More than a child and more than childhood

For the children of the world; every single little boy and girl

Heaven plants a special seed; and we must have faith for these

Red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in the Father’s eyes

Like the Father may we see; that they have a destiny

And give them the light of love to lead; through the darkness around us now

To a place where hope is found…

-          Sims Grant Kirkpatrick

I always believed that my understanding of children started when I became the class teacher for grade 2 in a municipal school in Mumbai, but over the last five months and various visits to Sacred Heart Primary School I unlearned and relearned many notions I had built about children. Observing classes, interviewing children, spending time with them, walking into a slum, reading various theories, all taught me to look at a child’s life not only from an adult perspective but more from a child’s perspective. Over the course, my learning has been two way – one of a researcher trying to look at things from an objective lens and the other of an adult placed in children’s world, trying to understand their cognitive, emotional and social sides. While doing so there were two things that I came across repeatedly; one was the influence of adults, especially parents and teachers on children and second was the ever present overburdened childhood which had no space for creativity, leisure and exploration.

Reflecting on the influence adults, especially parents and teachers have on children, in my classroom observations, I realised how children did their best to get their teacher’s attention and felt ecstatic when they were praised. While interviewing them I stumbled on statements like “I liked my fifth grade class because my teacher was very nice”. When it came to parents, again children blindly follow what they are being told, be it something as trivial as the rules at home set by parents or something as major as career choices. It almost felt like children had blind faith in the adults who surrounded them. Family affect children’s lives and development and also different parenting behaviours impact children’s upbringing differently. The primary caregiver, i.e. the mother has a special role to play in children’s lives. She not only nurtures them but is also one of the constructors of their self-image and helps in development of emotions such as trust. It won’t be odd to say that what teachers and parents do is very much in line with Vygotsky’s idea of Zone of Proximal Development, where these adults hand hold the child to take them to a higher level of learning and understanding. But honestly, I have come to doubt as to how well are we adults playing this role. Are we letting children really be themselves or are we treating them to be similar to adults and develop an understanding of the world around them from what we can call an adults perspective. The question of child being an active or passive learner was challenged at every step of my practicum. On one hand, I saw children who were accepting of whatever they were told; on another there were a few who did question what they heard but in most cases their questions were not being taken seriously. I wonder what are we expecting from the children in today’s world, to act as children or become adults before their age, which then though would not be an expectation from today’s world but rather could be traced to the traditional concept of childhood given by Phillipe Aries.  And then we complain about them losing their innocence. Are we not responsible for what happens to children living in the same society as ours?    

During the visits to the school and even in my personal life I have noticed that we are pushing kids to become serious, but not giving them enough time and space to grow up at their own pace and enjoy their childhood. Here I can say that I can relate Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory where the child is placed at the centre and is impacted by different social agents at different levels. Then doesn’t everything from the language used by adults to how they treat children have an effect on the children’s mindsets. The adults except them to become better at studies, learning things, participating in activities which they might not really enjoy, pushing them to compete, but not give them free will to take decisions and make simple choices or something as minor as having leisure and playtime every day. How fair are we in deciding what is best for children and what isn’t. Why are we not helping in enhancing their creative sides but supressing it for letting them become experts in mere subjective knowledge. I also feel that it is important to change this situation by removing regimentation from schools. And save children from becoming products of and for the society.   

All this impacts the cognitive, social and emotional development of children. How they construe their identity is dependent on their environment, which includes the adults around them. Charles Cooley (1902) talks about children’s self-image through the concept of the looking-glass self, according to which the child’s self-image is developed by, how others view them. He suggests that the self-knowledge and self-esteem of children largely depend on the way others perceive and react to their behaviour.

Childhood is a special phase in everyone’s life; in fact we adults at times wish to go back and relive those days. Therefore, we need to accept children for who they are at present, rather than focussing on what they will become in future, by constantly planning for them and wanting them to become like us.  

Children and Childhood

“Children are economically worthless but emotionally priceless.” - Zelizer, 1988

According to UNCRC, a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989). This period of eighteen years called childhood is divided into different phases - early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence or early childhood, adolescence and late adolescence. It is divided differently by different psychologists. John Locke (1690/1913) explained that the child is tabula rasa, a blank slate. I believe he was right in saying this to a certain extent as it is we adults who direct the course of children’s lives.

