INTERROGATING INTERSECTIONS

WITH a blue horizon in the backdrop, the ripple of the waves, and the call of the birds, Marina Beach is often synonymous with Chennai.

- ARCHITA RAGHU

A regular haunt for many, the beach provides a sandy escape from everyday life, a stolen moment of leisure, or a public space to gather. For disability rights activist and pediatrician Dr Aiswarya Rao, the beach visits were rare. "The distance between the beach and the road is big. Many disabled people have not gone to the beach or into the water. The last I went to the beach was in 10th standard," she says.

In 2022, Dr Aiswarya visited the coast up close after a 263-meter wooden ramp was installed on the Marina, following years of activism. For many persons with disabilities, this stretch was now accessible, and many experienced, for the first time, the lapping shore pebbled with shells, crabs, and other species.

When an intervention is done, it allows the simple act of going to the beach, says Dr Aiswarya, who runs the Better World Shelter.

Punctuated by smiles of women playing in the water, a short video of this moment reminds "This world is a better place us: when everybody can participate.

Design dismantles disability'.