Dialogue in the dark
When my nephew said that he was going to take my husband and me to a restaurant where the dining experience would be in a totally dark room, we reacted with scepticism at the weirdness of the theme.
It was only when we went there that we realised it was not one of those crazy-themed restaurants. It was dining for a cause.
Conceptualised by Dr Andreas Heinecke in 1988 as an event to create awareness on disability and diversity, ‘Dialogue in the Dark’ today is an international network that not only works to increase tolerance for ‘otherness’ but also to provide employment for the visually impaired.
Still not sure of what to expect, we nevertheless deposited, as per the requirement, our watches, mobile phones and bags in a locker and stood, as instructed, one behind the other with our right hand on the shoulder of the one in front of us. We were also given the typical white probing canes which we held in our left hand.
Thus readied, we entered an enclosure that was pitch dark. Our guide, who was waiting for us inside, extended a firm and loving hand, welcoming us to her world. In that hour and a half, the idiom ‘the blind leading the blind’ had a totally new and beautiful connotation.
What we ‘saw’ in that darkened gallery was something we-with-the-sight hardly notice in our daily life. We ‘saw’ sound, taste, smell and feel. We ‘saw’ trust, love, laughter and caring. We ‘saw’ that the differently-abled did not require sympathy, that they had abilities we lacked, that they were as capable of normalcy as we were.
We ‘saw’ fear and vulnerability pacified by someone deemed incapable of strength.
We ‘saw’ with eyes not blinded by ego and prejudice.
We ‘saw’ life as it should be.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Nov 10, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/04ec33e0-8873-40b9-91d1-f978023367fa.aspx
#IamNotAshamed #TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #DialogueInTheDark #disabilityawareness #disabilities
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
It was only when we went there that we realised it was not one of those crazy-themed restaurants. It was dining for a cause.
Conceptualised by Dr Andreas Heinecke in 1988 as an event to create awareness on disability and diversity, ‘Dialogue in the Dark’ today is an international network that not only works to increase tolerance for ‘otherness’ but also to provide employment for the visually impaired.
Still not sure of what to expect, we nevertheless deposited, as per the requirement, our watches, mobile phones and bags in a locker and stood, as instructed, one behind the other with our right hand on the shoulder of the one in front of us. We were also given the typical white probing canes which we held in our left hand.
Thus readied, we entered an enclosure that was pitch dark. Our guide, who was waiting for us inside, extended a firm and loving hand, welcoming us to her world. In that hour and a half, the idiom ‘the blind leading the blind’ had a totally new and beautiful connotation.
What we ‘saw’ in that darkened gallery was something we-with-the-sight hardly notice in our daily life. We ‘saw’ sound, taste, smell and feel. We ‘saw’ trust, love, laughter and caring. We ‘saw’ that the differently-abled did not require sympathy, that they had abilities we lacked, that they were as capable of normalcy as we were.
We ‘saw’ fear and vulnerability pacified by someone deemed incapable of strength.
We ‘saw’ with eyes not blinded by ego and prejudice.
We ‘saw’ life as it should be.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Nov 10, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/04ec33e0-8873-40b9-91d1-f978023367fa.aspx
#IamNotAshamed #TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #DialogueInTheDark #disabilityawareness #disabilities
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
No comments have been added yet.