My first step to seeing a child’s world closely was taken two years back when I started teaching 72 children in a government school. My students came from low income backgrounds and lived in a slum. From a teacher’s perspective, all that mattered to me was that my students should learn, grow and become responsible citizens of this country. Even though I had been to all their homes, I focussed on what went inside the classroom more and tried making it their second home. This time during the practicum visits, when I stepped into the classroom as well as the slum community, I tried looking at things from a third person’s perspective – not as a child, a teacher or a parent. My notions about schooling as well as childhood were questioned once again.

When I saw the kids in classroom blindly following and obeying the teacher, I was pushed to think are children really dependent, ignorant beings subordinated by adults. Or contradictory to what Piaget said play a passive not active role in their learning. Are they really the products and producers of their own development? I also saw how the appreciation of an adult, i.e. the teacher really gave the children a sense of achievement on one hand but on the other shaped their thinking about themselves. For example, the students in the school I visited had to attend extra classes incase they did not finish work. Students who attended these extra classes were called “dull”, by their classmates. Children do not build these notions about themselves, it is we adults who shape these for them. And if this is what education is doing by labelling them, then what are the aims of such an education? If school is a place for learning and growing, is providing midday meals, free uniforms and books, sufficient for carrying this out?

My mind was put through a bigger mayhem when I stepped into the slum. From basic sanitation issues to domestic violence, children here had seen it all at a very young age. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1762/1955) saw the child as a “noble savage”, basically good but ruined by the adult world. This statement holds true for a certain Jailaxmi who sees her alcoholic grandfather beat her grandmother everyday. There are more children like her who deal with many intrinsic and extrinsic issues of health, malnutrition, gender bias, lack of schooling, etc. throughout their so called childhood. We talk of ‘Child Rights’ – Right to survival, Right to protection, Right to participation and Right to development. But do these rights also exist for children living in an unauthorised slum area? If yes, then who is responsible for ensuring the fulfilment of these rights?

Looking at all these situations from the perspective of Urie Bronfennberner’s (1994) theory of bioecological systems based on process-person-context-time (PPCT), I now understand that it is needed to consider the entire ecological system of a child to know how his/her development gets impacted. Their microsystems including their parents and teachers help them form opinions about themselves and the world. It is said that they are the mirrors of their parents’ ambitions, and that is why another child Zeeniya wants to become a teacher since her mother says so. The religion they follow, the school they go to, the care they receive from the adults around them, all form their mesosystem and have a similar effect on their biological growth and building their mindsets. But for those living in poverty, this impact is much more.  Poor children are believed to be more vulnerable as they are abused, exploited and neglected by the world around them. In the long standing debate of heredity versus environment, they end up losing at both ends, as there doesn’t seem to be an escape for them from poverty.

For the longest time that I can remember, I had always believed that childhood was the most simplified period of one’s life, but after a visit to a school and a slum, I feel that it is instead a complex and complicated period. Everytime I thought of the word childhood, the only links that came to my mind were play, fun, imagination, creativity and carefree. But I have now begun to question that is childhood really about these five words or different children experience childhood differently? Is there actually a concept of childhood for the children living in poverty or is it an experience for the children of the rich only? For a child who lives in marginalised conditions, goes to a government school, does the future really hold hope? Or they have a short term orientation to future? (Sonali Nag) And what about children out of school or do not have access to education or other resources due to stratification of society?

With all these questions in my mind, I feel that my understanding of children and childhood is blurred and it cannot become concrete till I have a complete view of what all goes into constructing childhood.  

Just another slum?

This week’s visit to a slum helped me look at the life of a child and the other people residing there from a different angle. Even though this wasn’t a new experience as I have worked in a slum for some time but I tried looking at it from a more objective lens than an emotional one.

A slum as defined by the dictionary is ‘a heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor’. The image that comes to our mind when we think of a slum includes dingy houses, issues relating to sanitation, water, crime, illiteracy, poverty, etc. And this was true of the KS Garden slum that we visited. This slum like all others is built on encroached land of about 3.5 acres owned by a certain Kader Sharif and hence the name KS Garden slum. The land has been under his family for about a century and has been passed on generation to generation. The slum-dwellers have also been living here for a very long time with now their third generations growing up here. There are about 1200 families residing in the area but the census data states 800. The area is not visible unless one walks into the backside of Double Road in Lal Bagh.

