Hiding behind a pile of books in her classroom 1A, Tara was busy correcting them. Her pen stopped at the antonym for good and bright. It was written ‘dab’, ‘bark’ respectively. She remembered clearly that she had written them on the board for her 6 year-olds to copy. Flipping the book to see the name, she sent for Nakshatra.

“She needs help, and trust me I can help her”, said Ms. Leela. Mrs. and Mr. Iyer was furious. “Do you mean to say my Tara is retarded? How dare you”, retorted Mrs. Iyer. Ms. Leela calmly said,” She is smart. It is just that she needs to be taught differently. I can help her”. Tara looked confused at the conversation that her parents and teacher were having.

Tara was woken up from her past with a cute “May I come in Ma’am?” Tara’s eyes lit up. Ensuring that Nakshatra was comfortably seated, Tara passed on the notebook asking her to read what she wrote as antonyms for good and bright. Without an iota of doubt, the chirpy girl responded, “Ma’am, you only taught, it is ‘bad’ and ‘dark’.” “Can you write it for me dear?” Nakshatra wrote – good x dab, dright x bark

“She needs help, and trust me I can help her” Ms. Leela’s words echoed in her mind as she prepared herself to talk to Nakshatra’s parents. She just hoped that the parents understood her concern towards Nakshatra and agreed to work together. The parents came in and after the customary exchange of pleasantries, Tara pushed forward the notebook to them. Mrs. and Mr. Vinay saw the notebook and looked up to Tara for some explanation. Tara calmly said, “See Mrs. and Mr. Vinay, Nakshatra seems to mix up the similar looking alphabets, numbers. This is a condition called dyslexia. I can help her come out of it, of course with your  support and cooperation.” 

A pregnant pause followed and Mrs. Vinay spoke up. “How did she get this?” Tara smiled reassuringly, “Ma’am, this is not a disease. It is just that she would need to learn and be taught differently.” “How are you so confident?”, it was Mr. Vinay now. “Sir, I know this because I have gone through this. My parents weren’t supportive initially, so it took time for one of my teachers to work with me. The moment I saw Nakshatra’s book, my childhood replayed in front my eyes. This is the right time to work with her. Let’s not delay it. I don’t want her to walk through my path just because her parents aren’t understanding or she doesn’t have a teacher to help. Please!” Mrs. and Mr. Vinay looked at each other and agreed to help Nakshatra.

“I thank Tara ma’am for helping me out in grade 1. It is because of her that I am the ‘Nakshatra Vinay – author of ‘Dab or Bad, Bark or Dark’ ’’. Tara ma’am, you are the best!” Tara’s eyes swelled up as she was escorted to the center of 1A classroom. The board read – ‘Reunion of Ms. Tara’s grade 1’

Image Courtesy : Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash