When I was asked to write about “Children and me” or “The child in me”, I wondered where to begin. As I thought about it, I went back in time to the lovely moments I have had with children, some that took me to heights of ecstasy, some that showed me a different perspective and some that taught me lessons for life. While penning down these few words, my heart reaches out with gratitude to the children of the world.
To Pooja for letting me experience “interconnectedness” with a simple but profound quote, “Sumathi, I am in love with the whole world!”
To Krithika who asked me after I had admonished a few children for not listening to me, “Were you angry with me because you were worried about the consequences, or were you angry because we did not listen to you?”
To Sandeep who has a severe speech deficit but every morning, points to the ‘sun’ and says “Sandeep, sun!”
To Keerthi, who time and again reminds me how to enjoy every moment by just being present there!
To Mubaraka who gave me her perspective of how contrasting I look when I am enjoying a session with her vis-à-vis when I discipline her with her comment, “Yesterday you were so small, today you are so big!”
To Samarth who everyday reminds me everyday that true communication is not only verbal with his non-verbal, soul searching look filled with divine love.
To Akanksha, who replied to a question about who she wants to become when she grows up “I want to be myself!”
To Swati who thoughtfully asked me why poor children always wore clothes that were loose for them!
To Younus, who taught me one of the aspects of Asperger’s syndrome with his comment on another Asperger’s child’s way of speaking, “Why is she talking like “National Geographic?”
To Arshad who asked me why the Governor nominates one Anglo-Indian member to the Vidhana Sabha even today!
To Aditi’s naiveté comment on “Don’t drink and drive” - “So that you don’t get susu on the way!”
To Arvind, who lets me experience immense joy through the simple action of just lifting one finger upwards!
To Pooja for letting me experience “interconnectedness” with a simple but profound quote, “Sumathi, I am in love with the whole world!”
To Krithika who asked me after I had admonished a few children for not listening to me, “Were you angry with me because you were worried about the consequences, or were you angry because we did not listen to you?”
To Sandeep who has a severe speech deficit but every morning, points to the ‘sun’ and says “Sandeep, sun!”
To Keerthi, who time and again reminds me how to enjoy every moment by just being present there!
To Mubaraka who gave me her perspective of how contrasting I look when I am enjoying a session with her vis-à-vis when I discipline her with her comment, “Yesterday you were so small, today you are so big!”
To Samarth who everyday reminds me everyday that true communication is not only verbal with his non-verbal, soul searching look filled with divine love.
To Akanksha, who replied to a question about who she wants to become when she grows up “I want to be myself!”
To Swati who thoughtfully asked me why poor children always wore clothes that were loose for them!
To Younus, who taught me one of the aspects of Asperger’s syndrome with his comment on another Asperger’s child’s way of speaking, “Why is she talking like “National Geographic?”
To Arshad who asked me why the Governor nominates one Anglo-Indian member to the Vidhana Sabha even today!
To Aditi’s naiveté comment on “Don’t drink and drive” - “So that you don’t get susu on the way!”
To Arvind, who lets me experience immense joy through the simple action of just lifting one finger upwards!
The inner child in me
Every child reminds me of the layers that I wear,
Of the masquerades and facades we adults share,
Of interconnectedness beyond petty barriers,
Of tenderness and beauty like that of flowers,
My gratitude to children all over the world,
My fervent wish - bring everyone into your fold!
- Blog post by Sumathi Ramjee
Sumathi is an ABT Practitioner with Special children in Deepika School, ASHA and Bubbles Centre for Autism for over a decade. Sumathi believes that working with children has given a new meaning to life, distinguishing between ‘living’ and ‘living with awareness’
At Snehadhara, she has been a part of our Pipilika program from 2013.
Wonderful Sumathi mam. I can see how much you are connected with these kids. When I am working with similar kids here (hyd) I concentrate on my lesson plan, therapy plan and what I have to do, but sometimes I forget to see their small gestures. These small gestures teach us millions of things if we are open enough to look at them. Thanks...
ReplyDelete