Governor M.K. Narayanan meets an IICP student on Tuesday. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

He came, he saw, he got emotional. It was Governor M.K. Narayanan’s first visit to the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP) on Tuesday and as he toured the institute, interacting with the students, he said he felt “ashamed” of himself.

“God has blessed me with all my faculties but I have not used them to assist many special children. Most of us do little to help the disabled,” he told a gathering at the institute’s auditorium.

The governor went on to say that society was still cruel to a special child. “Even children can’t accept these kids easily. We need to be more sensitive towards them and introduce more awareness programmes,” he added.

Narayanan was moved at meeting Barsha Bhattacharya, who had scored 66 per cent in Business Studies at NIOS (National Institute Open Schooling), but was still not happy with her performance. “It’s so moving to see them aim for the stars,” the governor said.

All the students were excited at the prospect of meeting the governor. Young Sampa Ghosh wanted to write something for the special guest and she proudly did so on a computer. “Sampa is determined to type with her fingers. She is in a rush to learn fast,” said her special educator.

The governor also met Abhijit, who types with his toes. “His computer skills are better than mine,” said Narayanan, after talking to Abhijit.

He was full of questions for IICP vice-chairperson Sudha Kaul and its executive director Reena Sen. “At what age do you realise a child is special?” Detection can take place as early as three months, he was told. “Will it make a difference if therapy starts early?” he asked again, as he inspected the Family Services room. The governor also visited some classrooms, the adult training centre, play school, tea packaging and training centre (where some IICP students earn a living by packaging tea leaves) and met up with the Ankur team, IICP’s advocacy group fighting for inclusion and equal rights for the disabled.

“IICP should be given a national award,” said the impressed governor.