'Astad had the courage to plough a lonely furrow. He made a life of his own, on his own, and created a path-breaking dance style.' 'Only a few in the performing arts could do what he did.' 'A classical dancer can fall back on tradition, but Astad created something absolutely new.'

A revolution is in the offing for hearing-impaired people with scientists testing a new mobile device which they claim will transmit American Sign Language over cellular networks.