My Daughter Trisha and SAHAS
“When one door of happiness closes another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.”
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Madhumita Aunty and Shambhu Uncle for their constant encouragement and support in my journey with Trisha.
I still remember the day my life was plunged into darkness when I came to know that my daughter Trisha is deaf. It is a constant battle for me to delete that day from my memory. I was totally shocked and confused as to where to go and what to do about Trisha. Everyone told me that my daughter would never speak because she is deaf and she would have to learn to communicate in sign language. My world of happiness was collapsing around me.
I went to CMC Vellore and met Dr John Mathew, a renowned ENT specialist. Meeting him opened up my world. He told me about SAHAS in Durgapur. I took down the address of SAHAS in great trepidation, wondering what was in store for me there.
I made the journey from Vellore to Durgapur. I had given up all hope and expectation that my daughter would speak, but when I reached SAHAS and saw Angshu and other children who were communicating effortlessly, I began to feel that one day my daughter will also be able to call me Maa.
SAHAS – it is really a place of sahas (courage) for me. Being a mother, I was eagerly waiting for the day when my Trisha would be calling out Maa.
Frankly speaking, Trisha’s greatest gift to me was her calling me Maa and this day wouldn’t have come if it were not for my family, that is, SAHAS.
Fast forward some ten years, and Trisha is now a chatterbox. She can express her feelings and emotions fluently in words. It is true that “stars cannot shine without darkness” and somehow our children proved it.
Mousumi Majee,
Jamshedpur, Jharkhand