After winning an achievement award at the Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities in Vietnam in September this year, 18-year-old Yashveer Goyal of Bathinda, who is deaf and mute since birth, plans to showcase his passion for philately, coin collection and photography in the days to come.
Undeterred by his impairment, Yashveer has gone on to build a prized collection of coins ranging from the medieval period to modern times. Stamps and currency notes from India and abroad are also a part of his collection.
Yashveer’s father Chander Parkash told The Hindu that his son was born hearing and speech impaired but communicates through lip-reading technique and he has been studying in a regular school and competing with other students since the first standard. The boy is now pursuing Bachelor of Arts via long-distance course.
“He never feels shy to ask his friends, relatives and acquaintances to help him lay hands on rare stamps, coins and currency notes. The coins collected by him belong to ancient, medieval and modern periods. They include coins from the era of Akbar, Tipu Sultan, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Nawab of Malerkotla, Nawab of Hyderabad, Gaikwad dynasty and British India. He also has a vast collection of commemorative coins issued on different occasions by government of India since 1947,” the says Mr. Parkash.
Not allowing his disabilities to beat his ambitions, Yashveer had won the National Informational Technology Challenge for Youth with Disabilities in the category of the hearing impaired held at the NIT in Kurukshetra in July this year, following which he represented the country in Vietnam.
Passion for photography
“Besides his passion for collecting stamps, coins and currency notes, he has been going to places to capture history in his camera. He has been photographing heritage sites across Punjab,” Yashveer’s father said.
“Next year, we will organise an exhibition of his collection of stamps, coins and currency notes and also the photographs clicked by him,” Mr. Chander Parkash said, adding that while Yashveer’s hobby is an expensive one, the boy has been managing the same from his pocket money and savings.