Innocent Smiles @ Bala Vihar

Have you ever seen the blissful smile of new parents? Have you ever realized the satisfaction and love of your parents when you smiled, giggled, spoke, walked and reacted for the first time? Many might have already experienced those feelings. They can understand its difficult to express all those emotional arouses in 2-3 words.

Today I felt am lucky enough to be born this way, I can speak, express and communicate to people. I am independent (how you read on..), I can understand and respond. You might be wondering why am penning these stuffs. I can get it. Today I was privileged to meet some beautiful souls at ‘Bala Vihar’.

Bala Vihar, a unit of Guild of Service is the home for special persons (mentally challenged but very special). Bala Vihar was born in 1953 and has come long way to care, protect and rehab special children and adults. It had a humble beginning with 5 residential students. Today they have 350+ special people with them, children till the age of 18-years stay at the Kilpauk wing and adults at Veppamputtu.
I have been to their Kilpauk branch today and met children who addressed us (class participation) as ‘Akka’ or ‘Anna’. They have the most innocent pair of eye ever seen. Many children came forward to interact with us, smiled beautifully and greeted us.

Those children were either born with it, or suffer Down syndrome and/or other causes. Their IQ is below 70. People suffer from severe mental retardation are unable to their daily routines independently. Such persons need extensive care and support through out their life. Here at Bala Vihar children are taught about daily living skills like getting dressed, using washroom, etc.
At Bala Vihar, they train children (residential and day-scholars) in self-help skills, socialization skills i.e. communication and interaction, basic academics and hygiene. They also provide rehab programs as physiotherapy, speech therapy, vocational training, etc at very reasonable fees. They quote their achievements as the pass-out students who have been rehabilitated and have become independent workers earning a comfortable livelihood.

Now, you (readers) can understand how privileged we are to be independent, have our own view and express it amongst million other benefits and advantages. I feel we owe them and society the “privilege of being us” and need to pay it back.

You can help Bala Vihar here contribute.

Weekends Special Time - 'Saara'

Big round shining eyes, a cute smile, scattered bangs and her squeals accompanied with clapping will catch your attention once you enter her zone. Basically she rules that home – her zone.

Saara, my friend’s a year and half kid, always full of energy and ready to ‘buui’. Buui can be translated as outing/ short trips to adults.

Usually we (my husband and me) spend weekend evenings together but then all shares her playtime. Her parents and us fight to get her attention, which is mostly won by her dad L. But recently I earned an evening with her, happy enough to say that! When its 7 pm Saturday Saara-Hour begins.

First rearrange her playground a.k.a their bedroom space or living room filled with soft toys, books, and her tech gadgets. Her tech gadgets include a 10-inch laptop and mobile. OMG! Techie-girl! Cell phone can be ignored but she needs that laptop more than anyone else. Its when little lady demands her relatives to be online @ skype.

Her non-stop laughter performance will make you forget time and play with her. At times like a teen girl she would comment at your look and bag – ‘bhala’ (nice). We friends wait to hear that bhala word from her even more than our spouse.

Be it her new language words or buui or bhala….her laptop demands, and not to forget she is a sheila-fan (alas for munni). She controls our weekend evenings. Saara has the power to diminish work-life worries almost to lose its existence.

Aha!! This baby is apple of our eyes.

Charity or Scam

Multiple knocks at the door, at times repeated doorbells makes you run marathon. Almost every first week of each month I go through them. Those days the visitors are not family or friends of mine, neither are salesperson urging to buy their products. They are small children aged around 8-18 years, as groups or individuals claiming being deaf and dumb students. They expect financial help from us. Their eyes will make your heart bleed and make you feel sympathetic towards them. At times you might even be kind enough to do that charity.

But is this really a charity/donation and not any scam? The donor has almost no proof to believe that this kid is poor and desperately need your help. Kids usually display a printed letter where it is mentioned that they are poor, deaf and dumb seeking help undersigned by some name quoted as principal of XYZ school.

As a donor (or now victim) shall I go with the choice to contribute without any receipt or bang the door back? Would I qualify as a human if I send them off? If it is a fraud one my honest feelings are crushed.

