For Andheri-based Rakesh Kumar Prajapati, the day starts early with his favourite part of the routine — hitting the gym. At 1 pm, the master data associate reaches his workplace, and by 10 pm, he does what most people from this generation do for side hustle or sheer fun; he creates content with his friends. The only catch in this seemingly normal routine, which Prajapati barely looks at as a hurdle, is that he has both speech and hearing impairment.

When we catch up with Prajapati over a video call, Kolkata-based interpreter Sayantanee Chatterjee joins us to help us communicate. “Different people have different mother tongues, mine is Sign Language,” Chatterjee translates Prajapati’s signs for us. “I have been deaf and dumb since birth. Nearly 15 years ago, I started creating content on different social media platforms to spread awareness about the deaf culture. Only one month ago, I went viral on Instagram. Two of my videos hit the million mark, with many other crossing views in lakhs,” he beams.