Life without vision: Jugpreet Bajwa shares his experiences

In this episode we bring on a very talented guest, Jugpreet (Juggy) Bajwa, who's been on reality shows, won awards, sang anthems at NHL games for the Vancouver Canucks, and has also released music of his own.

There's a lot we can learn about our senses and how we perceive the world. Us being able-bodied, we take for granted a lot of the time that we have all our senses and abilities, however, as Juggy shares with us, often we forget to really feel what's happening around us.

Juggy shared how he can tell when he's walking on grass, and can feel the sun hitting him, which really made us think about how when we're outside and the sun is hitting us, we almost don't notice it (unless it's too hot!).

Learning these things start with hearing different perspectives. There was a lot more we learned about what living life without vision, including relationships, people's perception of you, and more.

More details:

In this episode, we have a good chat with Jugpreet Bajwa, a talented blind singer and Punjabi musician whose inspirational story will leave you uplifted. Juggy shares his journey with music, from singing at karaoke parties as a kid to becoming a Sa Re Ga Ma Pa top three finalist on an Indian reality show and proudly performing O Canada as the Vancouver Canucks’ Canadian anthem singer.

Juggy was diagnosed with retinoblastoma at 6 months old. He opens up about life with blindness, navigating visual impairment and embracing heightened senses like his auditory cortex adapting for multi-sensory living.

Juggy's glass-half-full mindset shines as he talks about overcoming challenges in his life and the music industry. With a cancer survivor spirit, he’s earned honors like the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal and community leadership awards. He dives into accessibility and independence, sharing how self-advocacy, family support, and social support have shaped his path. His love for Punjabi music and pop music, which is inspired by artists like Bruno Mars, fuels his songwriting process, with his upcoming single Timeless Memories on the horizon.We also go over Juggy's experience with dating while blind, and what he finds attractive. He reflects on sense of smell, inclusive relationships, and how Punjabi culture diaspora influences his life. The conversation touches on future tech like self-driving cars, Neuralink, Neuralink discussion, and LiDAR glasses concept, plus AI accessibility; all part of his vision for adaptive technology.

Juggy's message is clear: turn limitations into strengths. He shares personal growth through failure and how he used music therapy as a lifeline.

0:00 Intro

2:23 Early life: cancer, blindness & love of music

7:07 Teaching kids about senses

11:15 Optimism, support networks & learning from failure

26:00 Indian reality-show journey (Sa Ra Ga Ma Pa)

33:08 People trying offer up a cure for blindness

44:08 Dating without seeing

57:54 Musical influences

1:08:34 Music-industry realities

1:15:29 Neuralink for disabled people

1:31:17 Food, smell & favourite tastes

1:45:23 Closing thoughts & live performance