Exercise 3 March 7, 1922
After this, we tried another exercise to help her to straighten her legs and to stand erect. We made a square of four benches with a table in the middle. The square did not permit any crawling baby to get into the center of the square thus formed without scaling the benches. The table in the middle was of the same height as the benches, and in order to touch the table or to take away anything placed on it, a baby would have to lean on one of the side benches, and to do so, raise its knees and rest its stomach on the bench, and support the lower part of the body from the waist to the feet downward, on its feet. We placed on the table some tempting eatables which Kamala and the crawling babies liked very much, and invited them all to take them. The babies came and tried this way and that, and at last got onto the side bench, leaning against it on their stomachs, resting the lower part of the body on their feet, and stretched out their hands to get at the plate in the center of the bench square.
March 21, 1922
Kamala watched them, but did nothing on the first day. This was the twenty-first of March, 1922. The babies failed to reach the plate and were disappointed. Thereupon Mrs. Singh took the plate and distributed the things among them, making them all stand on their knees to receive them.
The next day the plate was again filled with all those attractive sweets, etc., and was again placed, in their presence, on the middle table inside the square of benches. We left the place and watched the babies and Kamala stealthily. The babies being much smaller than Kamala failed to reach the plate, although they tried their utmost. The babies got tired and gave it up. Kamala was sitting at a distance watching all their movements and attempts, as they were moving constantly all round the square. Then she got up, looked this side and that to find out where we were, and being certain that we were not there, she leaned against the bench on her stomach, straightening her knees, resting on her feet, and extending her right hand to the plate quite easily. She took it in her hand and descended to the floor, and squatted down to eat. The babies who were in the room, finding what Kamala had done, came to Mrs. Singh and reported the matter quite affectionately in broken words and broken sentences. Some of the greedy babies went round Kamala to get a share, but she looked somewhat ferocious and they took fright. But all the same they watched Kamala eating the whole plate voraciously. Kamala did not chase them away as she had done before. She finished the plate, put it down, glanced again this side and that, and looked very pleased. After this, she came to the groups of babies to take toys from the basket, picking out the red ones only.
It should be mentioned here that Kamala and Amala used to chew toys, especially the red ones, and throw them away. They had no other use for toys at all. Besides, as said before, they never liked to play with the babies after they had bitten Benjamin on the thirty-first of December, 1920. They used to be quite indifferent to all the games which the babies or the Orphanage children used to have.
Exercise 4 March 24, 1922
At this stage, regularly from March 24, 1922, we adopted another plan of exercise for Kamala to give strength to the lower part of her body. Just in the evening before dusk we used to take Kamala out into the orchard of the Orphanage compound of three and a half acres, which was safe for children, being well fenced and fitted with gates. We used to leave her completely to herself under our personal observation from a distance. The cat sometimes used to follow Mrs. Singh and Kamala, and the cat used to roam about at some distance from us.
Kamala riding on a tree
March 26, 1922
One evening, two days later, the cat and Kamala were roaming about a little distance from us. We sat behind a big mango grove, and could not see Kamala and the cat for a few seconds. Then we found Kamala trying to ride a low thick branch of the mango tree, resting her stomach on the branch, making her knees straight, and resting the lower part of her body on her feet. The cat was found on the tree.
Exercise 5
We pretended not to have seen anything. The next day, just before we took Kamala out into the garden, we placed two plates on two lower branches of the tree. The plates contained biscuits and the like.
As usual we took her out, and that day the cat did not follow us. We left Kamala near the tree close to one of the plates and purposely went round the grove and waited behind it to see what Kamala would do when she found the accustomed plate there. Kamala saw it, looked round, and got to the plate in the same fashion as already described. She descended to the ground and commenced eating. Having seen this, we went into the farthest corner of the garden so as not to be seen by her.
We became very hopeful and were sure that Kamala would walk on her feet one day. We relied on the massage and the appropriate exercises to accustom her to the proper use of her feet and legs. We found the company of the cat very useful to attract her to this exercise of straightening her knees. The plate of biscuits and sweets also did a lot towards it. Very soon it became natural to her to stand on her knees, and occasionally she commenced to walk or move about on her knees. But she could not stand; she crawled; she went on all fours; went on her knees; but she could not walk at all. We repeated the exercise of the square of benches and the garden exercises daily till she could make her knees quite straight like ours.
Exercise 6
April 28, 1922
After this, on the twenty-eighth of April, 1922, we introduced another exercise. We placed something on a stool as high as a crawling baby could reach easily standing on its knees. Gradually the height was increased so that the babies had to try hard to reach the plate; some could, and others could not. For those who could reach it, the height was increased the day after. In this way the height was increased little by little till not one of the babies save Kamala only could reach the plate and eat the contents daily. Now it was Kamala's turn. The height was increased further till even Kamala found some difficulty in reaching it.
May 7, 1922
Finally, she failed to reach the plate on this date. We did not pay attention to her inability, but passed on as if nothing had happened. Kamala could not get at the plate and so could not eat the food, which remained there intact. Neither the babies nor Kamala were given the contents of the plate as before. Kamala and the babies felt it, but we paid no attention at all, and passed by as if nothing had happened.
The whole night of that same day Kamala was unceasingly attempting to get at the plate, but failed. Early the next morning she constantly repeated her attempt. The results of this attempt I found very favorable.
