What’s New
Does the Indian media really care about the disabled?
By Shruti Pushkarna
Last week, two headlines on the digital platforms of leading dailies caught my attention. One read, “Two blind HSC students find writers at the 11th hour”. And the second stated, “HSC exams: Finding writers a real test for some”.
Both these news stories highlight one of the most commonly faced problems by any blind student in India. Given their vision impairment, these students are dependent on ‘scribes’ to write their exams.
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.
ICC World Cup and challenges for fans with visual disabilities
By George Abraham
Can Sports Broadcasters not Overlook Blind Cricket Fans?
By George Abraham
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’.
Disabiilty: What Must Our Media Do
By Shruti Pushkarna
Before I started writing this piece, I casually googled ‘media and disability’. Interestingly, most results were pertaining to the role of the media, portrayal of disability, some academic papers on the subject and so on. Well, that’s typically what comes to mind when you throw these two words together at anyone.
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
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.
Housing dreams shattered
Gavindra Karmele lives in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh where he works at a Senior Secondary school. Despite losing his eye sight at an early age of six, Gavindra’s family ensured he never lost out on opportunities, starting with his education.
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.
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