Dr. Shruti Shankar Gaur

A Play on Inclusion by Dr. Shruti Shankar Gaur

The play is written in the backdrop of ‘The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society’ and is weaved using the research backdrop from ‘The Case of English Settlers of Martha’s Vineyard (page 8), Introduction to Special Education by Deborah Deutsch Smith’’. It is to hereby inform that in the play, term ‘Deaf’ is being used to refer ‘People with Hearing Impairment’ in relevance to the language of era the play is set in.

Characters
Juliet Ashton: Author and protagonist (from The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society)
Dawsey Adams: Now Husband & Juliet’s first Guernsey correspondent & friend
Sidney Star: Juliet’s publisher and friend in London
Kit McKenna: Elizabeth’s adorable daughter whom Juliet & Dawsey adopted.
Lacaste: Receptionist at the lodge
Amralda: Juliet’s acquaintance at Martha’s Vineyard

Backdrop

It is 1947. Juliet is happily married and enjoying her time with Dawsey & Kit at Geurnsey. Yet, something inside her tells, she needs another adventure. She is like air, always moving to new shores & new stories. A newspaper article grabbed her attention, ‘The Peculiar Case of Martha’s Vineyard’ read the heading. She picked her phone & dialed London.

Scene I

Juliet: Am I talking to Sidney, Sidney Star?
Sidney: Indeed, you are. Who is it?
Juliet: It’s me, Juliet Ashton. How are you?
Sidney: Juliet! Since when did you grow formal? I never knew marriage changes one so much.
You are calling after a long time. I am sure there’s something exciting!
Juliet: (blurting) What do you know about Martha’s Vineyard.
Sidney: I am afraid, not much. Why?
Juliet: The Westminster Gazette published an article ‘The Peculiar Case of Martha’s Vineyard’. It states that, “The island’s seventeenth century settlers who came from Kent, England, carried a recessive gene for deafness. The result is, today, one in four people at Martha’s Vineyard are deaf. Because deafness occurred at a high rate thus both hearing and the deaf use sign
language to communicate. Over the years sign language has become a common expression and is the most accepted language of the island. (Juliet paused and then continued) The Martha’s island is a fine example of integration and realizing any form of handicap can be dissolved if the society embraces one and all.“
Sidney: That’s interesting. Am I thinking what you are thinking?
Juliet: (giggling) Yes! I am going to the Martha’s Vineyard. Will you publish the story?
Sidney: Of course! You must always count me in, during any adventure of yours.

Scene II

Juliet bids farewell to Dawsey & Kit. On the way, Juliet reads history of Sign Language and learns few hand gestures to communicate. She is astonished to read that Sign Language was part of ancient Greek culture too. The Greek Philosophers, Plato, Socrates & Aristotle have all mentioned the use of sign language. She found out the taboo related to disability and disabled in the little black book she had purchased. “Really! Does society never looks beyond disability?” she thought looking up. They were about to reach. She delved into her book, quickly finishing it. The cruise was anchoring. Juliet took a deep breath & stood up. A new adventure awaited her.

There was an unusual quietness in the air. Juliet picked her bag & began her walk to the lodge. She observed people picked their hat and nodded with a smile as they crossed. No one talked and yet they greeted one another. It was a ten minute walk. Juliet looked up, the sky was overcast, if it rained she will have to postpone her engagements, she thought. A young lady with the bright smile greeted her at the hotel.

Lacaste: (speaking along with the sign language) “Good Afternoon, Madame. Welcome to our lodge. May I know your name please?
Juliet: Juliet Ashton
Lacaste: Welcome Ms. Ashton. Your room is ready. Lunch will be served at thirty minutes to two in the dining hall.

Scene III

Juliet was having a quiet lunch when Amralda approached her.

Amralda (speaking using gestures): Good Afternoon, Ms. Ashton. I am Amralda Potter, assigned to help you during the stay by Mr. Star from London. Please acknowledge my companionship.
Juliet: Happy to meet you Amralda. Hope you are aware of the purpose of my visit.
Amralda: Very well, Madame. I have created a list of all the people on the island, I thought you might be interested in meeting.
Juliet: Thanks Amralda. Before we meet people, as an islander, I would like to know from you about the social construct of disability & the way people at Martha’s Island view it.
Amralda: Ms. Ashton, here at Martha’s Island, we do not discriminate between people based on their disability. Every family living here has at least one person and sometimes more, who are deaf. They can be our grandparent, parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, cousins, or neighbors. We mingle freely, marry whoever we wish to, and choose to work by choice, it doesn’t matter if we are deaf or not.
Juliet: Don’t you find communicating with your relatives who are deaf difficult considering the handicap?
Amralda: (laughs) Ms. Ashton, handicap is in our mind not among people. We communicate all the time using the sign language. Philosophically, if one is willing to listen, one can understand the other without saying a single word. I wonder if you knew the difference between Impairment, Disability & Handicap.
Juliet: I have no idea.
Amralda: Ms. Ashton, any aberration at the tissue level is called impairment. If it’s in the eye, it is called visual impairment, in ear then hearing impairment and so on. However, Disability is the functional aspect of impairment. Simply put, it means impairment leads to disability. For
example: dis-ability of visual impairment will be the inability to see (the functional aspect of vision) and that of hearing impairment lies with the functional aspect of ear (i.e. the inability to hear). However, handicap is a social construct that labels and discriminates.

