Once upon a time, there was a boy, born in a Muslim country (Brunei), brought up in the then Hindu kingdom of Nepal and sent by Buddhist parents to a Christian school. Mischievous and somehow studious, he finally got admission into a Medical College. In college, one of the several self discoveries he made was his deep passion for dance. Around the same time, he saw an advertisement about a 3 day-Ballroom Dance workshop. Excited, he got himself enrolled.
There's where he met celebrity Sandip Soparkar, his choreographer Alisha and India ramp queen Jessy Randhwa. But in the midst of them all, there was this charming and amiable lady-in-white. Her name is Sarah Giri.
With time, he got to see her life from closer quarters. He got to know she took a special interest in promoting Deaf Culture. She was planning at the time to have a show where Deaf and Hearing would dance together. She asked if he would like to join as a trainer. The boy excitedly accepted. For one thing, he was growing to acknowledge the Deaf and for another because he couldn't get enough of dancing!
He soon got to meet several Deaf youth. At first, he thought combining dance and Deaf was like 'square pegs into round holes'. But he was wrong! The Deaf were fast and eager learners, diligent and yes, full of grace in movement.
As they say, 'adventure is not outside a man, it is within', and it was this boy who felt inadequate. He could not sign and frequently turned to Sarah for help to communicate.
Soon, he realized all people are handicapped in one way or the other. Some handicaps are obvious and some are hidden. He saw himself handicapped as a non-signer. With great difficulty he began to learn to sign.
He realized that working together is essential for success; even freckles will make a nice tan if they get together.
As a child, he was exposed to diverse concepts about God and with time he realized that one important facet of serving God is serving humanity. No, not inside a temple, mosque, church or a monastery! Hands that serve humanity are lot better than lips that keep talking about divinity.
Hi, I am Sachin Gurung, 22 yrs old, not a boy, not yet a man, originally from Pokhara and now residing at Sinamangal, Kathmandu. I am soon to appear for my final year MBBS board examination from Kathmandu Medical College. This is my story.
I am very thankful to Sarah Giri for giving me the opportunity to express myself on her website.
My message to all my Deaf friends:
'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our life not our darkness that most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world; there is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.
We were all meant to shine.
It is not just in some of us,
It is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.'