3 days back, on Friday I received a forwarded email from my collegue. The email clearly stated that it required a scribe for the visually challenged student’s exam. I wasn’t sure what scribe meant so as usual like 99 % of the software professionals I opened the internet explorer and google.
So now that I knew what scribe is all about, the next option was to choose to be one or not to be one. I didn’t have any problem with the timings because our work at office starts at 2pm so I could catch our cab somewhere in Adyar, I thought. Anyway, I was apprehensive about being a scribe because I had no experience at all with this and moreover I didn’t want to mess up someone’s exam.
But my theory “interested in everything and committed to nothing” was at stake. So took a plunge. I replied back to Suchithra Ramaswamy stating that I would be available at any of the mentioned dates provided she was willing to share her experience as a scribe and that I could catch my cab in time so as to come to office.
Now, it would be unfair on my part if I don’t give you a glimse of this amazing person with a beautiful and strong heart I guess. Strong? Yeah I will let you know in some time. I haven’t meet her personally but we did have few emails flying In and Out of Box’s interestingly placed in Outlook. Also, I did have a look into her blog. Now, isnt that too much? No it isnt. I am just interested in everything you see. Alright. This wonderful person has initiated many beautiful projects. Now I call it beautiful projects because it’s got something to do with bonding hearts and making this world a better place for everyone. Pay the Fee’s Campaign is something which I guess, she is proud off because in her blog she quotes : “Pay the Fees Campaign 2007 happens to be the most successful campaign I have done all my life. Once I knew where my heart was set the going was so much easier. This was one spending I wont regret all my life.” It was the campaign started to initiate a fund raiser for deserving kids who could not afford to pay fees for their studies. Now to know why I call her strong, you got to read her post, Blood Donation – My Story J
So, now that I have shared my interest to be a scribe, I waited for the reply, which I get in no time. She told me that she required people who could write tamil because their was an immense requirement but limited volunteers. But she had blocked my name so that I could be a scribe when the requirement arises. I was thankful for that and continued with my weekend weird story which of coarse I would not wish to share.
So on Monday I get this email with my name mapped to a visually challenged student whom I would assist in writing exam by lending my ears, eyes and hands which could write English, for sometime. To be frank, I don’t want to get too emotional with things, so I was happy enough to spend my half day as scribe outside of my room. I was happy enough to gain this experience and was happy enough to know that I could make this world a better place and share it with all. So, I replied to this email letting her know that I would be glad and am excited.
Now, finding addresses and reaching at RIGHT time is something which people don’t associate with me, especially when I am in a new city. However I try to make up for this good quality of mine by landing at this location a day ahead. I mean, at least 2 hours a head of RIGHT time. So again I do a google search to find the Queens Mary College. I get to know that it’s a girls college, so I think, being a scribe isnt that bad u know. Anyway, jokes apart. I leave my house at 7:30 and take a shared auto ( I had christened it shatadoor for some weird reasons when I was new to the city. But that would take another post.) to thriuvanmiyur bus depo. I get into wrong bus and get almost kicked out of it by the grumbling conductor( I hate those men in blue. Will let you know why ). So, next time without mistake I double check that I have got into the right bus and it goes to the right destination. I again get that grumbling from conductor for repeatedly asking the same question in different tones. One of the many good souls like me over there in the bus asked me to get down one stop after light house and then I was there. Time 8:15. Almost, 1hr 15 minutes before time. Gosh, I thought I would never ever get the RIGHT time, I thought.
Well, now I needed to search this college. But I used my super charged brain to follow the girls who had got down the same bus because somehow I guessed they were going to the same college. One of the girl in the group starred back at me as if I was really following them for reasons other than the one I had in my mind. So, gauging the unnecessary trouble that I would invite, I moved ahead of them hoping to cite the college by myself. So there was it. A man in his 50’s at the gate was having his breakfast. I couldn’t stop gazing at the white iddli’s and sambar. He didn’t look like a security guard so he must be a watchman, yeah the one’s who just watch and watch and yeah you got it. So called me and enquired ‘enna venu’. It’s been a year now in Chennai, so I could understand few basic tamil words and could efficiently guess the rest of the words spoken based on pure mathematics which I hate to explain.
