September 2026 Issue By Diversity Editorial Team Pages 11 – 13 · Inspiring Achievers · AI & Tech

From a Whisper in the Dark to the Forefront of AI: The Unstoppable Journey of Sugumar S

Overcoming childhood blindness and rural poverty to become an AI/ML engineer at Birlasoft, open-source innovator, and mentor

Sugumar S lost his eyesight before he turned six due to a genetic condition, but in his remote village, blindness was treated as bad luck rather than a medical reality. Born to labour-class parents—his mother rolled beedis to support the family while his father battled mental illness—Sugumar grew up in severe poverty where simply securing two meals a day was a struggle. Without proper clothing, care, or awareness about his condition, he endured both physical and emotional abuse. At just seven years old, he was sent away to live in a special school hostel. The emotional toll reached its peak when he was twelve; he was told to die because he was considered a burden to his family, a thought he began to believe in himself.

Despite the darkness, a turning point arrived after his 10th standard when he scored 87 percent and a teacher gifted him a Micromax Android phone. This device became his window to the world, introducing him to motivational YouTube stories about technology leaders like Steve Jobs. Inspired to act, he reached out to the Karnavidya Foundation, a Tamil Nadu-based NGO. They assessed his skills and sponsored his first C programming course at a private institute under the Skill India program, proving to Sugumar that hard work could attract genuine support.

While many advised him to pursue the traditional, "safe" routes for blind students—such as government jobs, teaching, and relying on welfare reservations—Sugumar's heart was set on technology. Because his higher secondary background restricted direct entry into engineering, he pursued a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA). With financial sponsorship from the Karnavidya Foundation and guidance from Prof. O. M. Raghuram, he enrolled at the Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education. Defying a lack of accessible materials for mathematics and visual subjects, he graduated in 2023 with an 8.3 CGPA, becoming the first totally blind student to major in technology at a private university in South India.

Sugumar S at his development workstation writing code — Figure 1: Sugumar S working at his computer, writing Python code and designing AI/ML systems.

Professional Excellence at Birlasoft

Today, Sugumar is an AI/ML Engineer with over 1.5 years of professional experience at Birlasoft Limited, part of the CK Birla Group. His daily work involves writing Python code, integrating APIs with AWS cloud microservices, and analyzing Salesbot conversations to decode customer requirements. For a major client project, he developed Python APIs from scratch, built RAG-based AI frameworks, utilized LangGraph for orchestration, and managed a massive codebase of over 10,000 lines.

Treating continuous learning as a survival tool, he completed over 70 Coursera certificates in a single year—including the Deep Learning Specialization by deeplearning.ai and Professor Andrew Ng—earned Credly badges from Google and IBM, and solved more than 250 problems on LeetCode.

Transforming Personal Pain into Purpose

Sugumar’s personal pain has been transformed into a profound sense of purpose. Collaborating with NGOs like Vision-AID, Chakshumathi, and Karnavidya Foundation, he has positively impacted over 200 visually impaired students, helping more than 50 secure spots in engineering and computer-related majors.

Sugumar S with his visually challenged students at Chakshumathi Ram Parivar technohostel in Vijayawada — Figure 2: Sugumar during a visit to Vijayawada meeting his students at the Chakshumathi Ram Parivar technohostel.

Recognizing that visually impaired girls face even higher barriers, sometimes never being allowed to leave their homes, he teamed up with his mentor Mr. Ram Kamal. Together, they spend about eight hours a week training seven high school girls at Ram Parivar, a technohostel for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and visual challenges in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. His training successfully placed two of them in a B.Sc. AI and Data Science program at Andhra Loyola College.

Open-Source Innovation and Assistive Tools

His commitment to an inclusive digital world is equally relentless. Sugumar has published over 15 projects on GitHub and built two crucial open-source add-ons for the NVDA screen reader to assist blind professionals: one that announces if a window is minimized or maximized during screen sharing, and another that clarifies screen scrolling directions. He also creates text-based C++ and math materials to fill the gap in accessible learning content, and he recently participated in an IIT Madras incubation research initiative focused on tactile and digital devices.

Sugumar S featuring with Mr. Gukual IAS, Additional Collector at Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu — Figure 3: Sugumar featuring with Mr. Gukual IAS, Additional Collector of Mayiladuthurai, on News7 Tamil's "Phoenix Manithargal".

Independent Living and Global Aspirations

Proving that visually impaired individuals are fully capable of independent lives, Sugumar has lived alone in Bangalore for the past three years, navigating life and career 600 kilometres away from his family. His remarkable story has captured public attention, leading to a special live interview on News7 Tamil's "Phoenix Manithargal" program and a career feature video by 360DigiTMG. Most recently, the Rotary Club of Bangalore Abilities honoured him with the IDPD Unsung Hero Award 2025 in the Young Achiever category.

The Next Leap: Inspired by Kartik Sawhney, a Stanford graduate who overcame similar hurdles in India, Sugumar is now preparing for his next monumental leap. He has spent the last two years intentionally strengthening his profile to pursue a master’s degree in computer science at an Ivy League university. He seeks this global education not for status, but to gain the research exposure necessary to build advanced technological solutions. His ultimate vision is to ensure that no visually impaired child ever feels as hopeless and isolated as he once did.