REMEMBERING LOUIS BRAILLE AND HELEN KELLER ON 4th JAN, WORLD BRAILLE DAY (WBD) –DR. CHOPRA
“The most pathetic person is someone who has sight but no VISION”-Helen Keller
This day is celebrated globally to spread awareness of significance of BRAILLE as a means of communication in the absolute recognition and realisation of the human rights for our visually impaired fellow beings.
The first World Braille Day (WBD) was celebrated on January 4, 2019. This year the World Blind Union will collaborate with the remaining world and celebrate WBD on 4th January and this will be the third consecutive year since it was officially fixed by the Un General Assembly as a day to raise awareness about this system of reading and writing by touch.
BRAILLE is a tactile system of reading and writing used by the visually impaired. It is named after the French educator LOUIS BRAILLE (1809 to 1852).
Actually LOUIS BRAILLE was the inventor of this system which remains virtually unaltered till date, and is known the world over as Braille. It is not a language but a unique way of reading and writing a language. In this the characters are represented by an arrangement of raised dots that can be felt with a finger. By it many languages can be written or read.
HELEN KELLER
HELEN KELLER….the beacon, needs neither any introduction nor elaboration. She was born in Tuscumbia in the USA in 1880.At the age of 18 months she was attacked by a mysterious disease which left her deaf and blind. The affliction shut her off from the entire world but she waged a war against all odds and won the battle slowly, steadily with the help of her parents, experts and an amazing tutor named as Anne Sullivan. Anne, herself was initially visually impaired and only twenty years old when she took the charge of Helen as an instructor.
Being very intelligent and diligent Helen proved to be a very enthusiastic and bright pupil. After mastering the manual alphabet she did her best in attaining perfection in BRAILLE and became a voracious reader. During her academic career she had brief stints (as a student) at various prestigious institutes of the world,viz . Perkins institute for the blind, Wright-Humason school for the deaf, Horace Mann school for the deaf and Cambridge school for young ladies.
In 1904 she graduated with honours from Radcliffe College and during her graduation only she wrote her autobiography ‘THE STORY OF MY LIFE’, which is indeed a treasure trove of inspiration and her ingenuity.
(Photo Credits Amazon &
She committed her adult life to social activism. She worked for differently abled till her death. She was decorated with several awards (OSCAR award for her story…..a documentary movie of her life, GOLD MEDAL of the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE,ORDER OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS,ORDER OF GOLDEN HEART ,GOLD MEDAL OF MERIT, etc.).
Winston Churchill called her “the most remarkable woman of the 20th century”. This embodiment of great vision left for her heavenly abode in 1968.
What a joy it is to emulate her perseverance, labour and success !
(Dr.Sunil Chopra,Ludhiana-India. +91 9815574644)
15 comments
Inspirational stories of inspiring personalities. It is remarkable what a person with determination and the right drive can achieve.
Great invention for blind people for sure this is complex to learn. With the recent developments in medical systems we can avoid some percentage of blind cases by early detection of problem by great medical care.
Great information provided by Dr.Chopra in the article.
Nice to read about Louis Braille and Helen Keller
Mr.Desor,
You have very rightly summarised that with determination and courage one can do anything.
Good
Blessed are those who do something to make others life better over coming their own dis ability.People like Helen Keller actually develop super ability laying path for others. It’s good of Dr Chopra to bring out the article on Braille. Nicely written and very informative. Thanks.
Helen Keller has left an indelible impression on the minds of all of us.In fact she is a role model for everyone.
Invention of BRAILLE as a way of reading and writing a language by differently abled is great indeed
Such great personalities must be remembered as constant source of inspiration
A great article, Dr Chopra. The blind and visually impaired need our help to manage with their daily work and have the right to live with dignity.
Really informative
Really a very informative and inspiring article. Helen Keller should be everyone ‘s role model.
Very inspiring article . This special training goes a long way towards producing blind and visualy impaired persons capable of dealing with the World independently.
Indeed a beautiful write up it is !!! The battles which Helen Keller fought really teaches lessons to one and all. The respect which I have for the amazing lady increased to a higher notch today after I read the article. Great Work!!! Keep it up !!
Thank you Devika.Helen Keller was really a great woman and an example worth emulating.She should be a role model for all of us.
Excellent write up . Keller walked the unpaved road beautifully leaving us with garden .