DARPAN INANI

FLO Ludhiana witnessed an intense, engaging, empowering, motivating and enlightening session with Mr Darpan Inani,
ASIA’s best and strongest blind chess player

He is the ONLY INDIAN VISUALLY impaired chess player to have ever won an international prize at the Creon open chess tournament (this is a sighted tournament ) in his rating category, in France August 2018. His high point in life was when he got a final acceptance letter from IIM Lucknow after he cleared his CAT entrance. He is currently pursuing his CA.

According to him, chess is the ONLY game that allows a blind person to compete with a sighted person on an equal footing.
The Shriram Universal school, Sarabha Nagar, conducted a chess championship on 13th July and 14th July for age groups 6 yrs to 15yr. The price distribution to the winners was done by the speaker Mr Darpan Inani.

It was a highly empowering, encouraging session with Mr Darpan Inani sharing details of his journey in the face of life’s adversities… Our member attended the event in large numbers and was dressed in black and white, in accordance to the event’s theme.

As he delivered his TED talk, he left us welled-up as well as inspired.
He shared how he lost his eyesight to Steven Johnson’s syndrome, when he was three years old, and how his life changed forever. He says he never lost his spirit to live because of his parents. And he doesn’t know braille, at all.
He cited how they used a pizza cutter to draw shapes, which got embossed on the sheets, providing tactile imagery for him to feel and understand, and that’s how he excelled in geometry. He underwent 50 surgeries in 8 years, but all proved to be futile. It was then when his parent decided to send him to a regular school;!
Darpan has been accepted by IIM Lucknow recently.

TAKEAWAY-
Everybody who came for the event was touched and inspired, motivated. Our takeaway for the event was to take life how it comes and makes the best of what you have.
Nothing can pull you back if you have determination.
All the young kids were emotional touched and inspired.
Having the strongest grit and will power can make you fight against all odds.