The families are mostly Tamilian Hindus who are now converting to Christanity. Women primarily work as domestic helpers and the men as wage labourers. A few of them also work in the government sector. The community celebrates festivals such Ganesh Chaturthi by collecting donations from all the members. While on one side Ambedkar’s statue is set-up right where the slum begins as he is the symbol for rights for low communities, on another side, the Dalit community residing here is a huge vote bank for electoral parties.

Out of the many issues that the residents live with, the biggest one is of getting evicted as they do not hold any possession certificate for the land they are living on. One of the many things about KS Garden that disturbed as well were the fact that there were no toilets in the houses and there were only 20 community toilets catering to such a huge population. Besides this, there is a typical water shortage problem with the hand pumps drying up and a borewell supplying water. Also, there were no NGOs working in the slum to support the dwellers in any way. Earlier on there were a few NGOs such as Vimochana, etc. but they were there to only collect data or provide monetary help instead of conducting any concrete welfare work. Though there is presence of Self-Help Groups started by women. Education does not seem to be a major concern with presence of many private and government schools in the vicinity and we also heard the children speak in fluent English.

While interacting with Mr.Manohar, I heard that even if the residents are given a chance to move out of the slum, they’d rather stay here. But while interacting with a woman there, I heard the opposite. She was a mother of a 4 year old girl and wanted to move out to give her daughter a better life. She was learning English along with her daughter to support her, had taken up domestic work to match her child’s school hours and hoped that her child will get all the opportunities that children from affluent backgrounds get. What surprised was that she did not believe in the concept of religion but did believe in righteousness. This made her an outcast and she was being forced to convert to Christanity by her relatives. On being asked how this belief system of hers developed, she replied that she was working for a long time at a teacher’s house.

I also got the opportunity to speak to a ten year old girl who walked me around the slum. This little child lived with her grandparents and mother, as her father had passed away. Her grandfather was a drunkard and there were constant fights between him and her grandmother. Her mother worked to support the family. When I asked what did she prefer being at home or in school, she answered the latter. What she didn’t like about the area she lived in was lack of a place to play as she and her friends had to play on the road.

Walking around and meeting these few residents of the slum, made me think of a lot of things. I’m unsure as to who should take the responsibility of providing a better life to these individuals – the government, NGOs or the people themselves? Is there a better future for them? Is there something I as an individual can do to make their life better? Do the children living in slums really experience childhood or dealing with so many harsh realities snatches away the golden period of their lives? How does their environment (micro-, meso-, exo-systems) impact their self-belief and gives them hope to fight and continue with their education?

While Sonali Nag’s study on children living in poverty gave me an insight into their psychology, but interacting with the children made me realise there is hope and light at the end of tunnel but a lot is needed to be done.

Looking from a new perspective (Part 2)

The first week of observation helped me have a third person’s view of the school, and the interviews this week helped get a closer look into the lives of the people, who are part of the school, especially the students. I even got the opportunity to meet the Principal this time and understand her perspective towards education and the school. The school was started about fifty years ago with the aim of educating the girl child as in those days the emphasis was more on educating boys and the women were expected to only take care of the house and not step out to work or attain education. The government pays for most of the facilities provided at the school but, the students still need to pay a nominal fee. Many students are provided free education, mainly those of the workers of the school, and are also provided financial assistance for higher studies once they leave the school. The school includes a hostel, which provides shelter to the children of prisoners. All these things made me look at the school in a new light and realize what a great objective the school was functioning with and this belief is seen across the school, where all students, no matter from what background, are treated alike.

