Indian Deaf Life

Best Outstanding National Award Winner

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:57:38 PDT

G.Prabhakar born handicapped (a deaf mute) is a native of Mangalore. He is a creative and talented artist. He is the recipient of National Award for Best Outstanding Disabled Employee in 2006, the State Award for Best Employee by Tamil Nadu State Government in 2004 and the Vocational Excellence Award from the Rotary Club of Chennai Gemini. G.Prabhakar had graduated from Government School of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1961. He secured a First Class Diploma in both Applied Arts and Paintings and received a Gold Medal for the Best Outstanding student in the year 1958. He also is a graduate from Brooklyn Museum Art School, New York and has to his credit a Diploma from Moscow, USSR. He had attended the Art Club in New York Society for the Deaf under Dr.Rawley Silver in 1967.

Artist G.Prabhakar had conducted one man shows in Madras in 1963, New York in 1977, Hotel Chola Sherton in 1992 and six times at LKA Greams Road in 1983, 1994, 1999, 2000 2004 and in 2009. He had participated in the International Poster Competition for Peace and Humanity against Nuclear War in the year 1985 and in the Mahatma Gandhi Birthday Centenary Exhibition in the years 1988, 1990, 2003, 2004 and 2005. He also took part in the Hindustan Annual Cartoon Contest and secured the Second, Third and Consolation prizes in 1988, 1989, 1993, 1996, 1997 and in 1999.

G.Prabhakar has many awards to his credit. He was awarded first prize in Calligraphy contest in Bible Verse Indian Christian Art Association in the year 1988 and he secured second prize in a Poster Competition on Central Pollution Control in July 1991.

G.Prabhakar was awarded Special prize for the outstanding artist by Very Special Indian Art, New Delhi in 1995, 1997 and 1998. He was also awarded first prize in an International Poster Contest in the year 1997 and a certificate if Merit at the All India Poster Competition on AIDS Prevention in the year 1994. G.Prabhakar is the recipient of All India Iokmanya Tilak Art Exhibition held at Pune in the year 2005. He worked as a Professional Illustrator at M/s RK Swamy/ BBDO Advertising Ltd in Chennai from 1979 till 1999 and retired. G.Prabhakar told Chennai Plus that he works as a self employed co-ordinator for Visual Arts of the Deaf for cultures, art exhibitions and cultures fro the hearing impaired persona of all ages. G.Prabhakar resides at No-21/ 12, Dr. Nair Road, T.Nagar, Chennai-17. He can be contacted on 9840216942.

2 hearing impaired from Kovai join BTech

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:04:05 PDT

COIMBATORE: They came, they saw, they passed. This refers to two speech and hearing impaired students from Coimbatore Corportion High School for Deaf, who cleared the SSLC public exam to take up engineering course.

Interestingly, the duo - Pandi Murugan, a native of Karaikudi and Naga Devaraj of Coimbatore - have applied for the 6-year Integrated B.Tech course offered by Kalasalingam University in Virudhunagar district this academic year. Repeating its success story, the Coimbatore Corporation High School for Deaf had churned out four students who are now pursing their engineering course at Kalasalingam University under the Speech and Hearing Impaired Persons (SHIP) programme.

Imagine how difficult to impart teaching to speech and hearing impaired persons. Teachers who have been trained specially for this purpose are doing yeomen service in teaching them using sign language and through lip movement.

Express spoke to Corporation High School for Deaf headmistress Tamilselvi, who said that Kalasalingam University offers free of cost the six-year Integrated B.Tech course to those speech and hearing impaired students who are school toppers. As such, Pandi Murugan, the school topper with 300/400 is to get admission while a service organisation has come forward to get a sponsor for Naga Devaraj who scored 296/400.

Thanks to the dedication of headmistress and special teachers of Coimbatore Corporation High School for Deaf who brought laurels to the institution by scoring cent per cent result in the SSLC public exam.

Thanks for publish The New Indian Express Team...

Palayamkottai lends an ear to hearing impaired

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:46:15 PDT

TIRUNELVELI: The proposal to start a college for the deaf in Palayamkottai would be raising hopes of deaf students in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, as it would pave way for better livelihood and employment opportunities.

If the proposal comes through, Palayamkottai would be the second place in Tamil Nadu to have a college for deaf after Chennai.The Florence Swainson Higher Secondary School for the deaf at Palayamkottai has moved the proposal to start a college for the deaf in Palayamkottai. A proposal would be forwarded to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University for approval.Once granted permission, three courses would be offered initially — BCom, BCA and BA (History or Economics). Since a new building is available on the school premises, it would be utilised for the college. No fee will be collected from the deaf students.Sources in the school said, “The plan to start a college came as students who complete their schooling here have to go to Chennai for higher studies.Studying in Chennai is not possible for everyone. If the college starts here, deaf students in the southern districts would be benefited”.Dr M P Ravanan, speech therapist and audiologist at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, said, starting of the college in Palayamkottai would give employment for deaf students.“Apart from India, there is a great demand for deaf graduates in foreign countries.Hence, the college to be started in Palayamkottai will certainly be a boon for the deaf”, he noted.feedback@epmltd.com

Thanks for publish The New Indian Express Team...

Special courses for the hearing impaired at Presidency College in Chennai

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:58:13 PDT

Job-oriented: Hearing impaired students at Presidency College.
A pilot project by the State government ensured that an academic and a non-academic department came together for a pilot project to provide employment-oriented courses to the hearing impaired.

With the support of the Department of Social Welfare and the Department of College Education, Presidency College. Chennai, launched two undergraduate courses — B.Com. and Bachelor’s in Computer Application.

The funds for conducting the classes are allotted by the Commissioner for the Disabled under the Social Welfare Department and covers staff salary, purchase and maintenance of equipment such as computer and UPS.

The College Education department has been entrusted with designing the curriculum, conducting the examination, and selecting the faculty.

The students are provided scholarship by the Social Welfare Department that covers their hostel fee also.

On completing the course, the students can hope to get jobs such as data entry operators or as front office management staff, says B. Jothi Venkateswaran, head of the MCA department.
The programme, first of its kind experiment, is not without glitches.

