Alternative courses

‘Dialogue in the Dark’,  an initiative of S V Krishnan, hopes to create alternative jobs for the blind.

“Ordinarily, vision challenge turns out to be the greatest disadvantage, but in this case the disability is a primary qualification,” says Sudha, who has co-created the concept in India through the company, ACE Experiences Asia.

The experiential space, created as part of the project, Dialogue in the Dark’, is spread over 15,000 sq ft area in Hyderabad.  It has three main spaces:

*Exhibition area

*Conference area

*Restaurant

Each space is devoted to specific job openings. The roles include corporate trainers, wait staff, guides, interpreters etc. Apart from being legally blind, the candidate applying for this course must have a UG degree and good communication skills. The organisation conducts profile-specific training.

Roles and responsibilities

The role of exhibition tour guide requires the visually challenged person to have  strong verbal skills, the ability to lead diverse groups in darkness centres of  theme parks. The person’s confidence must naturally prompt guests to trust him/ her. They are taught to rely on the other four senses. Perceptions are enhanced and they learn, not by seeing, but through touch, sound and smell.

Dialogue in the dark

Through the use of smell, air currents, temperature changes, sounds and textures, different scenarios are presented to challenge the visitor as he/ she progresses through the Exhibition area.

“The person should be able to make the guests feel at ease and help them experience the space through their other senses,” says Krishnan.

The ‘Restaurant’ area has positions  such as bartender and waiter (‘Dinner in the Dark’), while the Conference area has trainers, coaches and training assistants (conflict resolution or ‘Business in the Dark’).

“We have 50 positions for blind candidates. We do not see this as a mere job, but a place where people learn to use their disability to their advantage and encourage others to look at life experiences from a blind person’s perspective,” explains Sudha.