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PEOPLE WHO BUFFER: THEATRICAL STORIES BY STAMMERERS

Written by: Abhinav Bakshi, Amol Karale, Anshu Vij, Anuprita Patil, Dhruv
Gupta, Lalit Singh, Nishu Bansal, Vipul Patil
Dhruv Gupta:
I am
I am not
I am alive
I am dead
I am awake
I am asleep
I am everything
I am nothing
I am an environmentalist
I am a person who wreaks havoc on the environment
I am me
I am not me
I am 28
I am 5
I am 50
I am 100
I am compassionate.
I am not compassionate
I am in a relationship
I am single.
I am the sun, the moon, the stars, the waves.
I am the insect, the butterfly, the lion, the sheep.
I am man, woman, child, teenager.
I am Indian, American, Chinese, Japanese, Philippino, Thai, British.
I am fluent
I stammer
I am
All of these are mental constructs. Saying or thinking them does not
make them true. So what is true?
What is true is feeling. What is true are the feelings free from thoughts.
Feeling light. Not reactive. Being in the here and the now. Love. Seeking
love wherever I am. Opening myself up. Being vulnerable.

Amol Karale: How does it feel to be in the audience?

It does not feel good at all. It feels really bad and embarrassing.
I used to think, Why am I here? I should be on stage.
Every time I see someone speaking fluently, an inner voice says to me,
Why are you here man? Why are you not able to go on stage and talk?
Why?
In school days, I was hardly aware of my stammering. I just wanted to
do what everyone was doing at that time. I used to think I could read
alone pretty well, but when it came to speaking in public, I used to fear
and my tongue would get tight. I was left speechless.
I felt bad for myself. Why me?
It was like watching a great movie but having a back seat and with no
interest in watching the movie, just the thought: Why am I not on
stage?
During school days, despite knowing the answers, I used to pretend I
didnt know anything. Even though some teachers gave me
opportunities to share thoughts or recite the news in the morning
assembly, I managed to skip it by coming late to school. Even reading
lessons in class was really difficult. Most of the teachers made me sit
after reading two or three lines. It hurt me mentally.
I spoke to only a few people. I was avoiding each and every situation
where talking was involved. I was good at skipping.
I used to fear Viva.
My head used to feel very heavy with tons of thoughts: Why I am not
able to speak? Even a kid in grade 5 is speaking pretty well. What will I
do if I am not able to speak? How can I earn money? There is no point in
studying when you are not able to speak. Speech is more important as it
should come naturally.

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Life was like a chronic landslide (just an illusion). You know the path
but still you are not able to reach the goals. Every step you take you fear
if something is going to hurt you.
I used to do analysis of good days and bad days.
Feelings cannot be expressed in words or photos. They just need to be
experienced.
I used to look good from the outside but inside I was carrying very
heavy baggage mental luggage, the thought that What will happen if I
stammer? But these mind boggling thoughts have been reduced. After
meeting you guys, I realized I was making mountains out of mole hills.
Anshu Vij: Letter to my parents
I used to curse my parents because they gave birth to a stammerer. My
dad also used to stammer. So in my case it was because of genetics.
In my school days, people used to bully me because I had a stammering
problem. So my anger and hatred towards my parents grew more and
more.
I have seen my family members making fun of my father so I didn't want
the same to happen to me. I remember when I was small child, my
relatives used to make fun of the way I spoke. It was funny for them but
for me it was very much embarrassing so I hated myself and my parents
more and more.
Once I remember I hit a guy in my school with my water bottle because
he was making fun of my stammering. I told my mum about this and she
said that it is normal as people make fun of those who are weak.
Then for the first time, my respect towards my parents came back.
Slowly I started to realise all of what my parents had done for me, like
putting me in a very good school, the best in my town. When I was in
class 8, our financial condition was not that good but still they didn't
show it to me. I understood because there was some tension in my
house. Because of it, I was very sad - I was unable to help them at that
time. I have seen my mum giving her gold ornaments as mortgage to pay