Last week I had observed three children. This time I got the opportunity to speak to two of them.  Interviewing these children helped me connect better with them and know them closely. The two kids come from very different backgrounds and this affects their outlook towards what they do in class. A typical day in the first child’s life starts at 7:00am with getting ready for school with the help of both her parents. School starts at 8.30am and finishes at 3pm, after which she walks home with her friends, eats lunch and goes out to play. A few hours of homework, dinner at 8:00pm along with TV time and then sleep. This daily routine is in sync with the timing of her parents’ work and shows how the exosystem affects her life. This phase of her life also shows that she is dependent on her parents for a lot of things, for e.g. her father drops her to school, mother helps with homework, etc. A strong family support system makes the child confident and this can be seen by the fact that she can approach her mother incase she’s facing any personal difficulties in school. She is the only child and has individual aspirations of becoming a doctor when she grows up and knows that working hard is the only way of achieving it.

Along with family, peers and teachers, i.e. the microsystem of the child, also advance their emotional and cognitive development. Even though the child joined the school about a year and a half ago, she has adjusted well with her classmates and has made many friends. She is the bench leader and is approached by her bench-mates incase of any difficulty, be it academic or otherwise. She has a best friend who supports her in many ways. This has built the child’s assurance in approaching the teachers and not being too scared of them. Behavior of other students, like a child bullying another, has sensitized this child and made her aware of what sort of behavior is acceptable and what is not.

What surprised me was that the child didn’t know what fairies, angels or genies meant. Maybe there is too much emphasis on the academics and the imaginative side of the child is not being explored enough by the curriculum being followed in school. This made me think of all the schools that are following alternative forms of education and how beneficial is this type of learning versus the alternative methods, which give space for creativity. 

The second child, who seemed lost in class last week, was in the same situation this week too. When I spoke to her I found out that she spoke Hindi and did not know Kannada as well as her classmates. She had been in the school since first standard but had not picked up the language even though her father helped her with it at home. She mentioned that her teacher was unaware of the fact that she didn’t understand what was being taught and the child was scared to approach the teacher in the fear that she might get beaten.  She tried avoiding the teacher’s eyes and kept looking into other people’s books. She also did not have any friends in class.  I felt that maybe these two factors majorly affected her learning in classroom, as there was lack of sufficient support. Back home, this child lives with a joint family with uncles, aunts, cousins, her parents and a brother. Therefore, she seems to lack the attention she needs from her parents and was unaware of many details that the first child knew and was confident in expressing. 

I now understand how different environments and social connections affect children differently leading to varying developmental outcomes. These children come from similar economic but different religious and social backgrounds. This impacts their meso and microsystems and ultimately the child’s growth and mindsets.

Looking from a new perspective

As part of my course work we visit schools every week and reflect on them...Here is one such reflection...

SHP School is part of SH Institutions which also includes a PU college. The school is meant for girls only and is divided into primary (I – VI) and secondary (VII – X) sections. Each standard in the primary level has two sections (A & B) with about 60-65 students in each. The school has fine developed infrastructure with well-ventilated classrooms, proper benches for almost all students, clean washrooms, staffroom along with a computer room, language room for senior students, sports room, a big ground for sports activities, black and green boards as well as electronic boards and projectors. These classrooms are supported by new  technological equipment. Even with the availability of all these things, the teachers seem to be more comfortable in using the old chalk and board methods.

The classroom I went to did not have a teacher for most of the day, so the observation was conducted during Kannada classes. I observed 3 children today. Sheetal seemed a bright child who was completely engrossed in her work. She also took initiative in finding out whether the class was allowed to go for sports or not. The second student was Zeenie. Zeenie was labeled as the “Hindi girl” by her fellow classmates as she was the only one able to communicate in Hindi. She sat in the adjacent direction instead of facing the blackboard and was constantly biting her lips, looking into the notebooks of other students, fiddling with her book and pens, and copying whatever was written on the blackboard without participating in the class at all. 

Tisha was the 3^rd student I observed, who sat on the front bench and was extremely helpful to everyone around her, whether it was her teacher who asked for chalk, a classmate who asked for pencil and even towards me when asked for more details about the class. The school holds remedial classes for students who need extra support and Tisha is one of them. But she and many of her classmates perceive that they are “dull students” and so have to attend these extra classes after school hours. Moreover, I got the opportunity to teach the students a few general knowledge things. This also helped me understand that school had a lot of focus on rote learning rather than concept building.