While the college has been able to ensure that qualified teachers are posted for the B. Com. course, it has not been easy to find faculty for the BCA course. For the B.Com course, the college has been able to appoint two lecturers with M. Phil degree.
But the BCA course is taught by teachers who are paid wages only for the number of days they work.

“Many of them want to continue their postgraduation but the college does not have the teaching faculty,” says a senior college authority. Those that are teaching currently are doing so out of interest.

BCA faculty N. Vinoth has worked in a mainstream college but agreed to teach at Presidency College because he was more comfortable with the disabled students. Mr. Vinoth’s parents want him to take up a more lucrative job.

V. Radhika is an MCA graduate and a self-taught teacher for the hearing impaired. Her nephew’s disability inspired her to learn the sign language. “I used to help him do his homework. That has helped me to teach them.”
R. SUJATHA

Thanking for Publishes The Hindu News Paper....

The Golden Jubilee Celebration of Bro.Octavian

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:02:28 PDT

Selfless dedicated service for the visually & Hearing Challenged

Aug 23, 2008

St. Louis Institute for the Blind & Deaf, Adyar, Chennai, India

Spotlight on experimental design and tribal art

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:16:05 PDT

Creative range: Some of the works of differently-abled children on display at the WLC College in Chennai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: Vibrant collages, elegant pencil sketches and experimental dress designs produced by students of the St. Louis School for the Deaf, Adyar, and Clarke’s School for the Specially Abled Children, Mylapore, were on display at the WLC College in Alwarpet in Chennai on Sunday.

Collection

The exhibition marks a milestone indeed in the journey of two students towards putting together a meaningful design collection.

Titled ‘Thandavam’, Radhika Ganesh and Shwetha Raju, students of fashion designing, hope to bring out this set of apparel and accessories that would be inspired by all things Tamil in May.

They also would like to raise awareness of the abilities of the hearing and speech impaired by conducting workshops on design for special children, to help them benefit from their own knowledge.

Elements

On Saturday and Sunday, students from the two institutions played around with the elements of design, tribal art motifs and experimental designs.

Ms. Ganesh is eloquent with praise, “These children are very visually oriented and have a flair for art.”

The workshops would also give students a glimpse of a possible career option from Classes IX and above, Ms. Raju added.

At the college on Sunday evening, students with and without hearing aids were being instructed with signs from their teacher.

Paint-smudged fingers and excited faces hovered over brightly-coloured paintings.

“Since they cannot hear or talk, they are less likely to be distracted,” a student said, while two children behind her carried out an animated conversation in sign language.

The project has been sponsored by the college and space provided to conduct the event, on the premises.

“Creativity requires independence and we are glad to encourage it,” P. Kesavdass, WLC Centre Head, said.

A similar workshop was held previously for students of the St. Louis College for Deaf, Adyar.

Smile, sign language are warriors in this tourney

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:17:30 PDT

DEEP IN THOUGHT: Gopinath (left) thinking about his next move during the Chennai Open Chess Competition for the Hearing Impaired in Chennai

CHENNAI: G. Gopinath’s smile and sign language after his triumph in the Chennai Open Silent Chess Championship seemed to be loaded with meaning.

Yet only those who had the privilege to decipher his language of silence understood it and reacted accordingly.

His sign language read: “I am very happy.” Yet his body language conveyed some gloom at a remote part of his psyche.

The 34-year-old Gopinath started playing chess 13 years ago. He was able to enjoy school life only till class VI in the Clark school for the hearing impaired. Monetary constraints his parents faced made them put him in a mainstream school. He was unable to cope with the change and failed in class VIII. He dropped out of school.

The one-year fitter course at the Government Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped, Guindy, too could not fetch him his dream job with the Indian Railways as fitter. His answer in sign language to what he wanted to achieve in life was: “A job with the Railways.”

“While the visually impaired are given stipend by the government, the hearing impaired are not given stipend. So persons with hearing impairment who don’t have proper jobs suffer a lot,” says M.S.P. Kulandaisamy, a member of the Tamil Nadu Sports Council for the Deaf. The child who is unable to speak or hear will face a serious learning problem if not trained by special experts, he adds. “The future of that child will be at stake.”

V.R.Venkatesan, organising secretary of the Silence Brotherhood said, “The Chess Championship has increased the enthusiasm among the fraternity of the hearing impaired.”

Cricket match for hearing impaired

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:18:32 PDT

SPORTING SPIRIT: Actor Bosskey interacts with players at the inter-district cricket tournament for the hearing impaired organised in Chennai on Tuesday as interpreter Vijaya Bhaskaran of Ability Foundation translates it into sign language. — P hoto: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association for the Deaf organised their first inter-district cricket tournament for the hearing impaired here on Tuesday.

Teams from Kanyakumari, Cuddalore, Tiruvallur and Chennai gathered at the Anna University playground for the qualifying matches. The final match is scheduled for Thursday.

Inaugurating the tournament, actor and television personality Bosskey said that cricket was a sportsman's game, and that what mattered was how one played it and not what one was. "Don't get discouraged by the disability. See the positive aspects," he said.

As the actor spoke to them, Vijaya Bhaskaran of Ability Foundation translated it into sign language. Every time he cracked a joke, they applauded by waving their hands in the air. While some of the players were hearing impaired, a few were both hearing and speech impaired.

Secretary of the Association Barkat S. Saiyed said he had played for Gujarat earlier and that he had gained a lot of experience there. "I want to share it with the juniors," he said.

Captain of the Chennai team Raja said Sachin Tendulkar inspired him most. "He joined the team as a young lad and later grew to become the greatest cricketers in the history of the game," he said. Raja will represent India in the Asia Cup tournament to be organised in Delhi early next year.

P. Chandrasekar, who has been coaching the Chennai team for the last year, said a scientific way of coaching would help. "Many who usually play tennis ball cricket have come to play with the cricket ball. Coaching has to be consistent and not just before tournaments," he said.
Mr. Chandrasekar said that though he found communicating with the players challenging, he had eventually picked up a little bit of sign language and managed to impart basic skills to his students. "An interpreter is vital as there is a possibility of them misunderstanding what we say if we have not communicated the matter to them clear enough," he explained.

