MaryellenBuckman at 23:43, 6 May 2026

2026-05-06T23:43:31Z

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{{short description|Indian American technology instructor}}
{{Orphan|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox person/Wikidata|fetchwikidata=ALL}}

'''Anindya Bapin Bhattacharyya''' (born 3 July 1970) is an [[Indian Americans|Indian American]] technology instructor for the [[Deafblindness|deafblind]]. He coordinates the National Outreach Technology Development and Training Program at the [[Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults|Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults]], traveling the country teaching deafblind people to use [[assistive technology|adaptive technology]]. Deaf from birth and blind at the age of nine, Bhattacharyya has been an advocate for deafblind individuals in the United States and beyond.

==Early life and education==

Anindya Bapin Bhattacharyya was born on 3 July 1970 in Telari, a small village in the state of [[Bihar]], in eastern India.<ref name=BapinFAQ /><ref name=TampaBay1992 /> He was born [[Deafness|deaf]] and as a child wore a sound processor around his neck.<ref name="FeelingThrough">{{cite web |title=Feeling Through Live, Episode 6: DeafBlind Man's Journey from Rural India to Tech Wiz |url=https://www.feelingthrough.com/transcripts/ep6 |website=Feeling Through |access-date=22 December 2021 |date=22 May 2020}}</ref> Bhattacharyya grew up speaking Bengali and learned to lipread.<ref name=FeelingThrough /> His parents were middle class and well educated, but struggled to find [[Deaf education|appropriate educational opportunities]] for their son.<ref name=FeelingThrough /> Bhattacharyya attended a mainstream school as the only deaf student; his mother occasionally sat in on his elementary classes to help fill in gaps in teaching.<ref name=FeelingThrough />

When Bhattacharyya was nine, another boy threw dirt in his face, which led to him developing [[retinal detachment|detached retinas]].<ref name=FeelingThrough /> Three months after that incident, his vision was completely gone.<ref name=FeelingThrough /> With no way to [[Lip reading|lip read]], he lost access to a significant amount of communication and needed his parents to use [[Haptic communication|tactile communication]] with him, such as printing letters on his palm.<ref name=FeelingThrough /> For four years he did not attend school, as his parents could not find anyone who had the capacity to teach someone with combined hearing and vision loss.<ref name=FeelingThrough /> During this time, Bhattacharyya developed a hobby of [[Pottery|ceramics]] and sculpting.<ref name=FeelingThrough />

His father, Ajay, wrote to [[Perkins School for the Blind]], and with the financial help of a scholarship to the school, friends and relatives raised the money to send him to the [[United States]].<ref name=Korkhao1984 /><ref name="TampaBay1992">{{cite news |title=Modern-day Helen Keller graduates |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1992/06/04/modern-day-helen-keller-graduates/ |access-date=22 December 2021 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=4 June 1992 |language=en}}</ref> He moved to the U.S. at age thirteen, in 1983, accompanied by his father.<ref name=FeelingThrough /> At Perkins, he learned English and [[braille]], and received [[physical therapy]] to improve his balance and physiological awareness.<ref name="Korkhao1984">{{cite journal |last1=Korkhao |first1=Jal |title=Anindya: a Deaf-Blind Boy at Perkins |journal=Blind Welfare |date=1984 |volume=26 |pages=16–22}}</ref> He attended [[Belmont Hill School]] part time while living at Perkins, graduating in 1992.<ref name=TampaBay1992 /><ref name=TheWeb1993 /> In addition to his studies, Bhattacharyya was fascinated by the technology available in the U.S., attending computer shows across [[Massachusetts]] and buying computer parts to assemble his own desktop.<ref name=FeelingThrough /> He also began doing computer programming and set up his own [[bulletin board system]], as well as building computers for other deafblind people, instructing them in how to use adaptive technology.<ref name=FeelingThrough />

In September 1992, he entered [[Gardner-Webb University]].<ref name="TheWeb1993">{{cite journal |title=Bhattacharyya Receives Laser Came To Assist with Campus Mobility |journal=The Web Magazine |date=June 1993 |volume=4 |issue=2 |page=10 |url=https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1138&context=the-web |access-date=22 December 2021 |publisher=Gardner-Webb University}}</ref> Bhattacharyya graduated from the [[University of Arkansas at Little Rock]] in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in political science.<ref name="Clancy2013">{{cite web |last1=Clancy |first1=Megan |title=Presenter praises technology for opening doors to deaf-blind people |url=https://www.gallaudet.edu/presenter-praises-technology-for-opening-doors-to-deaf-blind-people/ |website=Gallaudet University |access-date=22 December 2021 |date=9 December 2013}}</ref>

