BENGALURU:Sightsavers, a charity organisation that works for the visually impaired, organised a two-day exhibition of photographs clicked by visually impaired photographers at Garuda Mall here from Saturday.

The photos are a part of ‘The Blind View’ campaign – a photography workshop initiated by Sightsavers and Beyond Sight Foundation. The event was also held in the same week as World Sight Day, which is observed on the second Thursday of October.

World Sight Day is observed to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment supported by Sightsavers. The charity works to prevent avoidable blindness, restore sight and advocate for social inclusion and equal rights for people with disabilities.

“This exhibition is our effort to showcase the glimpses of the life of a blind person – how they perform their daily chores, how do they use assistive technology to their advantage at the office and so on.” said Amal Gupta, senior manager, brand and communications, Sightsavers. Her Highness Sheikha Arwa Al Qassimi, a member of the royal family of Sharjah has supported this endeavour, he added.

The exhibition showcased 30 photographs depicting different themes which blind participants had taken of other blind or visually impaired participants doing a a series of interesting activities. Each picture portrayed a unique story in itself representing different aspects of the blind experience.

The exhibition is not limited to those who have vision. A brief description of each theme is available in Braile text to help visually impaired visitors. Moreover one picture from each theme has been embosed on cardboard paper so that they can also feel how the photograph is.

Ananya, a vistor at the exhibition, said she was truly amazed by the way the pictures were taken. “The pictures of two visually impaired people having a quite evening in a park show that even such people have a social life like any one of us. The pictures of a group of blind boys performing Malla Kamba made me realise differently abled people can achieve anything if they are provided the right supprt.”

Beyond Sight Foundation founder Partho Bhowmick said, “The workshop took place in September and the participants were trained to click perfect pictures under skilled supervision. Renowned visually impaired photographer Bhavesh Patel, who has done a photo-shoot of Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif also trained them.”