Saturday, January 16, 2010

We the "normal"

Sometimes traveling by train is boring and again it depends on the co passengers. But I had the good experience of traveling by the Deccan Queen, in which there were two blind men sitting opposite me.
What an experience. They were playing chess !!
It was a pleasure to observe and learn from them.
The minute they sat down, they set up the small magnetic chess board in between them. I observed their moves and found that for every move, they had to practically feel all the pawns on the board. Not only were they playing, but they were talking about every thing under the sun. The weather , the politics, anything.
When the train neared Lonavala, one exclaimed
“Lonavala jawal ala, chikki gheyache kaay?” (we are approaching Lonavala, should we buy chikki?) I am still trying to figure out how they gauged that? The distance? The smell of chikki?
The game progressed, the ticket checker came, one fished out the tickets from his pocket, got it examined and continued playing.
“Arey wah , Hatti marla ?” (bravo you killed my Elephant?)
There was not a dull moment through out my journey.
My observation was that the blind/deaf/dumb people “talk” more than a normal person.

For a photo exhibition of the Flickr group, the students from the nearby school were called for the inauguration. The fact that they were challenged (hearing impairment and mute) did not hinder their enthusiasm. (click on the pictures below to see complete picture)
Appreciation from the right quarters.
They examined each and every photograph and discussed among themselves the finer points.
Conversation
I just went on clicking their gusto and animated talk.
sign language
energetic
We “the normal” people are the dumb ones as we rarely converse.

The real anguish of a deaf and mute couple was well enacted by Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhadhuri in Gulzar’s Koshish.

By the way how does a blind man solve a Rubik cube puzzle ?
Designer Zhiliang Chen has come up with a new Rubik cube.
There are six different basic materials involved. They are Metal, wood, textile, rubber, plastic and stone. Different materials give people different senses, which thus enabled the blind men to play.

31 comments:

Jaunty anima said...

We “the normal” people are the dumb ones as we rarely converse.
Absolutely!
n what a post!!:)

Shalini said...

Lovely post!

Unknown said...

So true!

Anuradha Shankar said...

WOW!! this was awesome!! wonderful post!

Ash said...

Interesting post... It mirrors our reality NOW!
Ah! the movie was awesome, I liked it as a child & still do.... RESPONSIBLE "ACTORS"... who are hardly to be found these days..... May be one in ten.... REST are really DUMB!!!!

And Yes!! the Rubik cube... I have misplaced it somewhere... not being able to fix it.... or myself with it.... LOL!!!! ;-)

Ash...
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

BK Chowla, said...

In spite of the physical disability,these gentlemen could go on with life normally is astonishing.I am sure these two must be regular travellers.

magiceye said...

wonderful post with lovely illustrations!

Insignia said...

They take life as it comes and are able to enjoy it. We being blessed with everything still crib and complain!!

Kudos to these people!

Smita said...

Very true!!! These people are lot more sensitive then us so called normal people!!! I guess they even value life much more than we do because they know how it is to loose!!!

And Koshish is one of my all time fav movie :)

Lowell said...

Thank you for stopping by Florida Fotos!

And this is a fascinating post. It makes one realize how those of us who can hear and speak miss so much around us!

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Greetings:)

This is an amazing post with very meaningful and interested photos.

People who are imapaired have special gifts of feeling, touching and smelling etc. These senses are extraordinarily developed in them.

This is the first time I am reading that blind people can play chess. It is also wonderful to see the handicapped people with bright beautiful smiles. Many thanks for sharing these amazing sights.

Have a nice day:)
Joseph

walk2write said...

Thanks for reminding us how wonderful life is and how it should be appreciated, every minute of it. You have done a beautiful job, showing us some wiser perspectives.

3 hungry tummies said...

Haha good try on your part! :)

Unknown said...

Thanks Joe,
such experiences are to me, uplifting and humbling, keeps me grounded and aware that God is amazing.

The Literary Jewels said...

That was a great post! I am glad to have visited your blog. I too had some similar feeling when I visited an institute for the blind, deaf and dumb children.
You know what I told my teacher when she asked about our experience of the visit: I said, "I felt that even without words the dumb can express themselves in a much better way that we who call ourselves normal and can talk endlessly.There is more meaning in their talk."
Seeing them made me forget my complaints about life. We have everything but are not thankful enough for those blessings.
Thanks for sharing such a thought-provoking post.

Unknown said...

I enjoyed this post and the photos along with it. I wish I knew how to play chess!

Traci said...

What a terrific post. So eye-opening! I especially like the story of the men playing chess -- I can't even play chess with my full sight. It is a valuable reminder that disabilities don't have to limit a person who has the desire to rise above it! thank you for sharing this story.

And thank you for stopping by my blog. Have a great day!

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

A very nice post. And the last paragraph was a new information for me!

The Day

Eggs In My Pocket said...

Hi, I found your comment on my blog and thank you for stopping by, please come back to visit. I found your words so interesting. Yes, even though we are supposed to be the "normal ones" it seems the blind and deaf see more and hear more.....and appreciate more than we. Enjoyed reading. blessings,Kathleen

Sh@s said...

A wonderful n an informative post.
Keep it up!!

Jyostna said...

The photographs on this page are quite impressive

Roshni said...

really good post on a subject rarely thought about! It is heartening to think of something like this in our country where people with disability do not even get special amenities like those in the US

Sunitha said...

Feel humbled reading this.

Bhargavi said...

lovely post .. am glad you left a comment on my blog .. it led me here !! :-)

Slogan Murugan said...

Love the expression on their faces. I guess smile is the most wonderful feature among us humans

FoodLovers said...

gr8 post

Atul said...

... on several occasions during my travel i have observed the same behaviour... perhaps we the 'normal people' are more conscious about our communication being 'overheard' by other 'normal' people ... and this can explain why those dependent on sign language are 'vivid talkers' ... as they simply don't care if someone is 'listening'! :)

RamNarayanS said...

Nice one Joe. The blind people, compared to the other disabled people, have an uncanny heightened sense on the other senses to make up for their lack of vision. It was enjoyable reading your account as much as they enjoyed playing their game.

Casuarina said...

Suitably awed and humbled.

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Awesome pictures, they look very happy.

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