Zest for Life !!!

Today, during my conversation with a friend, I was reminded of my visit to AADI (Action for Ability Development and Inclusion, Delhi) with a radio station to celebrate Holi with the kids there. I believe that was 2006. It was just an hour that I spent there but it was an experience that I probably can't forget. I saw a writeup of that in "My Documents" and here it is :

2006 : "Experience of a Layman at AADI"
As amongst the majority of people, I was quite ignorant about Cerebral Palsy and the needs that come with the same for people affected by it. My one hour at AADI as part of the Holi ki Toli from Radio Mirchi was definitely a rollercoaster ride of thoughts and experiences within such a short span of time.
When I was entering AADI, I had a sense of curiosity, doubt, slight fear and over precaution for what I was supposed to do and at the same time what I shall be subjected to. When I entered, I couldn’t react much as I felt being subjected to various sights and sounds which were personally unknown to me and unexpected and too fast that I didn’t know how to handle. I drifted away from the Holi ki Toli and allowed myself to be colored by many kids to their amusement and pleasure while I was simply observing their reactions and expectations as I felt like an object that they felt happy playing with. What I really wanted to know at that time was:
What are these kids seeing in me? An object to play with or a new person/friend from the world outside or a person whom they listen to on radio or maybe just one more target where they can splash whatever colours they had and amuse themselves. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be at that moment.
During this while I was trying to make myself comfortable and was observing some of the most ruthless colour exchanges amongst few kids. Talk about over precaution, well I honestly felt vulnerable and was also a victim of some colour attacks. Slowly I was getting used to the reality i.e., the normalcy of small kids enjoying themselves and nothing more than that. I was comfortable now.
I was fortunate that couple of very energetic and enthusiastic young adults grabbed me for a chat. I didn’t know how to start but soon realized that they were looking for an opportunity to discuss relevant issues with someone who is available. The issues were relevant to any young adult across the world but I thought that the only difference here being, that the challenges were more and the opportunities made available to them were very constrained and limited. I also noticed that the challenges faced were different for different people. I spoke to them for a while and while exchanging each others contact information, I was surprised that the person had five email ids. One of them sounded like “summer beach “ bla bla bla …. I did recommend the person to have a consistent and a regular email id for which he responded (read obliged) by sharing his regular email id. So it wasn’t a very smart and unknown tip from my side after all. :-)
I was personally very inspired by their attitude, determination and dignity that they reflected. All n All I enjoyed playing Holi and meeting new people who taught me a lesson or two in what I would simply put as “A Zest for Life”.

Please watch http://www.aadi-india.org/AADIFilm.php