Ways of Seeing
Ananya Pathak
Drishti experienced the deepest paradox of life each time somebody called her name. She felt as if the entire cosmos took this opportunity to laugh at her unique situation. She experienced such humiliation and depression that she wanted to hide behind a door or just sink into the ground. Her parents knew that the name they had given her disappointed her, they could see the pain that their daughter went through each day. Unable to do anything about this, they discussed each day what the future of their daughter would be, how she would be able to regain her sense of self-confidence and pride.
Drishti was a student of class 7 in The Montessori International School, one of the best schools in the town. She was brilliant in academics and could sing beautifully too but ever since the accident snatched her sight leaving her forever blind, she had become reclusive. She withdrew from all the things she had once enjoyed, leaving behind a world that she was once the queen of. Her teachers, the school principal and her parents all felt worried but could not find any concrete solution to this problem. Drishti’s father was a doctor and had made every effort to help his daughter get back her vision, trying every treatment and every panacea. There were nights when he would wake up sweating profusely, perhaps reliving that awful day in his dream.
It was only a year ago when Drishti and her parents were returning after watching a movie late at night. When they were unable to find any public transport to take them home they had decided to walk toward the main road where there was a higher probability of getting a vehicle. Drishti, in all her excitement, was imitating the protagonist in the film and recalling some scenes and the film’s songs, and was walking on the side of the road when a car coming from behind hit her. She fell unconscious bleeding profusely in the head, and was rushed to a nearby hospital. After hours of treatment, her parents were told that she would recover eventually and her wounds would heal but her vision was lost forever and there was nothing that could be done. Drishti’s parents, shocked at the turn of events, bore everything stoically and looked after their daughter.
When Drishti returned to school after a few months, she was no longer the same person. Her classmates took a long time to come to terms with this reality, many of them often making fun of her. Although visually impaired, Drishti could sense this, and each time she juxtaposed her name with her present crisis, she could not help but feel depressed. She withdrew into her shell, turned back on her friends, stopped interacting with people and even gave up singing. At home too, she spoke little and kept to herself most of the time. There were days when her parents would plan an outing or cook a favourite dish, but this hardly did anything to enliven her. Days passed and Drishti became more of an introvert than ever – in fact, she began to lose interest in life.
Meanwhile, the new session in school began after summer vacation and Drishti was promoted to class 8. Her new class teacher Mrs. Nutan was getting to know all the children personally, and she asked them about their hobbies, likes and dislikes and also about what they were expecting in the years to come. She was exceptionally warm, and a teacher who knew how to win over the hearts of her students. She involved herself so passionately with each student that in no time she became a favourite, a teacher who was loved and respected by everybody.
Mrs Nutan had been a creative pedagogue who had taken up the vocation of teaching because of her passion for education and it was in this field that she wanted to make a difference. With her love and concern, she noticed that Drishti had not opened up much and had distanced herself from the flow of life at school. But instead of feeling lost or worried like the parents and other teachers, she decided to step into Drishti’s own world and explore it with her. She walked home with Drishti after school, describing to her the busy street, the activities that people were engaged in, the cars, the expressions of pedestrians and of course the many colourful posters and banners they came across. This ritual each day after school, brought many moments of laughter into Drishti’s life and was a great bridge to bring her back into the world of real people, real activities and most importantly, it made her once again feel part of the world she had chosen to withdraw from.
Mrs. Nutan went to cricket matches and musical concerts with Drishti, she even took her to art exhibitions and film screenings – orally depicting the beauty of the colourful world of diversity to her. Her colleagues thought this was a trivial effort, but for Drishti it made a huge difference. She was finding her way back into the world that she had abandoned. Finally, a year passed and people began to see rapid changes in the way Drishti had now begun to view life. Drishti had regained her interest in films and music, she had developed her senses and intuition so much that although she was visually impaired she could see with her inner eyes. Indeed, it was beautiful the way a teacher had stepped into the life of a student and did what even parents or physicians could not do. Yes, Mrs Nutan had tried day and night, she could not, of course, return her vision but she did cultivate Drishti’s eyes, the eyes that lay within. Such is the magic of a dynamic pedagogue!
The author has completed her studies from JNU, New Delhi. She is currently working with The New Leam, a journal of education and culture. She can be reached at ananyapathaak@gmail.com.