Was she really blind?

During my frequent train journeys I keep meeting a variety of people who make me feel this is a world blessed with a plethora of incredible individuals.




On one such journey I met her. She must have been all of seven years old and was traveling with her parents and younger sister. Clutching her doll bag she seemed shy and quiet, unlike her sister. Although I noticed her non-child-like nature initially, I didn’t quite bother since I was concentrating on my book.


After we all settled in and the train had taken some pace, I noticed the younger girl was jumping all over, playing, and asking constant questions with her bright eyes. The other one’s participation, was verbally active, although not physically. Both sisters shared an amazing rapport and coordination and the younger one was always ready to answer queries within her means. Their interesting chatter attracted my attention and I couldn’t stop noticing that the elder girl wasn’t looking up at all. She wasn’t troubling her parents but asking intelligent questions and engaging them instead. I could gather that although she was blind, she was really sharp and gifted in another manner.


I finally had a chance of talking to her after a long time. Both sisters were sitting beside me and chatting amongst themselves. I realized that she was really blind. I was reading the collected works of Ruskin Bond. She asked me what I was doing and felt the book with her fingers. She felt my face and my hands too and her fingers seemed to know me well. It was as if she could see with her finger tips. She asked me my name and asked the meaning. She wanted to know where I stay, where was I headed to and what do I do. She told me her story too in the most interesting manner. Then she requested me to read a short story to her. She listened intently and enquired after that. I was amazed at her knowledge, her intellect, and her different views and opinions about a particular thing.




The family got off the train at their destination. That little girl had left a massive impression on my heart. As I lay on my train berth, thoughts about her filled my mind. Her awareness, her calm nature and her constant curiosity made me marvel at the fact that when one of our senses does not work, God always compensates somewhere else. This girl’s attitude towards life left me wondering whether she was truly blind.