The Delhi Cafe Run By The Differently Abled | 101 Heartland

Come visit Echoes, a restaurant run entirely by those who are speaking and hearing impaired.

The first thing you'll be shown when you walk into Echoes Cafe in Satyaniketan, New Delhi is a card telling you you're being served by the differently abled. The entire waitstaff of the restaurant is comprised of individuals who are hearing and speaking impaired. The entire restaurant has been designed keeping this in mind. To call the waiter, customers just need to flip the switch next to their table. This turns on a bulb at the counter, telling the staff which table to attend to. Similarly, each dish on the menu card has a short code, and customers are given flash cards for basic communication with the staff. Echoes Cafe is the result of the efforts of founders Kshitij Behl and Shivansh Kanwar. They hope to continue providing a space for the differently abled, hiring them in more and more positions in the restaurant.

Outside the metros and beyond the urban jungle live the sons and daughters of India’s heartland. This series tells their stories. 101 Heartland celebrates both unique communities and individual tales of hope, struggle, and reform. From the village of bouncers just outside Delhi to the fascinating story of Ram Kumar Tyagi, once a wanted man but now a coach for aspiring female wrestlers, 101 Heartland tells stories for the heart, from the heartland.