Ananya Barua & Arundhati Sarkar
‘A flight of life’, as Radio Udaan calls itself, is a unique community- based
radio station, which provides both its
listeners and RJs an opportunity to be
inspired and empowered. The Journalism
students at SIMC were allowed an insight
into the same, when RJ Danish Mahajan, one of the creators of Udaan, agreed to be
interviewed by the former via Skype. Talking about his childhood and how he lost his eyesight in 2002 at age 14, RJ Danish expressed, “I had no idea, at all, that even a blind man could
study remote village.
It was only later that I went to study
in a school in Ludhiana. There however,
I realized there are many challenges
faced by the visually impaired people. I
observed that while media covered all
other issues, matters related to
disabled people were being ignored”.
Now, an inspiration to thousands, he constitutes a valuable part of Radio Udaan while also working at a state government office in Pathankot. Born out of
the desire to communicate and reach out
to the visually impaired, Udaan brings together “geographically isolated” individuals to form an inclusive world which is devoid of stereotypes.
as I came from a
He explains how Udaan took off through the Internet, becoming a one of a kind, special interest radio station. “This was going to be a radio for the blind, by the blind, through which the community would reach out to others as well”, said an article commemorating the Udaan’s six-month anniversary. With ‘Braille
Day’approaching on January 4, RJ Danish
says Udaan is, “going to have a special
transmission where listeners can join us
and share their views. We will discuss the Braille system and how it benefits the blind. Apart from this, we will also air a movie on Louis Braille on that day, which is made by our fellow organization which is working for the blind community. This of course, after taking their permission. All our team members and RJs will make the people around them aware of Braille”.
In conclusion, RJ Danish was particularly careful in clarifying the misconception shrouding the idea of Braille: “Everyone thinks that braille is a language but I would like to dispel this thing that Braille is not a language but a script.”
Photo: Financial Express Janet Louise Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System The official logo of Radio
Udaan I realized there are many challenges
faced by the visually impaired people. Matters related to disabled people were being ignored.
-RJ Danish Mahajan,
Radio Udaan
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