Central Braille Press - the first braille printing press of India (travel photography)

Central Braille Press, Dehradun (© Jim Ankan Deka)

Situated in one of the pristine parts of Dehradun known as the Rajpur Road, the Central Braille Press is the first press of its kind in India and one of the oldest braille presses in Asia. It was set up in Dehradun, Uttarakhand in 1951 after independence by the Government of India, Ministry of Welfare to make braille literature available to the blind. This was followed by the setting up of NIVH (National institute for the Visually Handicapped) in 1967 in an area of about 43 acres on Mussoorie-Dehradun Highway. It is a training centre for the blind.

Central Braille Press, Dehradun (© Jim Ankan Deka)

If you are in Dehradun for a day or two, you should not miss this place. The old British styled house gives a serene feeling and once you are inside the building there are many things to see, just like a museum. The old manual printing, cutting and perforating machines to the new age digital printing devices - all under the same roof. And if you visit the press after 9 in the morning, you will be lucky enough to meet the good people who will gladly give you a tour of the printing, proof reading, editing and binding rooms inside the building.

Central Braille Press entrance, Dehradun (© Jim Ankan Deka)

Central Braille Press is the largest producer of Braille text books in India. The press produces braille books in different languages including Hindi, English, Punjabi, Urdu, and Sanskrit. It supplies text books from Class I to VI free of cost and at highly subsidized rates from Class VII and onwards. The press also brings out regularly magazines for blind readers to keep them abreast about latest developments. These magazines are “Braille Times (Weekly), News magazine, Nayan Rashmi (Monthly in Hindi) and Braille Digest (Bi-monthly in English)”.

Braille slates at Central Braille Press, Dehradun (© Jim Ankan Deka)

For many years, Central Braille Press has been experimenting with the production of Braille slates in order to overcome the difficulty of obtaining special appliances used in the education of the blind. This proved to be quite successful as, so far, over 150 Braille slates made at Dehradun have been sold to institutions for the blind and blind individuals at about one-fifth the price of imported slates.

Cutting machine at Central Braille Press, Dehradun (© Jim Ankan Deka)

Apart from old printing machines, the Central Braille Press or Rashtriya Drishtibaditarth Sansthan Bharat has Heavy Duty High Speed Computerized Braille Embosser like Braillo Braille Embosser and other modern printing machineries. A trip to the press will help you to gain knowledge about different processes undertaken for the production of books for the blind.

Manual printing machine at Central Braille Press, Dehradun (© Jim Ankan Deka)

Address
Central Braille Press
National Institute for the Visually Handicapped
116, Rajpur Road, Dehradun - 248 001
Phone : 0135 744491
Fax : 748147
E-mail : nivhddn@nde.vsnl.net.in