“Err… blind… scribe..venu……. Me… exam…where?” is what I heard myself speak but some how I knew he was gonna bang me out of the gate. Miraculously, he understood what I said and I was happy about my new communication skill. I call it tamilish. Anyway, he lifted his right hand to point towards the temple. Arre, he was a lefty yar, remember he was eating breakfast?
So, I went near the temple. I saw many people, err girls I must confess reading as if its goona be the end of the world and only a word in that book if pronounced properly in right time could save the world.. It reminded me of my days in +2, of coarse not engineering. I meet this guy from Andra. He was as confused as me. So, as the saying goes, two confused make up a good company of entertainment. I learnt that he was there as a scribe for the first time as well and was looking for his person. Finally a lady arrived from a group of students sitting on the bench just a feet away from us and asked us if we were scribes and the names that we are supposed to write the exams for. I was wondering how blind we were. I mean all the girls on that bench were blinds and they were having their fingers on this braille script on the yellow pages or some fat book, studying. We couldn’t figure that out from a feet distance. How blind can you get, aint it. The lady told us that she heard what we spoke and thereby wanted to help us out to find the respective person. I wondered how sharp her ears were because she was partially blind as well.
I got to know who I am writing the exam for and THEY LEAD us to this place were we get the question papers. Along with these blinds there were others who could see and who would write the same exam. The teachers in their typical dictatorship style asked everyone to fall in line and they asked them to sit under the shade of the tree. We watched this from some distance. I thought then, that it was some kind of drill or something but guess what. They distributed question papers and asked to write exams. I had mixed emotions, obviously confusing me. I mean, I was happy that they have the opportunity to learn and write exams when millions of those don’t have this opportunity but on the other hand they didn’t have the basic facility of a desk or a classroom for that matter to sit and write exam without distraction.
They collected their question papers and came to us. We selected a place. Pushed and dusted some of the broken desk and chairs and started with the scribe business. The desk had an unequal leg so I was almost doing a see saw, but it was fun. Technically, there is nothing that you need to experience in order to be a scribe. Technically, all that you need is the ability to read and write neatly in the language specified in the question paper. Non Technically, you need a beautiful heart. I hope you get the funda.
Half way through the exam a teacher comes in with a strong voice she said, “Are you girls from 2nd year English literature class”. The girls replied positively in unison. “Your teacher told me that you have done very well in your last exam.” I saw few blushing and heads beaming with pride. The teacher continued, “So your teacher is doubtful about it. Have you girls given notes to the scribe or have the scribes used their own knowledge to assist the students?” I was shell shocked and so were the students. I mean, you don’t have the basic facility here. I know that these students are visually challenged and may be fighting even more challenges in their home and here is a teacher who doubts them for doing well in exam. I think my fellow scribe got really irritated by this stupid act and he said, “Ma’am I don’t think anyone of us could read Braille script here even if they had given the scribes the notes”. The teacher asked for it, I thoguht. I think she knew it was stupid of her so she said, “ very well then. But meet this teacher of yours before leaving alright?” and she left.
All these girls were staring at each other with little of disappointment on their face. For a second I thought they could see. What I could see was their disappointment because they told us that they had studied very well and if the admin was really doubtful about it then they could have placed a person to monitor during exam. Well, there is no room, no desk, no water near by to drink, how could they afford a person to sit and monitor, I thought. We finished the exam real quick in 2 hours. But I was happy they couldn’t beat me in that. My all time record was 1 min. I am sure someone would have broken it by now. It was English literature and all were bouncers for me. You would have realized that by now. It was all about Shakespeare and Milton all the way back to 1100.
I wished her good luck and told her that I learnt a lot today from the time I woke up to this very moment. I thanked her for that and waited for my friend or colleague from GMR, Arjun to complete the paper and join me. We left the place in no time as it was very VERY hot. And wondered, instead of sweat if it was blood that was flowing out of me then I would have died million times by then due to lack of blood. Since it was too early to catch the cab for me, we got into the bus to thiruvanmiyur. As I sat next to the window looking at the vast stretch of marina, I thought how wonderful and interesting life could be if and only if we could get the shoes on and step out of our home into the beautiful world of unknown yet beautiful possibilities. A gush of cool breeze blew right on my face as if it agreed with me.
“Be THE SCRIBE. After all, The BEST you can offer them is not the money, it’s your TIME.”
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