Shortly after moving to New York to start his career in 1999, he was featured in ''[[The New York Times]]'' for finishing the Seacrest-Tobay Triathlon.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fischler |first1=Marcelle S. |title=TRIATHLON; Full of Purpose, and Feeling Their Way to the Finish |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/23/sports/triathlon-full-of-purpose-and-feeling-their-way-to-the-finish.html |work=The New York Times |date=23 August 1999}}</ref>

==Work in adaptive technology==

Bhattacharyya began working at the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults in 1999.<ref name="BapinFAQ">{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) |url=http://bapin.info/faq/ |website=Anindya Bapin Bhattacharyya |access-date=22 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref> In his role as Coordinator of the National Outreach Technology Development and Training Program, he travels the U.S. helping deafblind people connect with adaptive technology.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Wright |first1=Robin |title=Who is "Worthy"? Deaf-Blind People Fear That Doctors Won't Save Them from the Coronavirus |magazine=The New Yorker |date=28 April 2020 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/who-is-worthy-deaf-blind-people-fear-that-doctors-wont-save-them-from-the-coronavirus |access-date=22 December 2021}}</ref> He also contributes to research and development of new technologies for disabled people.<ref name="Klatell2006">{{cite news |last1=Klatell |first1=James |title=The Blind-Deaf Tech Wiz |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-blind-deaf-tech-wiz/ |access-date=22 December 2021 |work=CBS News |date=17 June 2006}}</ref> A 2006 [[CBS News]] article featured his contributions to developing a [[Braille]] modified laptop phone, a tactile talking tablet, and a screen Braille communicator.<ref name=Klatell2006 /> He also owns his own company, BapinGroup, which sells adaptive technology and computer hardware/software products.<ref name=Clancy2013 />

As part of his work through the Helen Keller National Center, Bhattacharyya is involved in political advocacy for the needs of deafblind people. One result of his efforts was the 2012 establishment of the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (also known as "I Can Connect") through the [[Federal Communications Commission]], which provides training, outreach, and assessment to low-income deafblind individuals.<ref name=Clancy2013 /> He also played a role in the passage of the [[Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010]].<ref>{{cite web |title=5 achievers with disabilities from across India honoured with CavinKare Ability Awards |url=https://newzhook.com/story/5-achievers-with-disabilities-cavinkare-ability-awards-disabled-ability-foundation/ |website=Newz Hook |access-date=22 December 2021 |date=7 March 2020}}</ref>

Bhattacharyya presents at conferences and writes frequently about his life and work, as when he wrote a 2005 ''New York Times'' article describing how he relies on his [[guide dog]], technology, and assistance from others while traveling.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhattacharyya |first1=Anindya |title=Flying Blind and Deaf but Not Alone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/30/business/flying-blind-and-deaf-but-not-alone.html |access-date=22 December 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=30 August 2005}}</ref> He met his wife, Sook Hee Choi, when they both served on the board of the American Association for the DeafBlind.<ref name=FeelingThrough /><ref name=BapinFAQ />

He received the CavinKare Ability Special Recognition Award in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=Five honoured with ability awards |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/five-honoured-with-ability-awards/article30830973.ece |access-date=22 December 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=15 February 2020 |language=en-IN}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://bapin.info/ Personal website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharyya, Anindya}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Deafblind educators]]
[[Category:Indian blind people]]
[[Category:Indian deaf people]]
[[Category:American deafblind people]]
[[Category:People from Bihar]]
[[Category:University of Arkansas at Little Rock alumni]]
[[Category:Deaf activists]]
[[Category:American activists with disabilities]]
[[Category:Indian activists with disabilities]]
[[Category:Blind activists]]
[[Category:American disability rights activists]]
[[Category:21st-century American educators]]
[[Category:Educators of the blind]]
[[Category:Educators of the deaf]]

Anindya Bhattacharyya - Revision history

MaryellenBuckman at 23:43, 6 May 2026