An Impossible Dream

“Rajesh today again came back from school crying; please make your little boy understand that if he will cry they will make him cry more. So he needs to fight back and break their jaw by moving his hands as faster as he can. He must learn self-defense Hari. Tell him tell him please. He never listens to me so you only tell him.” Saku bustled to the kitchen to bring another Roti for Rajesh. Hari quickly pressed his hand and smiled Rajesh saw his baba’s blur face smiling and smiled back.

After dinner Baba came to the arctic of their small rented cabin where Rajesh sleeps with his elder sister Prachi and slowly asked him “did they beat you again son? “

Rajesh hid his face in the pillow and answered yes by nodding his head.

When Baba asked “why”?

He said “because when they were first calling me blind I acted as mummy told me to. I tried to beat them and I did hit two of them and knocked them on floor but after that they all came together and then I couldn’t do anything and they beat me too much.”

Baba gently ruffled him and kissed his forehead then said “ you are my brave boy you fought alone and knocked two of your enemies on floor alone but they attacked a single person all together they are cowards. You are hero my son I am proud of you. Don’t worry tomorrow I will come to your school and talk to your principal. Rajesh fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

Saku was lying on the bed turning on the other side of the bed. Hari knows she is crying. His wife is only hard in her words inside is soft like butter and Rajesh is her biggest weakness. Day and night she only thinks about him and nothing else. Hari softly turned her to him and hold her in his arms. He said tomorrow I would go to his school and talk to the principal Madam. This can’t be going on day after day. If they don’t do anything I will take Rajesh out of that school and put him in any other school. You don’t worry about money if it becomes necessary I will keep my auto mortgage. Our son is not blind he can see. It is just that he can see a little less than the others that doesn’t makes him handicapped.

Principal Shashikala Matre was a lady in her late fifties running this school from many years with the help of many nongovernmental charitable fund raising organizations. She is a good lady and also a good administrator so Hari has high hopes from her. After listening everything from him Madam Shashikala first offered Hari a glass of water and then said she absolutely understands the position of Hari and Rajesh and the difficulty they are facing due to those bad children. She promised Hari that she would call the parents of all those children who were involved in that incident and suspend them from school for one week. Then after taking a deep breath she slowly said “ but Mr. Hari there is something that I would like to say you please don’t misunderstand me. What I am going to say it’s for Rajesh’s own good. Rajesh is a special child but that doesn’t mean he is any less that others he is just differently abled. He needs special kind of teaching techniques to learn things in a better way and here there will always be a chance to get humiliated by the other students as these children are coming from very poor and uneducated backgrounds where they hardly learns to be kind and gentle to children like Rajesh. So if you want I can give you an address of another school, which is made especially for children like Rajesh. I will write a letter to the principal of that school which will make the admission of your child very easy. Hari was happy that Rajesh could get better learning environment in that new school which is specially designed for kids like him but on the other hand he was worried about the experiences of that school. He hesitantly asked Madam Shashikala “ what will be the fees there in the new school Madam?”

In answer of which she smiled and said it’s a government Blind school Mr. Hari, It’s totally free.

The word “blind school” stuck his ears like an arrow and he felt his eyes filling up with water he tried to stop those drops from falling but couldn’t succeed.

By making her voice as softer as she can Madam Shashikala said “ Mr. Hari I know Rajesh is not blind but he is partially blind so he will be benefited with those learning methods. Keep trust on me one day you will be happy for taking this decision.”

Rajesh loves this new school. Here all the students are like him or totally blind. They all help each other in studies and all other activities. Apart from studies they are also taught handicrafts like making things from cane wood or designer candle making or clay modeling etc. which their teachers help them to sell in different art shops and give them the money at the end of the month. Mummy now a day remains very happy. She says she will open a shop in the market by taking loan from bank after Rajesh finishes his school and then they both mother and son will run the shop together. Rajesh will teach her to make the things too and then they both will make things together and sell them in there shop it will be great fun.

Rajesh loves when he sees his mother happy but he doesn’t find any interest in making candles or Clay models. He likes to play cricket. Every Tuesday and Saturday they have their cricket period. Children like him who can see partially plays match together on those days. He loves to hit four and six with his bat. Sir says he has natural skills of playing this game. He feels those are the best hours of his life when he stands in the ground holding his bat and hitting four and six to the balls, which comes to him. No matter how blur the world looks to him the red color of the ball becomes clear like a Cristal to him every time. He always tries to watch the cricket matches on the TV. If not see properly he focuses on listening. The more day kept passing the more his obsession for cricket kept increasing. One day his coach sir called him and said that he should now try to join the Indian blind cricket team.

Rajesh came back to home and told his parents that he cannot appear for his board exams because he needs to go to Bangalore to try for joining the Indian blind cricket team, which is currently selecting players for their T20

World Cup. Saku and Hari were in such a state of shock they at first they couldn’t understand what was Rajesh talking about! After a while when they understood Saku burst into tears. This was Rajesh ‘s final year. The board exam of tenth is in.

One month and now he saying that he want to go to Bangalore for playing some stupid game! And how can blind people ever play cricket! Is he dreaming or he has started taking drugs? Hari reaction was not hysterical like Saku but he was also enough depressed. He asked Rajesh firmly “ what is this all about? Are you joking with us? How can you play cricket? That too for a World Cup? What is the real matter Rajesh tell me clearly?

Rajesh smiled and answered, “ I am telling you the truth you need to trust me baba. You only taught me once nothing is impossible if you want to make it possible and today you only don’t believe, that I can’t achieve my dream?

Just because my dreams are as high as the sky! I know my dreams looks impossible but what is that life which doesn’t have an impossible dream! I promise you Baba I will show you though my wings are broken but still I can touch the sky. Hari looked at his son’s face and embraced him tightly. He gave him whatever money he had and boarded him on a train to Bangalore. With extraordinary skills Rajesh got selected in the team easily and after playing with different teams for many days they finally won the World Cup defeating team Pakistan in the finals. After the finals he called his Baba and told him with tears in his eyes “ I kept my promise Baba I touched the sky”