I had a corneal ulcer in my left eye in 2007 and was on the verge of going blind. I had to fly back to India for treatment at the time because I had been living overseas. For one and a half months, I endured a torturous rehabilitation procedure before regaining full vision. But even after I had recovered and after having lived for so long, I still harbored a fear of being blind. I also try to visualize how agonizing it may be for a photographer to lose their sight. Therefore, I decided to develop a visual narrative and discuss corneal blindness, one of the main factors contributing to visual impairment. Though I had developed a corneal ulcer from a fake contact lens solution, later I learnt the term "corneal blindness" describes a variety of eye conditions that alter the transparency of the cornea, leading to corneal scarring and blindness. Globally, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) "at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distant vision impairment. In at least 1 billion – or almost half – of these cases, vision impairment could have been prevented or has yet to be addressed”. The second most common cause of blindness worldwide, behind cataracts, is corneal diseases. A 2018 study in the International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Invention estimated that India had approximately 6.8 million people with less than 6/60 vision in at least one eye due to corneal diseases; of these, about a million had a bilateral involvement. Normally, 6/60 vision means a person can see at 6 meters what someone with normal vision could see from 60 meters away. The study also expected that number could touch 10.6 million by 2020 – but no clear updates appear to be available. A review article in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology says “Corneal blindness (CB) in India is 1.2 million, which is 0.36 per cent of total blindness; about 25,000 to 30,000 people are added every year.” The epidemiology of corneal blindness is complex and includes a wide range of inflammatory and viral eye conditions that result in corneal scarring, which eventually causes functional blindness.

The Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO) was founded in Kolkata Medical College in 1978 which is the biggest center for eye related treatment . RIO The RIO's cornea clinic, held just once a week, sees over 150 patients on just that single day. Here's a peek inside RIO's cornea clinic, where hope coexists anguish, suffering, and anxiety.