In the city of Jalandhar within the last one week the first four incidents below occurred-- (they are de riguer - this is just one snapshot from this past week) :
1. A local psychiatrist ( a doctor with an MD who I have met) has effectively refused to let me watch a group music therapy session--- I am trying to get the only music therapy trained person ( who happens to live in Ludhiana) in Punjab over to train our music teacher
The music therapist ( from Ludhiana) is surprised to hear I got this response from the psychiatrist.
2. The carpenter got door measurements and details , then 4 days later said he does not do doors.
He got a man to do doors who quoted an exorbitant amount. We found another door maker who said he will make them for over Rs 10000 less than the first. God knows the real cost. This is Jalandhar where we know to trust no one.
3. The electrician came without his drill and could not finish the work.. He accepted work without a functioning drill but that is not appalling in this city. People just accept this kind of behavior as integrity is a foreign word to all- that is the culture of this city,
4. For the nth time since APAAR's inception, I have put out in a whatsapp group that we would love to have youngsters over if they play a musical instrument. We want to sensitise them to accept the neurodiversity inherent in society, To be happier , more whole and make life easier for specially abled clients in acceptance and dignity.
The volunteers will be happier more whole I wish to clarify.
In Chennai and Ludhiana, youth are easily channeled to volunteer. Jalandhar forget it.
5. One former APAAR music teacher from the city of Jalandhar showed up drunk to work some years ago as did a manager ( a retired army officer living in Jalandhar).
6. I stopped attending the superficial gatherings of local Rotary clubs years ago . Many invited me and then forgot to give me time to address their members.
Wining and dining is their major creed or distributing school uniforms and taking pictures with poor kids. Perhaps planting trees and taking pictures. Pictures are the major imperative. The underlying mission is picture taking. It is really comic if it were not tragic.
7. The DLSA, Jalandhar has had a couple of good judges as leaders in the past- from the Malwa belt . In fact a Luhdiana parent told me about the DLSA . One of these wonderful DLSA judges struggled along with me few years back to get the locally run Red Cross special school ( Prayaas) to improve conditions . But the Jalandhar society ladies running it do not change a thing. They go there with houseplants and pose for photos at Diwali time. Task accomplished for the year. One of these society ladies told someone APAAR wants to take over Prayaas ! when we proposed a collaboration to set up an actual vocational rehab centre there.
The hapless residents of Prayaas languish in inadequate infrastructure and unsupervised staff. I have visited three or four times and seen " students" loitering around at 1 pm in the verandas doing nothing. Quality special educators just pack up and leave this terrible special school.
In this ecosystem. APAAR has swum upstream since we started eight years ago.
We get tired. We take a breath and keep going, doing what we can against the stream. For our present and future clients' sake.
The attitude and ethics of the citizens of Jalandhar are abysmal by any normal human standards . One prominent Jalandhar businessman's wife asked an advisory committee member of APAAR years ago-- why are you working here in this place of paagals ?
There are local " elite" schools who have NO investment in behavioral management resources or trained staff and whose students came to us for consultation during lockdown. They have special student sections mandated by the CBSE but all in name. This past week,a scandal regarding a disabled student was uncovered in this elite school . I ahve not see English media coverage of the scandal0 the loca Englishl press has the same moral compass as jalandhar's citizens.
Two consecutive principals of another elite school in this miserable cityl have not answered my emails to meet them for collaboration and awareness. One of them declined to let our specially abled clients participate in their fete though they were displaying handicrafts these very clients had made.
Two top colleges in the city ditto. No interest in bettering the landscape for the disabled in any way at all. One of them has signed an MOU with APAAR to provide psychology interns two years ago. NOTHING YET.
Jalandhar is a just a sad city with a morally polluted populace . In Ludhiana, Amritsar, Mohali and Patiala, I have run into a middle class capable of thinking, of imagining, of trying to make life whole for others.
In my eight years working in this pathetic city , I have not hired any close to decent human resources from the city ( see #5 above).
I have had just superficial public interest in our work and attendance at the annual APAAR abhaar never exceeds 30 or 40. ( all our staff and APAAR clients, with two or three invited guests).
From electricians to the very rich, this city is in the early middle ages in capacity to think or reflect. Lying is common. Bars are very low.
It is an ARID MORAL DESERT .
Proud to be where APAAR is in this dystopic city.
APAAR 's existence here is a miracle I am so grateful to God for.
To the few people - and I mean ,literally a single digit number--- who support APAAR, we say a BIG thank you for being lotuses in this muck.
