Janu had turned eleven that June 8th, the reopening day of school that year, when she would step into the 7th standard. Because of her high academic potential and her exemplary behaviour, Janu had been made class captain, which office too, she would assume, on this, the reopening day. With all the excitement and trepidation of a eleven-year-old, Janu started for school early that June morning. She lived close by to the school - a mere ten- minute walk and so Janu always walked to school and walked back home from school. 

Dressed in a new ghagra choli - red, zari lined, sequined silk - specially got for her from Rajasthan, by her maternal uncle. Janu skipped along the summer drizzle drenched roadside on her way to school. Being young and impressionable, Janu stopped to peep into the one or two shops that had opened their display windows that early in the morning.

As Janu stood gazing at one such shop window, she heard the ‘tap, tap, tap’ of a white cane. When the blind person with the white cane was almost abreast of her, Janu turned and walked alongside the kind faced, slightly greyed, fortyish, blind woman, who was finding her way gently tapping with her white cane.

Janu instinctively started walking with this blind lady and when they reached the end of the road, where there was a pedestrian-crossing, Janu automatically took the hand of the blind woman and guided her across the road. Janu’s spontaneous gesture of kindness drew a heart felt “thank you’, from the blind lady. Janu was asked which school and in which class she studied, for the blind lady should have felt the tenderness of Janu’s fingers along with the tenderness of her heart.

Janu replied politely and when they reached the school gate, Janu bid ‘goodbye’ to her blind acquaintance and ran excitedly into the school. Soon it was all round greetings and best wishes and congratulations and then all too soon, prayers were also over and the 7th standard assembled in their classroom to await their new teacher. Yes - their very new teacher, for they were told that the school had appointed a new teacher for their class that year. 

Then came the ‘tap, tap, tap’ sound so familiar to Janu’s ears. The same blind person, whom Janu had helped that morning, walked into the class. There was a hushed silence as the class waited for the new teacher to address them. This kind-faced teacher, with her thick goggles introduced herself as Miss. Sudhakar and after wishing the children ‘good morning’ and receiving their greetings, she started her class with: 

“I feel really blessed to be a blind person for I have come across so much of kindness and concern for me, which I may not have received had I not had this handicap. Why dears, even this morning, I found unexpected and wholly unasked for help from a very young person from this very class, a young girl, who, in spite of all her pre-occupation with her birthday celebrations and her new class captaincy, showed concern and kindness to me as a blind person and guided me across the road and to the school. This spontaneous gesture is like what Shakespeare has said about mercy - it is doubly blessed - it blesses both, the one who receives and the one who gives. So dear children, emulate what your class captain has done today, without being asked and without expecting any reward in return.”

Janu had received any number of presents from her near and dear ones that birthday morning, but the honey-filled words of her teacher sounded like a reward straight from heaven. 

(By Dr. JKS)