Bravery

Bangalorian traffic congestion: this soundscape piece imposes an atonal splattering of mismatched pitches from the horn section accompanied by the fluctuating yet unbroken drone of whirring engines.  Listeners must be bold when it comes to stepping into this throng if you endeavour to reach the other side …

As a newcomer to this city, I still find crossing some of Bangalore’s busiest roads daunting at times. I have let out a few shrieks here and there, mostly when I’ve felt the air-stream of a motorbike or scooter whizz past much closer than I felt was comfortable. I have found the trick is to edge your way out where gaps appear and eventually you’ll get to the other side; if you stand waiting at the roadside for both sides to be clear you will be there all day.

For someone with a visual impairment, navigating your way through this motorised swarm takes another level of confidence for which I have unending respect. Most of the visually impaired candidates that I am working with travel independently to their training sessions, as do all my VI colleagues. I know the only way for me to totally understand the commute from their perspective would be to blind-fold myself and venture out – don’t worry family and friends, I won’t be trying this as I simply don’t have the courage. In addition, cracked and protruding pavements that sometimes disappear completely into a hole, (or tree!) offer their own challenges. Respect, respect, respect, respect!

Accidents do sometimes happen here. Everyone is at risk of course but I feel I can say that people with visual impairments have at least slightly elevated danger. However, it is without doubt a risk absolutely worth taking when your independence depends on it.

Earlier this week one of our VI candidates arrived on the back of a motorbike with one of my colleagues and was carried inside with a bandaged foot; he had just returned from the hospital. Earlier, he had tried to cross a road and been knocked over by a man on a scooter who stopped to pick him up, said ‘sorry’ and drove off. Outrageous. The candidate was very lucky to not have broken anything but his ankle was badly sprained and he was in a lot of pain; I insisted we take him home to rest. In fact, I transported him myself in a wheelchair as I felt confident in my ability to deliver him smoothly and safely and it wasn’t too far. I gave him some paracetamol with strict instructions and told him to take the following day off from training to recover. He stayed true to this but of course was back at the training centre 9am the day after that having taken the same route that was cut short just days before.