The way we view it
PAROMITA PAIN
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Look beyond the obvious — learn to think out of the box
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A recent workshop for children held at Goodbook's centred on an inspiring book called Why are you afraid to hold my hand? authored by Sheila Dhir, writer and graphic artist, with a view to creating awareness among young people about social issues. Sheila believes ideas come out of the ways we think. Ideas reflect our beliefs and can make life very exciting indeed. "Therefore, it is very important to think out of the box", she says. Thought is truly free and asthma inhalers can be UFO's just as pegs needn't remain simple things that prevent our clothes from flying away.
Be positive
An author who aims to show that life is just the way we view it, Sheila read out her Kuttiamma story to an interested audience, comprising 20 children of whom 12 were from the SOS Village at Tambaram. Intrepid Kuttiamma may be old but when a flood washes her house away all she has to say is, "I needed a new one anyway." Braving one big time trouble after another, Sheila's story beautifully illustrates how brave attitudes can help overcome every mishap that comes our way.
Why are you afraid to hold my hand? is about outlooks and our feelings towards those with a disability. Each person is an individual and therefore different from the other but sometimes this `different' can stretch a little further. Unintentionally we may end up being cruel to the child who doesn't walk, talk or behave the way most of us do. The book very simply done in white and yellow is based on a child with cerebral palsy.
"I limp, I lisp, all this and more," she says. It is up to us to look beyond the drool and connect with the child who just wants to play. Using rhyme very cleverly to drive home the essential message that even those with disabilities need friends, Sheila's rhythm and meter makes sure that while the rhythm is catchy, the tone remains serious. Just because their walk is wobbly doesn't mean their minds are too. This is the essential and important message conveyed. The illustrations created by the participants are for the forthcoming books tentatively titled, Why am I afraid of cancer? and Why are you afraid of AIDS?
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