<p>Rangoli Metro Art Centre on M G Road recently hosted a rap concert exclusively for 70 deaf and hard-of-hearing attendees. Eight volunteers interpreted the lyrics and rhythms of three rap artistes in Indian Sign Language (ISL). Two additional speakers and subwoofers allowed the audience to feel the music through vibrations, while lights were synced to the beat.</p>.<p>For Hemanth, 27, and Balaji, 28, the evening was unforgettable. In written responses to <em>Metrolife</em>, the IT professionals said they danced, felt goosebumps, and connected with lyrics like never before. Music, they said, had long felt out of reach, largely because their family or friends could not interpret it fully or meaningfully.<br>They praised the interpreters’ work. Two non-deaf interpreters sat among the audience and signed the songs, while six deaf interpreters watched them on stage, reinterpreted the content with greater depth, emotion, and context, and signed it back to the audience.</p>.<p>Parmeet, a student, has been to interpreted concerts before, but this was his first time alongside so many deaf attendees. The 21-year-old loves “music with a strong beat and high volume” and enjoys all genres.</p>.How to work towards achieving your resolutions.<p>The three-hour concert, called Deafcon, was organised by The Inclusion Movement. Its second edition is scheduled for February. The NGO’s cofounder, Vishnu Soman, credits Coldplay's concerts, the Indian Premier League, and Bollywood films such as '83' and 'Sitaare Zameen Par' for bringing sign language interpretation into the mainstream in India. Yet, he says, the entertainment industry still needs to offer a lot more opportunities to the deaf. “Young deaf people in India are more independent than previous generations. They earn well. They are venturing beyond IT jobs. They are becoming photographers and dancers. They are highly social online. But in the real world, they still lack cultural experiences that are accessible," he says.</p>.<p>Soman adds that rap was chosen deliberately over film music because its inherent philosophy of resistance resonates with the deaf community.</p>.<p><strong>City scene</strong></p>.<p>Interpreters became more visible in Bengaluru’s cultural scene last year. The year-end music festival Echoes of Earth engaged a professional ISL interpreter for American artiste Madame Gandhi’s performance. The connection was facilitated by a deaf psychology student who was supporting the festival’s accessibility efforts.</p>.<p>Interpreters also signed a Hindi band’s performance at the recently concluded India Inclusion Summit.<br>Live interpretation was also provided for 'Talk To Me', a devised production by Anuja Ghosalkar that paired a deaf performer with non-deaf artistes, to explore how we connect beyond words. The Museum of Art and Photography, Kasturba Road, regularly collaborates with facilitators to provide ISL interpretation for public programmes.</p>.<p>The Indian Music Experience museum in J P Nagar hired interpreters for a conference and select discussions last year and hopes to expand this accessibility to their cultural programming as well. However, this will require trials, says community programmes manager Lakshmi R, acknowledging that the concept is still nascent in India, and they need to ensure a competent experience.</p>.<p><strong>Demand, but interpreter crunch</strong></p>.<p>Priyanka Kalyan, sign language coordinator at Bengaluru’s Dr S R Chandrasekhar Institute of Speech and Hearing, says interpreters are far more in demand for conferences, job fairs, and job interviews and orientation programmes at corporate companies, than for cultural shows, although the demand for the latter is slowly growing. Prarthana Prateek Kaul, cofounder of GiftAbled, says her NGO did receive requests for interpreters for a music show in 2025, but they were deployed at a job fair instead during the period.</p>.<p>Deaf activist Alim Chandani points out that while India’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act mandates inclusion, large concerts and comedy tours remain largely inaccessible. He explains: “In India, accessibility decisions are often left to the artiste rather than the organiser, which is unusual. In the US where I have lived for over 20 years, accessibility is standard at major concerts, including Beyonce's, under disability law. Here, many organisers are still unaware of their legal obligations." Chandani is the mission leader at Hear A Million, an EnAble India initiative for the deaf community.</p>.<p>Concerts longer than two hours require at least four interpreters to ensure accuracy and interpreter well-being, he adds. According to him, India currently has fewer than 1,000 RCI-certified ISL interpreters. However, Soman and Prarthana say that it is generally acceptable for CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults) to interpret live shows, even without certification.</p>.<p><strong>Different skill</strong></p>.<p>Interpreting for cultural performances differs vastly from everyday conversation. Chandani trains interpreters in advance and rehearses with artistes to align expression, emotion, and movement. The work involves conceptual translation instead of literal translation, and draws on rhythm, emotion, and cultural context.<br>“Ideally, song lists and lyrics should be shared in advance, but we often receive them late, sometimes only on the day of the event, which limits preparation,” he says.</p>.