In the 26 August 2023 issue of BW, I wrote a short one-page column titled The Dentist Who Lost his Eyesight but Gained an Inner Vision’ about this exceptional gentleman Dr Jitender Aggarwal who went through the catastrophic experience of losing his central vision, due to macular degeneration, at the young age of 29 and, instead of just ‘accepting his fate’ went on to create Sarthak that has done a lot of wonderful work for all persons with disabilities or PwDs (including the visually impaired) through about 25 skill development centres all over India as well as three ‘early intervention centres’ that try to prevent kids growing up as PwDs . Their 25 centres equip Divyangjan – as the PM likes to call PwDs – with adequate skills and also find them suitable jobs with leading corporates and the government so that they are transformed into useful members of society instead of remaining a burden on others.
Sarthak has now set up a Global Resource Center (GRC) at Gurugram which has almost everything that a Divyang would need for his/her transformation. Before I mention all the facilities at this place, I want to share with the readers a life-changing experience that about 15 of us – from Gurugram and Delhi – went through on a May 2024 afternoon. We were led into a pitch-dark room through a double-door entrance after leaving out our mobile phones and even electronic watches so that there should not be even a brief glimmer of light while we are inside this experiential centre called ‘Vision in the Dark’. Highly trained staff ushered us till the first door and then we were guided in by a VI (vision impaired) gentleman who kept repeating “please carry on along the table or railing on your right or left; there are no obstacles on the ground; do not worry; you are perfectly safe”. Despite all his assurances, each one of us – as we exchanged notes later – was quite apprehensive, worried to the core as to where we were headed and what lay ahead. Slowly we kept moving, at times pushing against the person in front, and finally came out after 15/20 minutes to everyone’s collective relief.
The experience was simply ‘mind boggling’, it was unreal, we were anxious, even afraid – depending only on the comforting voice of our guide – and, at the same time, it was mind blowing or mind numbing at the same time; actually I can’t find adequate words to describe correctly what we had gone through. Just 15/20 minutes and a million thoughts crossed our minds – and to think that the life of our VI friends’ is like that 24x7, day after day, year after year, like being perpetually in a dark room and yet they go through their daily chores. It is indeed hard to imagine how they go about cleaning themselves, bathing, eating, making their bed, finding their clothes, shoes, wallet, phone … making their way to the bus stand or metro station, in and out of the transport, to their place of work and repeating the process at the end of the day. Those 15/20 minutes did open our “inner vision” and taught us a lot about the way these people live and work. It was a short journey into the ‘world of blindness’. It sensitised us to stop worrying about a minor eye infection or minor health issues or any other problems. Just thinking about the immense courage and faith of VIs raises our thinking about these special people and to admire their heightened (other) senses is a truly profound and ‘self-realisation’ experience.
I understand the Blind Peoples Association (BPA) in Ahmedabad (my column in BW 12 August ’23) has set up an advanced version of the facility where one is led through replicas of various everyday objects – like a temple, a village, great persons, religious idols, national leaders, a zoo or a cave, a restaurant or theatre – and visitors are asked to touch and feel the objects and identify what exactly these are. The tour supposedly highlights the importance of our other senses and how they become sharper when one is not blessed with vision. We all know examples of great singers and musicians who were VI. The BPA’s idea is to enable family members and colleagues of the VIs to enhance their capacity to appropriately take care of them and also to inspire architects and builders to ensure better accessibility for Divyangjan in the houses and other buildings they create.
Worldwide, the concept has led to different ideas like ‘Dining in the Dark’. The first such restaurant had opened in France during the nineties and now there are many in Europe, the USA and perhaps also Japan. There are a couple of these in India too – in Hyderabad and Mumbai to name two. Guests are blindfolded and let in but the servers can see and there are also candles on the table. It is a regular five-star multiple course gourmet meal and you are supposed to remain blindfolded throughout; taste and guess each dish. The idea, once again, is to arouse all sensory organs and heighten senses; enjoy the full potential of taste buds in the mystifying atmosphere.
Anyway, back to the Sarthak GRC. Besides this extraordinary ‘Vision in the Dark’ experience, there are excellent displays of assistive devices for all PwDs to make their lives a little better with tools that dismantle barriers. A tour through increases awareness about challenges faced by PwDs and how these can be overcome, at least partially. Then, there are the usual skill development and early intervention centres, explanation of government initiatives, policy advocacy workshops, sensitisation programmes, sign language workshop, guidance for potential employers to hire PwDs and for PwDs to seek jobs. Also awareness programmes to empower PwDs to find out their untapped potential. The place is, in short, a response to the prevailing void in services, resources and attitudes that hinder the progress of PwDs. Indeed, some PwDs have achieved unimagined heights in various fields – climbing the Everest, running marathons, excelling in the civil services and the corporate world. We want more of them to do so.
The author is the president National Abilympic Association of India and a member National Advisory Board, Sarthak. He is the former president of AIMA and a member of BOG, IIMC.
