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In an unprecedented initiative, Coke Studio has collaborated with Deaf Reach to create a musical experience for the hearing impaired.
Karachi: Eight seasons in, one can’t help but wonder if Coke Studio has any new tricks up its sleeves. Amidst complaints of Coke Studio becoming repetitive and uninspiring, minus a few hit songs, we too started to wonder how Coke would hold its own this time. That has all changed ever since they announced (this weekend) their latest initiative: Coke Studio for the Deaf.
This collaboration between Coke and an NGO, Family Educational Services Foundation (FESF) and their Deaf Reach program, aims to build an experience that can be ‘felt’ by the hearing impaired. According to Coke Brand Manager, Ibrahim Khan, currently 9 million Pakistanis suffer from hearing disabilities. “We wanted to make Coke Studio even bigger, wanting to reach more people, when we discovered that such a large population of Pakistan cannot even enjoy music.”
Therefore, the idea to create a project came to light. Research indicates that deaf people have heightened senses, which is why they can feel music through other senses, such as the sense of sight and touch. So the initiative tried to create special technology that would allow eight students from the Deaf Reach Program schools a chance to enjoy Coke Studio’s music.
What is this initiative? It is a room specially designed with enhanced lighting and vibrations, which are synced to the music, so that the lights illuminate according to the bass and treble of the song. A sofa has also been specially created, with the help of researchers and engineers, with 100 vibratory sensors placed inside it. The sensors are also synced with the music.
A video that is now going viral online shows the journey of these eight individuals who got a chance to feel the music in this special room. Salman Ahmed, a student of the Deaf Reach program, explained ecstatically how he and the other participants had such a good time. “I can hear better than most, thanks to my hearing aid, but I have never experienced music like this before!”
Some wonder the practicality of such an idea. After all, out of the nine million people mentioned by Khan, only eight were able to fly out to Bangkok, where this room has been created. What about the others? “Of course, Coke is simply trying to shed light on the potential of this idea. We are working together to come up with more scalable and practical concepts that can be applied in Pakistan, such as creating a pocket device that mimics the sofa, and can be carried around anywhere,” said Richard Geary, founder of FESF, immediately
What should be marveled at isn’t simply this technology, but the thought behind it. For the first time, a sign language expert stood on stage, along with the host of the show, to convey the message to the deaf. When have we ever seen that before? Another amazing feat is the fact that Coke Studio Pakistan is the first country to come up with such an initiative.
The students clearly loved every minute of their experience, and their happiness was a proof that Coke Studio has not only surprised everyone, but has also been extremely successful in winning our hearts, yet again. We hope this idea finds the support and funding that is needed to make it a successful movement in Pakistan.