Visually challenged smell jobs

In a welcome initiative that aims to improve the lives of the visually challenged by giving them employment opportunities, VG Vaze College in Mulund has started a four-month perfumery course exclusively for them.

The first-of-its-kind course is held free of cost between 9.30am and 11.30am every Friday and Saturday. CPL Aromas Private Limited, a fragrance house, will hire the visually-challenged students doing the course, as evaluators.
Vaze College began a post-graduate diploma in perfumery and cosmetics management seven years ago.

"Looking at the response we got for that course and the employment opportunities in the market, we decided to start a similar short-term course for the visually challenged that would help them get better jobs," said Dr BB Sharma, principal, Vaze College.

Ten visually challenged students aged between 25 and 40 enrolled for the course and seven are still pursuing it. All of them are the sole breadwinners of their families. While some sell kitchen products in trains, others run PCO booths. 

"I am the only earning member in my family. When the Blind Persons' Association (BPA) informed me about the course, I decided to enrol for it thinking that I could get a good job," said Ambernath resident Bhikaji Sitaram Kolhapure, 40, who sells cutlery in trains. He appeared for his HSC exam (arts stream) after 15 years and secured 55%.

"The course is good and it will be very useful to us. We never thought that fragrance would have so much depth and technicalities. The faculty is good and supportive," said Rahul Vijay Shirshat, 35, who travels from Chunabhatti in Sion to Mulund. Born as a premature baby, Shirshat too has cleared his HSC in arts and computer programming.

Allahudiin Sheikh, 42, who runs a PCO, is happy that he is learning something new. "The course is unique and job-oriented. As our senses are our strengths, we are able to identify, remember and evaluate the fragrance," said Sheikh, who stays with his wife and daughter at Vangani near Badlapur.
The only woman student in the batch, Mandal Raju Pawar, 25, is a housewife. "Once I complete the course and get a job, I can help my husband who sells kitchen products in trains," she said.

Unlike the other students, Shankar Pandurang Jaybhaye, 25, is partially impaired and comes from Ahmednagar. "We should have studied this much before. There is a lot to learn and it is not very difficult for students like us," he said.

Renuka Thergaonkar, head of department of cosmetic and fragrance, said designing the course was a task. "When we decided to introduce the course for the visually challenged, we had to do a lot of research about making these students identify various fragrances and evaluate them. The result has been positive," she said.

"The best part is that unlike us, the students cannot be biased towards a product. We see the attractive packaging first and then the other aspects. But their evaluation is free from any bias," said Thergaonkar who has two full-time staffers on board.
The students are given fragrances of the raw material to the finished product to identify and evaluate its components. So far, they have smelt over 150 fragrances and remember all of them. The college also prepares notes for the students in Braille with the help of BPA.

Vaze College has four air-conditioned state-of-the-art laboratories - perfumery lab, decorative cosmetics lab, personal care lab and instrumentation lab. All the laboratories are fully equipped with the necessary fittings, material and instruments. The college hopes to get more students in the next batch.

Quote:
Once I complete the course, I can help my husband who sells kitchen products in trains -Mandal Pawar