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my fees as well as my sisters. My dad emptied his bank account in order
to make us go to the good school and to make us complete our
education.
I succeeded in securing good marks in class 12th but I was not able to
clear any entrance exam for a good college. I studied in a kind of okay
college but I was not that focused on getting a good job because I knew
that due to my stammering, I may not get any job - just as my relatives
had said.
Eventually I got a job. I was happy because now I would be able to help
my parents and my siblings. My parents also told me that they were
very happy and proud of me because I did it after all the depression I
was in.
I may not express it by saying it, but I want to say that I love my parents
very much. Eventually I will make them understand. They are very
important and precious to me.
Letter A Vipul Patil: A Journey with Metamorphosis
When I start to expose my inner self. That is the moment when I feel a
little hesitant at first, but soon I realize I have grown out of it, learning a
lot of new things about myself. I have had this kind of journey more and
more in the past couple of years.
I will share one of these journeys. It was in my second year of degree. I
decided to open up in front of everyone, show how I was feeling about
myself. I made a presentation on stammering. And I went ahead saying
all I had wanted to say for so long. I was feeling very nervous, scared,
and very uncomfortable to face myself in front of everyone. Because
thats the thing I tried to hide from everyone for so long.
As I faced my true self it somehow gave a deep sense of satisfaction. I
was just in my skin, totally naked emotions flowing out without any
props. I felt very relaxed for the first time in my life. The baggage
became very light and comfortable. I accepted my nature and saw a lot
of good changes occur in me after that. I started to speak more with
people. I started to explore areas that I never thought I could step in,
like speaking in front of a large audience. I pushed myself into scary

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situations wherein I thought people would judge me for my speech. But
soon I realized I was surrounded by so many good people around who
were there to listen to my feelings rather than how I spoke.
Letter B Abhinav Bakshi: I can speak
Its warm and sunny weather. The wind is blowing. The birds are
chirping. The trees are shaking So am IWhy?
You know, I have always wanted to become a public speaker ever since I
was a small kid. I remember watching Amitabh Bachchan on the TV
screen speaking bold and loud, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to who
wants to become a millionaire, and then I used to think, (Excited)
Wow! He speaks so good. So bold, calm and confident. (Nervous) I wish I
could speak like him I mean, maybe I can. If I practice hard enough,
then why not? So, I went in front of the mirror to practice that myself,
and I was like (Nervous, Stammering) LLLadddies and
Gentlemen (Frustrated, Trying too hard) Wauwauwauuu
Arrrgh (Trying to breath, disappointed) (Slapping myself hard)
(Enters inner voice) Why are you hitting yourself? (Louder) Why are
you hitting yourself? You want to become an actor like Amitabh
Bachchan? You know, if you go to an audition, you wont be able to
speak even like a normal human being, let alone Amitabh Bachchan.
Stop living in your dreams, idiot. Study hard, get a job, get settled and
please stop embarrassing me for gods sakes. (Leaves inner voice) My
inner voice kept on pulling me back every time I tried to speak. Thats
why, even though I wanted badly to speak in public, I mostly kept that
desire to myself, or at least I tried.
You know your teacher is the devil incarnate when she makes you give
your complete introduction on the first day of class. Being a stammerer,
you are scared to death, and you start thinking of ways to get away
without embarrassment. You plan to execute the always successful
WAKE-UPSHOUT-YOUR-NAMESIT-DOWN protocol, but all your
dreams are shattered when someone else tries that and ends up giving
an extended introduction on demand. So now, seeing no other options,
you accept your fate and prepare yourself to get humiliated. Thats what
I did. When my turn came, I took a big gulp and stood up with all the
courage I had. To say that my heart was beating fast would be an
understatement. I felt like someone was running a lawnmower on my

