It’s been over a decade since Minal Singhvi co-founded Radio Udaan – an online radio station mainly run by a team of visually impaired people, with the aim of covering events and issues related to disabilities within the community. Its origins were born out of a conversation with co-founder Danish Mahajan, who like her, is visually impaired and knew what it felt like to be overlooked by wider society. As the organisation celebrates 11 years (almost 12) of impactful work that has empowered thousands of people with disabilities around the world, Minal is very open about the challenges she’s navigated in getting to where she is now.
Hailing from Hyderabad in India, Minal started losing her eyesight at 28, but didn’t know at the time that her vision would never be restored. “The doctors told me that my eyesight would get better in 20 days,” she says. However, Minal’s eyesight didn’t improve, and as she became completely blind, she was overcome with severe depression.
“I was totally dependent on my family,” she says, before referring to a time she “tried to take my own life”. It took Minal some time to make peace with her loss of eyesight, and she started thinking about what she could do next. She didn’t want to sit idle, as that would make her feel lonely and depressed again.
Gradually, Minal learnt how to use technology as a blind person. She started using screen-reading software and learnt how to access the internet and a mobile phone. Around this time, she had connected with a group of visually impaired people, and they began meeting on Skype.
“We would discuss whether we should start a school or a nonprofit for the visually impaired. Finally, we felt that there was nothing in the field of media that could help the visually impaired with support and information,” Minal says. In 2014, she partnered with Danish to start Radio Udaan. The Hindi word Udaan means flight.
“Due to the lack of awareness among people with disabilities, many people spend a lot of time navigating their way, rehabilitating and continuing their day-to-day work while living with a disability,” says Danish. Explaining that this time spent can feel like a “waste” of time because of inadequate support, he says “we wanted to bridge this gap by providing up-to-date information”.
This radio station runs 24/7 and is fully managed by volunteers, many of whom are persons with disabilities. There are 38 RJs and nine members in the core team. Programmes are broadcast in Hindi, English, and some regional languages like Tamil, Kannada and others.
“There are shows broadcast throughout the day and night. In the mornings, there are shows on devotional music and spirituality. There are programmes on yoga and health for the disabled, which help the listeners to follow along and exercise,” Minal adds.
The show aired during prime time is called Community Colours. It focuses on news and various other updates for people with disabilities, including legal news, competitions, and employment-related updates and more.
Another show, Techcity explains the use of apps, websites, accessibility and other technology-related topics to visually impaired listeners. There are many other shows like Kisse Yadon Ke, Badalta Daur, House of Dance, Comedy Junction, and Udaan Innings. There are shows focused on music and dance, Bollywood, technology, interviews, cookery, news, English vocabulary and general knowledge. Radio Udaan tries to cover everything that can make life easier for the disabled.
Over the last 11 years, Radio Udaan has impacted over 50,000 people around 100+ countries around the world. The founders of Radio Udaan have also helped 44 people find life partners through the channel.
“We could understand that matrimony was one area that remains a challenge for persons with disabilities. So, we started a radio show named Milaap. This show provides information to prospective brides and grooms and helps connect them,” Minal says.
Radio Udaan also creates reality shows and live events, which have included singing competitions and a fashion show for people with disabilities. “It was the first time that a reality show was conducted exclusively for persons with disabilities. We called the singing competition Udaan Idol,” Minal says, referring to the contest that has already had four seasons
Muskaan, a visually impaired girl who won the Udaan Idol singing contest in the 2017-18 season, won INR 51,000 (AUD $877) as prize money. She belonged to a remote village in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, and later got an opportunity to perform live in the United States. When Minal recalls other incredible stories linked to the show, she recalls when a girl who lives with autism had the chance to perform at live shows across several locations in India.
Early this year, Minal and her team at Radio Udaan thought about doing something innovative. In February, Radio Udaan organised a fashion show in Panchkula where, for the first time in history, persons with disabilities walked on the ramp. The national solo fashion show showcased outfits designed by New Delhi fashion designer, Anupam Taneja. Other examples of providing a platform for the community include Radio Udaan’s annual play wherein only visually impaired persons act. The play always has a social message around empowerment, accessibility and awareness.
Both Minal and Danish have big plans to expand Radio Udaan’s offerings and the impact it can have on the community, with one major dream initiative being to start a primary school for the disabled. However, funding has always been a challenge. For the day-to-day operations and events of Radio Udaan, the founders have used their own money. Sometimes, a little donation trickles in, but it is never enough to run the channel and continue the activities fully.
“We would have loved to expand to all the regional languages too, but funding is a major hurdle. Everyone says it’s a great initiative, but hardly anyone wants to come forward to fund it,” Danish says.
Radio Udaan has touched and impacted thousands of lives that have long been overlooked by wider society. And as it continues to do so by filling a crucial gap, Minal and Danish send an important reminder: that the other gap – the gap in funding – simply cannot be ignored anymore.
Arundhati Nath is an independent feature writer and children’s author who has been published in over 30 international publications across eight countries. As a visually challenged writer, Arundhati has broken barriers and inspired change through powerful storytelling and is also a published children’s author.
Top photo – Pictured: Minal Singhvi, Source: Radio Udaan