Vow to vote!

Yes it was an accident,

That changed my life.

Not for good,

But I am still alive.

I want my nation to stand up,

There was no one to save me.

But the nation has YOU,

Vote please.

I got inspired to write this piece when I met him. He was not exactly a package of inspiration as it might seem. But, whatever little he said and responded to, is what makes the basis of this blog.  

His name is Amit Shukla. I met with him just a few days before the Lok Sabha voting began in our city. He seemed  introvert. Talked a lot, but didn't say much. And at times, it really got tough to extract an opinion out of him as the only thing he would do when asked a question was smile.I have always believed that introverts have a lot to say, a lot to express. All they require is a sincere nod, a comforting smile and  a few open ears. But this introvert was a hard nut to crack. And as he was unwilling to respond to my questions, I switched to the topic of elections (hoping that this might finally spur him into action). That did not really open him up but it did make him discuss things that he had never shared with any one. So strange is communication. When there is immense restraint in communicating with the people you know, you sometimes choose complete strangers to lend ears.

Well, 'If acting like a stranger is what takes Mr. Shukla to open up, here I am', I mused and smiled.

Mr. Shukla did open up. Opened up to an extent that made me realize how closed I was to his sufferings. How easy I had imagined his struggle to be. He was a winner, in every respect. But winners do not sit and revel on their victory, they do something more than that. Something that makes them what they are, in true sense. They impact change. And the change that Mr. Shukla impacted on me was in every way as relevant as ever.

I asked him,' Why do you vote? What can one vote do? Why do you take so much pain to go to the booth when you do not even have a wheelchair? ' 

He said,' Mr. A, I have been like this for as long as I can remember. Unlike other children, my parents have no memories of me standing on my feet. I could have been better, if it wasn't for the gravely poor state of my family. The operation that would cure this state of my legs, was too expensive for me. The money that was required to be invested for the operation, could surely have fed my whole family for 20 years. So the decision taken at that time was precisely intended for the greater good. I was left like this.

I believe that if my family had more money at that time, I would really not be getting interviewed by you Sir. Now, when I see our national leaders indulging in the most vile forms of corrupt money laundering acts, I feel ashamed. I feel that the money that they extract from the people of India could have gone to people like me. People who really need it.
   

And so, I vote. I vote every year. Why should I not?  I vote because I am selfish. I vote because I think a better government can help me stand up. My nation has become crippled, like me. I vote because I want my country to stand up to the injustice and corruption that is so prevalent today. I sadly state that I am the real face of India right now. Sitting helplessly, waiting for others to help me. Dragging its way into the future with a hope that someday, crutches won't be needed anymore. '

I voted. Somehow, I wanted  to impact a change in Mr. Shukla's condition. So I voted. I am not sure how my vote would directly effect him. I am not even sure whether my vote will bring any change per se. And the same old question sprang into my head again,' What can one vote do?' Well I do not have an answer to that. But now my vote had joined forces with Mr. Shukla's. And now there were two. And again I thought,' What can two votes do? '. I smiled.
I smiled because I understood what he had done to me.
I smiled because he had so effortlessly made me vote.
I smiled because I understood what I can do to YOU.
And Two is just a number,
There is more waiting for you.

Wish I had eyes!

                                     Seeing is Believing? Well, I don't think so.

I like meeting people. I like sharing experiences. I like knowing about them. Knowing what they are, why they are. The decisions they have made, the choices they have taken.

[Initially I wanted to write this as a suspense article, not revealing the identity of the subject till the end. But then I thought that this guy and his life were too pure to be lied about. I chose to write the truth.]

So I met this disabled guy. I thought I knew him. I thought I could somehow relate to him [Like we always think we can]. But, he turned out to be someone else. Someone I had really not known before.
Yes, he was disabled. Yes, life had been tough for him. Yes, he was fed up of being treated differently. And yes, tired of being cared about [He knows you do not care. He knows you will forget him, his misery and his suffering as soon as you leave the room. He knows you will get busy with your work. Well, why would you care? Valid point! ].

After the meeting, I had some introspection and had to conclude that it was not him who was disabled. It was not him who could not see. It was not him who was suffering.

Here is the conversation that changed my life [Umm no, not changed it entirely. It is too dramatic to speak like that. It did change me. Changing one's life is an altogether different topic of discussion].

[The sentences in brackets are a manifestation of my inner voice and shall keep coming up in the article]

                                                                ******Start******

Mr. A:  Hi! I am Akash. May I come in?

Mr. B:  Yes. Mr. Akash. Please sit down.

Mr. A:  Happy holi Sir!

Mr. B:  Same to you son. I will be glad to be of any help to you.