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chest. The rush of adrenaline was so bad, I could have run all the way
home without taking a pause. So, somehow, I mustered enough courage
and said, Hello everyone, my name is (Looks like trying to remember
something) my name is my name is I tried multiple times, but I
could not speak.
The entire class was already smiling, but all hell broke loose when the
teacher giggled slightly. It was my first experience of audience
interaction, which, although embarrassing, was highly uplifting. It was
the first time I felt I could make someone laugh, make someone feel
different, make an impact. The feeling was self-consuming and I craved
more. So, I started volunteering for occasions where I could get an
opportunity to speak in front of an audience. It wasnt like I went full
Morgan Freeman in my subsequent attempt. I have made more audience
uncomfortable than every one of you have, combined. The thing is,
whenever I used to go on stage, I became uncomfortable and nervous.
Watching me get uncomfortable and nervous, everyone in the audience
got uncomfortable. Seeing them getting uncomfortable, I got even more
uncomfortable. This cycle continued until we all drowned in the ocean
of uncomfortability.
I wondered why this happened with me? What am I doing wrong? How
can I take control of the situation? How can I make the audience happy?
How can I enjoy speaking rather than it being an embarrassing and
uncomfortable ordeal for me and the audience? I started asking people
questions about how to deliver a successful presentation, how I could
take control of the situation, and similar things. I met some guy on the
internet, who told me that I am already in control of the situation. When
I got uncomfortable, the audience also got uncomfortable. That means, I
control the audience. That was like a revelation for me. So, if I smile, will
the audience also smile with me? This idea excited me and I decided to
try it next time I went on stage.
So there I was, standing in front of an audience. The wind was blowing,
the birds were chirping, the trees were shaking, and so was I. But this
time, something was different. This time, I really wanted to make it
happen. All the way to stage, I kept on saying to myself, You can do it
You can do it but when I arrived on stage, I was still shaking and
trembling and all nervous. I tried to gather all my courage and smiled to

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greet the audience. The audience could see that, Look, he is nervous,
afraid and shaking, but he still has the courage to smile, and they
appreciated the courage by responding back with a smile. I felt a surge
of happiness as I watched the audience respond. But that happiness
lasted only for a short while until I uttered my first word, which came
out as (Feminine voice) Uhh. The entire crowd burst into laughter. I left
the stage embarrassed but determined to perform better the next time.
After that, there was no looking back. I went to face the crowd again and
again shamelessly. And every time I went, I gained a little bit of
confidence.
Today, I stand here. In front of you all. I wont say I am not scared or
nervous. I still am. But today, I can say that I am no longer worried
about that. I am a stammerer and I can still speak, be it fluently or not.
Letter C Lalit Singh: Talk of the Tongue
In this world there are two kinds of people: one who speaks fluently and
another who is mute. Then I met a third kind who can speak, but with
frequent breaks. People do call them a name:- Sssstammerer. Wow.
Thats me. Not exactly me, but a part of me. I do stammer and I am
fluent often. I am a flip flop...seems my tongue has got mood swings
(smilingly)
I am fascinated by the people who speak very well in their daily lives, on
stage, on the screen. But some of them I realized were just stammerers
in their lives. Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, and Hritik
Roshan. They confess still being a stammerer in their lives. These are
the people whose dialogues have become epic. What made them so
fluent on camera? How can they do that?.. Several questions arise in the
mind.
When I am speaking to people I am focused on the words the easy
ones and the difficult ones. Oh yeah, the T words, K words I am going
to get stuck on those. Fear crawling in my mind. People are going to
notice. How to call my neighbor whose name starts with T. Tttttanujaa.
Besides I will directly confront her just to avoid calling her name. I even
say the movie name as Manu weds Tanu rather than Tanu weds
Manu. Because you know starting a word with T is so difficult. I even

