THE LESSON LEARNED FROM DARKNESS

Sometimes, late at night, I would think about this in the dark.

What would it be like if I were blind?

So the other day, my ex-colleague, Jasmine asked a few of us out to catch up. It really has been a while and although I was dead tired from my event the day before, I'm so proud of myself for actually waking up to meet up with a few good old friends.

After some lousy burgers and a great doze of Boost Juice (literally), my ex-colleague surprised us by bringing us to this place inside Petrosains known as "Dialogue in the Dark".

From the name, I am sure you already know what to expect but I was really kinda in the dark about the whole thing because I was really so stoned I couldn't even guess.

But the moment I stepped into the place, I sort of knew because I saw Braille logos and stuff - it dawned on me how exciting this experience will be. So basically, the concept of Dialogue in the Dark (DiD) is that visitors are guided through an experience in the dark and we get to really indulge in our other senses besides our sights. The thought of it was intriguing for me because I have always wondered what it'll be like if I were blind because I knew that 'sight' is one thing I never want to lose.

The place darkens and gradually turns into a pitch black setting as we ventured further inside the room. We were greeted by our guide, Mogana, a beautiful, petite Indian girl (I didn't know how she looks like at first but I imagined her like another friend of mine named Mogana) and her voice guided us throughout our 'blind' experience.

First we visited a park with birds, trees and gravel...
It is really interesting when she asked us how we felt, I think it was really hard to say. For me, I felt calm because I knew that it was temporary. But I could only imagine how it will feel like if being blind is permanent. If everything is only pitch black forever, would I be able to enjoy the beauty of the park without my sight? I honestly don't know. But when I was walking in the park that day at Dialogue in the Dark, I would say I was too busy trying not to get lost, than enjoy the sound of the birds or feel the tree leaves.

Then, we went to the market place and we were supposed to feel things. I felt clothes and stuff, and it reminded me this, if I were blind, how should I choose my clothes? The best part was when Mogana handed me an orange and asked me what it is, I said 'orange' and she said, "Good, now put it back." Haha.

After that, we tried to cross the road. It is not easy as you need to listen and see when to cross. It would be more interesting to put us to a real test you know, in which if we crossed at the wrong time, something will come out and hit us, oh well, that didn't happen. Still I believe we all made a right-timed crossing.

It gets more interesting when we visited a coffee shop in which we have to eat and drink in the dark. Which leads me to my first 'screw up' being blind, in which I lost RM10. I was holding it (it was our coffee money) with me but I guess I was too busy feeling the walls and holding my stick, I didn't even realise I dropped my money. But all was okay, I still get to experience finding a chair, tasting food and trying to put sugar into a coffee without my sight.

Then we sat down and chat a little with our guide, Mogana as she shared with us her story. I was kind of shocked to know that she is blind. I guess I was really stoned. On normal days, it would be pretty obvious to connect the dots and realise that our guide is blind. But that's not important. So she told us about her struggles as a partially blind girl at school and in college. She also spoke about how she doesn't want to be a burden to her parents, and how she doesn't want them to feel sorry or sad for her - so she worked hard despite her setbacks. See, you have got to admire people like that because you know that they have come such a long way.

When she asked us how we feel by the end of the tour, my answer was "frustrated" because although I wasn't at that point, I knew I would if I were in the dark longer. I knew that if I lost my sight, I might not be patient enough to handle it. I could learn, but it will take quite some time to really get use to and embrace the other senses. One thing that bugs me most actually besides the fact that I don't know where things are is that I don't know when people are talking to me. Usually, eye contact is the main thing when it comes to conversation but when you don't have that, you really don't know when people are talking to you and it comes across as rude. Like I felt bad because I think I have neglected a few of Mogana's calls.

In essence, I believe that the journey is not only about appreciating our eyes, but more about learning to appreciate our other senses - the sense of touch, sound, taste and the smell of things. Most of the time, I think we really focused too much on seeing with our eyes, we forgot the beauty of our other senses.

For example, we get attracted to pretty things - a cute guy, a pretty girl - but without our eyes, we learn to see a person from our hearts and we 'see' the beauty from a different perspective. I can't help but think that day that if I don't get to see Mogana, I will only forever remember her as the person she is inside - strong, determined, hardworking and a person who went against all odds to prove that despite lacking in certain abilities, she is able to do amazing things. And that is beautiful.

We see food and we eat something that looks beautiful, but if our sight is not an option, we would smell something first before we eat it and we will learn to savour it even more. 

Dialogue in the Dark Malaysia. Our guide, Mogana is the second girl from the right

Dialogue in the Dark is an exhibition that is available world wide and recently made its mark in Malaysia. I think the concept is brilliant as in the dark room, we who have the sense of sight feels so lost and we have those who can't see with their eyes guide us. In that setting, the blind people provide us with security and a sense of orientation. The tour itself lasts for about one hour but the effects can last a lifetime. I will forever remember what it is like that day.

And it is also a very meaningful cause because DiD gave so many people who have lost their sight employment opportunities. I strongly recommend that you visit their centre in Petrosains to experience for yourself what it feels like to not have one of the senses that we depend most on. Think of Eli from the Book of Eli - and feel him.

Please visit http://www.dialogue-in-the-dark.com/ for more information. It is definitely not an experience to be missed and I didn't get paid saying this.