“I come from Vada village, two hours from Palanpur. My father is a farmer, and I’m the eldest of six siblings,” Vishnu shares. “When I was a baby, I was sitting in my grandmother’s lap when my eyes suddenly turned white. The doctors said a nerve was damaged.”

Till Class 4, Vishnu had partial vision. After that, he became fully blind. His parents spent scarce resources seeking treatment, travelling from one clinic to another. When nothing helped, Vishnu asked them to stop. “I said, ‘I’ll live life as a visually impaired person — and I’ll make the best of it.”

For someone who cannot rely on sight, most public spaces speak a language they cannot access. Signboards depend on vision, elevators move without tactile cues, and platforms, counters, and corridors offer no wayfinding support. In crowded, fast-moving Indian cities, this turns everyday movement into a constant search for help.

The absence of Braille doesn’t just reduce convenience; it takes away independence. Without tactile signage, a railway station becomes intimidating, a hospital confusing, and a government office overwhelming. What should be routine spaces instead demand reliance, guesswork, and repeated assistance.

Braille changes this. It allows blind and low-vision people to read their surroundings, navigate confidently, and make choices........

© The Better India