Apologies to Great Questions for Small Answers
The trouble is, you think you have time.
– Buddha
This year, the calendar begins not in January but in March. Some years are like that. Too short, too long. Time stands still or speeds up. Illnesses, crises, deaths and sudden catastrophes: they catch us unprepared and whatever we were planning is dropped. It has to be. We surrender to what has arrived and make the best of it.
In October of 2022, just as I was to complete this calendar, I was struck with chikungunya. It’s spread by mosquitoes and its name, which means contorted, describes the stooped appearance of those suffering the excruciating joint pain of this disease. I have never experienced such pain. In our work in disability, we often say that people are only temporarily able. So don’t get used to it. Don’t take it for granted. Accidents, illnesses and mental health catastrophes usually come out of nowhere. Suddenly disabled, we struggle to find our way in what is essentially a foreign country. We have to learn new ways to move. We have to give up our independence and accept help when we would rather not. We may lose our privacy, our ability to communicate, to take care of our most intimate needs or to finish a calendar on time.
As I write this, I am still disabled by pain. My daughter pours my water because I can’t lift the bottle. I get stuck putting on sweaters and have to call my husband to extricate me. My tiny granddaughter weighs less than 15 kilos and I’ve waited over two years for her to come to India, but I don’t have the strength to lift her.
My image of myself has changed from a competent, active, busy person to one who sits on the sidelines while everyone else gets things done. I worry about the future and how I will cope as age robs me of even more mobility and energy. And I’m only 10 weeks into this. I don’t like it one bit. 2022 lasted longer than necessary and 2 months of 2023 has already hurtled past me as I struggle to keep up.
I never realized quite so viscerally just how important what we do is. We talk grandly about inclusion and universal design as if it’s meant for someone else. Yet here it is: my turn already. It may be yours tomorrow. That inclusive world we are building is for us. Be patient with everyone.
We are all only temporarily able.
– Jo Chopra
The 2023 calendar – all 10 months of it! – was created with love and patience by Shalini Sinha, friend, designer and illustrator beyond compare. It was printed at Thomson Press, under the able supervision of our old friend Abhijit Bose. The photographers – Manik Mandal, Edmund Cluett and Jo Chopra – happily donated their services. All contributions go to support the Latika Roy Foundation’s path-breaking work to make this world a better place for all of us.
