Imagine a visually-impaired navigating through a crowded sidewalk or finding his way through traffic, without the aid of a walking stick or another person. In the near future, a blind person would be able to do so — by wearing a glove.

In a revolutionary technology, a city-based young student has come out with a device that can help the blind 'run through obstacles, or win a hurdle race' - in Abhinav Verma's own words.

I am a visually impaired person. Soon after graduating from Purdue University West Lafayette, I lost a significant amount of my vision due to a disease known as rod-cone dystrophy. Although I have been legally blind now for nearly 40 years, my circumstance has not deterred me from enjoying and participating in many of the same activities as a person with sight would experience.

Miranda Tomkinson, 35, a visually-challenged and hearing-impaired postgraduate, failed twice in his UGC exam despite hard work and preparation, simply because the Braille question paper was not available for him and he could not hear the scribe because of his disability. He hopes to clear the exam this December if he gets a Braille question paper. He had given several petitions to the UGC but received no response.

A collection of paintings created by visual and hearing impaired artists aims to democratise art

Art knows no boundaries or language, and Silent Hues, an exhibition of paintings done by visual and hearing impaired artists, the current show at Kalarasa, exemplifies that. Foundation of Art and Culture for Deaf (FACD) has tied up with the art gallery to provide these artists a platform to showcase their works.

Global White Cane Day was observed under the aegis of Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF), in association with the National Association for the Blind (NAB), with a rally and cultural programmes.

Nilesh Singit, 43, completed his Master’s degree in Literature from Mumbai university in 1993 and a course in information technology soon after, and thought he was ready for the job market. Responses from the initial telephonic interviews too sounded positive. Then he went for the face-to-face rounds.
A cerebral palsy survivor, Singit was rejected by one company after another — for four years. Dejected, he decided to turn entrepreneur. Here again he was repeatedly refused a bank loan, his condition cited as a “big liability.”