Its amazing how we accidentally meet some people, only to be bewitched for life.
I remember how I met Joyshree. It had hardly been a week in Montfort, Tura. I was still getting rid of my old Delhi habits, still getting used to the multi-cultural amalgamation of North-eastern tribes here, still deciding if I could sit inside a class once again without feeling agitated or distracted or bored. I was still unpacking my stuff & my thoughts.
She was standing in the doorway with her Dad. I smiled at her & went ahead to my room. I saw Bijaya running excitedly towards me saying we have a deaf trainee this time & I should talk to her as I was the only person in the hostel who knew sign language. I pretended to be just as excited as Bijaya & went to meet her. She was surrounded with all the trainees - majorly Manipuris, as she was from Manipur. They introduced me to her. And we said our first 'Hi'! She seemed simple, shy, reserved, innocent like a kid just out of school. Little did I know, what a bundle of joy Joyshree is!
We became room-mates. I started noticing her. She takes her time in opening to people. I do too. But once she is comfortable around you, she makes you feel that every small thing is nothing short of an adventure. She gives you undivided attention when you're saying something, something rare in our times, something none of us are used to. She is a girl, but doesn't like gossiping - another rare thing. She has trouble with her sentences - all deaf people do; but her ideas are refreshingly unique. And in sign language, these ideas, her feelings, her identity seem even more artistic & new. Her smile as well as her optimism is infectious. It's very hard to stay in a bad mood around her. She counsels you like a friend, cares like a mother, works like a woman on a mission to moon, plays like a child and worries like a wife. Interpreting the lectures to her, I survived the six months of training. I understood more about life, just being with her. She taught me how to dance with no music, how to laugh over mistakes, how to hold on to certain things &; how to let go of others.
Maybe, being in a silent world does make you unaware of the noise around you. The noise of cribbing, the noise of condescending, the noise of careless words, the noise of unnecessary explanations, the noise in our hearing world. I remember walking in the grounds of India Habitat Center on foundation day of Noida Deaf Society. the whole yard was filled with people & everyone was talking. But there was no sound, except the occasional laughter. More than thousands hands expressing, painting, dancing in the air! I was mesmerized.
I wished for a world where there was more expression and less noise. I wondered how life would have been if everyone could sign. Since that would be asking too much, I guess my little world here in Montfort with my dear room-mate Joyshree and all the variety of kids would do just as well :)
