[Urbanstudy] City of Voices

Tue May 2 12:35:18 IST 2006

Thanks for that, Deepa. 

I did not mean to say that - "The rest of us need to shoulder the responsibility to ease the burden off theirs..", however sensitising common people without disabilities to the needs of others is an impoartant task. I do not believe that the impaired are 'forced to take up the job of convincing society', they take it up because they want to and are fighting for their rights. Which they must with or without 'our' help as you seem to suggest. Afterall, nobody understands disability like 'they' do(...and like all of 'us' do)!!!

Also, I do not think that disability necessarily needs to become a 'sexy' word in order to make an impact on society. I imagine the point you make, that each of us goes through phases of disability in our lifetime is sufficient. This is a teh message that needs to be driven home to people at large rather than having a celebrity posing with a wheelchair or disability becoming the topic of discussion at a Gurgaon party. The sooner we dissolve distinctions through this message, between 'us' (the non-disbled) and 'them' (the disabled) as oppressors and victims the more progress we are likely to make in creating healthy public environments for persons of all types of abilities. However, as you say, and I agree -  creating awareness and sensitising society (not just "Society") about disability is key to creating the 'right city'.

Good luck with your research,

Yash
----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Deepa Palaniappan 
  To: Yash Srivastava 
  Cc: aarti ; urbanstudygroup at sarai.net 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 2:40 PM
  Subject: Re: [Urbanstudy] City of Voices

  Hi
  Yes, I have known Samartya's work though I havent yet had a chance to meet Sandeep. You are right in pointing out the dismal situation where only a public servant is able to draw attention to the plight of people with impairment. The common impaired people seem to have no voice and what is even worse is that our common, non disabled people usually ignore the issue altogether. Disability is yet to emerge as a catchy conversational topic like gender, environmental or animal right issues. Moreover, like our Sandeep only the impaired people are forced to take up the job of convincing the society. The rest of us need to shoulder the responsibility to ease the burden off theirs.. 
  regards
  deepa.

  On 5/2/06, Yash Srivastava <yashdeeps at hotmail.com> wrote: 
    Hi Deepa

    I had opportunity to sit in on a meeting at IIT New Delhi with Mr Sandeep Kumar of Samarthya. Samarthya, as you probably know, has been crusading for a disability-friendly public realm (streets) & public transport in the capital. 

    Samarthya is also working towards widening the scope of the 'disability' nomenclature to include the aged, infirm and children. This, in fact, reinforces the point raised by Aaarti and yourself about fixity in ability conditions in human lifecycles. Sandeep himself suffers with musclar condition that restricts him to a wheelchair and I thought it might be interesting for you to talk to him, if you have not already. Also what is note-worthy, in my opinion, is that Sandeep is a public servant. The fact that it takes a public servant with a disability (and knowledge of inner workings of government) to draw governmental attention to the needs of those afflicted with temporary or permanent disability is telling of the dismal apathy common people of disability must face in their daily lives. 

    I liked your comment - ...first build the right perceptions before building the right city.

    Regards,

    Yashdeep Srivastava

    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Deepa Palaniappan 
    To: aarti 
    Cc: urbanstudygroup at sarai.net 
    Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 8:06 PM
    Subject: Re: [Urbanstudy] City of Voices

    Dear Aarti, once we get ourselves out of the 'normal' platform of perceiving disability, then the options are unlimited. Your professor's take on destabilizing the idea of disability is one of the many alternate ways of breaking the disability myth.  Its a very interesting argument though. My engagement with disability has been more on field than on academics, so if I get to read on such alternate theoretical understanding, I will share them with you for sure. Secondly, understanding disability beyond pity and compensation, in my view, will lead to better policy initiatives which will truly benefit the impaired. Look at it this way. All these years we have been dealing the issue with pity, but where has it taken us?  Who is really happy? Those of us  with a 'social service' mentality who get to volunteer, may be the only ones who go home happy, feeling divine about self and its kind activities. There is a need to first build the right perceptions before building the right city. looking forward to more discussions, regards deepa 

      On 5/1/06, aarti <aarti at sarai.net> wrote: 
      Dear Deepa,

      Thank you for this interesting first posting. A few years ago in a
      political theory class my then professor, in passing, mentioned a series 
      of writings which attempt to destabalize the idea of disability. Here
      able and disabled bodies are not seen as residing in fixed permanent
      domains, but as a spectrum which we all, in the course of living
      traverse through. So if I have a bad fall and break my leg, then for the 
      period through which is heals, I inhabit a body which is differently
      abled. There are no "perfectly" abled bodies in this understanding,
      rather all bodies at different times, and in different spaces, negotiate 
      their physical universes in varied ways.

