Yoddhas - The Warriors - Lets Talk

Ability in Diversity 

Blessed with different characteristics, but not any different from YOU.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “disabled”? What kind of people would fit in your definition? To the unaware, a disabled person is someone who has physical or mental limitations when it comes to certain kinds of activities. Every person in the human race has certain limitations but for most of us it is negligible.

I was one among the unaware until I visited a place called “Dialogue in the Dark”. 

Experiencing the life of a visually challenged person is not just about taking a few steps in a dark room or being blindfolded for a while. As the name 'Dialogue in the Dark' suggests, we were taken into a pitch black room and were asked to complete certain activities only using senses such as the ears, nose, tongue and skin. The men who guided us in the dark room were affable and helped us stimulate our senses to perceive what was in the dark. Imagine our shock when we learnt that the men who were leading us and helping us complete our activities were all visually challenged! With their help, the tasks seemed easy and our experience in the dark room was exciting rather than terrifying or depressing. 

It would have been difficult to figure out how to perform those tasks without their guidance. Before we knew that our helpers were visually impaired themselves, we were having a good time performing our tasks with their help and were beginning to feel hints of sympathy for the visually challenged.

Had I known the truth before I entered the room, would my experience be any different? Certainly yes! 

Firstly, I wouldn’t have trusted the man leading me in a dark room knowing that he is visually challenged. The irony is that in reality we wouldn't have been able to confidently move one step in the dark without assistance. I was dumbfounded by their unparalleled ability to hear the slightest thud and sense our movements even  if someone fell out of line as though they are wearing night vision goggles.

Secondly, our bond would have developed differently. I would have automatically pitied them before realizing their capability. 

This got me thinking about our so-called differences. Why do I even feel pity for these guys? It was a slap in the face when I realised that they are no different from us except for the fact that they cannot perceive light and they cannot see colours but they use combination of other stimuli to visualize things.

It is not god’s gift or special superpowers lying within a visually challenged person to develop their other senses. These are the acquired skills by disabled people. Science teaches us that there are five senses which are distributed along different parts of the brain for every human being. The sense of sight is located at the base of the brain and once it gets impaired, more blood flows through other parts of the brain and hence it gets sharper. So they make most of the nerves which sense sound, touch and smell. These nerves reach a heightened state when you use them more often.

The only difference between you and an impaired person is that they have sharpened their other skills and you have not yet. The problem with them is not what they cannot do. The problem in fact, is that we see them differently and make it difficult for them to fit in.

A wise man once said “the social issue must not be focused on collecting the funds to empower them or spread awareness on their disability but it must be focused on the ability of 

the society to perceive them as our equal and support them to fit in our society.”

Very true!

Thanks for reading and please keep visiting our blog to 

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Praise the Yoddhas; Support the Yoddhas ; Love the 

Yoddhas!

Cheers!

Author - Pranati Guda

Yoddhas Ambassador at Yoddhas - Indians Fighting Against 

Cancer