Visually impaired students put together an ‘unseen’ performance

“People think blind people cannot see, so they can’t do much. But we want to send across the message that we can do anything!” said Diksha, one of the performing students. “Many of them don’t even know what we can do, because we are simply not allowed or encouraged to,” added Sakshi.

“We have been having co-curriculars for our students for some time now, but most of them have been within the institute. Some participating students have partial vision and some have none. I want them to also create their own space outside of the institute’s walls and that is how the idea of a flash mob came to me,” said their teacher Mamta Khandekar who put together the idea.

“We want to be treated as any other person and not as ‘different’ all the time,” said 21-year-old Shivdatta, who lost vision after high school. “Instead of having sympathy for us, people should encourage us to explore new avenues and develop opportunities for us,” said the student whose future plans involve sitting for his class 12 exams which he had to skip due to vision-related medical procedures.

The preparation itself has been a journey of growth for all involved. Khandekar said, “When I proposed the idea, many students were hesitant, shy and inhibited. Some said that people would look at us and laugh. But after two weeks of consistent encouragement and practice, even non-participating students are thrilled about the event.”

For choreographer and Miss Pune 2023, Chetana Gawali, this experience has been like no other. “We had to listen to the songs at least seven to ten times so that everyone knew the beats and rhythms by heart because the cues for dance steps need to come from music and not visuals,” she explained.

“To teach dance steps, I would hold their hands and lead them. Or, they would touch my arms, shoulders and waist in order to sense how the body has to move. We built an immense level of comfort with each other in the process, and the students themselves are so much more open now.”

That comfort and confidence is visible in their final dress rehearsal as the students, wearing t-shirts that say ‘We Are Able’ dance joyously to the rousing and catchy number ‘Jai Ho’, skipping no beats, their bodies in perfect unison.