taare zameen par...

Everyone nowadays is so influenced by this particular movie. I wonder how a single Aamir Khan could open the eyes of several people towards dyslexic children. So here i am, to share one of my experiences with differently abled children.

Thanks to NSS, a big and vibrant department of my college, I was exposed to the different world outside the protected environment I've been brought up in. Shishu Mela '08 was held on 13th January. Children from all walks of life were invited to our school grounds. 10 NGO's with almost 800 children. The children were just like what we might have been when we were small. A specific NGO, IICP was the first one to attract my attention. I couldn't help but stare the first time I looked at those children. My heart was, unknowingly and sadly, filled with pity just by looking at those children. IICP - Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy. The kids i saw were almost all on wheelchairs, they couldn't walk, had motor dysfunctions and couldn't focus with their eyes. Most of them could not speak. I was staring, I don't know why and for how long. At the registration desk one of the smiling teachers was getting the formalities completed. I was asked to count the children and lead them to their places. As I counted them, one of them looked at me, and surprisingly said - "Good Morning". Those words and that smile was something that probably won me over.

So two weeks later. There i was. At IICP, volunteering to help the kids. As much as I could. The experience I've had till now has been mind blowing. You know what, those kids aren't challenged, they are just differently abled. I used to think that this term "differently abled" was just a euphemism. But the work at IICP makes me realize that indeed those children are differently abled. They might not be able to move, talk, walk, read and write like we do. But they can smile even better, they make friends faster, they are true and open to you when u meet them for the very first time. Joyeeta, Debolina, Shradha, Keshav and Sushmita. Some of the beautiful and best friends I made in such a short time. They don't require our pity, they don't require our help. They just need to be made aware of what they are capable of doing. They need emotional boosts, words like - tumi korte pabe. And surprise - they actually can. I confess on my first day i was appalled. I fought back tears as i wondered why they were made like this. Why were we privileged to enjoy normal lives, while they lived like this. But I realized they are probably more human than we are. They aren't hypocrites, they don't lie, they are open, warm, friendly, happy and they are ready to spill their hearts out to you.

I was afraid of Joyeeta from the very beginning. I prayed to god that I wouldn't have to interact with her. But God always leads us to face our fears. The first time I had to wheel her down the 3 floors and help her into the bus, she cried all the way. I tried all I could but she wouldn't listen to me. The next time I wheeled her, she looked at me and smiled and didn't cry. And the third time when I was supposed to feed her her lunch, she flailed her arms, hit me and challenged me to succeed. And I did. I looked at her, coaxed her and finally got her to finish her food. She's thus happily consented to be my friend.

Debolina was the smartest. She is witty, intelligent. She gets irritated at the boy behind her in the line - coz he shouts his lungs out every 10 seconds. She's what most people would call "normal". She just needs to be wheeled about and on the first day she was the one to notice and comment that we were wearing matching clothes.

Keshav is a introvert. I have never seen him speak to anyone. But he consents to give me a smile to say that he recognizes me.

Sushmita, like her namesake, loves dressing up. And we indulge her by making a little dot - on her forehead each time she asks through gestures that she wants a bindi.

Shradha is probably my bestest friend there. She is confined to a wheelchair and she cant speak. But she has a board on her wheelchair, with all the alphabets. And she asks u questions, answers yours, by spelling out the words. She loves vivek oberoi, madhuri dixit and black. She doesn't like hrithik roshan (and disapproves of the fact that i do). She has a younger brother, who she loves. She loves my name. And she asked me on the first day - "will you be my friend". I could hardly control myself as I held her dis formed hand and promised her I would.

Now that I changed my days at IICP, I am afraid I wont see these people again. But hopefully I'll find more Debolinas and Joyeetas and Shradhas there.. in the teeming mass of children at IICP who probably will consent to be my friends.

To all those cynics who think I'm just talking crap, who say "its just a waste of time"-"whats the use"-"u'll spend your whole life doing this???"- I don't need your advice. I'm happy spending those 2 hours there. It gives me peace of mind. And it feels nice that I belong somewhere, to some people, who will notice when I suddenly disappear.