NAB Sir Jamshedji Duggan Braille Press

History

Conscious about significance of the two most vital aspects of education for the blind -- reading and writing -- NAB, India made a humble beginning in 1958 by starting a Braille Press in a small garage at Jogeshwari, Mumbai with machinery received in donation from the American Foundation for Overseas Blind.  Later support was also received from organizations like the Christoffel Blindnenmssion and UNICEF.  

Tiding over adverse situations, the Braille Press during its initial years brought out few general books, magazines and school textbooks.   "Bapuji ki Jhankian" -- a life sketch of Mahatma Gandhi by Kakasaheb Kalelkar -- was the first book published by the Press.   

In 1963, the Government of India designated the Braille Press as the Regional Braille Press for the Western Region. With each passing day, the Press showed greater levels of efficiency and production. Besides textbooks, periodicals and general books, publication of dictionaries, biographies/autobiographies of historical figures and religious classics Ramayan and Bhagwad Gita were taken up. In 1984, the Press was relocated at its present premises in Worli, Mumbai and in 1986 was renamed NAB Sir Jamshedji Duggan Braille Press. The contribution of Shah Brothers' to Braille production at the Press is immeasurable.

In January 1990 the Shobhi El-Ejel Memorial Braille Library started functioning under the aegis of the Braille Press with a few members. Currently, a number of members make use of this library having a collection of over 1400 books/periodicals.

In 1994, a computerized Braille production unit was initiated by installing a Norwegian computerized Braille embosser acquired with a munificent donation received from the Diwaliben Mohanlal Mehta Charitable Trust, Mumbai and the Indian community in Japan. This unit is known as NAB Jitendra Mafatlal Mehta Computerized Braille Production Centre.

The Tactile Graphics Unit of the Braille Press was started sometime in mid sixties with the help of a thermoform duplicator received in gift from the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, U.S. Govt.

Some unique creations of this Unit include the Braille Atlas, illustrated books on acupressure and human reproduction and Chitra Manjusha a booklet of embossed pictures of various objects to enable the visually impaired get an idea of things like flowers, animals, birds, etc.

Activities

With two conventional presses – Krause Automatic Press and Platon hand-operated Press; one computerized Braille Plate Embossing Machine – Puma VI and Computerized Embossers – Braillo 400 – S, Index 4 Waves Pro the NAB Braille Press has today emerged as one of the biggest Braille production units in the country - perhaps having the largest printing capacity.

This Braille Press prints textbooks of all subjects - including Maths and Science - for English and Marathi medium students of Class I to XII in Maharashtra.  In addition, visually impaired students pursuing higher education also get many of their books, notes, reference materials, etc. converted in Braille, through the Braille Press. We are proud to say we have been assigned the task of supplying textbooks by Maharastra State, for blind students under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.  In the past too, we have brought out textbooks for Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

The Press also publishes general literature - both fiction and non-fiction - in five languages - Marathi, Hindi, English, Gujarati and Sanskrit.  In addition, some classics have been printed and some religious texts are also made available to readers.

For the past several years the Braille Press has been publishing in Hindi, Kal Nirnay - a popular calendar-cum-almanac.  This calendar is supplied to over 1500 individuals and institutions all over India. Some of our most recent publications include the Rag Bodh (the entire syllabus of the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalay) in seven volumes and the Oxford English to Hindi Dictionary in nine volumes. Complimentary copies of these two titles have been given to about 350 institutions for the blind, all over India.

We are also in the process of bringing out a Hindi to English Dictionary in 13 volumes, which again would be supplied free of cost to all institutions for the blind in India.

Literature printed at the Braille Press is made available to the visually impaired at highly subsidized cost (1/4th of its production cost), which is noteworthy.
 
Future Plans

The Braille Press continues to evolve new activities. Among its future plans is a project to convert Indian folk tales, the great epics Ramayan and Mahabharat and the Shrimad Bhagwat, in Braille.

Recognition

For its significant contribution in the field of production and distribution of reading material of diverse subjects in Braille, the Braille Press was conferred the AICB Anne & Arne J. Husveg Braille Literacy Promotion Award - 2006 for largest Braille production during 2005-06.  This Award instituted by the All India Confederation of the Blind - New Delhi, carries a Certificate of Commendation and a cash prize of Rs.50,000.

How you can help

• You can help in data entry of documents in English and other Indian languages, even if you do not know Braille. • You can help in scanning and editing material for Braille conversion. • You can help in comparing the print text with the Braille text for rectifying errors.