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stopped drinking tea in fear (smile). Go away get lost. Delete the T
sound from the language please. Thats me in general.
But the moment I try to act like some character, I remember how that
character talks, his words and style of speech is in my mind. They have a
rhythm and energy that I feel like imitating. For that moment, I feel like
that energy is in me and I can just speak those "difficult" words.
I believe when someone tries to imitate a character, that moment it
brings the entire focus on the person whom he is going to copy. In his
mind the memory of fear temporarily subsides. The fear of getting stuck
on words is not in his mind at that moment. The only memory he has is
the personality only angry, sad, happy, mad happening at the
superficial level, and inside, in the core, its the stammerer. Its like
forgetting your identity and trying to be that character who doesn't
stammer as per the script, stealing that confidence, that fluency, for a
while in yourself. Believe me, its wonderful.
Letter D Amol Karale: Why trying too hard to get rid of
stammering does not help
I believe if you try too hard to get rid of stammering it haunts you more.
If you are continuously focusing on stammering then when are you
going to live life? There are many things to do in life other than
stammering. In most places, stammering is accepted, but not poor
communication.
Hiding is not a solution to stammering, as whatever you resist persists.
Stammering should be dissolved effortlessly, although stammering does
not have cure. First accept that stammering is okay and then work on it.
Tell people, I stammer.
We can relate the situation to bike learning. When you started learning
how to ride a bike for first time you didnt have proper control on clutch
and gear. You used to have a lot of thoughts in your mind about how to
change gears, how to increase your speed. But slowly, you started
gaining proficiency. You did pretty well compared to before. But when
you take your bike to the highway for the first time, you fear increasing
your speed, hitting someone, or what would happen if your bike
stopped somewhere in middle. But after some time this fear has also

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gone. And now you can drive your bike freely and have dreams in your
mind. Whenever you see that you are in danger, you apply the brakes
instantaneously.
People just go on thinking and thinking but sometimes we have to drop
our thinking. Just get busy doing what you want to do.
Letter E Dhruv Gupta: Stop stammering before grade 6
Mrs. Parkhurst Original: Hes going into the 6th grade next year,
entering middle school. He will be required to speak even more. Dhruv
has to fix his stammering. Please find a way to fix it. It will really hurt
him if he continues to stammer.
Me: My 5th grade teacher said this in a parent-teacher conferencewith
10-year-old me present.
I felt my heart sink. Was I going to stammer for the rest of my life? Will
it really hurt me? What the hellwhy mewhy do I have to have this
thing that will hurt me? Its not fair. I dont stammer that much. Just
once in awhile when I get nervous. Im afraid. I don't want to stammer.
What I think my parents were thinking: Oh mywe have to help Dhruv.
We have to make him stop stammering. Maybe we can find a good
speech therapist.
Speech Therapist. She would visit our house once a week in the
evening, and charge high fees. Ironically, I would never stammer with
her. Perhaps because I was very comfortable at my house, and because I
was trying so hard not to stammer.
During this time, she would make me practice speaking in a slow,
controlled manner. We would play a game. She would show me cards
with different images, and then ask me make sentences using those
cards in a very slow and fluent manner. This type of therapy felt like
she was babying me it was not challenging at all.
I wish she had taken me outside to practice speaking in real situations
like asking for directions, ordering food at a restaurant, talking on the
phone, etc. Then, in those real situations, she could make me practice

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voluntary stammering, holding eye contact while stammering,
advertising about my stammer overall accepting stammering in public
and working on my communication skills.
I wish she had told me that 99% of stammering is psychological, the
mental aspect, all those feelings and emotions that arise when I
stammer. I know that for me, if I can shrink that, not have any negative
reaction when I stammer, that is success for me.
Me: What I wish my 5th grade teacher said
Mrs. Parkhurst Revised: Hes going into the 6th grade next year,
entering middle school. He will be required to speak even moreHe has
to keep taking speaking opportunities; raising his hand in class,
volunteering in schools plays, speaking up in his friend groups. Please
understand that stammering is normal; over 70 million people stammer
around the world. It is not at all your fault that he is stammering. In fact,
research shows that stammering is genetic. It will really hurt him if he
continues to hide this stammering.
Dhruv, Stammer freely. Some b-b-b-bouncing, some b-blocks, do it
openly. Accept yourself whole-heartedly; we all do. The only thing that
will hold you back is the thought that stuttering or something else will
hold you back. Embrace this beautiful diversity you have, and live your
life.
How I would feel: Wow... 70 million people! I never knew so many
people stammer. Maybe this is normal. Im going to continue to take
every speaking opportunity I get. Yes. This feels great. Im excited for
the 6th grade. Yay!
What I think my parents would think: Wonderful. We are going to help
Dhruv embrace and accept his stammering. We embrace and accept
him, and like the teacher is saying, we will not let Dhruv worry about his
stammering at all.
Letter F Lalit Singh: Its in Me, not Me