      Unfortunately I cannot point you to any litrature as I don't know it,
      but perhaps you are familiar with these already, and maybe others on the
      list could point us to them. Also, since this is something I know very 
      little about and have not had occasion to think this through at any
      length, I was wondering what your responses would be to such an
      understanding. While it might provide another prism outside of the
      discourse of "pity" "compassion" and so on by rendering all bodies 
      vulnerable, might it also, by the same token, dilute advocacy and policy
      intiatives to make cities more friendly for bodies with different needs
      and requirements? I don't know.

      Looking forward to more postings and responses, 
      Warmly
      Aarti

      Deepa Palaniappan wrote:

      > Hi all,
      > I am researching on the topic,  Invisible in New Delhi: Spatial
      > Narrative of the Disabled in City 'Public Spaces, for the
      > Sarai-student stipendship programme. I seek guidance from the
      > group and request for inputs on my postings.
      > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
      >
      >
      > We have seen disabled people on the roads.  We have helped them get on
      > to the right bus. We offer them seats, allow them to avoid queues and
      > let them go straight to the counters. We are also aware of the 
      > rhetoric on making the city 'disabled-friendly' and constructing an
      > /enabling /environment. City is seen as the villainous, treacherous
      > space, while planners are our evil minded, selfish, able bodied people 
      > who insist on denying mobility to the disabled. Of late, the 'kind
      > hearted', 'sensitive' planners and policy makers who think
      > out-of-the-box, want to make the city space more disable-friendly.
      > They are fighting the good fight. Meanwhile the funds are pouring in.
      > We are told that the good fight has nothing to do with the massive
      > inflow of funds. Of course. So long as every body is able to move 
      > everywhere in the city.
      >
      >
      >
      > Yet, beyond the rhetoric one wonders, what *is *the city experience
      > for a disabled person? Do they at any time feel belonged to the city?
      > Is the city, in their eyes, a space that is marked by one obstacle 
      > after another that needs to be deciphered and overcome? What are the
      > markers that make them feel 'belonged' to the city? Is there an
      > unacknowledged attachment to the city for whatever reason? If so, what 
      > are the stories? My point is, we do know the stories. We hear it all
      > the time. A blind person tilting her head in a bus stop to 'see' and
      > understand the bus stop scene. That is one narrative. This paper is an 
      > attempt to share such narratives. Its my belief that sharing these
      > will create a new space for an alternate understanding of the impaired
      > world. A space in which 'pity' and 'compensation' is replaced by 
      > 'understanding' and 'acceptance', where disability is viewed as
      > difference. It gives a new meaning to the construction of a
      > disable-friendly city and the realization that such a city cannot be
      > an end in itself. Unless the perceptions change, even a barrier-free
      > city will continue to discriminate people with impairments through
      > pity, disrespect and lack of awareness.
      >
      >
      >
      > This project is an attempt to share my experience with the people with
      > impairments and explore an alternate understanding that, they are
      > definitely not disabled, but are dis-abled by the society and its 
      > prejudices. There is a whole new world out there, which accepts our
      > world and its spaces, with magnanimity and without any grudge. Pity
      > and lack of awareness hurts them more than your barriered city. This 
      > project is an attempt to grasp that alternate reality.   The dark city
      > without lights, the silent city without noise. Yet, the dark city is
      > loved for its sound bytes. The sounds of unseen vendors, the aural 
      > vibrancy in a bazaar and yes, the voices. City is full of voices. Have
      > you realized that ever? My paper is an attempt to tell you how it is
      > so.
      >
      >
      >
      > The proposed study will draw case studies of visually impaired persons 
      > who travel and negotiate the city spaces on an everyday basis. In
      > future postings, I shall share their city stories. In fact, their
      > spatial narratives weaved without visuals in the case of the vision 
      > impaired is truly an interesting phenomena. We are used to the visuals
      > of the city. This project is an attempt to explore an alternate city
      > that is equally vibrant, equally colorful albeit in a colorless and 
      > sometimes soundless manner.
      >
      >
      >
      > For now, before I conclude I would like to introduce Ajanta whose
      > experiences I will share in the next posting. Ajanta is an young
      > (completely blind) woman, teaching in an institute for the blind. She 
      > stays alone in a single room bachelor apartment with an attached
      > kitchen, located in one of the by lanes in the sub lanes of Munirka.
      > She shares the bathroom with her neighbors, living in adjacent rooms 
      > in the same building, who happen to be men. I have been to her room
      > few times in the past two years. Once she cooked elaborate meal for
      > our group of 4 friends. Yet she is completely blind. She travels alone 
      > all the time. Is life a sad state of affairs for her? How does she
      > negotiate her life as a single woman in the city which would often
      > cross with her identity as a blind woman? Does she enjoy the challenge 
      > that the city poses in front of her? These are the questions I have
      > sought to explore in my interaction with her and these experiences I
      > will share in the next posting. Meanwhile I request the group to 
      > provide input on the ideas shared so far.
      >
      >------------------------------------------------------------------------
      >
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