Black Longings

Bravo Bravo...Enlighting article...great work. I agree asking disabled people anything makes it seems like we are pitying them. which shatters ones selfesteem and respect..
peace out

Isn`t is strange, how we humans tend to take things for granted. We are blessed with an eyesight and hearing sense and we can walk and talk and hold objects, and we just take all of it for granted. I wonder, how many of us thank Allah for these small blessings? And, then how easy it is for us to think about those with these lesser blessings as ,``bechara!`` or ``bechari!``. But, they are not. they are strong people , who are much better than us. they are people who see, smiles and sunlight in adversity, and colours in a black world, and musical notes in silence, and people who can fly without the aid of wings....


Farzana! Thank you! This article touched my heart.

FV, thanks is all i can come up with right now. n thts simply 4 the last two lines.

Hi FV,

here is the Link to the article that I mentioned. I have not sent it to CHOWK yet.

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Opinion/2005/Feb05/11/05.htm

You may even find a familiar face there.....


Ras

Although no one has questioned me on this,I would like to state that throughout the piece I have not used politically-correct terminology for the simple reason that the people themselves don`t do so. Their organisations have words like blind, deaf, mute etc.

sheela: I do wish that there would not have been a comparison about which disability is worse in a general context...I mentioned the blind in terms of romance/love.

Simran: The term `crutch` was indeed strong and in the frame of mind I was in it gave out all the wrong signals. About the timing of the article, as I have already stated, one has written a few times already...even before the film, recent developments for the benefit of the disabled have been in the news. My grouse has been that they are treated like a herd with no individual needs and `normal` desires. That was my motive here...

You raise an important point: ``If it did prompt you, it probably shows both the positive and negative effects; the latter being that that it needs a movie to bring an issue like this into the popular mindset. But then again, the media has always had a very deep impact on the minds of people.``

We will have to leave me out for reasons already explained (I did, however, use the word Black in the headline instead of bleak, which I had first thought of, due to the film), but I do not think that there will be more sensitisation. One young girl on TV even said something like, ``I did not like Rani, she was making such ajeeb faces.``

The media influences people where superficial matters are concerned. Unless one has direct dealing with different kinds of people (whether it is through interviews, or friends or students) the full impact does not really hit you.

- - -

irfanhamid: If you must say sorry, then do so for calling me a ``prima donna`` (and THAT is not a compliment), instead of doing so for expressing your opinion. I feel it is important to clarify the purpose of the article if the headline, subhead and the blurb do not manage to communicate...ismey prima donna walli kya baat hai? Aagey se khayal rahe :)

- - -

[I just waited for this..........I am amazed that you can swing from one extreme to another so rapidly..............actually that comment should have come on this board.]

You have two choices from my responses:
1. And Yaseen Malik is a Gandhian...
2. A prism is a prism is a prism...it does not change colours; it only shows you different hues with each turn from varied angles that which is invisible to the naked eye even though it is right before you.

PS:Your saffronite friend is waiting for the translation of the poem. I did have a sneaky desire to tell him that it was an ode :)

Don`t get me wrong here Farzana. I`m not trying to suggest that this article is about the movie ``Black``. All I`m questioning is the timing (and title?) of the article which coincided with the much publicized Bhansali movie. That is what I meant by using it as a ``crutch``, a word with probably very strong connotations. Owing to your prior interactions with the ``disabled``, could the movie have possibly prompted you to write this piece is all I`m trying to suggest. It`s a reflection of the effect of the entertainment industry or the media if you will, at large. If it did prompt you, it probably shows both the positive and negative effects; the latter being that that it needs a movie to bring an issue like this into the popular mindset. But then again, the media has always had a very deep impact on the minds of people.

These were just some of the thoughts that crossed my mind as I read the article and felt that they might be subtle undercurrents of something larger. Appreciate your having written this article.

Simran

Farzana, Between the blind and the profoundly deaf, the latter are more at a disadvantage. Deafness is an invisible handicap, leads to isolation and no development of the mind because of lack of any sound or language. The blind can be educated more easily...it`s very difficult to train the deaf (this has nothing to do with a person`s IQ, the difficulty is technical). A visit to a good school for the deaf would expose you to this. Of course, with Cochlear Implants and Auditory Verbal Therapy, things are a bit better than in the past, but only a bit. The disabled still are disadvantaged in many spheres of individual and social development, and we have a long way to go to make life simpler for them.

I just read somewhere...``if only you were as sensitive about communal issues``! This person is not on this board...so one cannot even be sensitive about what one feels about....)


I just waited for this..........I am amazed that you can swing from one extreme to another so rapidly..............actually that comment should have come on this board.