Different Strokes

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 05:34:06 PST

A couple of deft, firm strokes curve the prim line into generous, laughing lips. Two small specks of white paint were all that were needed to transform the black, lifeless orbs into a pair of twinkling, mischievous eyes. The whole illustration took just inside of five minutes. A loud whistle of appreciation escapes your lips. Yet, on looking up, you find that nothing, nothing at all, has registered in the anxious face which is watching you intently. It's only when you nod your head, gesture with your eyes and form a circle with your thumb and index finger that the mouth stretches into a slow, shy smile.

Sitting in a typically tiny middle class house in the suburbs of Madras, in front of a cluttered, well scrubbed table which must be put to a million other uses by the family when not serving as a perfectly functional drawing board, with a chipped porcelain tile as his palette, he looks like any other struggling young artist. Sita Ramachariyalu, who signs himself as Sita Ram. It's his hands of course that you notice first. Long, slender and tapering which, as the cliche goes, are archetypal artist's hands. They perform, besides, yet another important function: they speak. As must his eyes — penetrating and luminous and not suprisingly the most striking feature in the thin face capped by a shock of curls. Sita Ram, you see, is both deaf and dumb. From birth. Perhaps you are already familiar with his paintings without really being aware of it. You must have, at some time or the other, flipped through a copy of Chandamama, India's oldest children's magazine. Juggle your memory a bit do you remember being amused at the spectacle of Akbar losing his regal composure and breaking into a hearty, plebeian laugh at the antics of the wily Birbal. Or may be it was one of those quaint short stories featuring animals which held your attention —the supercilious donkey, its nose (oh yes!) in the air, haughtily walking past the other animals. All these pictures have one thing in common — they bear the stamp of Sita Ram's excellence.

What makes Sita Ram so special? After all, there must be hundreds of other deaf and dumb artists who are as exceptionally gifted. Art, to Sita Ram, is not.merely a vehicle to convey his inner emotions, a platform to make a statement. It is a job like any other. Coming from an ordinary middle-class back ground, he has to work for a living. And as a magazine illustrator, he has to capture pictorially, as it were, the essence of the story.How does he do it? He takes home the manuscript along with the instructions of what he has to paint. Either his mother or his father reads the story and explains what exactly he is required to draw. The next day in the office, working on the guidelines provided by his parents, he completes his sketches.

There is a striking quality about all his works. The technique is bold and firm, and the lines are fluid and graceful. What really distinguishes him from other painters of his genre is his complete mastery over the brush. Even for the thinnest of outlines he never uses a pen. Only the brush, using it much like a sorcerer would a wand, conjuring pure magic. Says an artist with over twenty-five years experience, "Even after all these years, I cannot wield the brush so deftly. I've never seen him use a pen, even to define his outlines." Perceptive and alert to the inconspicuous mannerisms which so distinguish a person, he has the gift of unerringly catching the right expression to complement the mood of the story. Says a regular reader of Chandamama of yet another facet of his genius, "I adore his pictures of animals. Flawlessly proportionate even when they are cartoonish, and ...oh...so — cute!" Perfectly true. His pictures are just as they ought to be for children's books. Anthropomorphic, attributing humanised feelings to animals — a stupidly grinning donkey baring all its teeth, a disdainful pony, a cowering, cowardly puppy, a happy-go-lucky cuddly bear.Yet it cannot be all that easy. There are times when the illustration is not perfect. It requires period costumes or another nationality. Says a colleague, "He makes clucking noises, as if annoyed with himself and smites his fist on his forehead." Of course he doesn't take much time to rectify his mistakes.

For all his precocity and prodigious talent, he is curiously uninformed. Even about the contemporary art scene. He has never heard of any art movement, and 'isms' to him are but fancy incomprehensible words. In fact, he has studied only upto Std.V. It is amazing that without any formal education or training he has developed his own techniques.

Born in thetown of Rajamundry in Andhra Pradesh, nearly twenty-five years ago, Sita Ram is the youngest of four children. While his elder brother is perfectly normal, Sita Ram and his two sisters were born deaf and dumb. Since the town didn't have an institution for the deaf and dumb, all three of them were forced to attend a normal school. It was, however, impossible to study beyond Std. V. It was providential that Sita Ram's grandfather took him under his wing. Named after him, it was perhaps decreed that he would inherit his talent and follow his footsteps. A diploma holder from the JJ School of Arts, Bombay, Sita Ramachariyalu Sr. returned to his native town to take over as the principal of the Damerla Rama Rao Memorial Arts School and Gallery, Rajamundry. Recognising the innate talent in his grandson as early as he was only three, he began training him. Teaching him all that one could tell a mere child about lines, light, shade and colour. Unfortunately even this education was cut short by the untimely death of his grandfather. Before he entered his teens and before his grandfather could impart the wisdom of his vast experience and explain the legacy of the great painters. Under the tutelage of his grandfather's students, he acquired a diploma of sorts.

For a few years he did whatever odd job that came his way — painting educational aids and charts for the classroom walls. A cousin on a visit form Madras, astounded by his talent and appalled that he was wasting it illustrating records for lazy university students, decided to take him in hand. Sita Ram found himself in Madras and in the offices of Chandamama.

Many doors opened, yes, but only to be shut quickly even before he put a foot inside. For a gauche, diffident boy from a hick town, one who was deaf and dumb as well, the teeming metropolis was bewildering. And for the first time in his life he was painfully aware of the consequences of his lack of education. On joining the association of the deaf and dumb, he realised that most of his counterparts were school finalists and that some could even talk! (contrary to popular belief the deaf are not really dumb. It's only because they cannot hear and therefore do not know what sound really is, they do not exercise their vocal chords. Through training they can talk). His father regrets didn't have that he the foresight to shift to a bigger city when they were young. After coming to Madras, they explored all avenues, but Sita Ram and his sisters were found too old to attend school. The training, a long difficult process, begins as early as in the second year of a child.

