A blinding experience for those who can see

Many in their lives have felt miserable to see people with visual impairment seemingly “struggle” to cope with the chaotic rigmarole of daily lives surrounding them. To help people like them with gift of eyes, see through the eyes of visually impaired, the Blind People’s Association (BPA) of Ahmedabad, has embarked on a project of setting up a museum in the dark.

Calling it “Vision in the Dark”, the museum aims primarily to sensitise those with sight about how those without sight manage their daily lives. “It will give visitors experience of being blind. It will help them understand that there is no need to pity blind but be sensitive to their needs,” says Bhushan Punani, executive secretary of BPA (India) and chairperson of West Asia, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment.

The museum houses models of different gods, national and international leaders, temple, mosque, church and a village. The only thing is that it is pitch dark and the visitors are blinded to the visual. The visitors can sense the changes in their environment and decipher what exactly could be around them or happening around them. Each statue has Braille marking and audio sensor.

As the visitors pass from one idol to the other, the sensor senses the movement and changes the music track, changes the audio with different surroundings. If the visitors are standing near statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the audio will play either his speech or the bhajan favourite of Mahatma. Similarly, if the visitors move on to other statue of Subhash Chandra Bose, the audio will change to his speech or song of Indian National Army. 

The experience is so disconcerting for a person with sight. It hits the visitors hard as they only hear sounds and smell surroundings. Many people just freeze at the first step and only when assisted by visually impaired are they able to move ahead. It is only after moving around the pavilion for a few minutes does one get insight in to the real world of being visually impaired.

“We create dissonance, confusion, then we manage the dissonance, reinforce the message that visually impaired people can manage things in daily life. Our aim is to convey right message to the right audience in a right manner,” Punani says. “People with sight have lot of misgivings about the visually impaired. You can indeed feel god by your touch and feel. We, therefore, wanted to create vision in the dark. We wanted to convey that it is not just about the eyesight but having the right vision which is key,” he adds.

The institution is in the process of setting up a small garden replica. It would have a pond and a bridge too. “While the pond would have pebbles, we would also be experimenting with different fragra­nces to give you a feeling of different flowers in the garden,” said Paula Manza, Italian architect, who is on a sabbatical in India for about a year and helping the organisation design the garden.

Night vision cameras, too, have been installed for the visitor to see his experience once out of the pavilion. This helps the visitor reconnect with his experience when one was inside the pavilion.

Post this project, a new world-class museum on Louis Braille, Helen Keller as well as visually impaired Indian diaspora of achievers will be set up. “We may also keep some literature to inspire people visiting the museum to pledge their eyes in donation,” Punani added.

The concept of museum began in 2006, when two representatives from HealthLink Worldwide of the UK, David Sadder and David Curtis, approached the association to develop two projects – one in Dhaka and  another in Ahmedabad.

“We began by setting up a movie theatre for visually impaired. This theatre has a seating capacity for 25 people and provides different audio assists to help one understand the movie,” Punani said. The project is taking a long time to complete as the institution found it difficult to arrange for 1,500 sq yards of covered area to build the entire museum. So far, the association has been able to complete 40 per cent of the project and hopes to complete it by end of this year. 

The association has set up an eatery that operates in complete darkness. “For now we only serve tea, coffee, soft drinks and a few snacks here. It is a completely different feeling to eat your food in the dark and when you cannot see what you are eating,” BPA Executive Director said. The restaurant is managed by a group of eight visually impaired people. The visitors can book a table and the association shall make requisite arrangements for them to eat in darkness.

Funded primarily by Union Bank of India and the Ahmedabad Mercantile Cooperative Bank, the restaurant in dark provides an experience of perhaps lifetime to eat in complete darkness. “We have received a great response for the initiative patronized by hundreds every month since inauguration. It has given a different perspective to many regarding sensory disability and has made them more supportive,” he said.

Going forward, the association now plans to install a lift for those using wheelchairs so that they too can visit the facility. “We are also planning to set up a replica of Vaishno Devi cave, have an autorickshaw and boating facility. And all this in complete darkness,” Punani said. When complete, the museum would have 10 different galleries and would take you anywhere between 30-45 minutes to experience the world of visually impaired.