Character 2 A 24-year-old Specially Abled Girl

Character 2

A 24-year-old Specially Abled Girl

________________

I like Sandhya ma’am; she is my favourite. She loves me a lot. I love her a lot too. Last week, Sandhya ma’am took a test on algebra. She asked if anyone would come forward and solve the following question:

A tree has 30 birds perched on it. A hunter comes and shoots 10 birds. How many birds are left on the tree?

Out of twenty students, I was the only one with the courage to go forward and solve the question on the board. I took the chalk in my hand and within just two minutes, solved the question. You shouldn’t be surprised that I topped the class with 60% marks. Sandhya ma’am even gave me a Dairy Milk chocolate on the day of the result. I was so happy. In fact, when ma’am was giving me the chocolate, my maa was standing outside the class and was very happy. I am sure she was happy, but not too sure why she was crying. My coming first in the class should make my maa happy, na?

Oh, I forgot to tell you, my name is Vidya. Just fifteen days ago I celebrated my birthday at home and at school. The cake had so many candles on it, 24 I guess. My best friend Shraddha had once told me that the number of candles on the cake equals the age of the person whose birthday is being celebrated. But, Shraddha has to be wrong, I am sure. I still feel I am just 12 years old. My paa and maa pamper me a lot, my bedroom is filled with soft toys, and the CD basket is full of cartoon movies. Maybe that is the reason why I feel that I am 12 years old. I have told my maa so many times that she should not pamper me so much. But she never listens to me.

Maa and paa watch a lot of Hindi serials on television, and whenever I am with them, I feel my parents can easily get a role in those. My maa and paa can cry at the drop of a hat! See, if I get sick or get hurt and then if they cry, then it is still okay. But, I have seen them cry so many times for no reason at all now, that when they don’t cry, I start wondering if all is well. I had even asked paa once, “Sab theek to hai na!” See, whenever I win a prize – be it in academics, running, dancing, chess, or football – they start crying. Whenever any one of my friends gets married, they start crying. Whenever anyone from our family gets married, they start crying. Whenever I give my full introduction to my relatives, they start crying. I mean what is so sad about a full introduction? You want to hear what I say in my full introduction? Hmm…okay. Here it is!

 “My name is Vidya. I am twelve years old. I am a good girl. I keep things in proper place. I go to SRC School. People say that this school is a special school. But I still don’t know what is so special about this school. Maybe because the principal has no hair on his head. Hahaha. A good girl that I am, I wake up every day at 6. My maa helps me take bath. She then makes tiffin for me, which usually consists of jam and bread. And yes, there is also a layer of Amul butter on the bread. Then, I take a private rickshaw to go to school. Maa comes with me too. She drops me near Sandhya ma’am’s cabin and leaves. Then, I study algebra, arithmetic, English and history. I love history the most. Not all my classmates like me. Maybe because I don’t share my tiffin box with them. I don’t have a problem with them not liking me as long as maa, paa, Shraddha and Sandhya ma’am love me. And yes, I love you all too!”

Can you imagine that the above introduction makes my maa and paa teary-eyed! I wonder why.

My favourite pastime is listening to music, watching cartoons and sitting near the window and seeing the sun set every evening. I have rarely missed the sunset. There is something that I like very much about the sunset. The glow, the rays, the colour of the sky, the excitement amongst the birds to reach their nests quickly, the joy amongst the children of birds that their parents will come home, the happiness in my heart that the next day I will meet my teacher again, the feeling that a day full of sadness and pain has ended, the assurance that the sun will rise again and cheer everyone up.

I have written a poem too. And even if you don’t want to listen to it, I will read out that poem.

The sun sets in the evening to sleep in his mother’s lap,

Twilight spreads all over to cover the horizon’s map.

Hope is what drives us through the night,

I pray to God to lessen everyone’s plight.

I like to sit at the window, stare at the world, play with my doll and love,

My maa says that I am a sweet messenger of love – a sweet-n-cute dove.