Just a few things...
1. This is not about the film `Black`. The reference to the desires of the disabled woman are expressed only in one scene. Therefore, I did not need the ``crutches`` of the film; it is clear from the references to real people that I have written about such things before besides being involved in teaching them.
2. For Jang: I am glad that this is seen as having a ``feet-on-the-street touch``, but unless you have an opinion you cannot even begin to have certain specific concerns. It is terribly easy to get hold of a couple of taxi drivers and ask them what they think and quote them...is there any way to verify that this is what they had in fact said? I could just as easily have talked to a couple of people to quesiton them about their views on Stephen Hawking, but my opinion would colour what I asked them and what I chose to put forth. And if you do have the time, you will see that the articles that need quotes have them -- POWs, riots, besides the interviews.
3. Irfanhamid and Beejay: You seem to have read me wrong...there is no pity for them and I have concentrated only on one aspect as I said in my earlier post. I am well aware that there are other factors. (Beejay, if you are the person who wrote to me wrt AB and MS, then I have replied...I did not know what nick you used...)

PS: To those who have responded, I must say it is important and I am grateful. Yes, grateful. For, this article is not about what you think of the writer (those who found it well-written, thanks...that is only one way to make communication of ideas easier). I have often seen people cribbing about how Chowk is full of Indo-Pak, Kashmir, Hindu-Muslim, religion, politics ``crap``. These same people do not deign to interact on boards that are otherwise (I had mentioned this on the Edhi board too). Why?

Next time anyone accuses a writer who unashamedly calls herself a political animal (among other beastly things), they must think about what they themselves are. They look for a nice fight, a controversy...the writer just does her job and moves on.

This may sound like sulking on my part, but I repeat, forget the writer. Look at what is being written (and not only by UP regulars writing about UP regulars!). Or just don`t grumble about the slugfests.

(I just read somewhere...``if only you were as sensitive about communal issues``! This person is not on this board...so one cannot even be sensitive about what one feels about....)

Re: # 22 (Farzana),

Slow down there prima donna, I was giving you a compliment. Admittedly, I added my opinion/observation/whatever with it and for that I`m sorry. But it WAS a compliment because I found the article (I repeat) excellently put together, sorry for having read you wrong. Won`t happen again :)

Irfan.

I have not seen the movie, so perhaps I do not get the full picture. To me, this article of yours seems to have some echoes of ``Darkness at Noon``: too much feeling sorry for the disadvantaged, and only limited hints on what should/could be done about it.

Although your empathy for the disabled is understandable, we really don’t accomplish much by just feeling sorry for them and getting lost into their thought process, etc. (Sometimes that reveals more about us than them.) It may be more productive to consider what can be PHYSICALLY done to make life easier for the visually impaired and others with disabilities. Things like guide dogs, wheelchair ramps, Braille signs, etc. are concrete items (that one could shoot for), and need to be considered, to bring them more into the mainstream. (In the U.S., the requirements imposed by the Americans with Disabilities Act have helped many handicapped persons become contributing members of the work force, perhaps enhancing self-esteem, in addition to pocketbooks.)

The following is an interesting bit of fact that I came across. The 1981 Census of India lists the number of sensory handicapped (blind, deaf, mute; and incidentally, the survey questionnaire uses the word ``dumb``- so much for sensitivity) at 0.2% of the population. In the U.S., according to a 1994 survey, it is about 4%. One would think that with access to better medical care and facilities the percentages would have been the other way around. Could it be that in India people do not admit to their handicaps, do not get to learn about it, or the society, by making life difficult for them just ``weeds them out`` earlier? I wonder.

---

(On a totally unrelated issue: I hope you got my e-mail a couple of weeks ago.)

Nice one!

There was a handicap girl in my Univ (8 yrs ago), I use to pass by her everday.... I use to think ``how can I approach her``.
anyways! never got courage to approach her & talk about how the world looks like from stairs of dept. building.
Very nice approach Farzana! I will appreciate if you can come up with more details...

Good thoughts Farzana!

I was just thinking over it and I don`t know why an indian movie popped up into my mind.
Its an Ajay devgan Movie called ``Tera Mera Saath rahey.``

He was forced to make a choice between his handicapped younger brother and the love of his life. Its a dilemma to even think about. I have no clue what I would do! Probably chicken out from even making the decision.

Folks have you see the movie ``Tim``? It was Mel Gibson`s second movie where he plays a retarded man who discovers love with an older woman. Very different from his later efforts.

Wonderfully written, Farzana.
The opening imaginary scenes touched me the most - what sheer helplessness!
I remember the movie, Children of a Lesser God, where during a particularly intimate moment the man exasperatedly and helplessly asked the woman, ``Call out my name at least now!``
I have often wondered about these aspects but never got to know; never seeked; never ventured to find out.
We are either indifferent or take it for granted.
At the most we may offer a seat or a stretched out hand to help.
I know about a family which has not one but three physically challenged girls and they all have come of age. Their mother tends to their every need and that is a lot considering they are girls. And she herself admits its tough even for her particularly during those days of the month.
Children of a lesser god, indeed!

A great article....
i believe this is the first time im even reading something on this aspect of society....
its moving, in an odd kind of way, but truly moving.

it makes one realize and appreciate the significance of being equippped wth all biological faculties, but one must never forget the less fortunate.

By teh way, while brezing through oher intectactions, i came across a reference to the movie BLACK...
havent seen it....dont se to many indian movies, but thsi one i really wanna see.....

is it out yet?
(people.....please forgive me for ignorance of my indian movie knowledge......)

Thanx n best wishes to all....