Editorial    
A Day with The Deaf and Dumb

My new year eve celebration was different. I went to a school to attend a cultural program. Kids danced, performed a skit and did some mono action. The program commenced with a group of tiny and not so tiny tots paying homage to the nation by enacting A.R. Rahman’s immortal composition Vande Mataram. This was followed by a couple of break dance performances to the foot tapping tunes of Hindi film chartbusters. A delightful skit showing the antics of a tough saas (mother-in-law) and her docile bahu (daughter-in-law) had the audience clapping for an encore. A tribute to Indian mythology was paid by kids as they acted out the legend of Radha and Krishna. The program ended with a drama where the children presented slices from the life of the cave man.

Now you may well wonder what is so special about children acting and dancing? Well these children are no ordinary kids. They are special, really special. They cannot speak and they cannot hear. They are the students of a small, neglected school in Bhubaneswar : the Sriharsa Mishra Memorial Sisuvidyalaya for the Deaf and Dumb. The school with 183 students is run from five rented buildings since it doesn’t have a building of its own. It is managed on a paltry government grant and the little ones struggle for the bare necessities of life.

As I watched them dance in perfect rhythm with the music and act like veteran stage artists even though they cannot hear or speak a syllable, I was amazed at their talent, confidence and commitment. I was told that many of these kids are also terrific at drawing and painting and also do well in academics. Another thing which impressed me was their sense of camaraderie. The pride on their faces as they watched their friends being applauded was, to say the least touching. Many of them came up to me pushing their class mates and through gestures explaining his or her talent. Tell me do you share this kind of bonding, with your friends?

Eleven year old Ankita who too witnessed the show had this to say, " People like us treat them with pity. They don’t need that. They need to be treated like equals. In fact we have a lot to learn from them. They are hardworking and confident and most important they don’t feel sorry for themselves." Touché!    

– Ramendra Kumar
January 13, 2002

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