In a first-of-its-kind programme, ‘Blind With Camera’, nine visually impaired persons learnt the art of photography. They captured sounds, voices, smells and touches through the camera.

The exhibition of those photo shots titled ‘Beyond Sight’ was inaugurated by chairman of R.P.G. Enterprises, Harsh Goenka at the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind, Mumbai. The show was held at the National Centre for Performing Arts for public viewing from 17-25 February 2007.

Partho Bhowmick, the man behind the Initiative, is an I.T. professional and a skilled photographer who moved from Kolkata to Mumbai in 1999. His love for photography and a drive to do something different made him think of photography for blind people.

“The idea was to empower visually impaired people through photography and to celebrate the human spirit of self-expression,” Bhowmick said. He trained his team of nine members over a year with manual S.L.R. cameras.

Kanchan Pamnani, one of the participants, said the exhibition sent a message that ‘no-vision’ had adequate vision to develop an interest into a hobby.