May 10, 1922
This exercise continued, and on the tenth of May, 1922, it was noticed that Kamala could rest a little on her toes with raised heels and with her knees off the ground, bending at an obtuse angle, and keeping her body erect with her right arm outstretched to reach the plate. This exercise was repeated daily, and along with it another exercise was added on the eleventh of May, 1922.
Exercise 7
I made a slender wall bracket (A) about three inches in breadth, and a foot long, supported by a prop underneath fixed on to the ground. Just in front of it, a high slender table (B) was fixed, which could just hold a plate. It was just the height of Kamala. Kamala, resting on the bracket, could reach the plate on the table, but she had to stretch out her legs straight, resting on the toes, the heels being raised from the ground. Here Kamala used to be brought with the babies, and the plate was placed on the table in their presence. They used to be left alone in the room.
May 14, 1922
It was noticed that Kamala made use of the bracket to get hold of the plate on the fourteenth of May, 1922, and daily ate the contents. Kamala would approach the stool-like projection from the wall (A) and stretch out her hand (right) first and catch hold of the flat plank supported by the props from the floor. Then she would turn round to face the other higher projection (B) close to the projection (A); resting her waist and hip on the stool-like top of the projection (A) she would extend her hands to catch the plate placed on the top of the tablelike top of the projection (B). In this fashion, she used to try every day to take the plate containing the eatables, and at last succeeded in getting the plate and ate its contents.
The projection (B) was totally removed and the plate was hung by a sling from the ceiling, so that the least touch of Kamala sent the plate with the sling away, and it became hard for her to catch the plate till she could support her whole body on her legs and toes. At last she could balance her body on her feet freely and tried to catch the hanging plate and succeeded. The repetition of this exercise strengthened her waist, knee joints, and ankle joints, to bear the weight of the upper part of the body.
Exercise 8 May 24, 1922
After some days, on this date, the bracket was removed, leaving the high table only. The table was moved a little towards the wall. Kamala came as usual, and leaning against the bare wall, standing in the same fashion, resting on the toes only, took the plate and ate the contents for five minutes. This was repeated for several days.
Exercise 9 June 6, 1922
On this day the table was taken away and the plate was hung from the ceiling at the same height from the ground against the wall as before, provided with the wall bracket again. Kamala came and found the difference. She rested on the bracket, but when she wanted to take hold of the plate, a little touch of the hand sent it away from her. Thus she failed to get hold of the plate as she had before. She slipped and went down a little, but did not fall. This showed that she had gained more strength in her legs to support the weight of the whole body. She repeated the attempt, and at last with some difficulty got the plate.
Exercise 10 June 18, 1922
After a few days, on the eighteenth of June, 1922, the bracket was removed and Kamala had to get the hanging plate by leaning against the bare wall. She failed to get the plate. The plate was left there all the time, and Kamala remained busy the whole day trying to tackle the plate, but failed every time. Sometimes when she missed the plate, she came down to the ground, dropping onto her hands.
Exercise 11
June 29, 1922
On this date I took Kamala, along with a kitten, into the open air. I took the kitten up and let her two front paws catch a branch, and let her go. She hung there from the branch, and Kamala watched the kitten from a distance. This I often repeated in her presence.
Kamala hanging from the tree
July 17, 1922
One day, on the seventeenth of July, 1922, during such an excursion, Kamala was seen trying to hang from a low branch which she could reach from the ground, standing on her knees. She caught hold of the
branch, and lifted her legs and tried to swing. She attempted this several times, but failed in her attempt to copy the kitten.
July 25, 1922
After some time, she was seen, on this date swinging in that fashion, like the kitten. She was touching the ground at times to gain fresh strength in thus swinging from the branch.
Exercise 12
Finding Kamala thus disposed to swing, we prepared a real swing for her and the babies. We hung two long ropes from the branch of a big tree with a slender plank as a seat, three inches broad and two feet long. At first Kamala did not like to be placed in it. We left her, and trained the babies little by little for some time in Kamala's presence. Kamala would be watching attentively from a distance, but would not come near or try the game herself. The seat of the swing was high up and the babies could not reach it. They had to be placed on it, and swung to and fro very slowly. Kamala watched, and the babies enjoyed swinging very much, after they got accustomed to it.
August 3, 1922
It was noticed at noon on this day when everyone was inside die house, that Kamala alone went out by herself to the swing. She was examining the swing carefully in her own way, standing on her knees and just reaching it with her outstretched arms. She did not try to get onto it, but pushed the swing to and fro, pulling it and not pushing it. In this activity she often fell on her hands, when the swing went away from her and she could not catch it. She did not get upon her knees till the swing stopped of itself.
Chapter XIII
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Mode of Eating
KAMALA and Amala's mode of eating was at first, that of animals. Here we shall see Kamala's progress in learning to eat like a human baby of her age.
August 5, 1922
At first, she used to lap everything, whether food or drink, on the ground. But now we found that she could stand on her knees and eat in that position till the plate was finished, using both her hands freely, raising them to her mouth. To remain in this position, she needed some support in front to lean against. Otherwise she could not stand on her knees for long, but having received a piece of food, she would go down on one hand.
August 6, 1922