Mr. A:  Thank you, Sir! It is a 'pleasure' to meet you. I just want to…

Mr. B:  Why? Why is it a 'pleasure' ? You have merely started talking to me. You do not even know me properly. Why then is this 'pleasure' for you?

Mr. A:  Umm, it is Sir! Because…

Mr. B:  Am I good looking?

Mr. A:  Excuse me!

Mr. B:  How else then can this be ‘pleasure’, Son? You have just seen me. If seeing me derives ‘pleasure’ in you, then I might be good looking. Yes?

[See how he concentrates and derives meaning out of mere greetings. Why? Maybe the loss of sight has improved his hearing. Can he smell better too ? Hmm, Interesting. Is this some kind of compensation? He cannot see, so let's just make him a good listener. Hmm, maybe.]

Mr. A:  Umm, Sir. I did not mean that ha-ha! It is just the way I greet people.

[Awkward silence. This is embarrassing. Should not have agreed for this interactive session at all. Damn!]    

Mr. B:  Ha-ha! No worries son. Tell me what do you want to ‘learn’ from me?

Mr. A:  Learn? No Sir! I have come to talk to you. Know about you. You know, casual talking.

[How does he know that this session with him, the disabled, is merely a 'learning experience'? A selfish motive! ]

Mr. B:  Hmm, A project.

Mr. A:  No, not a project. It is just…

Mr. B:  I am the 'project'.

Mr. A:  Excuse me!

Mr. B:  Yes. I am a 'project' for you. Did you not realize that? I did. You come here and question me. I answer you, talk to you, spend some time and you think you have done something noble. That is so noble Mr. Akash ha-ha. What do you have for me? When these supposedly normal people talk to me, they do it because they feel good about it. Somewhere inside they feel happy and relieved that they are not like me. They remember me only when they face some crisis. They say, ’My job sucks. My wife beats me up. My children hate me. My CGPA is falling. But still, I have eyes.Thank God! ’. When their children demand or complain too much, they say ’Just think about those who don’t have eyes; who don’t have limbs. At least you have that. Appreciate what you have’. I am remembered only as a source of pity and relief. What do you think Mr. Akash?

[I was blank]

Mr. A:  Sir, you are not a 'project'!

[Stop lying to yourself you moron. Yes he is. He is your project. He is a person that you will forget, the moment you step out of this office. He is the one whom you will remember only when you feel devastated, defeated. He is the one that will make you thank God. ‘Thank you God, you did not deprive me of anything. Thank you for keeping me able’. So selfish of you Akash! ]

Mr. B:  Hahahahha. Really?

Mr. A:  I don’t know.

Mr. B:  Hmm, you seem like a nice person. So, shall we start interacting?

Mr. A:  I am a little surprised by what you said before. The 'project' thing. It might be true. I am not really sure why I came to you. But, what you said did somehow make sense to me.

Mr. B:  Ha-ha! It is always pleasant to be upfront. Always. I like that about you. I never lie, you know.

Mr. A:  Never?

Mr. B:  Never. I don’t see the point in it. They say, you can always tell whether the person is lying just by   looking directly in his eyes. I can hardly see the face, let alone the eyes. So I don’t lie. I assume that the person talking to me is an honest man. If he could speak his heart to me, who am I to lie.

Mr. A:  Umm. That is nice. I never thought that way. You have a different way of ‘looking’ at things…

[This person cannot ‘see’. Do you really need eyes to ‘see’? I have eyes. I have good eyes. Why could I not see the world as he did?]

Mr. B:  Yes. I do. I look at things differently. 

When you cannot ‘see’ the actuality, you only ‘see’ what you want to. For example,

I want to see happiness. I work in Samanvya Sewa Kendra. I take care of handicapped people. I 'make' them happy.

I want to see love. I love my family and friends endlessly. I spend time with them. I 'make' them feel loved.

I want to see myself successful and independent. I am a lawyer. I know 5 languages. I have worked as a physiotherapist and a cook. I 'make' my success on my own.

If you can clearly ‘see’, you can make it happen. Sadly, people with eyes fail to see. They see what is shown to them.

Mr. A:  I am sorry Sir. I treated you as a 'project'. No one should be treated like that. I did consider you a project. A project from which I could gain something, somehow. You are not a project. You are much more than that. And this was the most profound conversation I have ever had. Thank you for the privilege.    

                                                                                                                                                                                             ******End******

                                               


‘’  Blindness is a state of mind,

    And it was the state alone
    That never kept him blind.

    No matter where he lived,

    Where he went,

    He only saw,

    What really meant.

    So, just to see what he saw,

    I closed my eyes.

    And to my surprise,

    I found the truth.
    Hidden for long,

    Beneath the lies’’