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| Touch and Smell Garden |
| (for the Visually Impaired) |
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| "Kindness is the language which
the deaf can hear and the blind can see" |
| - Mark Twain |
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 One
third of the world's blind population is in India and
there are an estimated ten million blind people in our
country, of whom at least a third may be children. The
Touch and Smell Garden is being established to help
visually impaired children to experience the joy of
Nature and learn by exploration through the senses of
touch and smell. |
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| About the Garden |
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 The
Touch and Smell Garden is part of the "Every Child
a Scientist" programme, initiated in 2000 at M.
S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. The objective is
to empower children of marginalized groups in both rural
and urban areas, by knowledge relating to biodiversity
and environment, with the help of information technology.
This programme is already functional at the Community
Agrobiodiversity Centre of MSSRF in Kalpetta, Wayanad
District, Kerala. |
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| The Garden is part of the Chennai
Centre, which the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,
Selvi J. Jayalalithaa is inaugurating on 7th August
2002. One of the programmes in the 15 point agenda of
the Hon'ble Chief Minister is special attention to the
disabled. |
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| About the Layout |
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 The
garden is divided into four identical blocks. The main
entrance is decorated with Jasmine (Jasminum flexile),
to form a natural arch. At the entrance to the garden,
the path divides into three, and the blocks can be accessed
directly by footpaths lined by chequered tiles. Soft
marble pebbles are grounded in inverted T -shape at
every corner to indicate the change in direction by
touch. There are two Braille boards at the entrance.
One explains the topography of the garden, including
instructions for children to walk around by themselves.
The other board describes the garden. In each block,
soft, smaller-sized pebbles indicate the presence of
Braille boards on stands along the edge of the path.
The boards provide information about the botanical,
English and local names of the plants, family, and economic
importance; as well as biodiversity and the need for
conservation. A central pergola provides a shady resting
place for children to relax. |
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| About the Plants |
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 The
garden has aromatic, coarse-leaved, medicinal and thorn
less plants of economic importance. The plant commonly
used in Tamil Nadu as fencing, because of its capacity
to ward off intruders, Aduthoda (Adathoda vasica) demarcates
the boundary of the garden. The plant beds contain species
like Lemon Basil (O. gratissimum), Common Rue (R. graveolens),
Adigam (G. sylvestre), Camphor Basil (O. kilimandscharicum),
Rosemary (R. officinalis), Patchouli (P. patchouli),
Mint (M. spicata), Thyme (T. vulgaris), and Davana (A.
pallens). In addition, there are hanging pots all along
the edge of the path, with plants like Indian Borage
(C. ambionicus), Kamakasturi (O. basilicum) and Sweet
Marjoram (Majorana hortensis). A special rough mat indicates
their presence. |
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| The Joy of Learning |
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 This
is a garden where visually challenged children diversity
of nature and experience the wealth of the floral kingdom
around us. To facilitate the process of learning further,
it is planned to have a pre-recorded information system
about the salient features of the plant kingdom to kindle
and foster the joy of learning. |
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