Ahmedabad: Exiled from the world of light and colour, and looked down upon by general society, the blind people of our country went begging from door to door, singing doleful songs in medieval India. On the other hand, a revolutionary change had taken place in Europe in the world of education of the blind. Louis Braille of France, himself blind, invented a tactile code for reading and writing of the sightless, which came to be named after him.
In this background, Blind People's Association (BPA) was established on December 5, 1946 by a handful of educated and conscious blind youth under the presidency of the late Nagendranath Sengupta, professor of Bangabasi College, to promote self-confidence and self-dependence among their fellow brothers and sisters. The association is the only one of its kind in India since it is an organisation completely of, for, and by the blind. The BPA on Monday organised its annual function at Town Hall, to celebrate the talents of the differently abled. More than 500 students, teachers and staff of the BPA were present at the event, which was held in honour of the 'All India Flag Day for the Blind', celebrated on September 14th every year. Upendrabhai Shah of Shah Investors Home Ltd was the chief guest. Blind and disabled students and trainees from the BPA schools, workshops, vocational training and day care centres presented dances, songs and fashion shows at the programme. "The BPA has been organising such activities for years. Our students can dance, sing, draw and do almost every thing that you and I can do," said Bhushan Punani, director, BPA (Ahmedabad). The programme also included events like folk and western dance, mimicry, raas garba, skits and a puppet show with children showcasing their own unique talents. "We have many students who cannot listen to music, but can feel the vibrations and that itself makes them very happy," said Nandini Raval, project coordinator. The BPA is striving to increase the frequency of activities to provide the children with a healthy yet competitive environment to work and enjoy. "The BPA's success bears testimony to the fact that a noble goal can be achieved with small means if the workers are motivated with selfless dedication and genuine love for the cause,"said Shelly Bapna, an official at the BPA. Source: DNA India Information transmitted by this e-mail is proprietary to MphasiS, its associated companies and/ or its customers and is intended for use only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient or it appears that this mail has been forwarded to you without proper authority, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this information in any manner is strictly prohibited. In such cases, please notify us immediately at [email protected] and delete this mail from your records. To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
