Love thy Family ...

Thinking of 'him' makes me ponder,
It feels 'he' is God's special wonder.
He is innocent, nice but irritating most of all...
With 'him' around I wish to crawl!
Time spent with him is absolutely worth,
Wish we are there for each other in every birth!

My maiden post is dedicated to my very dear brother 'Swapnil' aka 'Babu' and his family.(Babu is my maternal cousin). Let's just go more than a decade back....

It was a significant day in Vandana didi's (My yet another maternal sister and Babu's paternal sister) life. Her fiance' and his family along with our (Mamaji's) family were fixing her marriage date. Suddenly we heard our would be jiju howling in pain. our bloods froze to see 'Babu' trying to pull hair out of his scalp! Everyone in the room was aghast!!!

'Babu' was 12 yrs. old then and with that was expected sensible enough to not to be a menace when very important guests are there at home. Family members knew that Babu had no intentions of spoiling her beloved sister's life. Fortunately, even jiju's family accepted that Babu was 12 yrs. old by age but his behavior was still of a 4-5 yr old child.

Yes, our Babu is a mentally retarded child. Its causes; still a mystery. The doctors say, his fatal fever when he was an year old could possibly one of the reasons.

His parents have been no slouch in his treatment. Their gamut was vast... from several Doctors to Babas and innumerable temples to churches and mosques. Mami's exemplary determination enforced her family to keep faith. Even Babu's sisters; elder one Sonu and younger one Shanu have done their best so far!

Sonu, I must say, abnegated her childhood for him. She was the one who kept an eye on him day in and out! Babu was simply uncontrollable then. He used to bite, hit and hurt people. So, he always needed an escort around to protect OTHERS! Sonu was the chosen one :).

Shanu, was not allowed to go to school without his consent. Her uniform was kept at neighbour's place where in, she used to get ready for the school. Babu was somehow convinced with different excuses like she's out to visit a doctor or is out to get a chocolate for him.

Now Babu is 24 yr old. He has changed quiet a lot! He now, comparatively utters more words(Speaks more words : Earlier he spoke few basic words like mummy, papa, jiji, mama. Now he can say dadiji,appa etc etc. He even uses his own nomenclature to address a person), emanates more emotions(More emotions : At times,he visits mama's shop. There we have caught him staring at young lads :). When enquired about the same, he blushes and points shop's boy...meaning it was not him but the shop boy!) and unfortunately has become more eccentric!

But his esoteric nature is a grave problem in their life. There are times when he conjures up anonymous Strength which is enough to hurt 7-8 people at a time! But still his family is not ready to renounce him or send him out to a hostel as they know, he loves them and they dote on him too. Few minutes of his wrath cannot break bond of love. No! not this easily.

Just keep lamp of affection glowing. If your dear ones ever hurt you...do not keep brooding over it! They are the ones who will stand by you forever!