THE OTHER SIDE
Dr. Rajat Chabba is a Research and Communication Executive with a Tamil Nadu based NGO and will be writing this monthly column for The Sip of Life. His writings can be viewed at http://thesipoflife.com/the-other-side/ and he can be contacted at rajat@thesipoflife.com
MAY 2011
It’s been a long time. Life has never been busy yet subtly enjoyable as its now. That’s on the personal front. However, I am back with some fresh insights from the heart of India.
Of all the things in life I wait for, none is as unique and pure as what happens on the 3rd Saturday of every month.
The events that unfold now are true and none of the characters are fictitious and their resemblance to reality is totally intentional!! This is the story about a periodic event known as “Nayantara”.
Nayantara means “Star of my Eyes”.
Nayantara is a unique platform where 12 children suffering from various motor and visual disabilities along with their parents share a common platform and discuss their fears, apprehensions, and queries. These children are taught various social skills and analytical skills based on their assessment and treatment plan.
The unique part of this program is the way these children have been identified. These children are from the interiors of Bangalore city, belonging to lower socioeconomic strata of the society. Our fieldworkers and partner organizations like NAB and Enable India came across these children in December 2009.
In January 2010, these children were brought to the hospital for a one time discussion and meeting. However, since then its been a year and two months and every month these children are brought to the hospital and provided training.
Every third Saturday of the month, trainers from Enable India and Sankara Eye Hospital, Bangalore train these children. Various skills like identifying shapes, counting, arithmetic skills, color identification, games like abacus are taught to these talented and enthusiastic young minds.
They are like you and me; it’s just that they can’t do certain things that we can. But, we all have limitations don’t we?
I eagerly wait for the 3rd Saturday every month as its one of those days when I forget all my worries and relive my childhood days.
The look on those innocent faces, the pride of identifying the correct shape, the joy of playing abacus and the peace of being a part of a regular world are a few cherished moments which you and I have left behind in our fast paced lives.
Some of them understand Hindi, some understand Kannada but all of them understand the language of affection and love.
So, next time you are in Bangalore on the 3rd Saturday of the month, just drop in and join us in a unique and fun filled afternoon. One hour of your time can mean a lot to these children. Just some food for thought!!
I am eagerly waiting for the 3rd Saturday to arrive, are you?
DECEMBER 2010
I went…I saw and I returned…
They came…They performed and they conquered…
This journey can be described in these two sentences…and yet a lot has changed after the journey…A COMPLETE NEW OUTLOOK HAS EMERGED…
for the children of Srishti Special Academy, being themselves was being happy….they were not ashamed of their mental state or their disability…for me they were just not disabled….they have something which we all want…something which we don’t get despite years of search…
100 kms from Bangalore there lays this unique place which radiates an infectious enthusiasm and enables a positive spirit. The students are encouraged to perform tasks just as u and I will do. They start their day with prayer and exercise. Post exercise they are provided breakfast in a common room. All staff and children have their food together and I had a privilege to join them for breakfast. For once, I had company and that too one of the best I can ever have.
Post breakfast, these children are trained in various activities depending upon their age. They are taught practical things related to current affairs like environment, transport etc. and taught daily living skills. Children suffering from various metal disorders and autism live as a family. They are brought from various parts of Bangalore and other districts and are dropped back at the end of the day. Trained in all the three departments of life i.e. daily skills, social skills and vocational training; the eagerness of these children to learn and improve is commendable. In case you get to see the files and candles made by these children, I am sure you are going to envy me for I have them 
…a reward for going there rather than sitting here and reading this post
I saw them train hard for fashion show event for their annual day celebrations…I walked the ramp with one of them who outsmarted me within two rounds…kudos to my new friend…. May be one day I shall do something like Srishti Special Academy….something more meaningful than what I am currently doing…for though I am doing good…I belong there….between the group….along the group…and not a monitoring officer outside the group…I am making a difference even now but this may be is not the way I want it to be…
Anyways today I have a different question for you guys…
What makes you happy??
NOVEMBER 2010
Social Inclusion: How far are we willing to go?
There is a buzz in the air in the development sector now days. Everyone is talking about social inclusion of the unfortunate few. Unfortunately, such unfortunate friends of mine are not few but many. It was in the back of my mind to explore the domain of social inclusion. To do something radical yet practical, to explore the unexplored and add a new dimension to vocational training initiated my journey of social inclusion. After few months of radical, impractical and wishful thinking, one fine day I landed up on a website (www.blindwithcamera.org) and came across a unique workshop of photography for the blind and visually impaired. Suddenly, I found something which was different yet feasible, I found a man who shared the same passion for innovations as I did. Things happen when we least expect them to! So true!!
On 14th October 2010, on the occasion of World Sight Day (WSD), towards advocacy of empowerment of blind and social inclusion in a common society, we at Sankara Eye Hospital organized a unique workshop on photography for blind children “Beyond Sight Workshop 2010” in collaboration with Beyond Sight Foundation, Mumbai.
The workshop demystified the polarity between blindness and visual expression, celebrated the human spirit of self-expression, spreads awareness about the challenges and capabilities of the visually impaired, helped to sensitize people and corrected public perception of visual impairment by delivering the message “diminished sense doesn’t mean diminished life.”
33 young minds in the age group of 12-18 years were trained for two days in basics of photography and trained to utilize their other senses in a constructive manner. To these visually impaired photographers – such accomplishment are expected to impart feeling of pride and belonging which elevates their self-esteem, develop their confidence and personality, social and workplace skills.
The workshop was one of the most rewarding experiences for all of us at Sankara Eye Hospital, Bangalore. However, every occasion has its learning and its introspections. Looking back, I realize how development sector wakes up in phases. On important occasions like World Sight Day, Independence Day a host of activities are organized across India but things return back to status quo once the occasions are gone. These sporadic events are seldom backed by sustained efforts and programs which shall continue to benefit the underprivileged. But, at the same time the sector suffers from the lack of professionalism and more so from the lack of professional manpower. A 900 employee organization like ours has less than 10 management graduates who are working tirelessly to accomplish a transition from a passion driven to a process driven organization.
Can we take it to the next level? Can the two day workshop sow the seeds of photography being accepted as a potential vocational training for the blind? Can people like Partho (Founder, Beyond Sight Foundation) be encouraged and supported for the selfless service they do? Will people from the corporate sector encourage and support such activities? Can we take this initiative to the next level or the new found spirits of these children will die down like various initiatives in the past?
Questions are many but answers are tough to find. It all depends on how far are we willing to go!!
OCTOBER 2010
The road less travelled…
On 11th October2007, Shri Budh Rai Dhurve, the head of my host family in Jhulup, a remote tribal village in the interiors of MP, was found lying unconscious in his room. I and my village partner were called upon to check his condition. He was lying on the floor, had cold extremities, and his pupils were constricted not responding to light.
We were told that he had been drinking the country liquor, “Mahua”, whole day the day before skipping all his meals. There was also an injury on his forehead. Soon people gathered around him starting their religious chores. A tantrik came and started spreading something in the air. Few people stated applying “Rai ka oil” on his body. A paramedical worker, Ayodhya ji also came there.
All three went about their jobs individually without interfering in others work. However, me and my village partner Nishant, took the malaria worker into our confidence and persuaded the villagers to take our daddu to the hospital in Bichhiya, a town 15 kms away. It took us an hour to arrange and assemble the tractor. Daddu was shifted to the tractor in his favorite charpai, and with few relatives we were set to start our journey to the government community health centre. Ironically, there was no diesel in the tractor and another half hour went in arranging the same. Add to it another two hours we took to reach the hospital.
Comically, the villagers and the family were afraid to go to the government health centre, fearing legal hassles due to consumption of country liquor and poor quality of services.
We took daddu to a private health centre and I somehow managed to persuade the doctor to examine the old man. To our surprise, daddu’s condition had improved by the time we reached the hospital. I was informed later on, that a similar incidence happened a year back and the old man had expired.
That day was one of the most insightful and fearful days of my life. The fear came out of the concern for our host but more out of the feeling of being an outsider to the community and the possibility of being blamed for the mishap. Any such thought could have proved detrimental to our relationship with the villagers.
Ignorance, superstition, traditional dependence, lack of communication and many other reasons which we shall come across during our journey across rural India, can be witnessed in Jhulup. Daddu’s story is one of the most common happenings of rural India. Lack of opportunity, frustration of lack of access to resources, poor implementation of government schemes, fear to trust others and many more reasons culminate into increased alcohol consumption. The road to access to resources is one of the roads less travelled in our country.
More from my life and times in Jhulup in months to come…till then as they say in Jhulup:
“Jai Ram ji ki, kabhi ghar aaiye”