Nothing is permanent in Life except for Change.
Things that you love are not always the things that stay with you forever. But they are those that remind you of good times, a hope for living, and the cheer of life.
They let you know that you've been lucky to have them, experience them and make them a part of your life.
It makes you wise and peaceful to take those memories in all its positivities and move on. After all, the Joy of Life is in looking forward to happier days, lovelier moments...
The last day of the month of March was celebrated as the Women’s Volunteering Day Out at my office. A delayed Women’s day celebration clubbed as a community activity at the National Association for the Blind (NAB) turned out to be a big success even with the low participation. The day started with the group getting introduced to the Organization, its activities and a talk on how to approach and behave with the visually challenged people. This was followed by a walk to the different parts of the Organization. It was amazing to see the courses these students beyond the age of twelve were offered. A workshop classroom where they were taught to use the various machines, how to recycle paper; a computer lab where some students smartly dressed in formals operating the MS Office and learning how to program with C and C++ with the help of a software that gives voice commands - all of these were a pleasant surprise. Very notable was the statement made by a student who showed us a demo of him operating on the computer. He said, ‘Whatever you do with the mouse, we do it with the keyboard with the help of this software. Infact we can do it faster than you.’ This astounding confidence from the student made us applaud whole heartedly. The sadness we felt at the start of the day whenever we passed by a blind student vanished with that confidence he portrayed. We began to enjoy with them and not just feel sad.
We were also shown how they read and write in Braille. The speed at which a blind boy wrote and read what his teacher dictated was stunning! We visited the Braille library and met a girl who is deaf and blind and saw how she was being taught to communicate with the sign language. We then had the lunch break where we served them and also ate with them. We conducted games like Passing the Parcel, Anthakshari. It was astonishing to see the numerous singers, dancers and actors present within themselves.
It was a lovely feeling to see the smiles and happiness on those students. They loved having us with them. We knew this was not the end. This was a visit that promised more such visits. One of the staff from NAB recited a very sweet poem addressing the people at our company. I would also like to quote what Mr. Sreenivas, CEO of NAB said- “Thank You Ladies for all the fun and the frolic we had today. It was a ‘REAL BREAK ‘for every one of us here at NAB from the routine chore. We appreciate your interest in our activities and would love to see some of you visiting us regularly over the weekends for volunteering your individual time and expertise for the benefit of the visually challenged students here”. The day ended with a group photo, the vote of thanks and most importantly, with content hearts.
“No impairment is an impairment.
Some of us are just made differently.”
I am sitting in the bus, off for another weekend to Madras. As I sit listening to music and gazing outside the window, my thoughts wander as usual. But today it is not about the shop with the banner advertising ‘Great Sale’, or the ambulance passing by, or the poor lady begging on the street. It is neither about meeting my friends over the weekend. It is about me. About how my life has become what it is now. About how things might be hereafter ... I will be 22 years old in less than a month. Have I done what I need to by this age? Am I working towards building the foundation that will decide most of the rest of my life? - I have realized the significance of the number 21 with regards to one’s age. This is the year when some of the most significant changes of one’s life take place.
Thinking of how my life is now as compared to what I expected it to be, I am left with feeling few regrets that seem trivial in the midst of my joys. Life has not shaped up to exactly how I expected it to be but I could not have asked for more. I have been blessed with a job that pays me well and gives me an excellent environment to be myself. Some of my friends and their parents awe me for this. When I listen to them praising me, a prick of guilt; a feeling of dissatisfaction hits my mind. What is it? Is it the fact that I got this amazing job without me slogging too hard, or is it that I am still not working up to it and making the best use of the wonderful opportunities that fly around me? Today I realized that it is the latter. I least dreamt that I’d be working in an IT job doing techie stuff. I always told everyone that I did not want to be a techie. Is it because it truly is not my field of interest? Do I know what my real interest is? Do I know what my field of expertise may be which could build me a career? Or is it this reason that now rings deep in my heart – that I probably always found being a techie way too cool and intelligent that I never had the courage to reach up and work for it? I know now.
Being in a company that is a technology leader, I have all access to widen my technical knowledge. What I have forgotten is to work hard. I have forgotten to work towards my dreams. I have forgotten that nothing is impossible. I have been overwhelmed and not been able to jump out of this ocean of thoughts that has unknowingly made me weaker. Today I have decided to not be encumbered by the past or the supposedly overwhelming present. I promise to go off and do something wonderful.
