Kalakkal Café:Vidya Sagar re-launches disabled-friendly café in Chennai

Kalakkal Café, run by the NGO Vidya Sagar in Kotturpuram, which has set high standards in making public places accessible, will be open on all Saturdays, and not just alternate Saturdays.

The café’s features include menus in Braille and ramps to enable the wheelchair-bound to enter, and is one of the rare places in the city where the disabled can enjoy a leisurely outing.

It has also become an example for others.

Inmates of Vidya Sagar celebrating in the Kalakkal Cafe evning at Kotturpuram in Chennai. Photo: K. Pichumani

Rajul Padmanabhan, director of Vidya Sagar, said the café is not just for people with disabilities. “Although it is accessible for the wheelchair-bound and visually-challenged persons, Kalakkal Café is for all youth. Any youngsters who are looking to spend time with friends are welcome,” she said.  

Among those present at the ‘relaunch event’ at the café on Saturday were a group of Vidya Sagar alumni, some of whom had won awards from Able Disable All People Together (ADAPT), Mumbai.

 “Often, in the discourse, the importance of leisure is lost. People with disabilities too want to enjoy the freedom of having coffee with their friends, but are unable to do so in our city cafes,” said Smitha Sadasivan, of the Disabilities Rights Alliance.

Evelyn Ratnakumar H 13 Oct 2014

 Vidya Sagar, an organization working on disability issues, on Saturday re-launched the Kalakkal Cafe in Kotturpuram after a successful year. 

From Braille menu cards, tactile walls, ramps for wheelchairs, accessible bathrooms to eating aids, it has everything to help the differently-abled relax and have a good time. 

It would be open on all Saturdays from 5pm to 9pm to anyone who respects diversity and not just the disabled, a representative of Vidya Sagar said. The salient feature of this re-launch is that the cafe can also be used as a space for youngsters to showcase their talents as individuals and groups in music and arts. The colours, fonts and pictures on the menu have been designed keeping in mind the needs of people with low vision or those who cannot read. 

"Leisure is a crucial aspect and requirement of one's life and a right of any human. However, it remains expensive and out of reach to most people, especially people with disabilities," the representative added. 

TNN | Oct 12, 2014, 04.50AM IST