During my recent visit to the Bengaluru campus of Azim Premji University from the 13^th to the 16^th of May 2026, I had the opportunity to experience something truly extraordinary. On the 15^th of May, while attending a conference on disability futures, I met Dr. Saswati Paik, who kindly invited me to step into her Inclusive Accessible Geography Laboratory. As someone who actively practices and advocates for inclusion, I was completely blown away and amazed beyond words by what I saw. 

There is a common, unspoken assumption that subjects like geography and science are automatically out of bounds for people with visual disabilities because they are so inherently visual. This lab completely shatters that myth. It was incredibly moving to see how Dr. Paik and her team have taken abstract academic concepts and translated them into tangible, hands-on realities. They have beautifully mapped out the solar system, the world map, latitudes, longitudes, and the political boundaries and neighboring countries of India. They have even represented the complex topography of our country, from the states, rivers, and tributaries to the oceans, coastal plains, and landlocked regions. 

What makes this achievement even more remarkable is the sheer creativity behind it. Most of these models are built on a zero budget or an extremely low budget using everyday waste materials. Items that would normally be thrown away, like shoe boxes, old electronic cartons, cardboard strips, and tissue paper, have been repurposed into sophisticated educational tools. For instance, they have crafted a wonderful model of the soil strata that shows exactly how tree roots penetrate the various layers of the earth. The collection also features models of the earth’s atmosphere, including the lithosphere, stratosphere, and thermosphere, alongside working models of volcanoes and tectonic plates. It was fascinating to feel how a sea, compressed from two sides, rises to form the young fold mountains of the Himalayan range.  Seeing this level of dedication gave me an incredible boost of encouragement. In my own work at the Department of English at Jadavpur University, I have always encouraged my students to design projects that result in similar tangible, accessible outcomes. Finding a parallel effort in a geography lab at another university felt like a validation of that path, and it gave me plenty of fresh food for thought on how to expand these initiatives. 

My biggest takeaway from the visit, however, goes beyond the models themselves. We often fall into the trap of thinking that inclusive education or tactile tools are exclusively meant for persons with disabilities. That is a complete misconception. Everyone, whether temporarily able-bodied or disabled, benefits from this kind of design. By moving away from a purely visual focus and incorporating auditory and tactile elements, these models create a genuinely multisensory learning environment that makes education more engaging and effective for all students. I have immense respect and admiration for Dr. Saswati Paik and her entire team. Kudos to them for putting together such brilliant, thoughtful work, and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing many more innovative projects come out of their laboratory in the future. 

Dr. Ishan Chakraborty is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. A specialist in Nineteen-Century Literature, Dramatic Literature, and Translation Studies, his core research focuses extensively on the dramatic works of Rabindranath Tagore, which was also the subject of his doctoral thesis. Alongside his primary literary specialization, Dr. Chakraborty is an active scholar and practitioner in the fields of Critical Disability Studies and Crip Theory, regularly integrating these frameworks into his academic pedagogy, research projects, and institutional advocacy. 

As a dedicated advocate for accessibility and language justice, he has conceptualized and led numerous innovative projects aimed at creating tangible, inclusive learning materials. His notable initiatives include supervising the creation of the first Braille graffiti on an Indian university campus, directing the production of handmade tactile maps using low-cost materials, and designing ​“Crip Lit Cards”, an accessible analogue card game funded by the Global Jadavpur University Alumni Foundation. He is also deeply involved in making cultural artifacts accessible, having recently completed projects to introduce comprehensive audio descriptions for significant works of Indian cinema, including the historic silent film ​“Jamaibau” and Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece ​“Pather Panchali”. Beyond his academic and design work, Dr. Chakraborty is a trained elocutionist and practitioner of Bengali recitation.

Contact email id: ishan.​chakraborty@​jadavpuruniversity.​in