Saksham pioneers inclusion with India’s first accessible cultural gallery at the National Museum.
New Delhi [India], April 15:In a landmark step toward redefining accessibility in India’s cultural landscape, Saksham has launched two pioneering initiatives – “Heritage at My Fingertips” at the National Museum and the immersive sensitization experience “Night of the Senses – Eating in the Dark.” Together, these initiatives aim to transform how persons with visual impairments experience art, culture, and everyday social engagement.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the National Museum, Saksham inaugurated India’s first inclusive arts and culture gallery, “Heritage at My Fingertips,” at the National Museum, Janpath. The gallery was formally inaugurated by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Minister of Culture, marking a historic milestone in making India’s heritage accessible to all.
Designed using tactile exhibits, audio descriptions, and universal design principles, the gallery enables persons with visual impairments to engage with India’s rich cultural legacy through touch and sound. It sets a benchmark for accessibility in museums and cultural institutions across the country, offering a scalable and replicable model for inclusive design.
Featuring 41 tactile 3D and 2D models, the gallery enables visitors-especially persons with visual impairments and low vision – to experience the elevations, contours, textures, and stories of India’s most iconic monuments through touch. Carefully curated artifacts and interactive installations further encourage multi-sensory engagement, breaking long-standing barriers that have historically limited cultural participation for persons with disabilities.
The experience of touch often reveals what sight alone cannot. As reflected through a powerful interpretation of the exhibition, “Wow, so this is Qutub Minar!”– followed by an imagined response, “Yes, and now you’re truly seeing me.” The moment encapsulates the essence of the initiative: redefining perception and enabling a deeper, more inclusive engagement with heritage.
Advancing Inclusion Through Experience: “Night of the Senses – Eating in the Dark”
Building on this cultural milestone, Saksham is further deepening conversations around inclusion through its experiential initiative, “Night of the Senses – Eating in the Dark.” The program goes beyond dining to offer immersive sensory activities that challenge perceptions and foster meaningful empathy.
As part of this initiative, Saksham has hosted multiple editions of the sensory dining experience, including at The Arthouse Café, Connaught Place, where participants engage in a fully blindfolded environment designed to simulate navigating daily activities without sight.
The event saw enthusiastic participation from 35 members of the Young Indians (YI) Noida Chapter, the youth arm of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), who brought energy and engagement to the initiative. Organised in collaboration with ‘YI Noida – Accessibility’, the event expanded its outreach and reflected the growing commitment of young leaders towards fostering social impact and inclusivity.
The experience began with an interactive activity where participants, while blindfolded, attempted to identify famous monuments through touch, an exercise that offered a powerful perspective and set the tone for the evening. This was followed by a blindfolded dining session, where participants relied on their other senses to navigate the experience, helping them better understand the everyday realities of individuals with visual impairments.
Guided by trained professionals, including persons with visual impairments, the initiative emphasised dignity-led inclusion and provided YI Noida members with a meaningful opportunity to engage, learn, and contribute towards building a more empathetic and inclusive society.
Key Features of “Night of the Senses” Include:
- Accessible Menu Formats: Participants engage with Braille menus, enabling independent access to information through touch.
- Assistive Technology Demonstration: Tools such as the Liquid Level Indicator enable safe and independent pouring of liquids.
- Blindfolded Dining Experience: Participants navigate eating without sight, enhancing sensory awareness.
- Inclusive Sensory Games: Interactive blindfolded activities enable both sighted and visually impaired participants to play, learn, and connect together, promoting inclusion through shared experiences.
- Inclusive Dance Experience: A unique blind dance session emphasizes rhythm, trust, and non-visual expression.
- Guided Experiential Learning: Structured facilitation encourages reflection on accessibility, independence, and inclusion.
A Vision of Inclusion Beyond Access
“At Saksham, we believe inclusion is about helping people experience the world differently. When someone pauses and truly understands what it means to navigate life without sight, it creates empathy that stays with them. That’s the change we are working toward,” said a representative from Saksham.
At a time when accessibility remains limited across many public cultural institutions in India, these initiatives offer a scalable and replicable model aligned with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act and global best practices in inclusion.
Through these efforts, Saksham reinforces that inclusion is not about charity, but about equity, independence, and equal participation in all aspects of life-including culture and social experiences.
Saksham invites cultural institutions, corporates, and youth networks to collaborate in expanding such inclusive models across India.
About Saksham
Saksham is a leading organization dedicated to empowering persons with visual disabilities through education, assistive technology, skill development, and advocacy. With a strong focus on accessibility and inclusion, Saksham works toward building a society where persons with disabilities can live with dignity, independence, and equal opportunity.
About Young Indians (YI –India):
Young Indians (YI), the youth wing of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is a nationwide network of young leaders with a presence across 72 chapters in India, working across areas such as road safety, child protection, climate action, health, and accessibility, along with initiatives focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, learning, and sports. YI works with members, colleges, schools and rural communities to build real, lasting impact.
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