Today, determined as he is to acquire some kind of education, a teacher comes to teach him English. Though the teacher himself is satisfied with the steady progress he is making, Sita Ram is impatient and dissatisfied. To him his best is not simply good enough. He sees himself as a burden to his parents who must accompany him wherever he goes, if only to act the interpreter. And even for the simplest of jobs he requires guidance from his parents. He shakes his head mournfully as if to say, "Tell me, which twenty-five-year old has a father carrying his portfolio around and playing the nursemaid." Says his father woefully," His lack of education has even stunted his artistic potential. It's his immaturity which prevents him from being a greater painter. He has had no exposure to the artistic world. His imagination has suffered." It's only now after visiting a few book shops in the city that Ram has seen good art books.But they are so prohibitively expensive that he can do nothing more than glance through them and place them back on the shelves.

Shy and introverted, he keeps to himself. Both at home and at work. Perhaps he is afraid of being teased, such experiences being not too uncommon. Says his mother, "He is obsessed with his future. And convinced that he is a burden to us. The whole day he either paints or studies English."

It is only in the company of his deaf and dumb friends that you see a different Sita Ram. Happy, cheerful and totally at ease with himself. Where he is really himself. An avid cricketer, he is a handy bowler in his team. A movie buff, he is an ardent fan of the Bachchan. Among the stars of the Southern ti nsel-vil le, there is, he believes, none to touch Rajnikanth for action-packed masalas. But for emotional dramas he would go for Kamal Haasan any day. And not suprisingly, he revels in cartoons, above all. Marvelling at the exquisite animations of Walt Disney and others and learning something new from them each time.

The sea which is just a stone's throw from his house often beckons him. And, no, it's not the immense artistic possibilities of the foamy waves striking the sandy shores which draw him like a magnet. The vast expanse of the inky, fathomless ocean sets the mood for contemplation. Standing at the edge of the sea, with the waves lapping at his feet, he dreams of the day he will become truly independent, the day he will carry his portfolio, without his father having to play the nursemaid. That and become as good a painter as his grandfather.

Survey of people with disabilities from next month

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:27:27 PST

Social Welfare Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna presenting a national identification card and medical certificate to a student of Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary School for the Deaf in Chennai.

For the first time, an exclusive survey of people with disabilities will begin in the State next month and Rs.50 lakh has been sanctioned for the purpose.

“This will enable us to find out the exact number of people with disabilities since now we have only the 2001 census data to depend on,” said V.K. Jeyakodi, Commissioner for the Disabled.

Speaking at a function held to distribute medical certificates and national identification cards to the students of Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary School for the Deaf, an institution for the visually and hearing impaired, here on Thursday, he said that by the end of the current financial year, 4.6 lakh ID cards would be distributed. He said it was essential to identify children with disabilities as early as possible to facilitate treatment. The ID cards are given to people with a disability of 40 per cent or more.

Social Welfare Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna said that the previous scheme under which people with disabilities had to go to government hospitals and get themselves tested by a medical committee was cumbersome.

The new scheme, a “pilot project”, under which medical teams from every district visited schools, examined the children and issued ID cards would make it much easier for the beneficiaries. She said collective leadership was essential in such projects and audiologists, doctors, and government officials must work together for the scheme to be success.

he Minister and the Commissioner distributed medical certificates and ID cards to 43 hearing and 33 visually impaired students of Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary School for the Deaf.

The strength of the school is around 730 and the rest of the students have already received ID cards either during their visits to the hospital or at other distribution programmes, a school teacher said.

95 year old school at Mylapore

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:13:03 PST

The C.S.I High School for the Deaf at No-12, Santhome High Road, Mylapore, Chennai-4, was founded by the church of England Zenana Missionary Society (CEZMS) in the year 1912. It was called CEZMS school for the Deaf, Mylapore, Chennai. Subsequently on the 4th September 1956, the school was registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 as “Church of South India School for the Deaf, Mylapore, Chennai-4

An English missionary, Mrs.Florence Swainson started this school in 1912 in the face of much oppositions with only 7 children. It was a residential school. Over the years other buildings were put up. The present main classroom block was opened in 1962, the boy’s hostel in 1971 and the girls hostel in the year 1975. From the beginning oral method of education was used but English was the only medium of instruction. From 1947 Tamil was introduced but English still continues.

The school has been upgraded in 1985 and is now called as the C.S.I High School for the Deaf. At present there are 170 children and more than 50% reside in the school hostel.

The Church of South India Diocese of Madras under the board of higher education now runs the school. World Vision helps 2/3 of the school children because most of them come from very poor families.

The school as a government aided institution is recognized by the department of rehabilitation of the disabled under the social welfare department, Govt of Tamilnadu. All the deaf children starting from 3-5 years with no additional handicap are admitted and educated upto SSLC level. Normal curriculums as in normal schools are followed. Creative activities like art work, wood work and needle work are taught. Games are a part of the curriculum. There are at present 25 government aided teaching staff; all are fully qualified teacher of the deaf.

Mrs.Rebecca Doraipandian, the headmistress of the school is specially qualified in educating the hearing impaired. She is very interested in the all round development and improvement of the school and the pupils.

The C.S.I Higher Secondary School for the Deaf can be contacted on 24985675. The school HM Mrs.Rebecca can be contacted on 9840228182

Disabled find a platform

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 12:25:50 PST

There are a few artists who literally cannot speak or hear, but their art work can do.

The hearing and speech impaired persons has displayed their works of art at an exhibition Mr. V. Seetharamacharyulu with his sister Mrs. Rama Mani batik work exhibited at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Madras Association of the Deaf held at Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary School for the hearing impaired. V.Seetharamacharyulu is born with hearing and speech impaired. Enthusiam and motivation inculcated by his grandfather, he started painting. So, he continues to freelance for the famous children's magazines Chandamama, Dinamalar etc. He takes the painting works at his own world. His medium of expression is the art work. He waits for art work from the media/magazines thereby making self reliant. His contact address V.Seetharamacharyulu, L452, TNHB, 4th Main Road, Thiruvalluvar Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Pin: 600041. Phone: +91-(0)44-24451102.

Art for art's

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:44:41 PST

The disabled find a platform to express themselves

S Rama Mani with her brother V Seetaramachanjulu with their Batik work exhibited at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Madras Association of the Deaf held at Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary School for the Hearing Impaired in the city on Sunday

ART can speak, so can relationships. There are a few artists who literally cannot speak or hear, but art hasunited them. The hearing and speech impaired persons had displayed their works of art at an exhibition organised by the Madras Association of The Deaf in Chennai on Sunday.