<p>Bengaluru-based interpreters J D Santhosh, Nida Fatima A Bhavnagary, and Shivam Vadhera echo this, describing how going on stage unprepared can sometimes lead to misinterpretation, delays, and a sense of guilt about letting the deaf community down. Poor audio systems and unfamiliar languages make the impromptu task even harder.</p>.<p><strong>Interpreter’s craft</strong></p>.<p>At 22, Shivam Vadhera is a full-time interpreter. Introduced to the field by a school teacher, he says he has interpreted expert talks, shayaris, and music and theatrical performances. “With songs, you move more, you almost dance,” he says, emphasising that the exercise is different from signing everyday "point-to-point" conversations.</p>.<p>J D Santhosh, 23, is a research associate and a CODA, born to deaf parents. He began interpreting at a warehouse for deaf workers. Today, live signing brings out the “artiste” in him. “It’s like singing, but with signs. I can express better through signing, than words,” he says. Recalling a memorable gig last year, he describes interpreting for two women artistes who were singing in multiple languages and playing more than 10 instruments. He received the lyrics just an hour before the show. “I could interpret Hindi, Kannada, and English, but not Arabic, Russian, and Malayalam. The song was about feminism, suffering, and sacrifice. I had a bad headache that day, but their music and the joy of interpretation filled me with energy,” he says.</p>.<p>Nida Fatima A Bhavnagary, 27, calls sign language interpretation a huge responsibility, one that they must do with "honesty". “Whatever we sign becomes the song for the deaf audience. If everything else works but interpretation fails, the show is a flop for them,” she says. She recalls struggling through a part of a metaphor-heavy romantic song at an open mic. She briefly paused before continuing with her own interpretation. "The real meaning became clear to me only towards the end and I tried to weave it in," she says.</p>.<p><strong>Where to train</strong></p>.<p>RCI-approved two-year diploma courses are offered in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Indore. To upskill certified interpreters, EnAble India launched the ISL Interpreting Fellowship in Bengaluru last year, focusing on receptive and expressive interpreting, accuracy, and ethical practices.</p>.<p>Karnataka does not yet offer an RCI certification course, but Bengaluru's Dr S R Chandrasekhar Institute is exploring the idea, says Priyanka. Currently, it runs three-month sign language learning modules across three levels, priced at Rs 10,000 each. “Participants range from friends of deaf people and special educators to NGO volunteers and those who simply want to learn a new language,” she says. Freelance ISL interpreters earn about Rs 1,000 per hour for live shows.</p>.<p>Despite the challenges, all three say it is rewarding to watch watch the deaf audience feel the music, and dance with joy.</p>
<p>Rangoli Metro Art Centre on M G Road recently hosted a rap concert exclusively for 70 deaf and hard-of-hearing attendees. Eight volunteers interpreted the lyrics and rhythms of three rap artistes in Indian Sign Language (ISL). Two additional speakers and subwoofers allowed the audience to feel the music through vibrations, while lights were synced to the beat.</p>.<p>For Hemanth, 27, and Balaji, 28, the evening was unforgettable. In written responses to <em>Metrolife</em>, the IT professionals said they danced, felt goosebumps, and connected with lyrics like never before. Music, they said, had long felt out of reach, largely because their family or friends could not interpret it fully or meaningfully.<br>They praised the interpreters’ work. Two non-deaf interpreters sat among the audience and signed the songs, while six deaf interpreters watched them on stage, reinterpreted the content with greater depth, emotion, and context, and signed it back to the audience.</p>.<p>Parmeet, a student, has been to interpreted concerts before, but this was his first time alongside so many deaf attendees. The 21-year-old loves “music with a strong beat and high volume” and enjoys all genres.</p>.How to work towards achieving your resolutions.<p>The three-hour concert, called Deafcon, was organised by The Inclusion Movement. Its second edition is scheduled for February. The NGO’s cofounder, Vishnu Soman, credits Coldplay's concerts, the Indian Premier League, and Bollywood films such as '83' and 'Sitaare Zameen Par' for bringing sign language interpretation into the mainstream in India. Yet, he says, the entertainment industry still needs to offer a lot more opportunities to the deaf. “Young deaf people in India are more independent than previous generations. They earn well. They are venturing beyond IT jobs. They are becoming photographers and dancers. They are highly social online. But in the real world, they still lack cultural experiences that are accessible," he says.</p>.<p>Soman adds that rap was chosen deliberately over film music because its inherent philosophy of resistance resonates with the deaf community.</p>.<p><strong>City scene</strong></p>.<p>Interpreters became more visible in Bengaluru’s cultural scene last year. The year-end music festival Echoes of Earth engaged a professional ISL interpreter for American artiste Madame Gandhi’s performance. The connection was facilitated by a deaf psychology student who was supporting the festival’s accessibility efforts.</p>.<p>Interpreters also signed a Hindi band’s performance at the recently concluded India Inclusion Summit.<br>Live interpretation was also provided for 'Talk To Me', a devised production by Anuja Ghosalkar that paired a deaf performer with non-deaf artistes, to explore how we connect beyond words. The Museum of Art and Photography, Kasturba Road, regularly collaborates with facilitators to provide ISL interpretation for public programmes.