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| K.S.Vikraman, Vivian Luxuary Suites, Thiruvananthapuram |
Motor Neuron
Disease, that had strapped Stephen Hawking to his motorized wheelchair has
another tenacious victim in its grip.
K.S.Vikraman (63), a businessman from Thiruvananthapuram is managing 50
crores business interests from his bed with mere movement of his eyes.
His businesses
include Jayasree Travels with branches in five countries, Vivin Luxury Suites
at Thiruvananthapuram and Al Alif Printing Press at Ajman. He manages all these with the aid of the eye
tracking device.
It was in
the prime of success that disease felled him.
Vikraman, who was born on an Independence Day, studied in Kerala and
went to the Middle East after marriage with his uncle and founded the printing press
at Ajman. The venture was a grand
success and so he diversified into tourism and hospitality sector.
It was in
2010 that the first visit of the disease was felt by Vikraman. What appeared as arthritis at the beginning
was later diagnosed to be the dreaded disease.
His first action in anticipation of the days of confinement was to order
suitable equipment from online stores.
To his son who queried the relevance of those purchases, his reply was
that time would reveal it.
Meanwhile Vikraman
underwent acupuncture treatment in China without any positive effect. The ailment was becoming more acute. Next phase of his life was in the wheelchair
he had procured online earlier.
Meanwhile breathing too became difficult. It was from a nurse that he came to know
about the eye tracking device. That brought
him back into the thick of business.
He is at
present confined in an ICU type room.
The eye tracking device captures the slightest movements of his eyes and
convert them to letters and words. If he
stares at a letter for a few seconds, then the instrument would display the
same on the screen. When a word is
complete, the device would pronounce it.
Thus, using
text messages, he is actively guiding his business interests in addition to being
an inspiration.
Rajesh
J. Krishnan (text), Biju Varghese (photo), Mathrubhumi, November 24, 2019