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Once upon a time there was a kid in his neverland. Cute, innocent
naughtiness was his charm. He used to sit and just think about anything,
making him appear different from other kids.
One day he went to a forest close to his playground. There he saw a
strange tree which had colourful fruits. Excitedly, he just wanted to
climb it. All of a sudden, a voice came. Hey kid, dont you dare touch
those fruits. Go away. The boy looked back but found nobody behind
him. This made him more curious, so he picked a stone and shot it with
his catapult on the tree. It was quite good, a confident shot, and a few
fruits fell down. He grabbed them all and hid them in a secret place at
home. He just put all of them there.
Do you have any idea what that tree and fruits were all about? Well! It
was a problem tree and the fruits that the child took away were selfdoubt, fear, anxiety, depression, low confidence. Unfortunately, the kid
didn't know what they were. He just kept eating them for years and
years. Not even his mom was able to see what her child was eating. The
fruits were invisible to all except him.
12 years later the kid grew up to be a teen. Then the impact of the fruits
was now visible on him. He soon started to feel what he had become. He
was not able to face the world openly. His voice was stammering. A
single sound was not coming out at the worst moments. He was angry,
frustrated, sad. How was he going to survive in this world? Survive.
What the hell? He had been aiming to become an officer in his school
years, and now his focus had narrowed down to survival. Survival for
bread and butter that even an animal achieves in daily life. Survival
from laughter and guilt. Survival to hide his stammer from the world. He
just came on the back foot. His own thoughts were sucking his energy
and he was not focused enough to think of any dream. Any dream that
made him speak in front of people would scare the shit out of him. He
was feeling like either he should move to a lonely planet or kill all the
people in this world so no one would hear him. No stammer at all. That
was his mindset. Negativities surrounding him all over.
One fine day our teen sees a person like chaku choori tez kralo
cyclewalas type shouting, "Isshtammering theek kra lo bhaiya"
"Isshtammering theek kra lo bhaiya. Our boy was amazed, surprised

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hearing this. Oh my god, he thought it was cureless. But some person
was shouting with confidence that he could cure it. He went running
after him, confronted him. He started sobbing and said, "Why me?" The
man said, "You are special. You have chosen this. See somebody gets
migraines, someone gets cancer, someone gets blind. Likewise everyone
has his/her quota. In the same way, you got this. Its your choice. Way
back in the past you made it. Thats the life you get. Puzzles, riddles, and
you reach the shore without swimming along the tide." Oh our hero
said, I see many people having illness but I dont see people like me.
He smiled and said, "Because you are special, only 1 in 100." The teen
gathered some courage and asked, What now? How to cure? He said,
Acceptance is the key. As much as possible accept yourself, accept your
voice the way it is, accept when someone laughs at it. This will help you
come out stronger, confident, and a better speaker. The teen didnt
expect this answer. He was looking for some device that could just fix
him in minutes.
As he grew older in age, he began understanding acceptance. He
fumbles, he rolls, gets up in his life, but still he has this ray of hope in his
sulky eyes, walking upright to explore himself. Besides, the fruits started
turning smaller and smaller....
Letter G Anuprita Patil
Have you ever seen someones madness to achieve something that they
really dreamt of?
I am and I was always a dreamer. I believe in dreams because Ive heard
that they do come true. I am a kind of girl who is not shy to perform in
front of people. In fact when I was a kid I always dreamt to act and sing
and dance. If I had only three months left to live I would dance, dance,
and only dance.
But then suddenly I stopped dancing. And there was only one reason to
it. Basically there was a thought in my mind, a thought that - Am I really
a stammerer? No, I cant be one. Stammering is not good. Its not
normal.
I felt as if my entire body is just made of one thing, quality, substance
and that is stammering.