</p>.<p>The Indian Music Experience museum in J P Nagar hired interpreters for a conference and select discussions last year and hopes to expand this accessibility to their cultural programming as well. However, this will require trials, says community programmes manager Lakshmi R, acknowledging that the concept is still nascent in India, and they need to ensure a competent experience.</p>.<p><strong>Demand, but interpreter crunch</strong></p>.<p>Priyanka Kalyan, sign language coordinator at Bengaluru’s Dr S R Chandrasekhar Institute of Speech and Hearing, says interpreters are far more in demand for conferences, job fairs, and job interviews and orientation programmes at corporate companies, than for cultural shows, although the demand for the latter is slowly growing. Prarthana Prateek Kaul, cofounder of GiftAbled, says her NGO did receive requests for interpreters for a music show in 2025, but they were deployed at a job fair instead during the period.</p>.<p>Deaf activist Alim Chandani points out that while India’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act mandates inclusion, large concerts and comedy tours remain largely inaccessible. He explains: “In India, accessibility decisions are often left to the artiste rather than the organiser, which is unusual. In the US where I have lived for over 20 years, accessibility is standard at major concerts, including Beyonce's, under disability law. Here, many organisers are still unaware of their legal obligations." Chandani is the mission leader at Hear A Million, an EnAble India initiative for the deaf community.</p>.<p>Concerts longer than two hours require at least four interpreters to ensure accuracy and interpreter well-being, he adds. According to him, India currently has fewer than 1,000 RCI-certified ISL interpreters. However, Soman and Prarthana say that it is generally acceptable for CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults) to interpret live shows, even without certification.</p>.<p><strong>Different skill</strong></p>.<p>Interpreting for cultural performances differs vastly from everyday conversation. Chandani trains interpreters in advance and rehearses with artistes to align expression, emotion, and movement. The work involves conceptual translation instead of literal translation, and draws on rhythm, emotion, and cultural context.<br>“Ideally, song lists and lyrics should be shared in advance, but we often receive them late, sometimes only on the day of the event, which limits preparation,” he says.</p>.<p>Bengaluru-based interpreters J D Santhosh, Nida Fatima A Bhavnagary, and Shivam Vadhera echo this, describing how going on stage unprepared can sometimes lead to misinterpretation, delays, and a sense of guilt about letting the deaf community down. Poor audio systems and unfamiliar languages make the impromptu task even harder.</p>.<p><strong>Interpreter’s craft</strong></p>.<p>At 22, Shivam Vadhera is a full-time interpreter. Introduced to the field by a school teacher, he says he has interpreted expert talks, shayaris, and music and theatrical performances. “With songs, you move more, you almost dance,” he says, emphasising that the exercise is different from signing everyday "point-to-point" conversations.</p>.<p>J D Santhosh, 23, is a research associate and a CODA, born to deaf parents. He began interpreting at a warehouse for deaf workers. Today, live signing brings out the “artiste” in him. “It’s like singing, but with signs. I can express better through signing, than words,” he says. Recalling a memorable gig last year, he describes interpreting for two women artistes who were singing in multiple languages and playing more than 10 instruments. He received the lyrics just an hour before the show. “I could interpret Hindi, Kannada, and English, but not Arabic, Russian, and Malayalam. The song was about feminism, suffering, and sacrifice. I had a bad headache that day, but their music and the joy of interpretation filled me with energy,” he says.</p>.<p>Nida Fatima A Bhavnagary, 27, calls sign language interpretation a huge responsibility, one that they must do with "honesty". “Whatever we sign becomes the song for the deaf audience. If everything else works but interpretation fails, the show is a flop for them,” she says. She recalls struggling through a part of a metaphor-heavy romantic song at an open mic. She briefly paused before continuing with her own interpretation. "The real meaning became clear to me only towards the end and I tried to weave it in," she says.</p>.<p><strong>Where to train</strong></p>.<p>RCI-approved two-year diploma courses are offered in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Indore. To upskill certified interpreters, EnAble India launched the ISL Interpreting Fellowship in Bengaluru last year, focusing on receptive and expressive interpreting, accuracy, and ethical practices.</p>.<p>Karnataka does not yet offer an RCI certification course, but Bengaluru's Dr S R Chandrasekhar Institute is exploring the idea, says Priyanka. Currently, it runs three-month sign language learning modules across three levels, priced at Rs 10,000 each. “Participants range from friends of deaf people and special educators to NGO volunteers and those who simply want to learn a new language,” she says. Freelance ISL interpreters earn about Rs 1,000 per hour for live shows.</p>.<p>Despite the challenges, all three say it is rewarding to watch watch the deaf audience feel the music, and dance with joy.</p>