{"id":27604,"date":"2026-09-23T05:15:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T05:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=27604"},"modified":"2026-09-23T05:15:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T05:15:32","slug":"when-they-ask-why-you-are-unhappy-i-behind-vaikom-vijayalakshmis-national-award-is-a-journey-through-blindness-insensitive-questions-and-choosing-freedom-on-her-own-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=27604","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;When they ask why you are unhappy, I\u2026\u2019: Behind Vaikom Vijayalakshmi\u2019s National Award is a journey through blindness, insensitive questions and choosing freedom on her own terms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134425456,imgsize-2274032,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visual-impairment.jpg\" alt=\"'When they ask why you are unhappy, I\u2026\u2019: Behind Vaikom Vijayalakshmi\u2019s National Award is a journey through blindness, insensitive questions and choosing freedom on her own terms\" title=\"Vaikom Vijayalakshmi\u2019s journey as a singer has unfolded alongside her experiences of living with visual impairment\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Vaikom Vijayalakshmi\u2019s journey as a singer has unfolded alongside her experiences of living with visual impairment\">Vaikom Vijayalakshmi\u2019s journey as a singer has unfolded alongside her experiences of living with visual impairment<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/vaikom-vijayalakshmi\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vaikom Vijayalakshmi<\/a> walked up to receive the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer, the moment marked recognition for a voice that millions have heard. But behind that voice is a woman who has spent much of her life negotiating something far more personal: how the world sees a person who cannot see it.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>Vijayalakshmi received the <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/national-award\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Award<\/a> for Best Female Playback Singer for \u201cAngu Vaana Konilu\u201d from <span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Ajayante Randam Moshanam<\/span> at the 72nd National Film Awards. The recognition came years after she entered the playback singing industry, but the award is only one part of a journey that has included professional success, repeated attempts to find a treatment for her blindness, insensitive encounters with strangers and a marriage she eventually chose to leave.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"lY6ke\">\n<div class=\"Yl6Us\">\n<p>13 Jul 2026 | 13:11<\/p>\n<h2>What&#8217;s one stereotype about women that you&#8217;re tired of hearing?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Speaking to TOI after the national award was announced, Vijayalakshmi said the song\u2019s words had particular meaning for her. \u201cThe lyrics \u2018Uyarnnu Vaa&#8230; Uyarnnu Vaa&#8230; Break every barrier and rise&#8230; Conquer the world and rise&#8230;\u2019 always fill me with the strength to move forward. I, too, have overcome countless obstacles to reach where I am today,\u201d she said. Those obstacles have not always been visible to those around her.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vaikom Vijayalakshmi received the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer for \u2018Angu Vaana Konilu\u2019\" msid=\"134425476\" imgsize=\"1139673\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"Vaikom Vijayalakshmi received the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer for \u2018Angu Vaana Konilu\u2019\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-1139673,msid-134425476\/vaikom-vijayalakshmi-received-the-national-award-for-best-female-playback-singer-for-angu-vaana-konilu.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Vaikom Vijayalakshmi received the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer for \u2018Angu Vaana Konilu\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>\u2018I get angry when people treat me differently because I am blind\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Vijayalakshmi was born visually impaired and has lived with very limited perception of light. She has often spoken about how differently people behave around her once they realise she cannot see.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>In an interview with Cineulagam Tamil Channel, she described one particular behaviour that frustrates her: people trying to test whether she can recognise them by their voice.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>\u201cI get angry when I see the way some people treat me as I am blind,\u201d she said. <!-- -->She does not appreciate being asked questions such as whether she knows who someone is or being made to identify people by their voices.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>\u201cI hate questions such as do you understand who I am, who hand is this and testing me like who the person is that by listening to their voice,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat is the use of recognizing people like that?\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>For her, the problem is not that she cannot answer. It is the assumption behind the question- that her blindness makes her someone who needs to be tested. <!-- -->\u201cWhen they ask why you are unhappy, I will say I don&#8217;t like to answer such questions,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>Vijayalakshmi has previously said that she can perceive only a little light and distinguish between night and day.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/>Yet the absence of sight has not meant an absence of awareness. Much of Vijayalakshmi\u2019s understanding of the world has been built through sound- something that eventually became the foundation of her career.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>Music became a way of experiencing the world<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/>Vijayalakshmi began singing when she was very young. Her parents, Muraleedharan and Vimala, supported her musical training and remained closely involved in her journey.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>She grew up listening to musicians such as K J Yesudas, M S Subbulakshmi, Balamuralikrishna and Chembai Swamikal. She eventually became a professional singer and went on to work in several Indian languages.