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After the realisation that I was a stammerer I was just a moving body
who goes to school, studies, and comes back home. No interaction with
people, no friends, NOTHING!
Where is the girl who always enjoyed going on stage, a girl full of joys
and most importantly, a girl full of dreams? And then I thought, is it
seriously my stammering which is giving rise to all the problems or is it
me who is making it a big issue?
When I have everything a non-stammerer has, why am I afraid? Why am
I not doing the things I love? When I possess all the other things a nonstammerer has - the confidence, the passion, the ability to dream and
the strength to perceive the dream.
I am a stammerer and I am not disabled, for stammering is just another
style or way of speaking. I am who I am and people will have to accept it,
but only if I accept myself first.
One day I got an opportunity to dance on stage and this time I accepted.
It felt as if I was finally out of the cage. I felt the freedom. I felt myself. I
was a seed, unborn, sleeping, and now Ive grown into a flower dancing
my way to sunshine.
Vipul Patil: Enjoying the Chaos
Chaos Chaos here you come
Like a Tsunami you arrive
Destroying everything in your path
I faced you lot of times
I feared, I trembled to stand the force
But vowed never to lose out
Learned to come out bright as sunshine
I have learned to smile as you come
Like a swimmer you made me become
Chaos chaos please do come
I invite you with a huge welcome
Abhinav Bakshi: Confrontation with my Horsey
ME: Hi Horsey.

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HORSEY: Umm Hi.

ME: I just came to tell you that you have completely ruined my life,
thank you for nothing. You are a lame, pathetic loser and you suck.
HORSEY: Whoa Easy there kid. Thats not the way to start a writing
prompt that you are gonna read out loud to an audience.
ME: You know about that?
HORSEY: Yep. Ive been with you since as long as you can remember, I
see things you see, I hear things you hear. I sleep when you sleep. Also, I
think we have arrived to terms between you and me. So, theres no point
in humiliating me again.
ME: Yeah, I know, but as per the instructions, I am supposed to explore
my inner Horsey. And you know I cannot get you to talk unless I
provoke you.
HORSEY: You could have simply asked me.
ME: Okay Horsey, talk.
HORSEY: Thats not the way to talk to someone who has kept you
company in all your times, good or bad.
ME: You know you are as stubborn as you were a decade back. Theres
no point in talking to you go to hell.
HORSEY: Okay kid, good luck with your writing prompt.
ME: Fine, like you had ever been useful to me anyways.
HORSEY: Huh!
ME: All these things I do for you, and you return the favor like this, an
enemy who stabs me upfront is better than you who betrays me when I
need you the most.

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HORSEY: Youve gone crazy, kid.

ME: I still remember how great of a speaker I was when you were not a
part of my life. Till the age of 9, I used to give Independence Day and
Republic Day speeches in my school. Then, you came, pulled me down,
made me weak. I was still a fighter. I tried to audition for giving the
Independence Day speech during my 4th grade. I tried my level best to
speak, but you wouldnt let me. You are the one who made me fail.
HORSEY: Im not listening to this.
ME: Yes, you are. You were listening when the teacher told me she was
sorry but she had to replace me with some other kid, because she
needed to answer to the upper management. You were listening when
other kids mocked my stammering to hurt me. You were listening when
the 8th grade science teacher kicked me out of the class for not being
able to answer her questions even though I knew the answers. You were
listening when the class monitor of Marathi class in 10th grade
deliberately put up my name for loud reading, since she knew I sucked
at speaking. You have always been listening. What you never did was let
me speak. Whenever I tried to open my mouth to say anything, you
blocked it. You know how much embarrassment and guilt I had to deal
with just because you didnt let me speak?
HORSEY: Okay listen I know you
ME: No, you listenYou have ruined my life. The emotional damage I
have incurred due to all the bullying and teasing from my peers is
irreversible. It has scarred me for my entire life, and I dont think I will
ever be able to be the way I was before I met you. I have had enough of
your bullshit. All I ask for is a fluent speech, just like anyone else. Just for
once, I want to be a totally fluent speaker. So please leave me alone. Just
go, bother someone else, or simply kill yourself. Rest in peace and let me
be in peace.
HORSEY: Okay, now you are crossing the line.
ME: You deserve worse for what you did to me.

