The braille new world
It wouldn't be nice if you were blind. It wouldn't be at all nice if you were blind
and had absolutely no ray of light -- nor hope of any -- entering your world.
Which is how it has been for most of India's blind population uptil now.
So what is new?
Nothing great, for us lucky billions. But for the sightless millions, this -- Samarth Chetna, a braille Hindi weekly -- is great news.
The magazine, aimed at bringing the visually impaired and other handicapped
into the mainstream, has already commenced publication in both
braille and ink.
"Chetna will create a better understanding about the
handicapped," said Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy, "besides helping in
the cause of literacy of both
handicapped and normal persons."
The magazine is the world's first publication which
caters simultaneously to both the normal and visually impaired, claimed editor Chaman Prakash Sharma. Nearly 40 per cent of Chetna will be devoted to the handicapped; the rest would deal with current topics.
For the country's sightless, the magazine holds out a promise --
of the beginning of a braille news revolution.
Everything now depends on how Chetna performs.
UNI
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