“I have been organising a separate three-month photography course for the deaf. So far, we have had five students for the course since April. As we lack the fund and resources, we are keeping it limited to ensure quality. I have been conducting online events for them every week from April onwards. I am trying to understand how they are learning and formulating the events accordingly since their listening capacity is limited. We will come up with more inclusive events for the deaf once we regulate the concepts. On July 4, I conducted an online mobile photography course for the deaf in association with Hear a Million organisation to create more awareness about photography. I feel online videos are not accessible for the deaf since subtitles are limited. Apart from that, there are very few videos available in sign language. I want to bring the difference to the deaf community and make the content more accessible,” starts Srivatsan Sankaran.

For the July 4 online workshop, a sign language interpreter helped Srivatsan in translating the technical content into signs. “The more I fragmented the content, they could understand the classes better. A small assignment was given during the online workshop to know the depth of their knowledge. It wasn’t bad but they need more accessibilities. I am sure they could do better if they have better accessibilities. More than forty hearing-impaired individuals have attended the workshop. It was difficult to manage over zoom since so many people were having doubts. It was amazing to see their never-ending enthusiasm. We gave 5 min time to complete the assignment and the results were mind-blowing. Their concentration power is high when they get a chance to understand the concept. I would love to host more such workshops for them.”

Srivatsan has formulated separate workshops for the hearing impaired and it’s helping to curate the content for inclusive workshops. “I would suggest separate courses for the abled and differently-abled – because, for the latter, you need to have a different method of teaching and a more practical approach. This way, more people will get a chance to learn and it helps to reduce the gap between abled and deaf communities. Inclusive workshops can be done in certain ways, especially, photo walks as it has more practical understandings. Deaf individuals’ way of learning is different - so theoretical classes would be difficult for them as their listening capacity is very challenging. We usually make them understand theoretical knowledge through examples and abstract content which may not be available in inclusive workshops. I am researching about it and my experiences are helping to formulate better inclusive workshops for them. There is a lot of scope for it,” remarks Srivatsan.

Much to his surprise, he received a request from a Lahore-based popular institute to understand the course syllabus and training methods. “I am still working on a course guide to making it accessible for everyone. I feel it’s important to get networks from various institutes to help each other. I am looking forward to bring a difference in the community.”

Doctor and disability rights activist Dr Aiswarya Rao tells us that inclusivity should be there everywhere – right from education to professional opportunities. “I think it is the need of the hour – differently-abled people, especially, speech and hearing impaired individuals should be given a chance to participate in online workshops. We need to explore their talents and support them,” says Dr Aiswarya Rao.