Finally I decide to show them cold shoulder but still hurt self. But most of the times their eyes overshadow my doubts and make me act as their wish. Anyways I might not be bright enough to any RCA (root cause analysis/ deep analysis) for self-satisfaction but I do contribute my share of humanitarian help to needful every year in my way, with my budget.

So, conclusion even if I feel sorry when I refuse them, still it wonders me what they really are. Are those pitiful faces exploited? Does any school really send its student to collect money for school fees, even when they right to education?



P.S: Its only my view, no hard feelings!

Teaching parents tech

Ever since I remember my dad, a public sector employee too busy in his job would try to give maximum possible time to the family. Even after working long hours at office and site-field, once he would at home he would try to concern on us, especially my sis and me. I remember him trying to solve my mathematics and physics problems to help me in my homework. I quite admired his patience when I queried a lot during that period. When we visit our village he will show us around the place. My curious nature will force him to answer my millions questions all through the way. Most of them were replied with satisfied answers. Wow!! My dad is almost an omniscient I was felt too proud of it.

After marriage I got another dad, my pops (my f-i-l, father in law). I feel I was lucky enough to get love and affection from both my dad and pops. My pops act like a catalyst to my curiosity. The truth is pops is even more curious about new things than me. When our home need a new gadget pops will just dig deep to know all about it, its features, he will try to figure out all possible usage and lacking if any before settling. Loved it that way.

Recently I got a chance to show off my computer knowledge to both men. As we live in Chennai and my parents and parents-in-law stay at my hometown Sambalpur, all were connected through phone. But in this tech-era if we are going to move on like this it would we so dull. So, we decided to connect through skype or oovoo. And here we go!!

KT (knowledge transfer) session starts now. We (more of me) started with turning on the computer, moving to use of MS word, copying – pasting files, transferring files, etc. They religiously followed it and took notes. Best part was yet to come; they need to show me that all in practical. Mistakes, learning and relearning, all in phases…

Finally they mastered almost all basic computer knowledge and created their own inbox, opened unread mails, drafted new mails, sent mails, uploaded attachments, and many on.
In the end, both can connect audio and video instant messaging through oovoo.

Almost every weekend we can connect through technology. Its something I can boast to all I (we, including my hubby) taught parent tech.

P.S.: The idea for this write up was always there but it got a push from the recent twitter trend – teach parent tech.

Road to discover me

Ever since I decided to be a homemaker, quitting my job. My friends and family keeps inquiring why I took such steps. Well had obviously more than one reason to do so. I was working in an IT firm. My day started as early as 5:45am (too much for me). Then rush for daily chores, run for company transport and reach office by 8:30 pushing away traffic as much as possible. Phew! Finally I reach office. Office day starts with meetings, presentations or running through N number of lines of codes. Many of those lines were written years back and are needed to update with current scenario. Still I loved it at that time. Life tried to move fast and I leaped faster. Trying to assure client work done on schedule and pull up my sleeves to perform each time better. Meanwhile I extended my family, now my free bird life was gone; still it was nice to have someone help you at household chores and ask about the day as I say off now.
I can’t remember when but I guess it was a slow process when I realized I was no more passionate about my work. When I discussed with co-workers and friends of same field many felt same as me, most excused it as a monotonous job. But I was not ready to accept the fact that the work, which I used to adore, can become dull soon. My anxiety aroused more when I discovered I haven’t seen and felt sunset for a long time. In weekends day starts late, by the time it’s evening on Saturdays either its a party or dinner pre-planned or friends reunion and on Sundays my long face expresses good time over now work, work, work! Even though I was literally independent but I felt chained. I wanted back my feel and thirst to achieve a dream, to try my best to get the reward and now my dreams has fainted.
It was time to paint a new dream, but even after thinking really hard and long my canvas was untouched. So, now I want to introspect why can’t I get a clear thought? The conclusion was pretty shocking for me. I came across a fact that I haven’t done many things I always loved to do for a long time. I have converted from a dreamer and achiever to some to can’t dream and try, who just want to wait stupidly for Friday evening, who now want to shop unwanted items to create a fake me. I was not real anymore. I lost me while trying to earn respect in others eyes and slipped out of my own glass world.

It’s always better to try then regret at deathbed for never trying. And I quit my job to re-discover me.

It might feel weird to most of readers, but I want to give me one more chance, am recreating the magic of life with the power of now.