IT WAS a routine broadcast schedule for the listeners of All India Radio (AIR) on Monday morning, when presenter Manoj Kshirsagar started the regional news bulletin at 7.10 am in his distinctive voice. However, halfway into the bulletin, Kshirsagar said that he would now pass on the microphone to Dhanraj Patil, a representative of Pune Blind Men’s Association, who will complete the bulletin by reading the news in braille.

While hailing the revolutionary discovery of Louis Braille as being a fundamental necessity that helped them overcome barriers, some of the visually challenged professionals in the city feel that technology interventions have also helped them think beyond Braille in several walks of life.