(Juliet was astonished to hear)

Amralda: Ms. Ashton, don’t be surprised. Anyone can be a handicap
even without having an impairment or disability. Let me explain, suppose, you are taking an exam, and the pen stops working, in that situation, not having a pen to write becomes the handicap for you in that situation.

Society places the label that so & so is a handicap because s/he has limiting ability. On the other hand, we at Martha’s Vineyard, celebrate the diverse abilities we all have.

(Amralda could see a perplexed look at Juliet’s face).

Amralda: Ms. Ashton, things will be clear as we meet people at the island tomorrow. I would like to take your leave; you must be tired from the long journey. I will be presenting myself at nine in the morning.

Scene IV

Juliet returns to her room. She is visibly tired. All day long, she had been touring the island with Amralda, meeting people. She was still numb with the graciousness & generosity of the islanders. She had met people who were deaf, working as baker, postman, and florist. She was told all children studied in the same inclusive school. She witnessed children playing without any inhibition. She met Mr. Kutcher, the wealthiest man of the island, shrewd & intelligent. His business acumen was well known, he was deaf, and had taught Juliet an important lesson.

Juliet sits down to write. The story took shape on its own. …….

Dear Sydney,
I would like to extend a warm gratitude, my stay at Martha’s Vineyard has been comfortable. I am completely at loss of words right now. I never ever could imagine, how much prejudiced we have been as a society towards disability and the disabled. The story of Martha’s Vineyard must reach the world.

Here, I am sharing my first unedited draft with you.

‘Celebrating Diversity & Life at Martha’s Vineyard’

If you ever wish to witness beauty of life in all its glory, Martha’s Vineyard is the place. At Martha’s, everyone meets you with a bright smile. I realized today that a smile is just a smile, it resonates the same warmth irrespective of the fact that the person smiling can hear you or not. Why I say so? Because, I met so many strangers on this small island, going through the busy day with a smile that communicated everything they had to say.

Martha’s Vineyard has a high rate of deafness. It is believed that the original settlers who belonged to Kent, England, carried with them a recessive gene for deafness. Every generation has had deaf in the family. Instead of isolating the deaf and excluding them from the mainstream society, people at Martha’s did what no one at the mainland had the heart to do. Deafness was embraced as any another domain like gender. The result is for everyone to emulate.

When one tours the island, it can be observed that everyone uses sign language as a medium to communicate irrespective of the fact that one can hear or not. The deaf are integrated in the society and are included in all the community’s work & play situations. Martha’s Vineyard is an example
that people can have disability and yet not be stigmatized by the society. Equal opportunities have blossomed various inherent capabilities of people with or without disability. People with disabilities have success and failure similar to everyone else’s. According to tax records, a deaf earns average or above average income, with many wealthy islanders being deaf. I was happily surprised to discover that deaf population is better educated than the peer
because they received tuition assistance to attend school. I myself witnessed during my stay, hearing people asking deaf neighbors to read (using sign language) or write a letter for them.

The inspiring story of the Martha’s Vineyard shows how deafness, a disability considered to be extremely serious, did not affect the way of life on the island for more than 200 years. The most striking fact about these deaf men and women is that they didn’t perceive themselves as handicap. As one woman disclosed “You know we don’t think anything special about them. They are just like anyone else.” It reiterated the belief that the way people are treated can affect their lives.

I would like to mention my meeting with Mr. Kutcher, the wealthiest man at the Martha’s Vineyard. His thoughts still reverberate the heart, “Each one is born with shortcomings & strengths. You are what you see in others. If you see disability or inadequacy then you yourself are inadequate. If you define another human as a soul with infinite potential, irrespective of the ability or disability, that’s exactly who you are; a soul with infinite potential. Thus, if you feel complete/ adequate in yourself, you see it in the world.”

Maybe, it’s time to open our hearts and minds to one and all irrespective of ability or disability. At Martha’s, no one feels insecure, nor, they view themselves less than anyone. They have graciously accepted their disabilities and overcome the same. To me, it is the biggest factor that has inculcated
confidence and helped them live a successful and contented life.

I am touched by the simplicity of life here, where everyone is embraced as s/he is. People of Martha’s Vineyard have created a heaven on Earth for themselves and their families. I wonder Sydney, are they the ones handicapped, or us?

Love
Juliet

Scene V
(Juliet rang the bell of her home, excited to meet Dawsey & Kit. Kit opened the door & jumped with excitement!)

Kit (hugging her): Mom! You are back!! Dad, Mom’s back, come quickly.
Kit: How was your trip?
Juliet: It was amazing! Let me tell you guys all about it, after I change!!

(Dawsey came running towards Juliet from the kitchen and hugged her tightly. There’s no place like home, she thought. Juliet turned to close the door and looked far in the sky with mixed emotions, hoping her kids grow in an inclusive world of love, peace & equality.)

The Play on Inclusion by Dr. Shruti Shankar Gaur was first published in the children’s book Pole Star: Lighthouse for the Future Scions by RIEDU in 2021 as Juliet Ashton’s Adventure. It is being republished in her personal blog space to celebrate February 2023, as the Month of Inclusive Education. In case you are interested to read more stuff on Inclusion, Diversity or Belongingness, check out RIEDU’s Newsletter: DIVERSIVE