New Beginnings

48- Tour

Having started breakfast before Samar and his Mom came, we finished eating early. We just sat there conversing while they finished their meal.

"We will give you the tour of this place as soon as we finish eating", Samar's Mom (Swati Aunty) said.

"But we already saw the building?" Rishi spoke in a questioning tone.

"That wasn't even half of this camp", Samar answered with a chuckle.

"Really?" I asked astonished of the fact.

"Yeah. The building we are staying is for visitors, volunteers and the students like Samar, who come for few months.

"There are other buildings for permanent students and permanent teachers. Plus various infrastructure for the classes", Swati Aunty explained.

"Oh!" I replied while the twins nodded in understanding.

After they were done, we all stood up to dump the empty plates and moved out of the canteen.

While the rooms and the canteen was in the same building, other infrastructure was behind it. That was the reason we couldn't see it when we came.

Rounding the building, we came to backside.

Samar and his Mom took turns to explain everything.

There was greenery every where. Trees, gardens, playground. Between the green patches, there were house like structures where different types of classes were held.

There was a small area with slides and swings, probably for the kids who came here for learning. There were also some artificial hurdles made in the playground.

Atfirst, I thought they were for show but then concluded that they were used for practices for students.

There were two more buildings like the one we were staying. Samar said that it was for permanent students and teachers. While the smaller building was hostel for young kids.

"Only for young children? What about their parents? Where do they stay then?" Raghav asked curiously.

"The children who come with parents live in the other two buildings. Parents of the kids living in the hostel, either only come to pick and drop them or they have left them here for good.

"Not everyone is lucky like me, whose Mom accompanies in every single session. Many don't have patience or time to sit through these sessions and there are also few who have no choice but to leave their child alone as they can't afford to leave their work", Samar explained.

I felt bad for the kids. I wanted to curse their parents but I am sure that not all were bad. They might be helpless because of their situations. We as outsiders didn't have any right to comment when we didn't knew the reasons behind their actions, so we didn't and asked something else.

"So who takes care of the kids. I mean they must have other needs other than attending the required classes?" Raghav questioned further, more in sadness than in curiosity.

"Various staff have been appointed. No one can give the love of parents, but the people working here are very affectionate. Everyone works for their betterment", Samar answered with a soft smile.

"There must be too many professors here", Rishi pointed out looking at the crowd.

"That's the problem. They have very few. That's why they need too many volunteers to help around.

"Fortunately, during vacations they have many people opting for volunteering. Many students use their vacation to do something like this, either in hopes of getting certificate or just who like to help others but can't find time in regular days.

"But during other months, they have a huge problem. There aren't many people to help permanent students", Swati Aunty spoke, proving Rishi's assumption wrong.

"Yeah that's why, dad comes around to help in those months", Samar added.

"That's really nice of him", I commented.

We kept on walking. I worried that Samar and his Mom would have got bored by our endless questions but they answered our each and every query with a smile on their face.

"Is it compulsory to participate, if you are a visitor?" Rishi asked looking at the pamphlet, we took from the stand nearby.

It had information and timings about all the classes.

They taught so many things. Some of which, I didn't even know what they were for.

Classes for braille, classes for sign language, classes for writing with our mouth, legs or non dominant hand.

These were some which were allowed to all- with or without disability, while other classes were only for the one's who needed them.

"No no. Most of the visitors apply as they are interested. But it is your choice. You can attend classes, become a volunteer or just observe around. There's no compulsion", Samar answered Rishi's question.

"What classes should I attend?" Rishi muttered to himself.

"Demo lectures are going to start in 2 hours. Look at the back of pamphlet, timings must be given. Attend those and find out which one's suits you", Swati Aunty suggested.

We nodded in affirmation and stopped at the nearby sitting area to read and finalize where we would be going.

Whatever confusion we had was blown away after the demo lectures.

Rishi chose to attend most of the classes as he liked each one of them and timings didn't clash with each other.

Raghav wasn't interested in learning and chose to help around by becoming a volunteer. He was mostly inclined to volunteer for the little kids. I had an idea that he would select that seeing how sad and involved he was when we were having the conversation about them.

I simply chose to learn braille as that was something that fascinated me and  would also help me to connect with Samar's world better.

Apart from that, I didn't select any other classes as that time would be spent to observe Samar while he learned new things as that was the main motive behind me coming here.

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