They are not just artists, but entrepreneurs promoting their products along with their friends or siblings. For instance, Sekar, Raju and Sreenivasan who have been friends for more than 25 years now. All of them are hearing and speech impaired, but what has forged their friendship is their interest for Batik painting. They had met at a Batik class organised years ago for the disabled.

Sekar said (in sign language),"One thing was common. All of us wanted to do something and Batik brought us on the same platform." Though, all of them found different jobs, they continued their work in Batik prints.

Initially, there were problems to get started. According to Sekar, it was necessary to market the products and coinmunication was vital. Business started off with few thousands as investment in a small room.

"Hard work is important and that brought us customers. We were expressive in bur own way," said Sekar.

It was no different for the sisters-brother trio who were selling their paintings and dolls. S Rama Mani, Ranganayaki and their brother Seetaramachanjulu, were born hearing-andspeech impaired. Inspired by their grandfather, Ranganayaki and Seetaramachanjulu started painting, while Rama Mani made dolls.

Seetaramachanjulu was initially an illustrator for a famous children's magazine till he found a government job. "Even now I continue to freelance for the magazine. All of us want to work together. This is our own world and we have no regrets about our disability," he expressed.

There were also some individuals who were trying to be different even in their old age. Joseph John (72) is retired and wants to paint and exhibit his work. Like him, Prabhakar (65) said the world of painting was silent yet expressive like them.

Though different in many ways, all they wanted was a medium to express themselves and they discovered art.

Lend them your ears

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:02:54 PST

Issue Awareness and sensitivity can prevent the hearing impaired from feeling marginalised, writes Pankaja Srinivasan

Hearing impaired children Include them in the mainstream

“When my parents found that I was profoundly deaf without the ability to hear speech at age two-and-a-half, they consulted many doctors and educational experts. Their response was generally negative. My language and social skills appeared to be non-existent. I am told that whenever guests visited, I’d hide under the bed,” says Raja Srinivasan, a 37-year-old software engineer, currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science and also pursuing a law degree.

Raja was born before the advent of proven educational programmes and technological and legal support for the hearing impaired. But, because his parents adopted both teaching and parenting roles, he picked up lip-reading, literacy, and comprehension through daily interaction and teaching, ‘all day, every day’.

Related problems

As a disability, hearing impairment can be a double whammy. It could lead to speech impairment, language delay and may be, even diminish intellectual function, says speech/language pathologist and audiologist K. Narendiran, who, with his wife and special educator N. Yohavathi, runs KRISH (Kovai Rehabilitation and Information Services for the Handicapped).

“Many parents only wake up to the disability when their two to three-year-old child is not picking up speech. This is well past the critical period for speech and language development,” says Narendiran. Like Mohan Kumar’s mother Lakshmi who thought her son was just a ‘late speaker’, while, in fact, he had profound hearing loss. Nevertheless, he did well academically. He scored 435 out of 500 in school, and is now pursuing a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering. “But, he doesn’t mix freely with others of his age. How will he fare in placements with job opportunities?” worries his mother.

Raja who studied at Berkeley, in the U.S., remembers: “In college, the classrooms were huge, classmates varied and professors generally had less time to accommodate. I tried oral interpreters and note takers, and while these worked somewhat, these didn’t convey all the information I needed. Even for a hearing person, it can be a struggle to understand accents; imagine the challenge for a deaf person who has never understood speech before!” But, although the transition was hard, Raja says, “I learned independence and assertiveness, which served me well.”

M.N.G Mani, honorary president of the UDIS Forum (a network of parents, persons with disabilities, professionals and voluntary organisations that facilitates employment and empowerment of the disabled) says, “Disability should be treated as a developmental activity, not as charity. Everyone should be sensitised to disabilities.”

It is simple, says Dr Mani: Don’t neglect the hearing impaired in the group; get his attention before speaking clearly or using sign language. Use multi-sensory communication (hand language, smile, facial expression, vocal dialogue, eye expression). “In India, we have pro-active, comprehensive policies for persons with disabilities. But, they have to be implemented in letter and spirit. There should be more reach. Effective networking and parent-involvement are crucial. Most parents only look at the survivability of their hearing impaired children. Instead, they should draw their children into mainstream life, not make them objects of pity or charity, says Mani and adds, “The more you include the disabled in the mainstream, the less the disability impact”.

(December 3 is World Disability Day)

Villages of the Deaf in India

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:53:26 PST

Specially qualified in educating the hearing impaired

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:26:37 PST

Mrs.Rebecca Doraipandian, the headmistress of CSI Higher Secondary School for the Deaf, located at No-12, Santhome High Road, Mylapore, Chennai-4, is specially qualified in educating the hearing impaired. She has been serving the school for the deaf very sincerely for the past 36 years in raising the academic standards of the pupils and in participating and organizing all types of events and functions. She hails from a god fearing Christian family.

Mrs.Rebecca completed her school education at St.Antony Girls Higher Secondary School, Mandaveli in the year 1965. After her school education, she did her pre-university and degree course at the Women’s Christian College (WCC) Nungambakkam in the year 1969. Rebecca is a specialist in her field with a senior diploma in special training for the deaf. Before she joined as a teacher at the CSI High School for the Deaf she worked for one year as a teacher in Rosary Matriculation School during 1970-71. Rebecca became the headmistress of the school in the year 2001, and till today puts her best efforts for the growth and development of the CSI Higher Secondary School for the deaf, at Santhome High Road.

Rebecca had attended an overseas exposure course on the rehabilitation of the handicapped for two month at Japan in the year 1985. Rebecca is a popular teacher and a good friend to all. She helps the hearing impaired in church sermons, association meetings, personal interviews with employers, appointments with doctors, lawyers etc. She has also presented papers at seminars on hearing impaired and gives lectures to the teacher trainees of the hearing impaired and social workers.

Rebecca is the school hostel manager, project manager for world vision, Kodambakkam, management committee member of CSI Ewart Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Purasawalkam and also is an advisory committee member for the Adyar Women’s Police. Rebecca plays the piano and guitar. Gifted with a beautiful voice, she dedicated her musical talent from a young age in singing with the church choir. Her powerful soprano voice often vibrates in the prestigious St.George’s Cathedral, Chennai. Her other activities includes compering programmes and events at the Madras YMCA.

