conference in Leipzig, Germany where he spoke on the “Status of Daisy (Digitally Accessible Information System- for people with print disabilities) in India”.
Samarthanam also strives to create awareness through programs like the Car Rally for the blind and mega Walkathons that allow society to express its solidarity and support for people with disabilities.