WE SHALL OVERCOME

There’s a very famous Tamil song which goes like this. “If you want to succeed learn to swim against the tide”. My tryst with destiny started at a very early age.  It seems I was in a hurry to see the world even before my time had come. I jumped out of my sacred chamber in 7 months for my first glimpse of this big bad world. It’s the mid 80’s when the phenomenon called Rajnikanth slowly took over Tamil Cinema. Unfortunately there were no advanced medical facilities to help my body cope with my early arrival.  So the Almighty decided to gift me with a permanent baggage to carry with me for the rest of my life.

The doctors called it Cerebral Palsy. Trust me I had absolutely no idea of the script that was to follow. I spent most of my early years in a special school where each kid had individual attention.  Class 1 to 5 was a breeze. It was while seeking admission for class 6 that I realized how different I was from the rest of the crowd. I still hear those words echoing across the whole room. “Why did you bring your child here? He’s already a vegetable. He can’t write properly, he can’t read, he stammers while speaking. How do you expect him to compete with the rest of the class? That was the very first time I saw my parents cry because of my disability.

Life challenged me for the very first time. The tears paved the way for an animated family discussion and we arrived at a common feasible solution – To read – I read like a madman until the stammering decided to disappear from my life completely.  I evolved in such a way that the so called normal kids were no match for my intellectual ability. Suddenly I was the new star kid in town. There were days when the whole class would just wait for me to speak. I magically transformed into a very good orator as well until the hormones of a typical teenager began working over time.

The mind began to wander elsewhere in search of solace as I gave up on the abilities which were my identity. I struggled to fit in. I wore a mask and did things which I am not very proud of. But looking back I would say I needed those harsh lessons.  Of course I cannot get back those years that I had lost but i could atleast i can make the best use of the time that is left.

The idea of starting a blog came out of nowhere. Pursuing blogging presented me with a new set of challenges. The first challenge was tackling the keyboard. We never get along despite spending hours together. It was a unique challenge. I can type only with a single finger in my left hand. I had to blog in such a way that there was not too much pressure on that priceless finger. Every time i finish a post the pain starts to surge until it becomes unbearable. But once a new day begins i look forward to blogging again for it’s the only time my finger and keyboard make love

Struggle is an inherent part of everyone’s life. Each phase in our life comes with it’s own set of challenges but that shouldn’t stop us from filling our life with love, laughter and happiness. We are all superstars in our right with each of us forging our own identity. Sometimes a little bit of pain is necessary to show you what you are truly capable of.

I would never want to erase anything that I have gone through for my single finger has enabled me to touch more lives. I finish with a line that I often repeat. “Live your life the way you want to for you have only chance to be someone’s inspiration”

 This entry is part of ‘I Struggled but Overcame’ contest organized by our Chennai Bloggers Club(CBC).

 And here is the link to the trailer of the book which contains our very own impressions of the CHENNAI FLOODS titled ” AFTER THE FLOODS“

 

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