Visually impaired models make an impression

Twenty-year-old Ekta Rangani walked down the ramp in a designer saree, swaying to the beat of a pop tune and giving no indication of her visual impairment.

Ekta and 30 other participants from across Gujarat participated in the country's first beauty and fashion show for the visually impaired held on Sunday morning in Surendranagar town, 112 km from Ahmedabad.

"This is the first time that a fashion show of this nature is being organised in India wherein the models and their groomers are all visually impaired. Only the choreographer is sighted and she guides the models," Muktaben, who heads the NGO Pragna Chakshu Mahila Seva Kunj that organised the event, said.She added it was a major challenge to organise the beauty contest due to "inexperience in the field" but the NGO was happy to get an overwhelming response from across the state.

"It was tough initially to wear the clothes and to walk to the beat of music. But the choreographer has been very patient and we enjoyed it," Ekta said.