Chapter 4

With love comes acceptance….

To own a personal computer in 1999 became a necessity for us. I wanted her to type all the words she could read and learn more. Once on her computer chair, she was keen to take dictation of words she liked and remained settled for long. We introduced her to interesting games which kept her fruitfully engaged without help. I noticed that she figured out ways and methods on the computer on her own which was quite surprising for us, back then.

Those days we did not have the camera in our mobile phones. I wish I could click a picture of grinning face of the guard near our park, seeing my daughter ride the bicycle independently. He had once remarked, “Isko nahi aayega” seeing father running behind his daughter everyday, for more than a month teaching her to balance the bicycle. This was the first time we understood that small success can actually mean big achievement!

I did not know how to swim but dared to train her, hence left her in the big pool with floaters on and continued giving instructions which she could not follow. The coach observed us but was reluctant to help. I had a chat with him, “Agar yeh aapka apna bachha hota aap kis tarah sikhatey?” He dived in and vanished in the pool… was probably looking for an answer. I had never seen a commitment like this one, for a child not your own! My daughter learnt how to float in deep water and was doing lengths with not so perfect strokes, but without stopping. I did not have enough words to thank the coach! Another hurdle crossed and we were ready for the next!

I was lucky to come across a very compassionate lady who took dance classes for young children. Once she met my daughter, she was not sure how to go about, but she was ready to experiment and learn a new method. Most importantly she accepted her and wanted to go that extra mile to help her. Gradually they bonded beautifully and my daughter learnt mudras, simple steps and yoga exercises! Ma’am included her proudly in the group of her children in a dance on Vasant Panchami. Her daughter played the role of a buddy….this was inclusion into NORMAL world twenty long years ago!

A young and passionate artist, straight out of Delhi college of art agreed to teach my daughter to hold the paint brush. I was not looking forward to great paintings but noticed the joy on her face while using colors, her ability to work with another individual and the calming environment that was created. Presence of this bubbly sweet girl in the house lifted our moods including my daughter’s. After every class her art teacher went home with pride and satisfaction!

I was convinced that all you need is love to accept and reach out…