Vedi [Paperback]

Ved Mehta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1987

A month shy of his fifth birthday, Ved Mehta was sent 1300 miles from home to Dadar School for the Blind-- really an orphanage in Bombay run by a Christian minister with Western ideas about education. Blinded by meningitis, Vedi faced the grim life of the blind in India.

It was an act that required a great strength, a father sending a child to a foster home, but from it Vedi learned self-reliance. His career is testimony to the correctness of that decision.

"Vedi had all the experiences of ordinary childhood, but ceased being a child before he was five. Thus in the narratives two voices emerge: the child and the adult. When the child speaks, grim events seem innocent and funny. But when the adult speaks, even ordinary moments seem sad, reflected in a memory that brings together past and present with bittersweet eloquence." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

6 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (September 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393304175
• ISBN-13: 978-0393304176
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,009,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sticks with you, January 11, 2001

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vedi (Paperback)

I read this first as an excerpt in New Yorker Magazine. The comfortably upper-middle class family of Ved Mehta was faced with a dilemna; how to educate a blind child in India, where there were really no provisions for a handicapped child. Ved's father made the difficult but brave decision to send him to a blind school, where he'd be surrounded by other children from vastly different backgrounds and religions, a difficult situation in India.

The exciting thing about the book is Mehta's ability to describe, with incredible detail, the feeling, sounds, flavors and smells of his daily life, while portraying his growth and increasing self-reliance. A really touching memoir and one worth reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vedi, by Ved Metha, May 28, 2000

By 

Lily B. "lygio" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vedi (Paperback)

A rare book. Powerfull description of a very unusual childood in era of the past from the innocent and fantastic eyes of a child. A window to a different reality, so far and distant from todays society.

The authors/protagonist childood is touchy and painful, but the innocence of the child shines through and was a great lesson for me. A book that will enrich any reader and nourish the mind and soul.