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HORSEY: ENOUGH! I have been listening to your bullshit for so long, and
instead of respecting me for that, you keep on bullying me. You know,
you are an arrogant prick. You have always been even before I met you.
Let me tell you what you were. You were a loud-mouthed kid who said
anything you wanted without respecting anyone. Everyone hated you.
One day, when you were in second grade, a girls mom came to take her
daughter home, and you said to her, Dont take me home by mistake
someday. She went to your parents, shouting that they hadnt taught
you manners. In your third grade, you made a teacher cry by asking
questions and taunting her when she didnt know the answer.
ME: Wait How do you know all this?
HORSEY: Hello, I live inside you. I am what you are so I know what you
know, you dumb creature. You have always been this dumb and weak. I
was the one who pulled you through all this. Remember the days you
spent in depression crying and obsessing over your speech, all those
self-help books you read, all the inspirational music you heard. They
shaped you into what you are now. Remember during the final viva of
Marathi, you gave a terrific speech looking right into the eye of the class
monitor who had made you to read just to mock you. Remember how
you learnt to be a good listener so as to make friends rather than trying
to show off and tease anybody. Remember how you learnt the
importance of hard work, consistency and teamwork when you
practiced speech during your early days at TISA and made the entire
group practice with you, and thereby slowly but steadily improved
along with helping others improve. Remember the feeling you had when
you successfully delivered your presentation for the first time after
accepting to the crowd that you are a stammerer. Remember the
euphoric feeling you had when you get to be with the stammerers at the
National Conference. Cant you see how much you have grown because
of me? Cant you see how far WE have come together? If it werent for
me, you would have just been an arrogant prick with an attitude
problem bigger than Justin Bieber. You think its fun for me to always be
under pressure? Every time I speak and I make a mistake, you make me
repeat the same thing again. You see that is how humiliating it is for me.
Its like wearing a tie every day to work but not knowing how to tie a tie.

17
ME: Thank You Horsey, you raised the bar of this writing prompt so
much.
HORSEY: Wait a minute All this time you were bullying me just for this
stupid writing prompt?
ME: Damn right you are.
HORSEY: Tell you what just go, leave me alone.
ME: Hahahahahaha
HORSEY: Wait a minute, what do I see here? You dont know how to tie a
tie?
ME: Shut up, will you!
HORSEY: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HE DOESNT KNOW HOW TO TIE A
TIE! Take that, sucker.
ME: Ok thats enough.
HORSEY: Hahahahahaha.
ME: Just go, buddy, just go.
Nishu Bansal: My thoughts on Stammering
I think stammering is neither a disease nor a disability. When
stammerers grow up, they start exploring the option of getting rid of it.
They come to know about speech therapy, they consult a speech
therapist who assures them and says to them, It is about your
confidence. You become nervous. Follow some meditation techniques
and some breathing exercises. But most stammers get temporary relief
for some time and they again start stammering.
I am making the assumption that a person can speak with ease and
fluency to himself. If yes, then I think there is no problem at all. If
stammering is a disease or biological defect, then one should not be able
to speak to himself either. Lets consider if a person doesnt have legs, he

18
is not able to walk in any situation. But that is not a case with
stammering.
I dont believe in labels, science or anyone. I will only believe in myself. I
am confident that one day I will become one of best speakers.
Vipul Patil: What if 99% of world stammers?
Today there exists 1% of our world population who stammers.
What if 99% of world stammers? I hope there exists a planet
somewhere in our universe where this statement holds true. What do
you think?
The whole dynamics of the world would change. Everyone would start
listening carefully. The whole world would slow down. Ahhh the 1% of
people. Yes the fluent ones. I could imagine their condition. Its pretty
much similar to ours in this world. They are in great search. Search is to
speak like the person who stammers. Now they want to speak like them.
They practice to repeat sounds, repeat words, they try to utter pauses
but in great vain. They think whats wrong with them. Putting their
whole efforts to realise their dream that one day they will stammer
elegantly. They start looking everywhere on YouTube, Wikipedia,
magazines, start taking advices on how to stammer effectively. Day and
night living in constant anxiety thinking about their future, how will
they face the interviews, the group discussions, the introductions and
the list is endless.
Sometimes they do successfully stammer but again relapse happens.
They find they are again speaking fluently. They start searching for
doctors, speech therapists who will give them some magic cure to get
rid of the fluency monster. For some time relief do occurs but again
fluency haunts them. And the vicious loop starts again.
One fine day, they find out about The Indian Fluency Association. They
find it to be something they have never seen in their whole life. Its a
place where everyone is enjoying fluency. Trying some weird thing as
voluntary fluency. They start writing their experiences on internet and
blog. Slowly as time passes they realize its better to start acceptance of
fluency. They start dissolving into the bigger diversity beyond labels. An

