My first day! (May 25th, 2011)

 

The special day for my much-awaited visit to Udavum Karangal finally arrived. I hardly slept the night before due to the excitement of what was in store for me this summer. I was eager to get there as I had learnt so much about Udavum Karangal each time my family members visited in the past. I was then taken on the orientation tour. Udavum Karangal is separated with many sections. First, there was the newborn and toddlers section, followed by the dormitories for the young girls and boys, separately. Then there were occupational therapy rooms for female and male psychiatry patients, followed by sections for spastic children. Udavum Karangal has schools built for these children, and special needs school for the special needs children too. There was much more. This itself was overwhelming. I also saw a temple and a church. The people here are encouraged to choose their own faith in religion and for them to believe that all religion are one, as all people should believe.

When I went to the female psychiatry patients’ room, they referred to any male as uncle, and any female as aunty. Even a paati (grandma) around 65 years old called me aunty. I assume that this is the easiest way for them to communicate, as it might be hard for them to remember names and faces. Imagine this: shortly after I walked in I was almost forced to sit in a chair. I had roughly 20 people gathered around me… shaking my hands, hugging me, leaning on me, gazing into my eyes… asking me what my name was… how I’m doing… they asked if I had eaten… they were curious as to where I’m from. They asked why I’m here… and what type of bhajans I would teach them and how often I would come. Soon enough, some people would forget that I already answered them and they’d ask me all over again. Some shook my hands, some said good morning aunty… some kept gazing into my eyes and smiling from ear to ear. One lady kept doing a few repetitive actions and kept rolling her eyes up and down and smiling. Some were deaf and dumb. Some people refused to speak… a lady chooses to be mute all the time. Some of them kept conversing with me in proper English to show that they’re better than the rest of them… I soon found out that they too are chronic psychiatric patients that go through mood cycles.

I had mixed feelings of being overly joyful from the abundance of unconditional love and the sadness upon seeing their condition. Many (or almost all) of these people (probably must) have been rescued by the Udavum Karangal family from the streets. They were showing unconditional love… with the most innocent, loving and beautiful smiles. They had no expectations… they accepted me whole-heartedly without any barriers. At first, I was thinking… oh my gosh… they’re leaning on me… holding my hands… what about the germs? Ahhhh…but I came to my senses and accepted people as they are… after all it’s nothing compared to how quickly they accepted me for who I am. What was unique was not an outsider accepting them for who they are… but the people putting up with each other and treating each other like kids. It was great to see that someone with a better mental state is so kind and generous to their inmate who is not so well off. Even if someone does something silly, the people around them accept them so easily and put up with them in a joyful manner.

To take care of these people, there were 3-5 girls at any given time. These girls are assigned here to spend their summer. They’re either in school going to 11^th  STD, or have just graduated from school. There was a very young psychiatric social worker who was overseeing the place at the time I was with them. This young girl proudly stated my name is ____________ Vidyaakar, and I’ve been here from the time I was a child. I just finished my 10^th Standard. She is a joy to be with. She goes to the school opposite to here along with the other girls from Udavum Karangal.

It was a joy to see that all the kids who grow up here carry Mr. Vidyaakar uncle’s name as their last name and V. as their initial. It’s truly remarkable for a man to be so humble and give such an identity to those who did not have an identity.

Apparently it was pre-established that I will be teaching bhajans. I might have mentioned that I sing bhajans… but little did I know that I would be assigned to teach bhajans for such a huge crowd of almost 100 people. Am I a good enough singer to teach this many people? Questions started to boggle my mind. How many bhajans do I know to teach for 2 months? Will they be able to sing? Then I remembered that I have everything I need within me now. I just have to work at it. I reassured my self quickly… I just might have to do some homework.

            After the long introductory talks with the patients, I too accompanied them to their dining room for their lunchtime. As if there weren’t enough patients inviting me to eat with them, a volunteer kept on asking me to eat with her. However, I wanted to serve food instead. I then asked the coordinator and agreed that I would serve the simplest item. But, there was a family that was sponsoring their food that day and they wanted to serve instead. Anything I was told I could do, that family wanted to help. I then watched what was not being done, and quietly did that with much satisfaction.

            The volunteer wouldn’t let me go… she insisted that I drink the payasam. I was worried about how clean the silverware would be, and when I saw the love, the kindness and affection in her eyes, my concern for safety was temporarily forgotten. I valued her more than my worries, and drank it. It tasted great!

            I then went to eat my lunch with the staff. What was amazing was how much fun these staff were having just by teasing each other casually. After a hard day’s work, they still had a huge smile on their faces. They joked around and filled the room with laughter and put me at ease too. I thought, if they can be happy, why not the rest of the world? If people who are constantly working with patients that have numerous problems can be so happy, then there’s no reason for others to delve into self-pity. The amount of unconditional love was simply oozing out of almost every soul at this campus.

            I then went and got settled in the two-bedroom guest house. It was a typical Indian home. I was reminded of how I used to live here 12 years ago. I was accompanied by my new best friends… a large lizard, many small really ugly lizards, and a few spiders along with the most wonderful mosquitoes. I quickly got settled and returned back to Udavum Karangal.

            Shortly after, a social worker told me about their newest section that there were experimenting with: Model House Girls. They were the best students who were put in a home separately to learn the habits that are required for any young girl. They were there to be groomed. She then introduced me to them and said, you can spend time with them and left. Ahhhh… what am I supposed to do with 12 girls for a few hours? I started off with their names, and ages… soon ran out of questions and started teaching bhajans. Their caretaker then stated that they needed help with their English. I then asked them to form 2 sentences in English on any topic. Somehow or the other they kept expressing gratitude to their Papa Vidyaakar even through a simple assignment.

            I then had an opportunity to finally meet Mr. Vidyaakar uncle and have a small chat. Long story short, he was pleased to have me here and I am more than happy and pleased to have such an opportunity.  I thanked him for making this dream come true for me. This day marked the beginning of my new journey.