Thanks for a dream!

Oncology? That is the department which houses children with cancer. Children who are suffering from something that most of us cannot even spell.

Children with amputated limbs, wasted bodies and very, very short lives. Children who have very little to look forward to, confined as they have become within the walls of a hospital. And then came these five!

The background of the visit was a whispered request from Prashant Shinde, a 14-year old patient whose one wish in life was to meet his living heroes. Though playing cricket degenerated into a mere pipe dream after he lost one leg to terminal cancer, because of which the only runs he can take are from one end of the hospital bed to the other, Prashant spends all his time glued to the radio listening to the game. A game which is his obsession, but from the world of which he has been so cruelly alienated.

Thus, when his doctor, Dr. Nita Munshi, heard that the players were to visit Pune she made him a promise 8211; that she would bring that enchanted world to him instead!

And the response of our cricketers to Prashant8217;s request was something which truly proved that they are a lot more than merely players on the field. Not one of them hesitated for even a second as they immediately left their tea, and the much sought after comforts of their luxurious rooms after a long journey, to drive down to Inlaks with brightly wrapped gifts for the young boy.

All through the way were hosts of questions 8211; the bottomline being how else could they help Prashant and the other kids in the department? Would donations help? What sort of gifts could they get for him? How could they make his life easier or longer?

You need not have asked all this Rajesh, Jatin, Salil, Nilesh and Paras! Because, once there, you proved that you could do all this just by being there. For, by merely doing so, you gave them so much more than what they had most probably ever hoped for!

You gave them the feeling that they are not social discards and that people care deeply about them. You gave them those brief moments when all troubles and pains could be forgotten. You gave them memories which will surely lighten many a troubled night. You gave them inspiration, role models which will stop them from letting go too easily. Above all, you gave them a sense of importance, so very integral to their battered self-confidence!

All this was more than obvious merely from the look on their faces which spelt out their feelings much more eloquently than words ever could. The emotions were illusory during the stunned silence when the young children, not used to too much happiness or excitement, first saw their much loved stars walk in. But once the initial shock of recognition passed, and our players moved from bed to bed to shake a lot of eagerly outstretched hands, the message was loud and clear 8211; this was the sort of bonding which is very rare. Ties had been forged and the contact numbers exchanged would not be in vain.

The most amazing part was the total lack of self-consciousness on either side, as the cricketers and the children fell into an easy and heartwarming dialogue. And in the end, they were just as reluctant to leave as their young fans were to see them go!

Prashant8217;s words probably sum it all up 8211; quot;Thanks for helping me achieve my life8217;s greatest dream. Now whatever happens to me, I will not mind!quot;

But these five have a different way of looking at things. quot;It is we who get to learn a lot from these children,quot; believe Jatin and Rajesh. quot;We learn to appreciate life, learn the value of what we have got. And it helps us to remember that when we are feeling low.quot;

Salil adds, quot;It is these children who are the heroes, not us! They have not even received ten per cent out of life that we have. Yet they are going on and even smiling. I could not have done that. I was sweating so much and was really about to pass out just from being in the middle of so much suffering. And this is their whole life.quot; According to the cricketer who has had to give up his own career due to a surgery to remove a tumour from his leg, quot;This is true courage. It is I who has learnt from them. It is my life that has been enriched.quot;

This happens so often. Everyone8217;s life touches anothers. Each life has a crucial bearing on someone else8217;s. But not every one is attuned to this fact. Who, in this case, are the real heroes? A highly disputable question this. Any answers?