City Pulse

“What will you gift a visually-impaired person,” asks Prarthana Prateek Kaul. Put in a spot, one grapples for an answer, ending up with the most obvious, “a braille book.” She chuckles and persists,“Anything else?” With no answer forthcoming, Prarthana adds, “This ignorance is what we are fighting against.” 

This 36-year-old belongs to that rare breed of citizens who do not believe in preserving the status quo, instead strives to make a strong and discerning difference. She is the brain behind GiftAbled, a unique venture that not only provides a wide range of gifting options for the differently-abled, but also markets products made by them, giving the latter a wider audience.

For the specially-abled:

The genesis of the idea can be traced back to an event attended by Prarthana and her husband, Prateek Kaul. “It was an event held for the visually-impaired, and we had no idea what to buy for gifts. That’s when we realized something had to be done to close this glaring gap,” says the Koramanagala resident.

GiftAbled comprises products that are created keeping the specially-abled in mind. “We have varied products; from chessboards to braille cards. Our chessboards are specially designed for visually impaired. We also have Braille greeting cards, Braille Slates and Stylus, canes, games and drawing boards, word blocks. Tactile books and boxes that will enable one to understand the shapes of various animals, and things, are also available," she adds.

Formed in December 2013, GiftAbled started its journey through events. Having archery events for the visually-impaired, introductory classes into braille and sign language, and opening a deaf club, among others, marked their calendars.  

Till date, GiftAbled has reached out to 1,222 beneficiaries, and has 545 volunteers. 

By the specially abled:

GiftAbled also uses their platform to display products created by the specially-abled. “Last year we started an event called Art Abled, a five day sale, through which we marketed products made by the differently-abled. We had an amazing turnout. The sale saw a mix of products; from candles, jute bags, paper bags, terracotta earrings, handmade napkins, to fridge magnets," she says.

These products, according to her, carry a deeper meaning within them. Citing an example, Prarthana says, “At the event I came across a beautiful painting by Jyothi, a hearing-impaired painter. The painting had a number of musical instruments, along with a door and an ear. I asked her what the inspiration behind her drawing was. She said that unlike me, she could never hear music, and thus, that door will always be shut.” “That made me quite emotional,” Prarthana, who is well-versed in Braille and sign language, adds.

The sale was peppered with similar narratives, and Prarthana and her team decided to market these items and help the artists with the profits. “We market these products through our store, our Facebook page, or at events such as Art Abled. We also make sure that the profits find their way back to the pockets of the deserving artists," she says.   

Tear down the labels:

Inclusivity cannot exist without proper awareness, and Prarthana along with her team are ensuring that the right kind of information is articulated. Pointing out to the hypocrisy inherent in the labels that are given to the disabled, Parthana adds,“In one of the events someone pointed out that the terms given to them constantly keep changing. “Specially-able”, “Differently-abled”, all these terms only increase the gap between the “normal” and us. In jest, I asked them to come up with a term for “normal”. They chose ‘TAB’, an abbreviation for Temporarily Abled Body,” she adds, laughing!

“It is, after all, the truth. I am fine now; I can be walking down the street the next minute and get hit by a truck. Won’t those labels then apply to me as well? Labels need to go,” she states.

But aren’t labels sometimes vital to communicate the needs of a person and describe their situations? How can a complete ban on labels be justified? “The best solution would be to ask them how they would like to be referred to.  Before the initiation of our club for the hearing-impaired, we asked the beneficiaries for a name. They told us not to complicate matters, and simply call it “Deaf Club”. However, when we were holding an event for the visually-impaired, we were told to name our event ‘The Vision’, as the term gave them hope. Different strokes for different folks!,” says Prarthana who previously worked with IBM before quitting the comfort of the corporate world for the rigors of the social sector.

Towards a more integrated society:       

GiftAbled’s future plans include going completely e-commerce. “The challenges include creating awareness about our site. People are aware of big players like Flipkart, Amazon, and others. Our primary concern is how to drive traffic to our site,” she says.

The organization also wants to create more awareness about creating infrastructure that is accessible to the specially-abled. “Just putting a ramp in a building is not enough. How will a visually-impaired person know which restroom to use? Or, how will a wheel-chair bound person reach the switchboard. These infrastructural challenges also have to be met” she says.

“We and our 545 volunteers have only one goal; a more specially-abled friendly society,” says this change-maker. 

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