Speaking to Chennai Plus reporter, Rebecca said that the school correspondent, Joseph Devasahayam and Rt.Rev.Bishop V.Deasahayam, CSI Schools, Diocese of Madras are always very helpful to her and are interested in the all round development and improvement of the school.

Rebecca was presented with citation by the Lions Club for her meritorious and selfless service on the Golden Jubilee of India’s Independence. She also was awarded the Diocesan award for producing school centum result in the CSI School for the Deaf. She has a rich experience in teaching the special children and is cheerful by nature. She is also positive and ambitious in attitude. This makes her a good headmistress.

Rebecca told Chennai plus reporter that whenever she happens to meet a hearing impaired person, student, she gives a friendly simile. “It costs you nothing, give your love not sympathy,” she further added.

Mrs.Rebecca Doraipandian, the special educator of the hearing impaired and headmistress of CSI Higher Secondary School for the Deaf can be contacted on 9840228182 / 24985675

Service for the Physically handicapped by “Guild of Service”

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:18:25 PST

Mary Clubwala special school for the hearing impaired by Guild of Service at No.1775 D.School Road, Anna Nagar West, Chennai-101 was founded in 1979 and became a government aided school in 1983. To educate and re-habilitate the students who are from socially and economically disadvantaged, the school does not levy any charge but all expenses are met from donations collected from individuals and well-wishers.

A medical camp was conducted at the school on 26th July by Dr.Kumaravel, Dr.S.Murugasarathy, Dr.Elangovan, Dr.Thirunavukarasu. About 250 physically handicapped including hearing impaired, visually impaired were diagnosed and treated. They were issued with identity cards by the visiting doctors. The camp was organized by the correspondent of the school Mrs.Saraswathy Gopala Krishnan, Secretary Ranicol Joint Secretary Nirmala, Head Mistress Kamani and the staff of the school. The guest of the occasion was Mr.Joseph Xavier, district rehabilitation officer for the physically handicaped his assistant JRO. I.D. Ravi.The secretary while speaking to Chennai plus reporter said that the government grant and donations received are hardly enough to meet the expenses. The school compound wall and the building needs repair and they anticipate liberal donations from kindhearted well-wishers to meet the ends.

Waiting to be `heard'

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 10:09:38 PST

Madan Vasishta from the Gallaudet University is working on a common Indian Sign Language for the hearing impaired

FIGHTING FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED Madan Vasishta

When Madan Vasishta lectures his PG or PhD class at Gallaudet University, Washington DC, the students watch. He signs his lessons in American Sign Language to his mixed class of hearing and hearing impaired graduates. He sometimes calls two interpreters — one to voice what he says and the other to sign to him their questions. Vasishta has 120 db bilateral hearing loss and "cannot hear even jet planes."

Hailing from a village in Himachal Pradesh, he dropped out of school due to hearing loss in sixth grade. For the next nine years, he milked buffaloes, ploughed fields and studied his brother's books. He passed Higher Secondary as a private candidate, moved to Delhi, acquired a diploma from the Photography Institute for the Deaf and was soon signing pay slips as Scientific Photographer at the National Physical Laboratory. He also started a night school for the adult deaf with support from the All India Federation of the Deaf (AIFD). The federation asked him to escort a hearing impaired U.S. visitor, and "by the end of the second day she suggested I migrate to Gallaudet. I didn't know what it was but in 1967, I was in Gallaudet."
Equal access

"In India, people ridicule signers," he says in guttural speech. "In the U.S. there is equal access for the hearing impaired in all areas — education, travel and entertainment."

Fingers fly, feet stamp and hands signal fast and furious at Ability Foundation as Vasishta addresses a group of hearing-impaired invitees. "Empower yourself," he gesticulates. "Demand concessions in SMS rates and transport charges, study, compete, get good jobs and insist on being `heard'." He continues, "Don't bicker among yourselves and don't allow others to suppress you." Vasishta has been working for a common Indian Sign Language. Is there a deaf culture? "Yes. In the U.S., generations of hearing-impaired sometimes live as an ethnic minority. Funnily enough, I have close friends who consider themselves culturally deaf. At least I am not that." What would his wish list read like? "Pro-interpreters appointed for government offices, courts, police stations, political assemblies, wherever people gather for information. Phone relay services and compulsory TV/movie captioning. Higher Secondary students choosing to sign up for elective ISL courses. They can become interpreters and teachers for the hearing impaired." He asks for a paper and writes furiously. "The total absence of deaf teachers, people and interpreters at the National Conference of Teachers of Deaf in Chennai is a glaring example of the vassal status the hearing give to the hearing-impaired. The government should require that all NGOs and government agencies have interpreters at their meetings and qualified deaf people be members of advisory committees. This can be done by an amendment of the 1995 Act."
GEETA PADMANABHAN

School for deaf celebrates 80th annual day

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:27:20 PST

DANCING IN TANDEM: Students of the Little Flower Convent for the Deaf performing at their annual day programme on Monday.

CHENNAI : The 80th annual day celebrations of Little Flower Convent Higher Secondary School for the Deaf were held on Monday, with a variety programme by students.

Dr. Poongothai, Minister for Social Welfare, who commented on the performance of the disabled children saying "I am lost for words," noted that soon national identity cards would be issued for people with disabilities, after which children need not visit the Government Hospital for undergoing tedious audiology tests as the doctors themselves would be the visiting the schools.

The Government was planning to provide a subsidy for downtrodden children to get cochlear implantation surgery. She applauded the school management for helping the disabled children overcome their disabilities and assured the parents that their children were under safe hands.

Describing Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi as a brand ambassador for the disabled, she said the present government had undertaken a number of welfare measures for the disabled and referred to the setting up of a Special Commission for the Disabled as a case in point. Indira M. Kameshwaran, Executive Director and Correspondent, Speech and Hearing Institute, and industrialist Malaiappan participated.

