Shriram Parthasarathy says he was raised to be independent person
‘Blind by sight, not by vision’, reads the Twitter bio of Shriram Parthasarathy, social media marketing lead with
Microsoft India.
The only rule that Shriram follows is to be treated as equal. Neither his colleagues treat him differently, nor does he expect special treatment as he enters his workplace in Mumbai.
Visually impaired Parthasarathy, 32, leads a life that any other young adult would do. He is a Twitter buff, and finds solace in music.
He was only two-year-old when he was diagnosed with a squint and deteriorating vision, but, that did not stop him from achieving greater heights in his life.
Parthasarathy credits his success to his mother, a home maker, who made sure that his impairment was never a hurdle in his growth. “During my school days, my mother used to record lessons in cassettes so that I could listen to them. She raised me to be an independent person.”
His parents initially faced some difficulties, but they never discouraged him from pursuing his hobbies and look beyond books. “Our society still has a biased view for specially abled people. As I a child, my mother took me to guitar classes, but was asked to enrol in tabla classes, as the teacher felt learning guitar would need me read musical notes.”
He added, “Though my vision started deteriorating, I never applied for disability quota to enrol in educational institutions.”
After completing his undergraduation and MBA from
Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics and
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management studies, Parthasarathy started working as an online marketing head for a foreign-based healthcare service firm.
“During placements in my college, I applied for over 30 companies, but was rejected because of my visual impairment. After being rejected, I started working with a foreign-based firm. I was responsible for their product development, online marketing and building a team in India. Working with the firm, I learned a lot about new technologies and online marketing,” added Parthasarathy.
Parthasarathy, who loves to read and travel, said, “The evolving technology has proved to be a boon for specially abled people. I learn and develop new things everyday. I believe combination of technology and people is lethal and inspiring.”
His stint with Microsoft started in 2013 and ever since he is responsible for collaborating across diverse teams and motivating them to drive effective results. He also works with various advocacy groups that are focused in making technology accessible for the visually impaired people, including TechShare, a pan disability conference staged by Barrier Break. He was a volunteer for Antarchakshu, an annual sensitization workshop organised by XRCVC and Confluence, a signature Diversity and Inclusion event by Microsoft India.
Shriram Parthasarathy 
