Navigating life tactilely

Associated with the Brailles on Wheels rally in Chennai for decades, S. Vanaja navigates not only roads with a Braille map, but also metaphorical roads in almost every aspect of her life. At a time when educators serving visually impaired youngsters are racking their brains over how to combat the “Braille literary crisis” as they call it, this Aminjikarai resident would be a great ally to them, as she is a textbook example of why Braille works still and has retained its relevance. And that Braille literacy makes a compelling call amidst the clamour of assistive technologies. Here is her Braille worldview in sprinkles of insight.