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/>But music, for Vijayalakshmi, is not simply a profession. It is also one of the ways through which she experiences things she cannot see.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"48\"\/>That is why ordinary moments involving sight can sometimes affect her deeply. \u201cIf someone buys something and doesn&#8217;t show it to me I will feel sad. I feel like I am being ignored because I am blind,\u201d she said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"50\"\/>It is a small example, but it reveals something larger about what she has wanted from people around her: not special treatment, but inclusion. Her parents have remained an important part of that support system.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"52\"\/>\u201cFather and mother will be always there with me,\u201d she said. She has also continued to hope that one day she will be able to see.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"55\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The singer says she feels hurt when people exclude her from ordinary experiences because she cannot see\" msid=\"134425479\" imgsize=\"473862\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"The singer says she feels hurt when people exclude her from ordinary experiences because she cannot see\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-473862,msid-134425479\/the-singer-says-she-feels-hurt-when-people-exclude-her-from-ordinary-experiences-because-she-cannot-see.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The singer says she feels hurt when people exclude her from ordinary experiences because she cannot see<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"57\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>The hope of seeing the world<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"59\"\/>For years, Vijayalakshmi has explored possible treatments for her condition. She travelled to the US for treatment in 2019, but the process was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and questions over whether the treatment could actually restore her sight.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"61\"\/>Doctors, she has said, have differed over whether the problem lies with her retina or her brain. Despite the uncertainty, the desire has remained.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"63\"\/>She has spoken about wanting to see the world she has known primarily through voices, sounds and touch. <!-- -->That hope exists alongside an acceptance of the life she has built without sight. Her career has not waited for a cure, nor has she put her ambitions on hold.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"67\"\/>The National Award is the latest recognition of that life. But there was another part of her personal journey in which she also had to decide what she wanted- and what she would no longer accept.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"69\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>\u2018I don&#8217;t have to tolerate all this\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"71\"\/>Vijayalakshmi has spoken candidly about the end of her marriage and described it as one of the saddest periods of her life. <!-- -->She said her former husband did not support her music and restricted the hours during which she could sing.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"75\"\/>\u201cHe didn&#8217;t even agree to give rhythm for my music,\u201d she said. \u201cHe even restricted my singing to some hours.\u201d For someone whose independence had been built around music, the restrictions became increasingly difficult.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"78\"\/>Eventually, she chose to leave. \u201cBut I realized that I don&#8217;t have to love tolerating all this and separated,\u201d she said. <!-- -->Importantly, she described the decision as her own. \u201cI made that decision. Neither father nor mother said to do so. Life decisions are in their own hands and cannot be given to anyone else.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"82\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>A National Award, but not the end of the journey<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"84\"\/>Vijayalakshmi\u2019s National Award brings her career into focus, but her story is not simply about overcoming blindness to become a successful singer.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"86\"\/>It is also about the everyday negotiations that come with being a person with a disability- the frustration of being tested, the hurt of being excluded from ordinary experiences, the uncertainty surrounding treatment and the determination to make personal decisions independently.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"88\"\/>Her award-winning song tells people to rise, break barriers and conquer the world. For Vijayalakshmi, those words are not merely lyrics.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"90\"\/>\u201cI, too, have overcome countless obstacles to reach where I am today,\u201d she said.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/women\/voices-of-power\/when-they-ask-why-you-are-unhappy-i-behind-vaikom-vijayalakshmis-national-award-is-a-journey-through-blindness-insensitive-questions-and-choosing-freedom-on-her-own-terms\/articleshow\/134425428.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vaikom Vijayalakshmi\u2019s journey as a singer has unfolded alongside her experiences of living with visual impairment When Vaikom Vijayalakshmi walked up to receive the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer, the moment marked recognition for a voice that millions have heard. But behind that voice is a woman who has spent much of her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vaikom-vijayalakshmis-journey-as-a-singer-has-unfolded-alongside-her-experiences-of-living-with-visu.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Vaikom Vijayalakshmi\u2019s journey as a singer has unfolded alongside her experiences of living with visual impairment When Vaikom Vijayalakshmi walked up to receive the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer, the moment marked recognition for a voice that millions have heard. 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