by Sri Ajit Halder
One midday quite
unexpectedly, I had to stop my car behind a broken down van on the bend of the
street. There I had an unforgettable
experience of watching little boys and girls in the playground of a school for
handicapped children. I would like to
relate those moments to you now. It was
an ordinary event, but it gave me an insight into what human efforts can achieve
despite physical handicaps.
The primary
school was run for infants who were labeled as disadvantaged to some
degree. This meant that they were
different from normally-abled children, and therefore in need of special
treatment and facilities. But the event
I witnessed in the school playground made it clear to me that it is the power
of the mind and determination which overcomes the so-called disability of the
limbs – a fact not sufficiently recognized by the able-bodied people in
society.
I heard
chirruping noises coming out from the direction of the school. It sounded to me like little birds merrily
singing, and I saw the whole place was full of children in colorful
smocks. I could not turn my eyes away
from that joyful scene. Society deemed these
were handicapped children who could not do or manage things for themselves (and
hence, were to be helped in every way) - but what I witnessed that day was a
completely different story. I wanted to
share in their happy mood; so I parked my car on the road and walked towards
the school gate. I could see through the
gate, children who were rather unsteady on their feet, engaged in running about
with small play-carts in groups of two.
The carts were of various shapes, and each had a seat on which either a little
boy or girl was seated, being pushed along by his or her friend. The children who were moving around were aged
roughly nine or ten years. There were
other younger ones busy playing in a sandpit in a corner. All seemed to be happy and enjoying
themselves without any assistance from elders.
It was the playful movements of those children, officially described as
having restricted mobility, that I beheld in amazement.
They were getting
ready for a race, and the carts pushed by tottering children were summoned to
the starting line. Then one child blew a
whistle, and they were on their way to the finishing line at the other end. A group of children standing on the sides
were cheering loudly, and the whole competition did not lack any of the
enthusiasm and seriousness of a game played by adults. There were collisions, and carts were getting
in one another’s way; but the cheers of the onlookers drowned the angry shouts.
I saw two carts toppling over, and a little girl passenger started crying;
perhaps she was slightly hurt. Her
companion and some other toddlers rushed to her, consoled her – and soon her
pain evaporated, and a smile spread across her face. Her car then resumed its place in the
race. As it was already difficult for
some of the children to propel themselves along, the added effort demanded of
those who were pushing the carts (each of which bore a seated child passenger),
rendered the general progress somewhat slow.
The race was over, and there was applause all around - indicating all
who had taken part, were winners.
On the
playing field and during the games, I noticed acts of comradeship, fellow
feeling, cooperation, a willingness to help each other, and a mood to share in
the corporate joy in an intensely jubilant atmosphere – all of which were
created by the children completely unaided by a supervising adult. These are the children who are described as
disadvantaged to a degree, and referred to as ‘special needs’ children -
thereby requiring to be looked after by the adults in the community. My experience from that day indicates that
these children should be recognized as the possessors of special characteristics
that are often found missing in many of the adults.
