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Time to welcome Diversity in Radio?

By Shruti Pushkarna

As you read this, commercial and state-owned radio stations all across the world are celebrating this day on air. Yes, it’s World Radio Day today.

Surely a medium that has managed to stay relevant for over 120 years (since the first radio device was invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1899) calls for celebration.

With new technology and increasing penetration, the content development business is more dynamic than ever. Radio too has been experimenting with various avatars when it comes to programming models or expansion on digital platforms.

Listen up, Content Developers

By Shruti Pushkarna

At the risk of sounding self-aggrandising, I’d say I’m a fairly empathetic person. Even when I wasn’t working in the disability domain, I was reasonably conscious of the different needs of people. Not like I changed anything around me or was overly vociferous on such subjects, but at least I was ‘aware’.

And that’s what I want to talk about. Awareness.

Accepting change in an ever-changing world

By Shruti Pushkarna

When I was studying journalism, we were made to read three to four newspapers everyday as part of acquiring editorial skills. As a young girl in my early twenties, I would go from one class to another, catching up on the printed word in between breaks. It was almost romantic, the idea of print that is. One aspired to have a ‘byline’ in the reputed dailies.

Changing the Discourse on DisabilityChanging the Discourse on Disability

By Shruti Pushkarna

It’s 2020. As we cheer for new beginnings, it’s also time to reminisce on the years gone by.

The last decade witnessed some significant changes in how we look at ‘disability’. When I was still in my twenties (now don’t try to guess my age!), there was hardly any mention of terms like ‘access’ or ‘inclusion’. In fact, the most commonly used term for disabled people was ‘handicapped’.

Second session on online dating and persons with disabilities

Dear all
Greetings from Rising Flame!
Thank you so much for your overwhelming response to the first session of Vella Panti 2.0- a series of online events for disabled and non disabled friends.
We bring to you the second session on online dating and persons with disabilities on October 2, 2020 at 6 pm IST. Join us for a humourous and insightful conversation with our speakers- all women with disabilities  from India and UK.

Two Hyderabadis, working towards building a more accessible world, win design awards

Wed, 09/30/2020 - 12:23 -- geeta.nair

HYDERABAD: Digital accessibility should be a part of company policies. Are you providing cab services and bathrooms for your disabled employees? Do your lifts have braille labels? These are not big changes. But unfortunately, most workplaces are yet to tap the potential of people with disabilities,” says Raghavendra Satish Peri from Secunderabad, who was one of the recipients of the NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Awards 2020. 

Rekindling an old hobby

33-year-old Sudheer from Ernakulam district in Kerala is 70% visually impaired. Born sighted, he began to lose vision while studying in Class 8. After completing his tenth grade, the family’s poor financial condition forced him into menial jobs. He worked in a flour mill, tried his hand at tailoring and even carpentry, but degenerating eyesight didn’t support any of those choices.

 

A Catalyst for Change

Deepali Pawar from Nashik, Maharashtra led a normal life for seventeen years. She attended regular school and loved spending time with friends. All this suddenly changed as she began to lose eyesight. Within days, she went completely blind. Disoriented by this shocking development, her parents approached many eye hospitals hoping to restore their daughter’s vision but it yielded no result.

Deepali was compelled to discontinue her education. The family, with no awareness about rehabilitation programmes, turned overprotective and confined her to the four walls of their home.

Fuelling Dreams

A resident of Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra, Pawan Kasliwal’s daughter and son were born with a degenerative eye condition. As a parent he had a tough time seeing them lose vision gradually and accepting their impairment. 

But he wasn’t one to lose hope. He stood strong in support of his children and encouraged them to educate and become independent. Studying in a mainstream school, his son, Mohit expressed an interest in becoming a software engineer.

Focusing on the Haves instead of Have-Nots

Kush Verma was born blind to an affluent family in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Assuming that he will remain dependent for the rest of his life, Kush’s parents hadn’t the slightest clue that the boy could also have a bright future.

Till the age of ten, Kush sat idle at home while his sighted brother went to school. On a friend’s suggestion, he was finally enrolled in a special institute where he progressed, picking up braille and mobility skills.

Second innings

In India, late blindness remains an issue that lacks support mechanisms and progressive opportunities. Five years back, when 40-year-old Gangadharappa lost his vision in a road accident, he could not come to terms with it and confined himself to his home for the following three years.

When he nearly exhausted all his savings, the survival of his wife and two children pushed him to look for alternatives. Prior to the accident, he was doing well as an Assistant Manager in a Bangalore based garments factory.

Accessibility Matters

Fifty-two-year-old Anil Kumar from Ernakulum, Kerala lost his vision at an early age of two. However, he stayed focused on his studies and completed an MA in Literature.

Soon after, he found a job as an English teacher at a tuition centre. Seeking better remuneration, he took up the job of translating books and articles from English to Malayalam.

Making Inclusion a Reality

Sachin Porwal suffered sight loss when he was studying in Class 6 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He was forced to leave his school as the teachers didn’t know how to accommodate a blind student. Sachin’s parents tried hard to secure admission elsewhere but most schools declined given the boy’s impairment.

In pursuit of a better life

Dealing with a deteriorating vision, abject poverty and an alcoholic father, Manjunath’s tough childhood forced him to give up on his aspiration of pursuing higher education. Flashbacks of his forgettable childhood are reappearing as he now struggles to provide for his five-year-old son and pay for his education.

Accept, Adapt, Advance

A qualified mechanical engineer, Rohit Thombre left his home in Solapur to settle in Pune for better employment opportunities. He was focused on working diligently, rising up the ranks and saving for a comfortable future. Six years into the job, he bought a house of his own.
 
His flourishing career came crashing down when he experienced sudden sight loss at the age of 27. He caught a fever which permanently damaged his optic nerve. Along with the job, he lost his independence. Desperate for alternatives, Rohit surfed the internet with little remaining vision.

Can banks deny basic rights?

Visually impaired Babloo Kumar was gainfully employed as a Call Center Executive. He led an independent life in Delhi until he lost the job during the pandemic.

Forced to return to his hometown in Gorakhpur, UP, Babloo was in for another rude shock when his bank refused to offer phone banking service or an ATM card. The officials said he was ineligible for such facilities.

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