Introducing the Magic of Braille in Leisure Reading | Upasana Makati | TEDxBITSHyderabad

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Upasana Makati had her epiphany when on a Sunday afternoon, immersed in a book she thought what the visually impaired would do with their leisure. Might they never enjoy the thrill of plodding through the crisp pages of a freshly printed book? In this thought-provoking talk she illustrates the importance and potential of Braille in the lives of the sightless.

Upasana Makati is the founder & publisher of White Print – India’s first lifestyle magazine for the visually impaired in Braille English. She did her Bachelors in Mass Media with a specialization in Journalism from Jai Hind College, Mumbai and later pursued Corporate Communication from the University of Ottawa, Canada. While working for a public relations firm in Mumbai, she began thinking about the various reading options available for a visually impaired person. After a lot of research, much to her surprise she did not find any. Books are a portal to a person’s definitive identity and she believes that blindness shouldn’t stop a person from being given an opportunity to sketch his or hers. So she shared the idea of launching an English lifestyle magazine in Braille with her close friends, and thus White Print was born. She soon found that this was something more than a book to her readers—it became their window to the world. This then inspired her to start a campaign - 'B for Braille' to highlight the importance of braille literacy in India. She hopes more people will come forward and take initiative to help bring joy to the visually impaired population in India and ultimately the world.

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