Dialogue in the Dark : Review

Switch off your sight.

Switch on your insight.

See a better world.

I'm bored out of my wits as i walk through Inorbit Mall trying to find something to do. I see a poster for Dialogue in the Dark promising me a fun & entertaining experience. I remember that numerous articles have been written about this, but i've never really paid attention. I go in without knowing what it's really about.

The man at the front desk tells me there are three options to choose from - Exhibition, Taste of Darkness & Corporate Workshops. Since i'm no Corporate & i had just had my dinner,i go with the exhibition. I am then led to the storage counter where i'm asked to submit all my electronics & even my glasses. " But how do i see without my glasses? " i ask. " You don't need to see. " i'm told. Call me dumb, but despite the name it never really occured to me that i would have to go through this experience without seeing.

I am then led inside a dark room & i see there are three other people other than us (nitin & i). The man gives us canes & instructs us how to use them, he asks us to interact & follow the instructions of our guide & most importantly to inform him if we're uncomfortable in any way. We are introduced to our guide & i realize that this experience is all about using your senses and not your sight.

As the man walks away he asks me if i'm scared. I reply, " No " in a shaky voice. The man asks me if i'm sure & i tell him i'm fine. I am left in unnerving darkness with the guide & four other people. The guide guides us through the place-which is frankly a maze- by asking us to follow the sound of his voice, by using our canes & feeling the walls for support. After a while he realizes how lost i am, how i keep bumping into people & walls- despite his clear instructions & he sweetly takes my hands & guides me through parts i'm prone to fall down & probably hurt others.

We then identify vegetable & spices by smelling or touching them ; go through greenery, watch a movie & play cricket, go on an amazing boat ride & finally refreshments. The sense of smelling of ginger ; the feel of rocks under your feet & water flowing through your fingers ;  hearing beautiful voices without any visuals, the sound of a ball coming towards you (which will probably smack you right in the face if you don't hit it) ; the sound of water & a rocking boat beneath you, the feel of drizzle on your face ; the taste of pepsi/coffee/tea in complete darkness is undescribable.

As he gives me back perfect change for my snacks i wonder how the guide can see in this darkness, i wonder if he's wearing night-vision goggles. While i sit there wondering,sipping my Pepsi,we are told that this is the end of our experience. The guide also tells us that he's blind-been blind since 5 years,  while the other guides working there have been blind since birth. He says it took him 3 years to get used to the complete darkness- but he did & life is beautiful none-the-less.

While i sit there speechless, i realize i've just been shown a different world,a world i've never known- the world of a blind man. As i walk out i don't know if i should envy him- for he sees the world for it's true beauty & not for the guilded facade we see or feel sorry that though he can feel the warm sunlight on his face he would never see the beautiful sunsets, though he can feel the rain he would never see the beautiful dark clouds & the sun peeking through them later.

I later realize that despite him being disabled, he was more able than i am- he could see more than i could & i should envy him for his positivity, the beauty he saw in this ruined world & the fact that instead of wallowing in sorrow he thought life was beautiful.