Salt Lake: It was like any other fest as excited participants ran around, busy with last-minute preparations. Only, it was unusually silent all around.
Exhibition stalls, games, awareness programmes and a fashion show were in store for over 400 participants at the India Deaf Expo 2017 at EZCC recently.
Ninety per cent of the guests, many of them from other countries like Korea, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Switzerland, France and America, were hearing impaired. The expo was aimed at encouraging exchange of ideas and empowering the audience.
"Not many events are organised keeping the disabled in mind. I loved interacting with so many people from around the world who share similar problems like me," said TCS employee Suvrojyoti Sur, who has a hearing impairment.
Disabled biker Shinan P.S. came all the way from Kerala, hoping to form a biking team with fellow adventure lovers.
Pune-based Zamir Dale, the founder chairman of Society for Empowerment of the Deafblind, was here to share his life story and tell the audience how he never lost hope despite losing both his hearing and visual faculties.
"I was so happy to see disabled participants enjoying themselves here. They too should have a life," Dale said. As he spoke, a group of excited participants engaged in a treasure hunt at the venue.
Organised by the Deaf Leaders Foundation, the expo was preceded by a film festival where 45 short films from around the world were screened. From romance to comedy and action to supernatural, there were films to cater to every taste.
"Most of the films were made by the disabled for the disabled. Even the cast included disabled actors. The event gave these films a much-needed platform and encouraged many others to follow their passion," said Noorain Akbar Shabbar, organising secretary of both the events.
A web designer by profession, Shabbar and his teammates spread the word through their websites and designed the slogans and posters themselves.
"We took more than six months to organise the event. Getting sponsors was the biggest block," said Prabir De Sarkar of the West Bengal Association of the Deaf in Calcutta and the president of the organising committee.
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