You know, I love dogs. Few months ago, while I was playing with Shraddha, I saw this very cute puppy that was being ignored by its mother. First of all, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that the puppy was being ignored by its mother! I mean, my maa is so sweet and this puppy’s mother was being so cruel to such a cute baby. I was overcome by mixed emotions. I was angry at that puppy’s mother and I also felt like crying. I told Shraddha that I would return in some time. I took a big stone and threw at that puppy’s mother. She ran away and that small chweet puppy also ran after her. I ran after the puppy and finally got hold of it. I took the puppy in my hand and started playing with it. I kissed it. I could feel its happiness when it started licking my hand. Its tail was wagging so sweetly! Hahaha...I instantly named it “Tommy”. Then I kept thinking whether I should take Tommy home. My maa is very scared of animals; she specifically dislikes dogs. She would definitely say no to bringing Tommy home. But being smart, I used my most powerful tool – crying! I reached the doorstep of our home and started crying. My maa came running to the door and stared at me. I was expecting her to shout at me. But, seeing me cry, she just asked me, “What have you named it?” and smiled at me. I said “Tommy” and ran to the bathroom and give Tommy a nice bath with my elephant-shaped soap. I spent the whole evening talking and playing with Tommy. Apart from maa, paa, Shraddha and Sandhya ma’am, Tommy was now the most important part of my life. Tommy is a well-trained dog now; my bodyguard.

I normally don’t tell my sad stories to a stranger. But, now that you know so much about me, you aren’t a stranger for me. Isn’t it?

My cousin Prajakta is the closest to me. Last year my maa, paa, and I visited Vishakapatnam to attend Prajakta’s wedding. Just when the wedding was about to start, I fainted. My parents ran helter-skelter to find a good hospital for me. Actually, maa and paa were already aware that something of that sort would happen. I was admitted to a local hospital and when I opened my eyes, guess what I saw! The same old scene – maa and paa crying. But this time their crying was valid, I felt. But what was strange was that only maa and paa were around me. I still wonder why no one else was there. Didn’t anyone else love me? Didn’t anyone else care to know what happened to sweet Vidya?

Never mind that. I couldn’t care less if the whole world was not with me. I was thankful to God to have given me such good and sweet maa and paa. The next day, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Sandhya ma’am there. When I asked her what she was doing in the hospital in Vishakapatnam, she told me that she had come to visit a relative of hers who had got hurt in an accident. Later on I came to know that my paa had called her up and made her take the next flight available. My parents knew that I would recover at a faster rate if Sandhya ma’am was with me. Sometimes some people are just irreplaceable.

I can never forget the day when I was very small and I, maa and paa had gone to a fair near our society. There were different types of rides in that fair. One was a merry-go-round with seats in the shape of different types of animals. The other was a train with big tea-cups as its seats. I was so excited to sit in one of the tea-cups. My maa was telling me that I was looking like a sweet honeybee that had come to drink tea and by mistake had fallen into the cup…Hahaha. Sometimes my maa gives such sweet comparisons that I can’t stop blushing. See, I still can’t stop smiling.

