Budding PR executive Upasana Makati was flipping through a magazine when a thought suddenly hit her: What do blind people read for leisure? The question kept nagging her. Google searches threw up no answers. On visiting the National Association for the Blind (NAB) offices, she was shocked to realise that the visually challenged had literally no lifestyle magazines available.
It was enough to get her to quit her job and launch White Print a 64-page English-language monthly magazine printed in Braille in 2013 in collaboration with the NAB. "The response was overwhelming. Starved for a light-hearted read, new subscribers began signing up rapidly. Upasana Makati," says Makati, whose latest book, Run Saba, Run!, has just hit the stores.
The journey was uphill. The magazine's title was rejected twice, before the third getting successfully registered. The content was also difficult to come by. "Generating all the content fell on me," she says; as she got down to write on culture, food and travel. But perhaps the biggest challenge was finances.
Advertisements are all about colour, image and grandeur. Companies were apprehensive of a magazine where their products could not be seen and the advertisement would also be largely text-heavy. "Of the initial 200 emails I sent out for sponsorship, only one received a reply," she reminisces.
The other hurdle she faces is reaching the magazine to small corners of the country. But the entrepreneur was keen to overcome all odds. "It’s not that blind readers avoid bookstores. We just don’t have stores stocking books for them," she says.
To further this journey towards inclusion, White Print launched Tactabet - a Braille Tactile alphabet book in English and Hindi. With tactile images, Braille and text, a parent could be a part of the learning journey of their partially or visually impaired child.
Makati also forayed into publishing children's literature with Look Out, Look Within - an illustrated storybook to promote inclusion and diversity in the minds of children. Flowers for Sunaina, an e-storybook, followed in 2020.
Today the magazine has the support of companies such as Coca-Cola India, Raymond, Tata Group and Aircel, and has also managed to bring in contributions from well-known writers. But the financial challenges still remain.
With a requirement of USD 5,000 per year to meet her printing costs, it is no easy job. Before the pandemic, the magazine had 400 subscribers, which has dwindled to 150. But Makati is hopeful. "We need to change perceptions. Recently, a girl from a small village in north India called me up asking about the next issue as she had finished reading the entire issue in one day. That, for me, is what success is all about," says this determined woman.