The Worst Country for Handicapped

 

Barely few weeks ago entire country was in euphoria because in Paralympics our athletes’ performances were phenomenal which brought medals in heaps. Right. Justifiable. The success has to be celebrated.

Now the euphoria has died down and I wonder, where would these stars be now? Or at the cost of their success are Babus from the termite infested government machinery enjoying?

What prompted me to go in the dark was my own physical deficit which I noticed recently.

I did not have any problem till recently and I was managing fairly well with my handicap that was developing so slowly that barring few incidences of few errs here and there I could not/did not notice.

And this was one of the ‘Innocent Bystander Reaction’ of COVID.

For the fear of spreading the disease it became mandatory health wise, that later was endorsed by the government, rightly so, to wear the mask. And I realized as if after waking from the deep slumber slowly, that I am unable to comprehend what one, sitting in front of me was trying to convey.  The words appeared just as jargon and out of that intentionally created voice, otherwise known as language; only few could reach my ear drums that made sense. Otherwise rest were sounds made by marbles in the empty pot. Conversation with comprehension, even partly came to standstill. No, I did not become stone deaf. I was able to hear every other sound coming from anything that could make sound. So purring of rickshaw, sound of cascading waters when flush was used even the ‘Tip –Tip’ sound of dribbling tap did not escape my ears. Only problem was to differentiate between ‘Nagher’ and ‘Nabar. Two frequently used words in my household. After spending some time giving it a good thought, I realized that I am unable differentiate between the wavelengths of ‘Scam’ and ‘Scan.’ Or such similar sounding words.

Immediate conclusion was, mask, THE mask! When you are using mask 50% of waves, sound travels in waves, are obstructed by that physical hindrance! The Mask! More layered or complicated it was, like N 95, it was more difficult for me to hear! And in situation like pandemic I could not ask anyone to speak without mask! Crime of the highest order!

Taking hint from the situation, because none from the near family faced ‘My’ type of problem I decided to get an Audio-gram done. Though expected to some extent, to my surprise one of the ears practically had complete sensory loss while the other was living on thread bare life! Though not a shock it did throw me in despair. The best way to counter-check is always a second opinion.

Ali Yavar Jung Institute at Bandra is super specialty hospital/institute that studies problems related to ‘Hearing’ and thus ‘speech’ in children who cannot learn to speak because they cannot hear to emulate.

2^nd Audio-gram was done by two expert, very hard working charming girls in their mid twenties. But their those qualities did not change my ‘Diagnosis’. Though I was not stone deaf I was having severe setback for the higher frequencies. So in a room filled with even few people, all chattering at the same time, I was going to be like novice just landed on an alien land where everybody was speaking mumbo jumbo at the peak of their voices. But conversing with anybody on one to one basis was not going to be much of a problem, may be missing few words here and there. And without mask, my ears could be Bose speakers at their best. But conversation without mask  was/is unthinkable till the COVID wave abates fully, for which ‘Amen’ is the only word!

So I was advised ‘Aids’ to hear!

Till the time they were tested on my ears and made permanently available, I came to conclusion that, ‘India’ our own India is the worst country for ‘Handicapped’.

I started dreading to go to crowded places where decibels were nothing less than the created by an atomic explosion. It hampered my hearing ‘No ends’. I never understood a word what the lady wearing a mask sitting on a low level chair 2 feet away from the glass barricade was trying to convey to me because the man behind me occupied 90% of my hearing capacity while trying to have a deal with an agent at share market in a voice typically required for the place, i.e. share market! It did not stop at that, rather than helping me, Babus on the other side simply used to give up on me with expression of annoyance largely writ on their faces!

I was being taken for granted for the things I did not hear!

‘But I told you 3 times, it’s not my fault that you can’t hear!’

But it’s not my fault too; it’s sensory loss for which unfortunately nothing can be done!

Such incidences started becoming common encounters.

Even the closest friend did not spare me of humiliation. Once he suddenly gestured to stop the ongoing conversation with his wife, saying,

‘Don’t bother yourself much, he doesn’t hear!’

I was totally at sea about how to react as I had heard what he had said! With a big question mark of bewilderment, hiding my inner annoyance, turmoil, whatever I retraced from the conversation and tried to pretend as if nothing happened.

Conversations on machine generated sounds became impossible, so whenever there used to be mobile ring I started abhorring the entire rigmarole. They were so many variations in the sound coming from the other end depending on whether it was person’s or machine’s making! Many speak on phone as if they are letting out their innermost secret to their fiancé and talk in the most soft tone , so I had to keep on repeating, ‘Sorry, Sorry’, or some just mumble mixing every word together cooking a nice khichadi of few unintelligible sounds. Others are in a race with themselves so by the time I was able to understand their first sentence they used to be already on their last!

While at times machine itself plays its own gimmicks, thus voice on the other side echoes, vibrates, breaks, comes as if coming from a distant nebula or is plainly marred by the person talking just behind the caller.

It made me started looking around and I realized, as compared to my minuscule handicap, how people with so many other, much more debilitating physical or any other deficit are being treated in India as second class citizens.

For a person on a wheel chair any type of transport in any smaller or bigger city of India is nothing short of an ordeal. And if you HAVE to, for your daily bread, better to be born anywhere else than in India. To ride 9.46 fast…..’ Rather, sit at home!’ , your co-passengers make you aware of your intrusion on their comforts , most rudely!

On Kurfurstendamn Berlin, I saw umpteen number of young and old on wheel chairs, either on their own or helped by an assistant to shop, catch the bus, ride the U Bahn without any difficulty or more so without any Guilt for taking the help, the end point was living the life fully with whatever you have! No doubt the state helps at every point, every juncture for every gesture!

At St Marco famous square in Venice, I could not believe my eyes by the number of wheel chairs, proms, men and women with crutches sauntering around, oblivious of the TAB world passing by. In handicap parlance TAB is Temporarily Able Bodies person!

On Tokyo or any other Japanese suburban Metro stations, Marshals are deployed to help the handicapped who see to it that every handicapped person gets on or alights from the train with the door platform lowered down properly and the train is not allowed to start till the handicapped rider is comfortably brought on the board or the platform!

It’s a motto that handicapped traveler must be at utmost ease with himself or the ride!

India has no time for the handicapped; here the problem is how to feed the billions of TABs. Till we don’t deal with it, handicapped in India will always be treated as Second class citizens, because what has to change is,’Mentality’. 

But we are SO many of us with that callous attitude , we hardly have time to worry about the one who is less than equal!

Is ‘Survival of the fittest!’ practised in India that brutally?

                   ……………………….                                          To be continued.