19
idea starts to enlighten them that they are fluently stammering. They
gain confidence, greater self-esteem and find they are ready to rock the
world.
The whole world will be a crazy place. Everyone is just living their own
style of speaking. No one could say this is how one should speak.
Because everyone is a unique masterpiece. Every single person who
stammers or speaks fluently is born as an art. Where life like an art.
Breathing, eating, sleeping, working, performing, dancing, and singing.
Every action becomes an art. Because everyone is unique. Rather than
bending nature, acceptance becomes the nature. There grows a
beautiful diversity of difference where every human is like a fragrance.
Where aaaaaarrrt becomes an art.
Vipul Patil and Abhinav Bakshi: HAKLA HAKLA
CHORUS: Hakla Hakla Hakla Hakla Hakla (Slowly fades)
VIPUL: Deviyon aur sajjanon! (guitar strum) Kahaniya toh aapne bahut
suni hogi! (guitar strum)
ABHINAV: Lekin! Aaj hum aap sabke saamne lekar aaye hain ek hakle ki
kahani (multiple strums)
VIPUL: Haklon ki hi jubani!
(continuous guitar strums)
ABHINAV:
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla,
Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu bhi Hakla,
Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Mai bhi Hakla,
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla!
CHORUS:
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla,
Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu bhi Hakla,
Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Mai bhi Hakla,
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla!
(End chorus)

20

ABHINAV: Ghar se mai nikla pakda bus school ko jaane

CHORUS: Ghar se mai nikla pakda bus school ko jaane
ABHINAV: Conductor ko dekh ke darrr laga mujhko satane
CONDUCTOR: Ticket ticket ticket!
CHORUS: Ticket ticket ticket!
ABHINAV: Itne logon ke saamne maangna padega ticket,
Haklaya toh ijjat ki bhaji ho jayegi phukat...
CONDUCTOR: Ticket ticket!
CHORUS: Ticket ticket!
ABHINAV: Conductor ko bola mai ki jaana mujhe Ha ha ha
PASSENGERS: Hinjewadi!
ABHINAV: (with rejecting sweep of hand) Ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha.
PASSENGERS: Hanuman Tekdi!
ABHINAV: (with rejecting sweep of hand) Ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha.
PASSENGERS: Hadapsar!
ABHINAV: (with affirming sweep of hand) Ha!
CONDUCTOR: Abe jaldi bola kar, ye nahi tera ghar
PASSENGERS: Hakla!
CHORUS:
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla,
Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu bhi Hakla,

21
Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Mai bhi Hakla,
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla!
(End chorus)
VIPUL: Ma Boli (clap clap) Ma boli, Ma boli, Ma boli (clap clap) Ma boli
MA: Beta Dukan Se ek Kilo Chini Lana!
VIPUL: Mai ppppahuncha DDDDukan Pe. Maine bola, Arrey sssssunno
bbbhaiya, Zara eeeeek kkkkkilo ccccchini ddddena
DUKAN WALE: Lelo
VIPUL: DDDDukan wale bbbbbhaiya ne muzhe dddddekha
Maine use DDDDDekha
Wo MMMMuzhe DDDDDekh Ke HHHHHasa
Me Uuuuse DDDDDekh Ke HHHHHHasa
CHORUS: Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla!
(Clap clap) Ma boli, Ma boli, Ma boli (clap clap) Ma boli..
MA: Beta chini kiddar hain?
VIPUL: Me CCCCChini Leke ppppponcha GGGGhar pe
Ma ko ccccchini Di Aur Laga HHHHasne
CHORUS:
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla,
Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu-Tu bhi Hakla,
Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Mai bhi Hakla,
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hakla!
(End chorus)