Taare Zameen Par

sundarusha · Jul 8, 2008

Every year on the fourth of July, we have been going out to see the fireworks for the Independence celebration ever since we moved to the US. For the one or two years that we may have missed, we still stepped out into our backyard and caught a little bit of the fireworks display. This year we were so rapt watching "Taare Zameen Par" that we missed it. But we got the pleasure of watching a beautiful movie that gives the viewers to see into the world of a dyslexic child. The father of the boy believes that he is being lazy or disobedient while the boy sees the letters and the numbers backwards.

Having been in the teaching profession for some years now, I have seen a variety of learning disabilities. In the private school that I teach, a few years ago, there was a desi father who refused to accept that his son could have some learning disability. All the teachers were at their wit's end , nothing seemed to work with him. When other kids made comments to him as why he never turned his homework or why he never got his assignment book signed, he would make sarcastic comments that he does not care any more. His father, though very strict, was traveling constantly due to business. The family moved away few years ago.

Seeing the movie I was so reminded of Shan, the boy in our school.

It is one nice movie. I am so happy to see the awareness about the learning disabilities through movies, because there are so many children that go undiagnosed in India. They get labeled as "lazy", :dumb", :unmotivated" and so on.

Devika Menon · Jul 8, 2008

Dear Usha,

Lovely sensitive post!

I do sympathise with boys like Shaan with learning disabilities and dyslexia. I do understand that sometimes the society can be very cruel with its insinuations regarding the future of such kids.But dyslexic kids have reached great places in life as shown in the movie itself.
A sad situation though.I wish the society to wake up and try to understand how their callous comments can have a very negative impact on the mindset of not just the kid but the family as well .
You know Usha , this is a subject very close to heart because i have met a couple of dyslexic kids and the approach of the society towards them as in subjecting them to terms like good for nothing, etc had really jeopardised their self confidence.

Lovely blog Usha.

Love,
Devika

sundarusha · Jul 8, 2008

Thank you Devika for you wonderful FB.

The importance lies in the children being diagnosed at the right stage in their life .The family needs to come to terms with it and provide a compassionate environment where they can flourish.

Attention deficit disorder gets a lot of attention in the US. I thought may be ADD is not in the genes of asian kids. But then, many may have not been tested for it.

Ria2006 · Jul 8, 2008

Usha
Nice topic and very well expressed.
Thats really very pertinent issue for today's fast world. Especially when everything is measured in degrees , jobs and fat paychecks. Its so natural for kids to feel pressured from very beginning.

I personally think if it was anybody else than Aamir in movie. It would n't have become that big hit. Because mostly people watch big stars, imagine Jimmy shergil doing this movie. It would have got unnoticed. So glad that some major star took responsiblity to act in such a topic.

Ria

sundarusha · Jul 9, 2008

Thanks Ria for your lovely FB.

I wish that many more stars would take upon themselves to bring awareness into such issues. After all, many of the viewers do (movie) idol worship to them.

I also saw U Me aur Hum where the young heroine is supposed to be suffering from Alzeimers. I was not aware that even young people could suffer from Alzeimers. But Taare Zammen Par touched me more!

Gowri66 · Jul 9, 2008

Usha,
Nice topic. No doubt, it was a beautiful movie. I was moved when the child in the film was left in the Hostel and the parents going back to their home. To me, whether the child is suffering from dyslexia or not, parents has to take care of child in their every step. Isn't ?

Gowri

sundarusha · Jul 9, 2008

Dear Gowri

thanks for writing in. If the parents are not trained to deal with the child's learning disability, seeking any form of help outside is not so bad. But in this case, leaving him in stricter atmosphere, where the teachers did not know how to help him was the bad choice.

mithila kannan · Jul 9, 2008

Dear usha,
Taht was a lovely comment on the movie that has made more or less the entire nation sit and watch.Very often we comeacross such special children who need special care from teachers,parents,neighbours and family friends.
We lived in Uthandi a small village in ECR raoad a coulple of years back and my husband started teaching a family friends' children out of love for those kids.The younger son was more attentive and secured good marks where as the elder one had this problem.He could not coordinate what he read on the book and what he wrote.We helped the parents recognise the problem and guided them to a special teacher who would give him the attention he reuired.But the boy seemed to be interested in gardening and the parents continue to send him to the same school.Fortunately,they don't chide him,they treat him the same way they treat the other kids at home. We have come away from that place,hope that child will pursue,or his parents will help him pursue whatever his heart wants him to.
love
mithila kannan

Sriniketan · Jul 9, 2008

By the way you had explained, I came to know that this movie reflects the learning problem in children.
True, an awareness must be created to deal with such disabilites, where upon notice, they (the parents) can help the child to overcome that disability.
Some of the parents won't even accept that their child is suffering from such disability which can be cured...

sriniketan

sundarusha · Jul 9, 2008

Dear Mithila

Thanks for writing in. I am glad you too enjoyed the movie.

In our society, it is considered that getting great grades in schools and becoming an engineer, doctor, lawyer etc is the right path for students. This rule may not apply to each and every student. So they should be given the freedom to pursue whatever it is they excel in.

This child that you have mentioned could become a gardening expert , own a chain of garden shops and love what he is doing and make a bundle.