Just while writing the previous post, a friend asked me to stop over at her desk.. i did, like a zombie, and she gave me a ladybird she had painted on a walnut shell..
:) An Omen that?!
Right now my mind is an entangled web of many choices.. no, it is an intersection of many highways and alleys, and my direction sense is at its worst..
I keep telling myself, these may be the best of times.. when I want to break free from status-quo.. when I can be brave enough to concede that my belief that this staus-quo is just right for me, is only a desperate illusion.. when ms.daredevil in me throws ms.humility to the backseat and grabs the wheels.. (and all this time i thought ms.daredevil did not come back with me from the delivery room..)
Went to the cafeteria and got a kit-kat and black coffee.. Thankfully, there was nothing else to choose from! For the records, kit-kat is TOO sweet (yeah..that must be another INDIfication thing..just like someone told me that Coke and Pepsi are made sweeter in India..Bah..)
Lately I came across two women.. one who had a disabled child and dedicated her life in helping that child lead a normal life.. being in a develop'ing' country like India that is a challenge - manifold.
The other has founded a not-for-profit organization in India, to help the blind feel included, and to make public areas more accessible to disables..
We, the blessed, look at not-for-profit organizations and say 'great, they are doing a good work'.. make a one time donation - with effort, or with money..and move on with life.. after all disabilities happen to 'other people'...
What happens if suddenly one day I get disabled - something like blindness.. the only way I can lead an independent life is to relocate to a developed country - USA..UK.. No matter how patriotic I am or how much I love the smells and sounds and feels of India - no life here.. I cannot go outside by myself, I have to leave my job, I cannot read the latest bestseller, I cannot read the morning newspaper..
But in small corners in India, there are bunches of unknown volunteers, taking time out of their busy life fraught with its own problems and dedicating this time to me - so that I can read using braille, and I can cross the road without waiting for someone to help me, and I can continue my employment with specially designed computers...
This thought makes me realize how truly thankful we should be to these enthusiastic, brave people who thought about the 'others' and did something too..
Well.. just discovered this organization called Esha , it is strange that i get to know of it now, while i've known its founder for more than a year now.. If I could define this noble work, Esha is an organization that works towards an Indian tomorrow, where disabled Indians don't have just two choices - live a life of dependence in India or relocate outside (of course, those who can afford).. where Indians visiting overseas don't feel 'wow' at seeing braille in elevators, movie theaters and all major corporate communications.. because in that tomorrow, we have it all in India too..
Fills me with joy, hope and gratitude..
Last weekend, I read a book (The Alchemist).. In the past one year, this was my first serious read that was not related to pregnancy or hospitals or PIH or childbirth or breastfeeding or child rearing or working-moms..
Maybe it is..
Being 30 and not wishing I were 16 again..
Being 45 and not wishing I could watch animations with my kids again..
Being 60 and not wishing I can make a difference to my salaried job, if only they give me one more year..
Being 75 and knowing that I won't miss any worldly love, material or life..
Because I have lived it all and lived it well..
(I hope this blog lives until I am 75, just to check.. :) This was inspired in the office cafeteria, catching a glimpse of the latest animation movie release... in those 3 minutes i was first filled with a joyous thought ke how much fun it will be to watch these animations with baby-of-mine when he grows into a pre-schooler.. immediately followed by an apprehension ke how nostalgic it will be when he is a teenager and won't want to watch these with us any more.. then came the knowing smile that we would also grow old enough and wise enough to take all these in our stride.. :) )
