A Salute to People who are Different...

How well do we understand people around us? Do we judge their behaviour towards us and others? Each action observed stirs a thought process in us, nudging our minds to form an opinion which leaves a lasting impression. Some times it takes just a few seconds to understand someone and some times...it takes a lifetime. The way we treat people who are different from us speaks volumes about who we are.

Yesterday I saw a beautiful film called Pithamagan, one of those heart-touching movies you can't stop thinking about. I don't understand Tamil but I could understand this story thanks to my friend and the simple yet superb narrative style.

The story revolves around four characters played by Vikram, Surya, Laila and Sangeetha. Orphaned at an early age and raised by a funeral priest Chithan (Vikram) lives at crematorium. He seems to suffer from autism like disorder and exhibits feral behaviour as he doesn't have any contact with the society or a normal life. When the priest dies, Chithan is left to fend for himself. Gomathy (Sangeetha), a ganja seller, takes pity on him and tries to help him get a job at a ganja field. Sakthi (Surya) is a conman and cons Manju (Laila), always at loggerheads she gets him arrested. Police catches Chithan during a ganja smuggling, both Chithan and Sakthi land up in the same cell. Sakthi begins to understand Chithan's conditions and helps him, their bond becomes stronger once they get out of jail. The ganja dealer takes advantage of Chithan's innocence and the only person standing in his way is Surya.

Autism is a developmental disorder, it affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills. How many people can understand this condition? How many can accept autistic patients instead of shunning them. Why is it easier for some people to understand someone different while impossible for others? Gomathy and Sakthi could immediately tell that Chithan was suffering from a condition and couldn't help being the way he is, they accepted him and tried to help him. The shop keepers from the village, on the other hand, misinterpreted his behaviour and rejected him.

Imagine, if you are unable to show your emotion because you don't even know that it exists...Not knowing how to laugh or cry. Chithan showed true animal behaviour, self defense aggression by growling or snaping for a warning. But he didn't know how to smile or cry. Often we fight with our family, friends or lover because we feel they don't understand what we go through. Yet there is so much we don't understand about the people who are mentally challenged or from a different strata of society. Often we ignore, shun and insult them because we don't get them. Gomathy and Sakthi didn't have to be doctors to know that Chithan needed help.

My terrible idea - None of us have to be experts to understand people who are different, we just need to be open minded and kind. Empathy is the word :-)
A salute to people who are different from us!