In a strange twist of fate, losing her sight in a tragic terror attack more than two decades ago gave Ashcharya Jayakody a new vision to rebuild and become a famed fashion designer.
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00:00 Something has to end for something to begin.
00:04 When you have a tremendous challenge in your life like myself,
00:08 there's going to be a new start, a brand new beginning.
00:11 I had to get adapted to the new situation.
00:15 That was the ticket for me to find a way to find myself.
00:19 Nobody can measure the kind of the inner strength I have gathered
00:24 through going through those difficult times.
00:26 What am I going to do with my life? I've just lost my sight.
00:29 I am Aishwarya Peries, Jai Kodi.
00:32 I'm a visually impaired fashion designer.
00:35 A designer is basically an artist.
00:45 We cannot limit a designer's capacity.
00:48 I design clothing and shoes.
00:50 All of the designs I produce are produced under my own designer label,
00:54 that is Christiana Glory.
00:56 Everything I produce is unique.
00:59 I cannot imitate any other designer.
01:01 I have not seen the world, not seen the designs for 22 years.
01:06 Before I lost my sight, it had never been in my mind
01:11 that someday I will be a fashion designer.
01:14 After I completed my studies, I used to work in a private bank.
01:18 I want to be a successful banker.
01:21 Within the first year, I bought my first vehicle.
01:25 Everything was going so well until the day, unexpectedly,
01:30 I was hit by a terrorist attack.
01:33 I was injured from the bomb blast.
01:37 One of the sharpeners had gone through my forehead
01:40 and had stopped here in the center of my brain.
01:43 As a result, I lost my sight.
01:46 More than the physical damage,
01:48 it is the psychological damage that really teared me apart.
01:54 I felt that I lost it all,
01:56 going through that kind of a difficult time.
01:58 I didn't have much finances.
02:01 I didn't have anything to spend for any sort of clothes
02:04 or anything for a shoe or for a T-shirt, nothing.
02:08 I think that was the turning point.
02:10 God, I believe, has blessed me with a new purpose,
02:15 a new vision to my life.
02:18 It has really given me a lot of strength
02:22 to somehow try and adapt myself,
02:26 to be visually impaired,
02:28 and to rebuild myself as a successful woman.
02:31 I remember that I used to have these
02:34 beautiful creative senses in me.
02:36 I used to create my own designs,
02:38 like designing my own saris, jewelry, sometimes shoes.
02:43 Why can't I do it now?
02:45 It was that positive energy in me
02:48 when I decided I'm going to do it all myself.
02:51 How do I choose my materials, the colors as a designer?
02:54 I cannot see anything.
02:56 I'm a completely blind person.
02:58 My eyes are closed, but I have a mouth to speak.
03:01 I have words, which a lot of karma is in power to explain.
03:06 Ah, bottle green.
03:07 When I visit a shop,
03:10 I get different ideas.
03:13 They discuss with us,
03:16 and they tell us everything,
03:17 and they take away the nice things.
03:19 They take away the bad things with good knowledge.
03:22 And they take away the good things with satisfaction.
03:26 They explain the design in detail.
03:29 They tell us what they want.
03:31 They tell us what they want.
03:33 They tell us what they want.
03:35 We know what they want.
03:37 They tell us what they want.
03:38 We can easily make it.
03:47 I need to develop my own technique
03:49 for the dressmaker to understand what I'm explaining.
03:53 My hand will move to such patterns
03:56 to explain to another person.
03:58 I ask the dressmaker to make the mini size of the same design.
04:03 I can just touch it
04:06 and understand the kind of mistakes that need to be corrected
04:09 so that we can go for the finished product.
04:14 I have very trustworthy dressmakers
04:17 to understand every little instruction
04:19 that I give to them when it comes to their design.
04:22 They are the ones who actually bring it to the real world.
04:26 I have about 11 dressmakers
04:29 spread out all throughout the country.
04:31 I have three shoemakers.
04:33 We are a team.
04:35 The first award that I received ever in my life
04:41 was the Designer of the Year.
04:43 It was in 2014.
04:45 There were 300 participants in that competition.
04:49 I was the only visually impaired person in the competition.
04:53 This particular award is so significant in my life
04:57 because it is something that I received
05:01 for the hidden talent.
05:03 It was a very joyful feeling
05:06 to bring back that creativity in me
05:09 that I believe that I lost so long ago.
05:13 It's like being found again with this particular award.
05:17 I appreciate every little thing I have received in my life afterwards.
05:25 I think I've come so far since then.
05:30 I have decided to take charge.
05:32 I have decided to change.
05:34 This is my life.
05:36 It is my career. It is my entire legacy.
05:39 When you don't give up,
05:42 when you have a desire and a willingness to live your life,
05:46 you can do it.
05:49 [Music]
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