Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind - Bangalore, India

There are no disabled people; only differently abled people

Built around this guiding spirit, Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy is a voluntary organization that works with the visually challenged, especially those that are socially deprived. The academy endeavors to break down the social barriers and provide opportunities for disabled people to be integrated into the social mainstream as self-reliant members. In its infancy in 1969 it all began with a single visually challenged student. Today, the academy reaches out to 15000 students with disabilities in semi-urban and rural areas of India, providing services in health, education and socio-economic rehabilitation. The President of India has honored the academy for outstanding services rendered.

Dance and music were introduced into the training curriculum in 1973. The academy has been training visually challenged students in classical music, folk dance and dramatics. Since 1982 classical Indian dance is being taught using an innovative method of touch and feel. In this method of training, students touch and feel the various body movements of the teacher and accordingly learn dance moves. As of 2003, over 177 visually challenged students have successfully completed training at the academy. Their performances have received international acclaim as well. In 1986 and 1996, a group of dancers from the academy toured the United Kingdom. In 1999, they toured Australia and in 2003 they performed on successful tours of the United States and Italy.

The academy and its students emphasize through their efforts that charity and compassion are not what disabled people want to evoke. They want individuals, organizations and society to recognize their abilities and strengths.