Anyway, after that we went on to watch the Maut-ka-Kuaa where there were two motor-cyclists riding in that underground well. There was also a magic show going on in one corner of the ground. After eating paani poori and dahi-poori we were leaving for our home. My maa was holding my hand. Just as I was casually looking around, I found one black coloured bag near an ice-cream stall. There was no one near that bag. Since there was so much noise around, I had to speak out loud and asked my paa, “Paa someone has forgotten that bag there. Why is no one around that bag?” Someone passing by overheard our conversation and I don’t know why, he made his own conclusions and started shouting, “Bomb hai idhar…bomb hai …bhaago!” People started running helter-skelter. In all that commotion, my hand slipped out of maa’s. For that fraction of a second, I felt as if I had lost contact with the whole world. I started crying out loud. I didn’t know where to run. I couldn’t find my paa either. In such a commotion, even if my paa and maa had screamed out my name aloud, I wouldn’t have been able to hear that. I was very scared and almost hopeless. Then I did the best I could think of; I stood beside a paani poori stall. The police arrived in twenty minutes or so. One policewoman found me in a shattered state. She asked me about my home and my parents. I was too shocked to talk to her. Then she gave me an ice-cream. I cooled down and gave her a chit of paper on which the address of our home was written. In fact, my maa and paa, whenever we went out, always made me keep a chit of paper with our address written on it. That policewoman then took me along with a driver uncle in a police jeep and dropped me home. But when I reached home, I found the door locked. I started crying again. I started feeling that I had surely lost my maa and paa in that fair. An hour passed by. I was feeling nauseous. Suddenly, I heard my maa’s voice, choked with sobs. And yes, it was my maa! She saw me sitting in front of our home and ran towards me. I ran towards her and jumped to hug her. We both were crying at that time. The moment I hugged her, I could feel that I was alive again. That was the tightest hug I had ever given to my maa. We both kissed each other. Some fifteen minutes later, my paa arrived home. We three hugged each other and cried again.

I distinctly remember the day when I had cried for a full day. I was being sent to a boarding school where there were many children like me. I was told that “my condition would improve at a faster rate”. I couldn’t understand what “condition” meant and what “improve at a faster rate” meant. Why would I have to improve, I wondered. If you see the world from my perspective, I feel that you all behave weirdly. Whenever I see myself in the mirror, I am proud of my hair, my eyes. Okay, I do tilt a lot towards my left and twitch my face when I speak or laugh. I can’t lift my left hand entirely. But, I don’t have a problem with that. That’s how God intended me to be. In fact, I am sure that I am a very creative person. You can never think of something that I can think of. Let me ask you. What do you think when you read this:

“A farmer had 5 goats. A person bought 3 goats. So how many goats are there with the farmer?”

You might answer ‘2’ in a flash!

But, as I said, I am a creative person. I first imagine a farmer with 5 goats. The goats are munching green grass. The goats are talking to each other about their lives and how good their owner is. Then a person, probably a non-vegetarian, comes to buy 3 goats. All the 5 goats become happy because they now know that 3 of them are going to see the world other than their shed. Finally, the farmer picks 3 goats and hands them to the person. The 3 goats are happy and bid goodbye to the remaining 2 goats. So finally the farmer is left with 2 goats.

This is my way of thinking. Now you know why I take full two minutes to solve a question like the one mentioned above.

I dread to think of the day when my maa, paa, Sandya ma’am and Shraddha will not be around me. I know I would have to face such a day. I pray to God to make maa and paa as my parents again and Sandhya ma’am and Shraddha my sisters. I love them very much. I have written a poem for my maa, paa, Shraddha, Sandhya ma’am and Tommy…

Someone please tell, why do people laugh at me?

All of them face the world, they all are set free.

Why do I still hold paa’s hand and cross the road,

When the world around has grown to a frog from a tadpole.

In the morning I get up and look at nature’s grace,

And then maa drops me to school and I see Sandhya ma’am’s face.

So many years passed, I still learn 2+2=4

But why don’t they understand that I want to learn much more.

My childhood friends now have their own kids

The toddlers call me ‘aunty’, even when I play in their midst.

Am I different from my friends in any way?

If no, then why do I still continue to play with clay.

Hey, my dear Tommy, you are my sweetest pet!

Your mum was very cruel, baby, that’s why we both met.

Now I think I should write your mum a mail

Telling her how nicely you play and cutely wag your tail.

Sandhya ma’am, you were a pillar to me

And I know you didn’t love me just for the sake of fee.

Paa and maa, you always have been my soul’s part

You are the best parents, with such a pure and loving heart.

Shraddha, you are my true and best friend

Because you didn’t follow the worldly trend.

My world is my teacher, my friend and my maa and paa

Now I don’t care even if others laugh – ‘Ha Ha Ha’

Rest of the world doesn’t love me, they only know to hate

May be this is what God wrote in my fate.

Maa and Paa you don’t have to be worried

I would be happy till the day you are buried.