IN SEARCH OF THEIR FATHER

 



“I sit before flowers, 
hoping they will train me

in the art of opening up.”

Shane Koyczan

 

Today was the second session for this group of young kids. They come from underprivileged areas of our suburb. An NGO has been helping them through computer and AI skills. The same NGO has requested our Centre to help them in their soft skills… develop self-confidence, communication and interpersonal skills.

I found one of the young girls a bit lost during the session. “Beta, you are feeling ok?” I asked her. Then, to involve her in the proceedings, I nudged her gently to come up to the stage and tell something about her…

To my surprise, the young girl did not get rattled. She stood there in front of about 20 of us (including her peers, two instructors and me).

“You can speak in Hindi, if you wish,” I encouraged her, “Or, you can mix Hindi and English.”

The girl chose to do it mixed…

“Friends, my name is Muskaan… I have recently cleared my tenth standard, and I am now trying to take admission for eleventh. I live in Mankhurd, and studied in a government school.”

As I said, she was telling us this mixing Hindi and English, both.

“Tell us about your family –- about your father, mother, brothers and sisters,” I prompted.

“My father is (has been) missing for last fifteen years,” the young girl said making all of us feel quite shocked.

“Missing?” I gestured, so that she could tell us more.

Muskaan told us, without feeling embarrassed, that fifteen years ago, one night, her father left home never to return. All attempts to find him went futile… then, the family gave up. She was not even two years of age, at that time.

“Were you the only child?” I asked Muskaan.

“Sir, I had two elder brothers and my twin-sister, Kushi, is here in this class,” she pointed.

By now, everyone turned their faces towards Kushi, who was unable to hold back her tears.

Muskaan told us, that one of her brothers (now 24) was working. He stopped studying after tenth. The other bother (22) did not clear tenth, but started working.

“How’s mother doing?” I prodded.

“She is doing good, Sir. But, gets agitated with us a lot,” Muskaan said.

“That’s understandable,” I explained to both sisters, “She had to deal with her pain, fear, anger and worry for all these years… Not easy for a mother left with three little kids to raise.”

“Our Naani took care of us, Sir… She was like our real mother…,” Muskaan choked with emotions, unable to say a word further.

After a brief pause, she collected herself and said, her voice cracking, “We lost her some months ago due to heart attack.”

This time, Muskaan was so overwhelmed with emotions, that she shrank behind the podium to hide her crying self… Sister, Kushi, shrank from her seat… while the room was charged with a pulpable unease…

I went forward to Muskaan and lent my hand, so that she could stand and face everyone…

A long pause later, I asked the class, “How many of you have your both parents?”

All hands went up…

Time is the best healer, we know. But, Time alone doesn’t heal us… Some of us learn to heal our hearts by making peace with our situations… We learn to accept what we can’t change… We come out of our sorrows, self-pity, anger and blame… We, even, become compassionate human beings…

Muskaan and Kushi, I hope, will do the same… They, I am sure, know, that many out there have bigger challenges…

Knowing that heals the wounded souls faster…




 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic: pixabay/bingngu93

Video: Lifebuoy Global

 

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