Blind Rocks! with support of British Council Nepal’s Gender Grant Project produced an accessible music video featuring disabled artists aimed at promoting dialogue on media accessibility. The project concluded with a premiere event on 1st June, 2024, at GATE College, with Chief Guest Rita Thapa Magar. Attendees, including stakeholders and the public, experienced the music video “Sikka” with blindfolds to understand the visually impaired perspective. Artist Anil Magar, who used to be a choreographer when sighted, had fallen into depression after being blind, but after 15 years, he found hope and a comeback in dance through this project. He thanked Sristi KC wholeheartedly. Also, Anjali Pakka, who has intellectual disability, was delighted seeing herself on screen for the first time, and her role being celebrated in the music video. In fact, the inspiration from this music video is so immense that Gagan Ale, who leads blind rocks band produced his own music video where he composed as well as starred, alongside blind female artist Sami Lawati, who is a board member of Blind Rocks!.
Similarly, a documentary was showcased on the same day, displaying the project’s development, inclusive of the involvement of people with disabilities and other diverse backgrounds from conceptualizing to the result. The overall event highlighted the importance of audio descriptions and closed captioning for inclusivity. Aftermath, we received feedbacks from the attendees, like Krishna Prasad Bhandari, Mukta Shrestha, and Parakram Rana who emphasized on the project’s impact on disability rights and the necessity of accessible media.