National Association of Deaf

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:46:46 PST

seeks common sign language

At a meeting held in Chennai on Sunday, facial expressions said it all

NAD general secretary A.S. Narayanan addressing a State-level meeting in Chennai

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) wants a common sign language for use across the country. It should be recognised by the Constitution and made the medium of instruction, according to leaders of the Association.

At present, schools for the hearing impaired in the country follow their own sign language making it difficult for students of different institutions to interact with one another, Association president Aran Rao told The Hindu over telephone from Dehra-dun.

He was elaborating on the demands raised by the association at its meeting here on Sunday. "The students do not have a uniform language but the teachers are being trained to teach students. How is it possible? Sign languages are created by the deaf children," he explained.

He also wanted the Centre to set up six colleges in different regions. At present, there are only two colleges, one of them in Chennai.

At the meeting here, NAD members and organizations working with the hearing impaired in Tamil Nadu stressed the need for interpreters to be posted in government departments, hospitals, police stations and court rooms.

It was one of those meetings where facial expressions said it all. Many of them came with their children and spouses. For three hours, the members discussed their needs and ways to present their demands to the government.

NAD general secretary A.S. Narayanan said though organisations for the deaf were started in 1950, till date the country had only 550 schools and two colleges. "Only one per cent of the deaf go to school," he said, calling for captioning (giving sub-titles to) television programmes that are not telecast live.

This could be done by installing decoder chips in TV sets, he pointed out.

Ranjini Murugan, who runs the Deaf Adult Women's Needs Foundation here, called for speeding up the issue of identity cards by the office of Disability Commissioner.

A School for the Deaf

noreply@blogger.com (INDIAN DEAF LIFE) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:49:53 PST

Text by MALINI SESHADRI Photographs by USHA KRIS

Inspired by the Clarke School for the Deaf in Massachusetts, alumnus Leelavathy Patrick started a similar school in Chennai. Today, it not only helps to "mainstream" the deaf, but it also looks after mentally retarded children.

The theater lights dim; the curtain goes up. Children in colorful costumes swirl onto the stage. They dance in rhythm with the lilting music, obviously enjoying themselves. When the music stops, the children bow low with folded hands. The applause is deafening. But not for the performers. For all of them are deaf. They are students of the Clarke School for the Deaf in Chennai, and they have been patiently rehearsing for months under the skillful guidance of their teachers.

The troupe is called "Sadhana," which loosely translates as "endeavor." The children have performed with distinction in several parts of India, winning admiration for their talent and determination.

The story of the Chennai Clarke School is inextricably interwoven with the life of one woman, Leelavathy Patrick, who is currently its director.

Patrick comes from a family that has always valued social service. She was a teacher at a school for handicapped children in Chennai, when she won a Ful-bright scholarship to America in 1968 to pursue graduate studies in education at Smith College, Massachusetts. She went on to specialize in the education of the deaf, spending two years learning the very latest in the field at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Massachusetts.

Talking of her experiences there, Patrick says, "Though I had worked with handicapped children before, I knew nothing about specialized methods for teaching the deaf until I went to Clarke School. Apart from taking my master's degree in education with special emphasis on the handicapped, I learnt all about audiology and speech coordination. I also had the privilege of working with Dr. David Manning for three months, setting up an 'integrated preschool program' in which normal and deaf children study together. Manning is even now continuing to concentrate on 'mainstreaming' deaf children at Clarke School."

Clarke School, Massachusetts, is now more than 100 years old. It recently celebrated the centenary of its first teacher-training program. It is named after a rich merchant who had a deaf child, and donated a generous sum toward setting up a specialist teaching and rehabilitation center for the deaf. The name of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, figures in the list of past faculty members. Today this school is an internationally recognized resource center for teaching the deaf.

Returning to India, Patrick was fired with the idea of establishing a school for the deaf in Chennai, named after her U.S. alma mater, and run along the same principles. Clarke School for the Deaf, Chennai, was born in 1970, in a tiny rented house, with just three children one deaf and two multiply handicapped. By the end of that year, the number had grown to 68. Clarke School was well on its way.

In the beginning financial resources were very limited, and Patrick often had to dig into her own purse to keep the school going. She received valuable help in those early years from a handful of others who shared her dream. Dr. S.K. Nagarajan, a medical practitioner, offered his services in the evenings free of charge. Today, retired from his medical practice, he continues to serve as secretary of the society that runs the school. He is also the medical consultant for the school's antdeafness programs and its teaching equipment. And all this in an honorary capacity.

Some of the teachers have been with the school virtually from the beginning. Says Seetha Mahalakshmi, "I can't imagine myself doing anything else or working anywhere else. This is my life, and it gives me enormous satisfaction."

Today, the school owns its own property, has expanded the old building, and put up a new block. Apart from its main activity of educating and rehabilitating deaf children, Clarke School has, over the years, added sections for the mentally handicapped and multiply handicapped children.

'Some people think that we are spreading our resources too thin by taking on these other categories of handicapped children," says Patrick, "but we have found that we are able to help these children in a special way because we concentrate on imparting communication skills. This is a common need for all children—to learn how to communicate and interact with the outside world.

"We concentrate on reaching the child early, saving and enhancing any residual hearing with the help of appropriate hearing aids, and training the child to communicate and learn through normal speech. Since we want to train these children to function effectively in normal society, we also concentrate on building their self-confidence and their personalities."

Clarke School's educational and training methods reflect the philosophy as well as the orientation of its founder-director. For instance, sign language and "finger alphabets" are not part of the curriculum; the emphasis is on rescuing and enhancing any residual hearing that the child may possess, instead of allowing such hearing to atrophy through disuse. Good sound amplification is provided through hearing aids and the children are trained to comprehend normal speech. As a corollary, they are encouraged to communicate verbally rather than by signs. "Our purpose is to teach them how to communicate with hearing people," says Nagarajan, "and not merely to communicate with other deaf people."

As part of this philosophy, Clarke School's deaf children are given many opportunities to spend time with children from regular schools, participate in their school competitions and activities, and go for picnics and outings with normal children. "The result is," says Patrick, "that our children become self-confident, and don't develop complexes."

This is very important, for Clarke School sees itself not as a sanctuary for the deaf, but as an interim training ground to help the hearing-impaired to fit into society and become productive citizens. Mainstreaming is the goal, and whenever a child is educationally and psychologically ready, he or she goes to a regular school. Over the years, many Clarke School alumni have joined the regular educational stream, coped successfully, and even gone on to university studies. But behind every such success story lie years of persistent struggle, patience, and dedication.

