Blindness no bar for singer-composer-dancer

Ever since he was a little boy, Omkar Keni’s family knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. “I would use the television, the refrigerator and the cupboard as percussion instruments. That’s when my parents realised there was an aspiring musician in the family,” recalls the 23-year-old with a laugh.

Keni’s childhood dreams were realised recently when he unveiled his debut music album Zindagi Ki Chahat. Referred to as a “one-man musical wonder” by his family and friends, Keni has not only lent his voice to the numbers but has also written the lyrics and composed the music. It took six years for a niggling idea to take shape, but he is happy that it all worked out well in the end.
Quite a feat for someone who is visually impaired, one may say. But for Keni, the physical challenge is just a fact of life. “So what if I cannot see? My blindness does not make much difference in my life. I would be doing the same things I am doing now even if I had perfect vision,” he insists. 

Omkar Keni suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder that leads to gradual blindness. His condition worsened by the time he stepped into his teens, and the 23-year-old now has only 5% vision. He studied up to Std X in a regular school and is adamant about not learning Braille ever.

“Though I can barely read, I have insisted that I will never learn Braille because I refuse to resign myself to a life of darkness,” says the determined young man who has hope that one day his vision will be restored.

“My doctor was telling me about this research on retinitis pigmentosa in the USA. I am hopeful that there will be a breakthrough in the next three or four years,” he adds.

Meanwhile, he is hoping that one day he will get a break in playback singing. “Bollywood is sure on the cards. For the time being, I am content doing live shows,” says Keni, who is all set to shake a leg to his songs at a stage performance on New Year eve.

“Dancing is the bigger challenge when you can barely see the ground or your fellow performers. But I am grateful that my dance partner Sonali Ghatwal and choreographer Gaurav are patient with me.”