Meet the Yorkshire tax adviser who is lighting up the lives of India's visually impaired

A Yorkshire-based tax adviser is lighting up the lives of people with visual impairments in India.
Kaustubh PathakKaustubh Pathak
Kaustubh Pathak

Kaustubh Pathak, an EY tax adviser based in Leeds, is using his free time to record audiobooks in his first language of Marathi to support those who are visually impaired in his home city of Pune, and beyond.

Marathi is spoken by more than 80 million people in India and The Prerna Association for the Blind, which Kaustubh has connected with, supports more than 10,000 visually impaired people across the country.

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As an act of kindness for Diwali, Kaustubh published his second audiobook about the life and career of one of India’s greatest cricketing legends, Virender Sehwag.

Recording the book was some undertaking; with a total running time of five and a half hours, it took Kaustubh six weeks to record in the evenings and at weekends.

The audiobook has since launched virtually on Facebook, with the book’s author Vijay Lokapally, a well-known sports journalist, and Virender Sehwag himself in attendance.

Kaustubh said: “Both Sehwag and Lokapally had very kind words to say about my efforts and they really appreciated my work. They were also quite impressed with the fact that a chartered accountant based in Leeds is undertaking projects that have a social impact in India.

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“It was a fantastic moment for me to be able to speak to and have my audiobook launched by one of my absolute favourite sporting heroes.

“I record these audiobooks so that visually impaired people or people who are unable to read are able to enjoy the stories about their sporting heroes. This is something very close to my heart and my own way of building a better working world.”

The launch event has so far been watched by 17,500 people on Facebook and Kaustubh is already planning his next audiobook project for 2021.

Mark Irving, EY Tax Partner, said: “Acts of kindness such as this are just great to see and epitomise EY’s values perfectly. I am very proud of the meaningful impact Kaustubh’s actions have had on those that need it most. His commitment, energy and enthusiasm is a credit to himself and his family.”

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