Monday 4 January 2016

Article published in Symbiosis International University's news paper (Pune)



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
For more: visit –

No comments:

Post a Comment