Today I started my day off by teaching bhajans at the Occupational Therapy room dedicated to female psychiatric patients. There must have been roughly 100 people. As I walked in, the patients were very excited. They greeted me with their eyes so wide full of excitement and with such huge smiles. They wished me good morning with their hands on their forehead. They were seated in rows, ready for their prayer time and bhajan learning time.
Soon, with such eagerness to prove themselves, they sang the bhajans that were taught yesterday halfway correctly. I was very impressed. I then started to teach one of the simplest bhajans I had planed, however it didn’t have a fast beat to it. Hence, the patients lost interest. I then realized that my goal here is not to teach them a number of bhajans, but to entertain them and in the process lead them to say the Lord’s name through namasmarana. I then proceeded to teach them a bhajan with nice beat.
For some reason something was bothering me that the people in back did not get the same attention as the patients in the front did. I then decided to walk and sing and went up to each patient who was in her own world. I took each person’s hands and started clapping them together. Some people who didn’t feel like doing anything then started to clap whenever I walked by them. One of the paatis (elderly grandma) had the biggest smile on her face I’ve ever seen as soon as I took her hands into mine. She was so happy that someone cares. Soon we went from 1/3rd of the room participating by singing and or clapping to 2/3rds of the room participating. That was truly rewarding. They wanted me to sing Devi Bhajans, and Muruga Bhajans. I then had a dilemma. The bhajans I know are difficult bhajans… how will they follow me? I then had an idea. They could jus clap while I sing. A lady said… you can sing, and we will clap (naanga kummi kotturom). They happily did that. With my voice almost out at the end of the hour, I had earned so many people’s smiles.
When I told them that today is Friday, and I’m off for the weekend, they were really sad. They asked me why I’m going, where I’m going, how long I’ll be gone. They wanted to make sure that I will come back to sing with them on Monday. They wished me well, said their byes and got re-assured as to when I’ll be back. With a mixed feeling of sadness and happiness I walked out to find out what my next assignment was.
I was then taken to the section called “kutti papas” meaning small children. This was an area for spastic kids. Some kids who were, for a lack of a better terminology, mere vegetables. Their caretakers did everything for them. They brush their teeth, shower them, feed them, change them and assess what their needs might be. They play with every child. There were children who were few years old in one room. They were kept separate from the bigger children. They were being fed their lunch. All I could see and hear were their cries to inform that they do not like to eat. One of the boys had some problem with swallowing and hence cried the whole time to drink his liquid food. In the bigger room, there were kids who partially functioned and older kids who could not function too. I saw a beautiful girl in her bed. She was petite and built small. She is now 24 years old and can sometimes understand what you say and she smiles. That’s all her functionality is. There was another boy with a similar status. Apart from these kids, two other kids had partial functionality. Amongst them, a boy was playing with the puzzles where you place the exact shape of circle in to circle hole and so forth. This game is usually for one year olds, and he must be at least 10 or 12. There was a girl who was probably much older. She kept saying ka ka (for akka – meaning sister) and was playing with another toy used for toddlers. They both invited me to play with them. If I were playing with the girl, the boy would come and grab my face to get my attention to start playing with him. The boy was very happy to have me to play with him.
I was lost – mentally and emotionally. I just observed. What was my role? Am I to continue being numb and play with them? Or was I supposed to realize that we have been blessed with a fully functioning body and so much more? I didn’t feel the joy to play with them. I did my best to block out the sadness and became numb as it was too much to take in. I just left the place sooner than intended.
I then peeped into the toddlers’ room. They were sitting in a line against the wall. I walked in and said hi and asked what they were doing. A little girl said, “oh, we’re sitting.” I laughed and said what else are you doing? She said… I’m singing butterfly. They sang many rhymes for me in their sweet baby voices. There was a little one-year-old boy who was super shy. He then saw my shiny water bottle that keeps water cold and then we were playing tug of war. I then went to see the 15-day-old baby in the crib next to them. The baby was super tiny. I knew this wasn’t a normal child, and to confirm my doubt, the child was a pre-mature baby born at 7 months. The caretaker explained that when this baby is 3 months old, the baby will be equivalent to the size of a normal one-month-old baby. It was just sad to know that the mother had abandoned this child somewhere, as a pre-mature baby. The kids said bye. They kept saying come back and see us. I then left.
Next I was assigned to the model schoolgirls’ group. I was supposed to take Balvikas class for them. These are basically moral stories that helps one lead their life with morals and values needed in one’s life.
As I was revising my teaching materials, one of the coordinators there asked me if I would be interested to see some pictures. I said sure, and went over to look at the pictures. He shared with me of how Udavum Karangal and their staff play a role in rescuing people in trouble. He shared many incidents where people have had some injury that was left unattended and how their feet started to decay. The decayed portion of their leg then had to be amputated. He also shared how they have rescued babies from the toilets of the trains.
I then proceeded to teach Balvikas for two sets of kids. The day was a productive, inspiring, shocking yet rewarding day.
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