I returned last evening to the half way home after a week of absence pondering if I should seriously consider sharing my time between my room I was going to shift to and the home. Any positive thoughts I had towards even considering such an arrangement took a hike when I was subjected to the latest idiotic bureaucratic procedures that the Management had introduced which at best could be described as dumb. Relieved that I didn’t have to waist any more time on this aspect of my future course of action I went to my room and after early dinner retired to bed. I was supposed to meet the Doctor the next day to formally notify him of my plans.
I was informed this morning that the good Doctor was indisposed and would probably see me only on Sunday. I didn’t quite care as I had so much of piled up to look into so that I could quite the Home by the end of the month.
Trying to do some housekeeping on my laptop I stumbled across a directory of music that I had downloaded over the last few years and started playing some of the tracks. I was hearing some of songs after so long and I was enjoying myself and dancing to the tunes when I suddenly noticed a Resident at my window staring at me in utter amazement.
This guy suffers from both a speech and hearing impediment but with a hearing aid can manage to pick up sounds legibly. He has been here for over a year now and I do smile at him when I see him and greet him with the only thing I know in sign language; Good Morning! I opened my door and beckoned him in, he indicated he would be back and in a moment returned with his hearing aid. With a mixture of sounds and gestures he indicated to me that he liked the music I was playing and whether he could listen to some more. I positioned one of my speakers near his hearing aid pick up device and went about selecting the best tracks from my collection.
I started with the first song I played on a guitar, ‘The house of the Rising Sun’, I took my guitar out and showed him how the chords were formed and using all my miming talents and gestures explained to him how I stared playing as a kid. This lead to the fist Greek song I ever learned by a teenage heartthrob Gnianis Parios showing him pictures of my days at sea. This unusual conversation between me and this guy was observed by several members of the Staff and other Residents who I think came to the conclusion that I had not taken my medication!!!
I played him one my favorite Hindi Film Songs performed by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar in the film Umrao Jan staring Rekha, to me the all-time sexiest woman in Bollywood. I tried to mimic the dances, my late sister did when she finished learning the Indian Classical Art form Barathanatiyam, to the song showing him a picture of my Sister dressed for a performance sometime before she died. Memories of the drummer or the Murudhangam player Atchuthan, also my teacher, came to my mind as I showed pictures of me performing at a folk concert drumming. Extracts of music from the album chess ended up by my sharing how I felt when I first saw the musical in West End. I showed him pictures of Diana Ross while playing some her songs and pictures of me in Las Vegas and explaining to him how I had gone for one her concerts and missed a chance of a life time of her sitting on my lap as I was one row behind the guy she chose to do so! For the first time I was remembering wonderful moments of my life with both the living and the dead sharing it with someone in a unique way and understanding the true meaning of the word joy. I was also able to think of my dead relatives without that acute pain of loss that these memories usually evoke!
I really wouldn’t blame anybody who watched this drama in my room thinking we were both mad!!! The music was loud, I was gesticulating and miming like a monkey in heat, this guy was reacting with grunts, sounds and noises and widely waving his hands accompanied by this insane look on his face and moments of comprehension when he would give me the thumbs up and nod his head violently.
While playing my favorite songs he learned a lot about me as I about him and we both understood each other! We were both exhausted after about four hours and finally ended up watching a tribute to Herby Hancock on U Tube.
I have been told by those who have read my material that I write well, I know that I am a good story teller but what I didn’t know and something I found out only today is I can communicate. And the look this guy gave me when we both acknowledged that we had to stop said it all.
I saw him to his room and he asked me in his own way, which I have learned to comprehend at last, why I so was happy today. I told him because I would be leaving soon and staying on my own. He hugged me, pulled back and with a dead pan expression showed me his palms and shrugged his shoulders, indicating, with what I know now, his pain that he had no where to go!!!