After the first visit to the school, I realized that the principal of the school is very supportive towards her staff. The school might also be promoting Christianity as there was the Holy Cross in some classrooms. Speaking in English is a golden rule in every class and the oral communication of most kids was fluent. What I feel is needed in the school is training of teachers especially in English as it is the medium of instruction. Moreover, I felt the students had “mugged-up” information and were not very clear in their understanding of certain concepts in science. When asked why certain kids were unaware, a student answered that those students do not pay attention in class; therefore, the students blame themselves for their learning and not their guide – the teacher. The school also does not maintain the ratio of 1:30 for teacher and students probably due to lack of teachers as well as space constraints. The classrooms were also not sufficient for 60 students and hence few students ended up sitting on the floor.

Being a teacher and after seeing this today in the class, I realized that appreciation from the teacher is a big motivation for the students. When the teacher pulled a child’s cheeks or said ‘good’ while checking their work, the students felt a sense of accomplishment.

Today’s observation made me think about the foundation of our education system which is dependent on teachers. They are the ones who nurture young minds and without basic support such as training they might not be able to carry out their job well. If one teacher deals with a thousand students in her lifetime, she has the power of moulding these mindsets in the right direction. Therefore, I feel training teachers and also helping them become tech-savvy, building concepts for children and acknowledging their hardwork can go a long way in making things better for schools such as SH.

P.S. Names changed to protect identity.

Language – divides, binds and rules

Statutory Warning - This piece in no way is trying to show one language below another but is an attempt to show how important is the role of language in our daily lives.

Believe me I am a proud citizen of this country called India and have always respected its diversity but off late this diversity has become a little overbearing for me. Here I am out on a field visit with a groups of classmates from different parts of southern India and almost at every step I realise the division between us which is nothing but language based. On the very onset of this journey I realised what language does…it divides! We are a group of 7, out of which 3 of us belong to northern India and the rest to the southern. It just wasn’t the fact that I couldn’t get some of the jokes my friends from south cracked to due to language issue, it was also the anguish my northie classmate faced when the bus we were traveling in had a Telugu movie being screened. The poor girl had to get up at 2 am and shout at the conductor as hearing loudly an absolutely different language gave her a headache. The same person couldn’t control her happiness when she saw our hotel room had a television. I’m still not sure what she was happy about – having a TV after 2 months or being able to hear things in a language she knew. I’m guessing at a subconsciously level it was the latter.

Language also binds as I saw a colleague of mine bond with the teachers, students and staff in the Telugu medium school we visited, while me and another friend gapped at everyone’s faces unable to ask or answer questions. I always thought it was about being from the same gender that men got along with each other and so did women (well almost), but this time I could bet that it wasn’t just gender that my dear friends from south shared but it was also the language and regional connections. While watching the popular show – Kaun Banega Crorepati, I also heard a southie friend complain that he felt no matter how educated he was, he wouldn’t be able to participate in the show. On being asked why he felt so, his simple reply was - it was meant for north Indians as there were questions relating to Hindi language. I wish Mr.Amitabh Bachchan could answer that because seriously I didn’t know what to say!

The one thing that is connecting us so far is not just being students of the same university but also a language – English! I hate to say this but the British are still ruling us! Well believe me if it weren’t for English I would’ve been at a loss of words for communicating with my colleagues.

So, yes we are one nation one country but then again we are divided due to language, binded because of it and ruled by it!

http://blog.prathambooks.org/2012/03/pratham-books-champion-ritika-chawla.html

Theories of Love

So in my 25 years of life, I have met people from all sort of backgrounds and fields....but somethings, some behaviours are common among most of them....based on them are a few theories of love:

1. Board Exam Theory: So when you were in 10th standard and about 10 days before the fate deciding exam, did you ask someone out? or maybe got asked out? Well that's the board exam theory....Stress pushes people to seek for someone who can become their comfort zone...So people end up asking anyone they find even remotely accessible or who would make time for them...

2. New Love Theory: So its been 3 years you have been dating....has your relationship become boring? Have you run out of things to talk about? Are you taking each other for granted? Or if nothing else, there is distance that has suddenly come between the 2 of you? Well that's a green signal for finding new love or rather falling for someone who brings back the romance in your life....Any person who once had a crush on you and is now trying to make you feel special can easily sweep you off.....Most people might disagree but believe me its because its hard to resist and if you overcome it then you can happily keep your old (almost dead) relationship....

