Dialogue in the Dark" was like taking a walk on the wild side of your senses. Imagine strolling through a place where even our sense of sight is on vacation! The only relief was that we had our friendly guides Nasir, Jeetendra, Pawan and Diwan and we knew we would get all the help we needed. So here we were, with your eyes wide shut off on an adventure through a world that was was dark as a black hole's backyard.
I won't say it was not a challenge for me. Dark is not my comfort zone. This event was designed not only to challenge ourselves to get out of our comforts but also as most of us would agree , it changed the way each of us perceived the world around us.
Here's a description of what typically happened. In complete absence of light, we had no choice but to rely on our other senses - touch, hearing, smell, and taste - to understand and navigate through the tunnel and further on to our tables. I was relying mostly on my teammate's four senses than mine as I tightly clutched on to her shoulder.
You know those awkward moments when you're trying to find your way, arms flailing like a malfunctioning robot, and suddenly you encounter another lost soul doing the same goofy dance? It was indeed a spontaneous tango of confusion until our knowledgeable experts helped us settle on our seats.
Immediately, we started to complete tasks using non-visual methods with absolute no cheating and coordinated teamwork- coordinated?? No cheating??? - we rather not discuss. We all would agree that ears were the superheroes now, working overtime to pick up every sound. We were asked to describe objects like it was a charades without the luxury of visual cues. The laughter began as our imaginative descriptions got more and more absurd. " ye aisa shape Hai jisko hum waise lagate hai" a newfound appreciation for the power of words in a world without sight. Who knew this could be so much fun?
Next, we all became scent detectives very confident of our aesthetics that we would surely crack this one with ease. What we ended up doing actually was only creative aroma analogy knowing in our hearts that we were left with a nose that's had a workout- a futile one though. And so, towards the last bit, the taste-test comedy continued, with a huge vaierty of savouries laid out in front of us. Each description more over-the-top than the last.
And guess what? We all left with a fresh perspective, an appreciation for the world in a new light (or lack thereof), and a story to tell that starts with, "So, I once had dinner in the dark..."
It was like our senses were throwing a surprise party, and we were the guests of honor. We emerged from the dark with a newfound awareness that our friendly guides pro at handling troublesome 50 of us were visually impaired and as capable, resilient, and full of life as anyone else...or maybe more, a life with more meaning than vegging out in front of a screen and a life that values everything like a gift.
My takeaway? A lot of patience, gratitude, value of clear communication and helping when needed, without being condescending and most importantly a break from visual stimulation.
