Of Hiccups, "Hitchki" and Tourette's Syndrome

Of Hiccups, “Hitchki” and Tourette's Syndrome....

Every parent in this world desires to have and raise healthy, happy and emotionally secure children. One learns about this only after becoming a parent. Till then we are just unable to fathom the little nuances of raising children or the efforts put in by our parents in raising us. Times have changed so much now that in this day and age raising a normal child is extremely demanding. And if one's child is challenged in some way parenting becomes more of a challenge not only physically but also mentally since taking care of such children needs different skills.

The film “Hitchki”- (Hiccups) begins with a tale of one such girl from a broken family suffering from Tourette's syndrome.
Most of us wouldn't have heard of this ailment. As explained by the protagonist, Rani Mukherjee aka Ms.Naina Mathur, it is a neurological disorder wherein the wires of our brain are not connected properly and lead to emission of involuntary and uncontrolled sounds.
She is therefore unable to have a normal childhood as other children ridicule her. Her father is also unable to cope with the challenge and moves out after frequent disputes in the family which leaves her even more drained. She is also the cause of distraction in studies to other students in class and has to change 12 schools until a kind-hearted teacher. Mr.Khan accepts her as a student in St.Notker's where she excels in studies and continues to acquire many degrees.
She desires to become a teacher but her abnormal state is a hindrance. It gets aggravated in moments of tension especially when their father who leaves them due to ignominy of having such a child visits them and suggests her to become a banker. But the moral support from her mother and brother keep her going. After umpteen interviews where she declares upfront about her disorder and gets rejected she finally manages to get a teaching job due to a sudden vacancy in St.Notker's where she had studied. Her task is to teach a class of miscreants comprising of 14 students, who essentially are slum-dwellers. She learns that these 14 students in the class 9F from the nearby slum are the last batch under the Right to Education and that the Municipal School there had made an agreement with St.Notker’s for exchange of land on lease. Treated as outcastes by the teachers and other students of the school their delinquency and suppression suffocates them and creates a barrier between the world of haves and have-nots.
In effect, Naina has to teach a class of rebels including a bidi smoker, card gambler, and a girl with rats for pet and with all the 14 children having no desire to study. They learn that their new teacher stammers and make fun of her. They had driven out almost a dozen teachers before her so they presume driving out a teacher who stammers would be quite easy and so they wager a bet on it. Naina who happens to see all this knows her task is tough. She takes them head-on wagering Rs.100/- herself on her lasting as their teacher.
The initial struggle is typical with the kids playing various pranks including emptying petrol from her scooty, putting explosives in class, tinkering with the chalk to make it burst like a cracker to get rid of the new teacher and her surviving them all with elan. She also has to face the verbal barbs of an uppity colleague, Sir Wadia. Both have a point to prove, she that the 14 students of 9F are as good as those in 9A and all they need is to be given an equal opportunity so that they can also prove themselves and he that 9F is no good and can never be an equal to 9A.
Using innovative methods of teaching Naina initiates a love for studies among the children. A couple of students from other classes get fascinated with her teaching but are controlled by Sir Wadia who hurls his sarcasm at Naina but she continues undaunted.
The 14 kids begin to learn and show enough spark to suggest changes in the National Science Project or even discuss planks equation. However the snooty Class 9A humiliate them again and they plummet. Naina has to keep boosting their morale. She goes to each one's home when their parents don't come for the PTA and discovers their woes of living in slums, struggling for water and sanitation, working hard to make ends meet whether by selling vegetables or working as a mechanic in a cycle shop. Shagufta's father who is a loader in an airline company dreams of her becoming a pilot. All their parents hope their children will get a chance to do what they couldn't and achieve something.
Naina feels more responsible towards the children but their encounter with the class 9 A and their explosive revenge destroying the National Science Project using Aatish's material leads them to suspension from school.
Naina herself is disillusioned but the children full of remorse win back her heart and she starts teaching them outside school once again. The school peon leaks 2 question papers to them before the exam over which the group disagrees and only 2 among them see it. However the leaked paper is totally different from the paper which actually comes in the exam. All the 14 children not only attempt the exam but also get through it with two of them Oru and Archana topping. The trick of leaking the wrong papers was a vicious act by Ankush the student from 9A who chuckles to Mr.Wadia that he has avenged the wrong doings of 9F. Mr.Wadia is shocked to discover that the 14 kids were actually brilliant and had really put in efforts to get through. He is full of remorse that he has instilled wrong values in his students of 9A. He confesses that there are no bad students but only bad teachers. Oru and Akaansha get the prefect batch and the story ends on a happy note.
The film maker needs to be complemented for making such a socially relevant film which will certainly instil values among children. It will also be an inspiration for teachers as there is a lesson for them too to be committed to their job and remain rooted. Like Naina says a small change in our life can make a difference. The hiccups she faced in the real and literal sense and also in her professional world were temporary setbacks which she overcame. Her quest for fathoming the “why” for one’s inability to do something and turn it into a “why not” is a lesson by itself. The exercise where she makes the students write their fears and hatred and blow them off as rockets imbibing strength to overcome them is the beginning of their transformation. Spread your wings and see how high you soar is the message. True to their words all the 14 prove themselves worthy.

Thirteen years ago when I was expecting my child, a medical test indicated that there was a possibility of me having a child with Down’s syndrome. Going ahead with it was a tough decision. That I have a normal child by God’s grace and blessings is another story. However, the fact is that most of us take our normal body, intellect, smartness for granted and remain in a make-believe world oblivious to everyday truths of the world of the have-nots and of those who are physically and mentally challenged in some way. It is important to learn to be sensitive to the problems, issues and needs of the differently-abled. Watching the movie Hitchki will certainly take you a step forward in that direction.