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There is, of course, the Jaws software, but it reads out only English text on the computer, and less than 5 per cent of the visually challenged speak English. Besides, it comes at a hefty price. There is the radio too, but it is strictly a medium that dictates information, according to time, and is not a resource one can use at will, as you can a newspaper or a magazine. It’s also difficult to find volunteers to read aloud for the visually challenged.

Professor R. Kalyanakrishnan and successive batches of students at IIT Madras understood the situation. And their response? A concerted effort over 20 years to create software that reads out written text in all the Indian languages, and serve as a virtual eye for the visually challenged. The Acharya software is entirely free; it can function on the most basic of computers, and, unlike Jaws, it works on any operating system and can handle any Indian language!

The software has now been further developed to allow the visually challenged to listen to the newspapers, rather than see them. “All it takes is an hour of training to learn to use this software to navigate through online newspapers. It revolves around four keys on the computer, and a visually challenged person will be able to navigate the web just like his visually lucky counterparts,” says Prof. Kalyanakrishnan. The wonderful part is that the software filters out images and other inputs on the online page that can confuse a visually challenged reader. It also announces the news items on the screen, which allows the user to access plain information on the newspaper in a controlled manner, so that he can choose what to read and what to ignore, rather than being handed out an avalanche of read-out text.

At present, the software has been geared to support the reading of Dinamani, Kalki, Dainik Jagaran, Dainik Bhaskar, and Eenadu, but virtually, any online publication can be read by this software, and the required services will be handled by the Acharya server. In fact, not just magazines, the process can extend to the entire web. “With Acharya, I can listen to the links available on the screen which allow me to move from page to page, scroll back and forth, and stop and read the specific news item I want to,” says a jubilant L. Subramani, a visually challenged writer. Agrees D. Mani, who works with a nationalised bank and who now reads the newspapers on the Net with the help of the Acharya software, “It opens up the world for us.”

“Newspapers are important tools in this information age, and the visually challenged need it as much as we do, perhaps more so,” says Padma Narasimhan, founder trustee, Darshini, an organisation that works for the welfare of the visually challenged. Well, now they can be empowered by it. Persons or organisations wishing to make use of this software or want it to be made available to the visually challenged can contact Alamelu Ramakrishnan’s NGO, Vidya Vriksha at 044 2441 4741 or e-mail her at alamelur@md5.vsnl.net.in

The software does need some refinement and newspaper specific adjustments have to be made. Unfortunately, the students who were part of this project have moved on, and the professor is looking for software students and professionals who would be willing to lend a helping hand and get the software ready for widespread use. Well, it is your chance to make a difference. Professor R. Kalyanakrishnan can be contacted at 044 22574355 on weekdays between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. and through e-mail at rkk@acharya.iitm.ac.in

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