BENGALURU: N M Pushpa Preeya has written 657 exams in 10 years, but none for herself. Be it a bank job or to procure a seat in autonomous universities, this 30-year-old has been the writing hand, listening ear and reading eye for many differently abled persons in the city.

A BTM Layout resident and an MNC employee, Pushpa started as a scribe for a visually impaired SSLC student in 2007 and has been helping needy students ever since, including those with cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome .

“What I write decides their results and their future. Hence I am alert and conscious when I scribe exams. I stay calm even as the candidate gets tense at the exam hall. It’s my passion to write exam for others and that requires a lot of patience. Sometimes, I have to repeat a question 30-40 times to make sure the candidate understands it thoroughly,” says Pushpa.

What motivates her?

Pushpa recalled that at school, she was thrown out of the exam hall as her family couldn’t afford to pay fees. “I was able to continue my studies only because of help from some good Samaritans . Now it’s my turn to return the favour,” she said.

Ganapathy C A, an MNC employee who suffers from partial blindness, said, “Finding a scribe is not so easy. Pushpa has been a saviour for many like me. She helped me get through a PG entrance exam recently and I am waiting for the interview.” He felt an app can be created to connect scribes and students so that networking becomes easy.

Mahendra, a visually challenged person from Bagepalli, Chikkaballapura, wrote his final-year degree exams with Pushpa’s help. “It’s challenging to find a scribe. I wrote my BA exams with her help,” says Mahendra, who is now preparing for KPSC exams.

