Scarred, but not for life

Miraj Chauhan        

WHEN you see life under apparent stillness that is where real life throbs. Pablo Neruda adroitly expounded this phenomenon in his poem Keeping Quiet, through which he urges his readers to emulate the earth or the trees as they are the true embodiment of life sprouting out of something that seems dead, yet alive. 

Taking a trip down memory lane, I recall an incident that bears resemblance with the essence of this deep thought. In the initial days of my professional career, I took up a job with a language school as a language trainer. I was high with an exultant feeling of being in the driving seat and stirring enthusiastic learners to the other end of the shore. Days and months slid by and I encountered different hues of human personality. 

One fine evening, awaiting the arrival of new students for IELTS, I strolled up to the window and captured the beautiful sight of trees laden with flowers. This brief interaction with nature was interrupted by ‘May I come in Sir?’ I turned around and my blood ran cold. I saw a girl in her twenties, with a half-burnt face. Words froze in my throat and I could not budge an inch. The scene in no time witnessed a transition from being pleasant to unpleasant. After collecting myself in an incoherent note, I motioned her in. She could sense my discomfort. Out of professional obligation, I interviewed her and learned that her name was Mandeep and she was aspiring to settle abroad. The only thought on my mind was that I would have to carry this responsibility on my shuddering shoulders for at least two months before she took her IELTS. 

The next day, one of her friends also joined the course. Over the first few days, I was reluctant to even have a glimpse of her face, but later, when I started knowing her as a person, my fear and hesitation began to wane. She was not pretty, but she was beautiful — beauty, I realised, was not what we saw from the outside; it was embedded deep in the soul. She would always anticipate the tasks to be taken up and was extremely hardworking. Humility, hard work, benevolence and punctuality were some of her key attributes. She fostered an indomitable attitude towards life, and despite facing repulsion at the hands of some onlookers, she never lost her way or confined herself to the four walls of her home. With courage and vitality, she fought like a warrior and safeguarded her dreams. 

She successfully took IELTS and scored seven bands. She is now well settled in Canada. She left an indelible imprint on my mind and heart. I would always look up to her as an eternal source of inspiration. She taught me a valuable lesson for a lifetime and, for me, she is the epitome of ‘life under apparent stillness’.