"It can sometimes get to be profoundly depressing and frustrating for us," says Jayakumari, a teacher. "Some days, when I've been trying so hard and I just can't get through to the children, I wonder whether I can ever make a difference. But, over a period of time, when I find a child suddenly responding, grasping a lesson, or going fearlessly up on the stage to perform at a cultural program, I realize it is worth every minute of it. The shaping of these personalities is in out hands, and the satisfaction we get from working with these deaf children is infinitely more than we could ever feel as teachers of hearing children." And these efforts are amply rewarded.

Several alumni of the school are living examples of the power of persistence and endeavor. Apitha Saravanamuthu, one of the first children at the school, is now doing her master's degree in commerce at the University of Madras. She secured first place in a bank recruitment examination, and has been offered an attractive job in the bank. Satish Babu received a degree in fine arts, and is now a successful commercial artist. Mapala, a Zambian youngster who left Clarke School about six years ago, now heads his own organization in his native country, and corresponds regularly with his alma mater.

Many other Clarke School alumni are employed in government offices as well as private organizations. The teacher trainees too have fanned out to various places, taking their skills to needy children elsewhere. One trainee, Narmada, has set up a school for deaf children in Coimbatore.

For the teachers of these deaf children there are other types of rewards too. Says Vimala, one of the experienced teachers at the Clarke School, "Our work here helps us to look at life in a different perspective. We learn to see problems as challenges. I have tried to watch TV with the sound turned down just to put myself in the shoes of these children. What an enormous problem they face, and how trivial our own problems seem."

Clarke School has set itself ambitious goals. Apart from imparting communication and social skills, it runs a general education program to prepare children to take the regular grade examinations held by the state government. Also, from grade seven onward, typewriting is a compulsory subject. "This has multiple advantages," says Nagarajan. "Typewriting improves coordination and motor skills, and also language skills and vocabulary. Besides, it prepares them for a possible career."

The school runs regular training programs for its own teachers as well as for others. The Clarke School's two-year intensive training program is now recognized by the Indian National Institute for the Hearing Impaired. Emphasis is on the "maternal reflective" method, which seeks to continually reinforce learning experiences in a natural way, by stimulating verbal responses. Some teachers, including school principal Dipti Karnad, received specialized training at the Institute Voor Doven in the Netherlands.

Karnad says, "The teachers there always speak in normal tones and at normal speed to the deaf. Just because they are deaf, it doesn't mean they are dull. We follow that method here, and we consciously try to avoid talking to the children in an extra loud or exaggerated way."

She leads the way on a quick tour of the school. Each class has just a handful of children, so that the teacher can reach everyone with the lesson. Students are divided into grades not by age alone but by their capacity to grasp and by their performance. As we enter each class-room, the children promptly stand up, smile, greet us with folded hands and even call out a welcome. One or two of the bolder ones ask, "What is your name?" When I tell them, they rush to the blackboard to write it down. Have they got it right? They look at their teacher questioningly. Their voices sound strange to my ears. Many are shrill, others squeaky. But, considering that they cannot hear themselves speak, they do a remarkably good job.

In another wing are the mentally and multiply handicapped. Some have been classified as educable, and they are taught using special methods. Others are just looked after with diligence and love.

Since Clarke School received its first audiometer way back in 1976 from a voluntary service organization called Tri ple H in the United States, a lot of other equipment and instruments have been added. There are now several audiometers, the latest in hearing aids (including frequency-modulated aids that minimize sound distortion), vibrators, and a visible speech unit, whereby a deaf child who is learning how to articulate can see the corresponding patterns on a screen.

Every new child is thoroughly screened, physically and psychologically, the degree of handicap is assessed, and an appropriate hearing aid is fitted before he or she is assigned to a class.

Weekend orientation and basic awareness classes are conducted for the parents of day scholars. They are taught how to talk to their children, how to help them with home assignments, and how to expose them to various kinds of experiences. "It is amazing how positively they complement our efforts," says Karnad. "Whether they are rich or poor, whatever their social status or income level, the parents are one hundred percent with us."

Patrick adds her own observations: "During one of our deafness-detection camps, we identified several children in a slum in Nungambakkam, who needed hearing aids and special help. Later, some of them joined our school. One of these children comes from a Telugu-speaking family. Since we teach only in English and Tamil, the boy's mother selected English as the medium of education for her son.

Then, she came here regularly to take lessons in English so that she could help him. That is the level of cooperation we receive from the parents." Patrick and her colleagues do not wish to be B limited by the constraints of time and space. Since they cannot accommodate everybody who knocks on their door, they run counseling classes for families of deaf children in their own homes, so that the parents can do their best for their own children until vacancies arise in a specialized school. Clarke School teachers volunteer their time free of charge for this service, and also for the numerous field surveys and deafness-detection camps carried out in factories, schools, and slums. Not content with merely an urban presence, Clarke School has launched a bold new experiment in a village on the outskirts of Madras city. A day-care center and an integrated school catering to both hearing and deaf children are staffed by teachers trained at Clarke School.

The school also has a program to educate the general public about avoidable deafness. "We have launched a war against otitis media, or middle ear infection," says Nagarajan. "Repeated infections often lead to ruptured eardrums and consequent deafness. In our field trips, we warn parents not to neglect their children's earaches." The campaign also stresses the dangers of maternal rubella [German measles] during pregnancy, loud music, fireworks, industrial noise, and other such deafness-inducing hazards. Posters, pamphlets, school visits, and radio and television programs are used to spread the message of safeguarding the gift of hearing. And to those who never had that gift, or who have lost it, Clarke School holds out the hope of bringing some music into their world of silence.

Clockwise from top left: School principal Dipti Karnad teaches the older children who have come a long way in their education; a mentally handicapped boy happily concentrates on the task at hand; teachers at the Clarke School, not merely colleagues but friends, are seen here in the director's office with their wards; Dr. S.K. Nagarajan, a full-time volunteer member of the faculty, gives speech training to a student; and a student gets help from a computer.