It was a normal sunny day in a park in the heart of the city. He didn't want much. He just wanted to play with some other children. One of the girls asked him, "How old are you?" "11", he replied.
"Which standard?” She was already amused. As were the other kids by his features which looked different. When he replied, she introduced him to the rest of the children - "He is 11 years old and still in first standard." They all laughed. He stood there for a moment and turned back.
This is one of the hundreds of such experiences he has gone through. He has cried in the parties, after the parties and at the doors of the parties which were closed for him so that other children don't get scandalized by his presence.
"Why didn't you give birth to me right? Like a normal boy?" He has asked several times to his parents. They never had the answer. The God whom he is close to turns into 'a mean fellow' on such dark days when he realizes once again that he hasn't done anything wrong to cause his sufferings.
Once he told his mother that he wants to do a plastic surgery on his face. Why? Because he felt he looks like a Down's syndrome guy.
"But you are smart and handsome," his mother told him.
"Yes, I know I am smart and normal but I want all the people to think that I am smart and normal. That's why."
That's how much he is aware of his existence, his syndrome and how other people look at him even if they don't say it.
He is stubborn which is a characteristic of people affected with Down's syndrome. He is very defensive about what he thinks and if he's wrong, it takes a great deal of patience to correct him - but if you don't give up and stay calm, he realizes it after a while and says sorry too.
He wants to live as 'normal’ a life as possible. He wants to be independent and wants to earn money. Once his father found him requesting an auto mechanic in the neighborhood for some job at his shop!
He is a very punctual kind of person who hates to be late for anything He takes care of people around him as much as he can. He doesn't let his house-help drink cold water when she has cough. He has mortal insecurities about his parents and he is worried who will take care of him after them - but at the same time, he behaves like the most responsible person in the house during an argument. When people start talking loudly, he gets anxious and raises his hand, "Stop! I can't take it anymore.” He has turned the situation completely many times just by singing some Bollywood song apt for the moment. His mother says he is the real peace-maker. The Bollywood song 'All is well' is his motto for life. He keeps on reiterating it even if all is not well.
His parents feel that he has made them more disciplined and responsible.
He has taught them that life is short and we need to live light.
He has a sharp memory and amazing ears. He can hear a slight sound amidst a noise. In the Special Olympics, he was the first to dive-in after the whistle went off. He taught his parents to appreciate people for the different things they bring to the table; the fact that everyone is special in his or her own way.
Life has not been very kind to him but he still carries that sense of humor which can lead him to say 'Papa, don't torture your special child' when his father doesn't play the channel of his choice on the TV.
People around him feel that he reaffirms their faith in love. He has a girl friend who is also suffering from Down’s. He fell in love with her but they could not communicate with each other as he speaks English and the girl speaks only in Hindi. He decided to overcome this hurdle and learn Hindi - he spoke with her daily and picked up words and practiced it with people around him and within a span of four months he could talk in Hindi.
His is a pristine form of love and compassion.
It’s we, the so-called normal beings who create complexities - for him relationships, people are simple, without any hidden motives.
His mother says that he has taught them what loving unconditionally means
. He once figured out that his mother had a radiating pain in her back. He went to his yoga teacher and asked him to teach him an ‘aasana’ for the same and asked his father to record it for him. Immediately, he WatsApped it to his mother!
He also has his own unique ways of solving problems. Like other kids he never created ruckus if he ever wanted something. When his father denied him of the second Coke once, he went up to his mother without offending his father in front of the other people in his house and asked her - ‘Ma, why no second Coke for me, when papa can have second drink? You please scold him and ask him to give it to me’.
