Let's walk through the Darkness! At Express Avenue, Chennai - Dialogue in the Dark

Somethings are good only when we experience them and one such place is ‘Dialogue in the Dark’. I might use fancy words to articulate my walk in the dark but you got to experience it yourself to understand what I mean. Almost a year and a half before I did make a visit to their ‘Walk through Experience’, there were positives but somehow I didn’t completely enjoy the experience. And I had lots of cons that I expressed to the staff there; among my concerns one of the major one was ‘travelling with anonymous people or anyone who doesn’t respect the darkness and silence’. During my first walk through experience or Exhibition Tour (as they call it), the unbearable noise pollution initiated my fellow beings who joined us on the tour made the experience horrendous. Also, there was an activity to purchase snacks where you have to give your rupees note and the volunteer/guide will identify it for you before handing over the snacks. I neither did understand the reason behind that activity nor did I enjoy the activity and fortunately they have scrapped it off from the tour.

Talking about my recent visit to the place, they have as well opened the restaurant; so dining in the dark did tempt me a lot besides the inhibitions I had. One good choice I made was to go to the place on a weekday, my friend and I went ahead with the Exhibition Tour and Taste of Darkness (i.e. Restaurant experience).

The experience will definitely be surreal. With no hint of light, you start to walk through the darkness with anxiety and fear. After a while, you realise that you do have other senses that lets you to understand the world you live in. It isn’t right to reveal the complete experience because surprises make this walk a perfect one. But I can give you an idea; with just darkness by your side you walk into the place and you never get to see anything around, whereas you come out from the experience understanding how to make use of your other senses and see through the darkness.

Your hands start to TOUCH, your ears start to LISTEN, your nose start to SMELL and your tongue TASTES everything that is served on your plate. After passing through some hardships with the sense of touch, identifying the things with the sense of smell and soothing your senses with the sense of hearing, I could assure the world is more beautiful than what we see.

After the Exhibition Tour, we were guided to the restaurant. As I picked the vegetarian combo and awaited for food, I was going through a series of questions in my mind as it was the first time I ate in dark and never got to see the food. But once the piping hot food arrived on my table the excitement doubled. And I could identify the food without any difficulty; there were 4 items, that includes a starter, sabji, roti and rice. The portion felt huge for my appetite as well as with darkness by your side sharing the food wasn’t a easy job so I did finish of my plate without sharing. Though the food they serve you varies each day I am not going to reveal neither the names of the dishes nor the way it is presented, because surprise makes this even better.

After wiping off the food and a delightful chat with the guide Ms. Janaki who helped us throughout the darkness experience we got up to bid adieu. Right from the moment you enter till the end i.e. when you step out to welcome the light you will come across tiny surprises and ‘wow’ moments that will make this experience a good one.

The idea is novice and it lets you realise that physical disability isn’t a disease. And to know more about Dialogue in the Dark check their page. In India, they have their outlets at Hyderabad, Chennai and Raipur as of now. So talking about Chennai, they have priced their dining experience at Rs.349 INR per person (plus tax) for both veg and non-veg combo. The Exhibition Tour costs Rs.200 INR per person (plus tax). As for the location, they are on the third floor (near Escape Cinemas) at Express Avenue mall at Royapettah, Chennai.

Finally talking about my darkness experience, I am a person who loves to be alone and I have always envied the cheerful self of physically challenged people. Ah, don’t get me wrong but if you look back you shall realise that people with so many hurdles in life are sometimes the ones who had mastered the art of living life. And this experience gave the self-motivation that I had been looking for; just take your steps as it comes and open your senses, you shall see ‘what a beauty life is’.

Come let’s go dark...

A post shared by Divya Srinivasan (creatikaa) (@divya_srini) on Mar 31, 2017 at 2:38am PDT

P.S. Photos aren't allowed and you have to keep your electronic gadgets outside. And this write-up is based on my walk through and dining experience at the place; also, it is an on-the-house invite for the 'taste of darkness'.