Bharath Hotel

Bharath Hotel is one of the wheelchair-friendly place in Kochi. Some other good hotels have ramps, but they are movable wooden ramps. So, there is a flurry of activity to locate and fix the ramp whenever a wheelchair-user lands up there. Some other places like the Music World on the M. G. Road are barrier-free by default. If you can successfully get on to footpath, then you can easily get into the place as there are no steps at the entrance.

The recently renovated Bharath Hotel has fixed ramps. You can easily get into the restaurant serving the famous traditional Kerala meal on plantain leaf. One can also use the elevator without much hassle to go to the top floors.

One just wishes that some thought should have been given to the fact that some wheelchair user would get excited hearing about the facilities and would want to try them out. The tables in the restaurant are arranged in such a way that you cannot place your wheelchair close to the table without being nuisance to the guests on the nearby tables. The best option is to make yourself comfortable in the passage.

One Hand Typing

My physical condition doesn’t allow me to use conventional typing method by using both hands; even though I know the method that was taught in Typing Institutes in olden days. I used a small typewriter in my student days, the keys of which were hard and it used to take me ages to even complete a sentence. Generally, I depended on the generosity of my siblings and friends to help me with my work.

Then the computer came. It significantly improved my typing skills, and, the familiarity with the typewriter helped. I never considered the lack of speed as a shortcoming because I could achieve maximum 8 to 10 words per minutes, which was phenomenal when compared to earlier days.

But it all changed a couple of weeks back when I read a write-up on Touch Typing by my friend Alexis Leon on his weblog. It motivated me to think that there is scope for improvement. I wrote him asking if there was anything that would improve my typing speed.

He sent me the URL of One Hand Typing, a site by Lilly Walters, an expert one hand typist who can type 80 words per minute. It amazed me so I downloaded a sample manual offered on her site to see if I could adopt some techniques from there.

I must say that Lilly Walters’ site helps you to develop a “Can Do It” attitude that helps you immensely.

Vivekananda Rock

Vivekananda Rock may be considered as an inaccessible even by the able-bodied people. But it is the most wheelchair-friendly place that I have been to in recent times. It was during Pooja Holidays last year (October 2004); I went to visit my brother Manish who works in Kovalam. He planned to take me to the place on a weekend. Though he is supremely confident of carrying me (he had taken me to the tip of the Suicide Point in Ooty just a few months earlier), I could notice that he was very nervous.

The place is off the coast of Kanyakumari in the Indian Ocean. It takes a few kilometers of ferry ride to reach the spot. We had hired a fulltime taxi, so we could take my wheelchair anywhere we went.

We arrived at the ferry jetty at around 2 PM. The authorities, on seeing the my chair on the carrier of the car, told Manish to inform the office that he had a wheelchair-user with him and take tickets for the ferry from there itself to avoid standing in the queue. Manish virtually jumped with joy as he had crossed the first hurdle (wheelchair rarely gets such cordial reception in India). They also quashed his worries about not being able to take the wheelchair into the ferry and then onto the Rock (wheelchairs are not allowed beyond a point in religious places).

When we reached the ferry, two persons who were there to help the passengers, whisked the chair inside with expert ease. On landing, one of them pointed to the inconspicuous ramp. Manish, who had feared the worse, was happy that he could take me on the top. And, to our surprise we found a ramp along with every flight of steps or even on the rocky terrain. Only the Meditation Room and a couple of small bookshops were inaccessible.

This was my third trip to the Rock (first with the wheelchair). I should say I had the time of my life, with Manish, my sister-in-law, three year old nephew Jai and my mother for the company.

The place where one of the celebrated spiritual leaders of modern time attained enlightenment (or awakening), also prove that to create a barrier-free environment you just need the intent and little civic sense, and nothing out of the ordinary.