MY first Blog in an account created almost a yr and half back!! the reason for the delay was not my procrastination towards writing but the fact that i really didnt have a good topic to touch upon ... but today i have one and it's titled ANAND!!!!
Anand in hindi means joy,happiness and this young kid in the photograph means just that... a bundle of joy.. dimpled cheeks with a wider than normal smile; greets everyone with those cute little milk teeth flashing from different parts of his lip curtains....just started babbling and points at stuff that he needs... good day biscuits being his Favorite.. wonder whyy??
is it a sign to tell people that have a good day by feeding me one or just a coincidence...
Considering my area of interest and the field in which I am working, Cleft lip kids are a common finding...each one of them cuter than the other.. (the normal kidsss???? baaahhhh they simply cry n get over pampered as if he/she is the only kid on planet..).
Till the parents of these "unfortunate" kids (i fail to understand y somebody becomes unfortunate because he or she looks different) come to the center; they are deeply affected emotionally because of the social comments n the feeling why my child?? then they r greeted by the others in the center who have a similar background.. things change dramatically as if they all belong to a single family... they have never seen their kids play in others arms like they have in ours!!
Now then!! why does this particular kid get to steal all the limelight to demand the first post on an almost non-existent blog??
conventional case history taking might help us know him better -
C/o - child's guardian complaints of a defect in the kid's upper lip...
hold on!!! did i mention Guardian ???
next question? - where is the boy's father??
Guardian - "he Died"
Oh that's sad - Sorry!, the mother?
Guardian - "she committed suicide"
WTF why ???
Guardian - "she couldn't take the trauma of seeing her son born with this defect and also realized that she has an illness"
wait a sec?? Whats happening..... probing further ...details are.... the father died of AIDS, mother contracted HIV and the child??... well unfortunately he too has HIV (now this part is unfortunate)
the boy is an orphan and is now being taken care by a missionary called infant Jesus where somebody will be allotted to take care of the baby till he survives....but truly speaking the care and the love provided...exemplary.. we wouldn't provide half as much to our own kids...
So much is happening around our tiny globe, examples after examples..hints after hints by GOD telling us "hey jerk listen up stop cribbing and move on.. i have given you a much better life than billions living & struggling"
When i took this boy in my arms he cuddled and gave me a broad smile... my heart melted i didn't know how to say god bless u my child may u grow up to be a nice young lad...the sister of the ward ran up to me and told me sir what r u doing he is sero positive... ignorant like everyone despite the repeated telecasts of AIDS/HIV awareness videos "AIDS chune se nahi feltha... chunse sirf pyaar feltha hai".....
i never understood what Shabana Azmi exactly conveyed till this day.. the feeling was bliss.. i felt as if i cleansed myself from within. ..
i had to inform the OT staff that the baby is going to be posted the next day so please keep the +ve kit ready.. the head nurse replies sir don't u think there should be some form of mercy killing for such kids.. how long will he survive... orphaned, diseased and deformed.. whats his purpose??.... I replied sister "he will spread joy to all those who surround him till the very last day because his name is ANAND and he knows wat it means"...i challenged the sister to take him in her arms and feel the difference if she still feels that he's not worth living I'll stop coming for work... Here i am, still going to work ;-)
so many people come and go in our lives and with the current fast paced lives of ours we forget everything... but ANAND is someone I wanted to immortalize.. GOD might not have given him the time to live but god has definitely given him the charm to outshine everyone else and to etch his presence so deep in my heart that I made sure I write my first blog not because i want people to read an emotional story and feel touched but to know that whenever life takes a toll on us we got to remember the story of this kid ANAND who's name is just not a name...and be grateful to GOD who has chosen a much better life for us than so many others...
its a PITY that we just throw it around!! the ONE who does not have anything believes in giving and the one who has it all believes in hoarding!!!