3. The Guilt Theory: So now that new love has stepped in and there is no valid reason for ending your last relationship because it wasn't abusive or you weren't being used nor have your parents found a suitable match for you, you have to break-up...let me be more curt here, you have to dump the person! And well when you do that obviously there is a lil' guilt coz there weren't any reasons right? I mean if your bf/gf doesn't send you flowers and chocolates all the time that really isn't a reason to break-up....but well that's difficult to explain...so after you've broken someone's heart and they're feeling miserable, you ought to feel the same even though very lil as you have new love to pacify you......so the guilt theory....Trust me you did the right thing, you didn't deserve the person you broke up with....

4. The Break-Up Theory: Nope, this one isn't really about love...But just a minor calculation to mathematically help you know how soon will you get over someone.....So here's the formula: Number of months you dated someone = Number of weeks you will take to get over them....For example, when a friend of mine broke up after 3 years (36 months of relationship) she took 9 months to get over it all....well this law has an expection, read the new love theory above!

If you don't agree with any of the above, that's fine, afterall its just what i feel and you need not comply.....if you have found any expections, let me know:)

When an 11 year old taught me a lesson for life.....

Nope.This story isn’t Taare Zameen Par Part 2. Nor is it about a teacher’s absolute belief in a student. This story is about a young boy named Waqar and his failed teacher. When Waqar entered Class 2B at MHB Municipal School for the first time, he was like any other child. Just that he was 2 years elder to almost his classmates and was the tallest. When his teacher conducted an exam to know what grade level was he on (as most kids in his class were atleast 2 grade levels behind, that means in grade 2 they only had the knowledge of a KG student), she found that like most other students he too was 2.5 grade levels behind. His teacher was all enthusiastic when she started teaching and wasn’t going to give up so soon. She started extra classes for students who needed extra help. Every morning, ten students from Waqar’s class including him came as hour early to school and sat in a corner of the dilapidated school building on a half torn mat for learning phonics and basic math. Weeks passed but Waqar barely showed any progress. When his teacher met his grandmother, she found that when he was an infant, he had fallen off from somewhere and hurt his head. Since then his comprehension had become slow as compared to other kids and he often forgot things.


A year after she had heard the story, Waqar’s teacher had forgotten all about it. His behaviour in class had become intolerable for her as she felt he was being lazy and purposely didn’t pay attention. He would return his worksheets incomplete and most times his exam papers were blank. He was lost, he was daydreaming all the time, etc. Etc. The list of complaints also reached his grandparents during a house visit made by his teacher. She found out that he didn’t live with his parents and was devoid of their love and care. He had two real younger brothers but his only interaction with them was in school alone. So many reasons could be triggering his behaviour, but nothing fitted well into the jigsaw his teacher was trying to solve and had given up completely.

But things changed....One day during the science lesson, the students were watching an experiment. Just to test the knowledge of the kids and their observational power, the teacher asked a question. After six people had given a wrong answer, in expectation of a seventh wrong one, the teacher gave Waqar a chance to speak. To the teacher’s surprise, he gave the correct answer. This shifted the teacher’s mindset so much that she gave Waqar a chance to contribute in every science class. More often than not his answers were correct. And the teacher realised he had an aptitude for science. Waqar’s wonder list wasn’t restricted to science. One morning during the ‘Talktime’ in class, he spoke about the field trip to Boriwali National Park. When the most “intelligent” kids could barely speak for 30 seconds without stopping or stammering, Waqar spoke non-stop for two minutes about what he had seen and learnt. The teacher literally had tears of happiness in her eyes. She felt sorry for not believing in him. She felt horrible for not having hope for a student in her class.

That teacher learnt the biggest lesson on hope and belief from an 11 year old. That teacher is me. I, Ritika Didi, as Waqar calls me, gave up on him, long before I even started trying. I failed. As a teacher. As someone whom Waqar believed in. But he reinstated my belief.

Yes, Waqar still submits blank papers and except science lessons, he is lost in class. But its not his fault. He suffers from dyslexia. But I know one day, some day, he will overcome it and make a lot of people realise his true potential...as of now he is enacting the part of scientist in the class’ end of year showcase.....I will miss him when I leave the school a month from now......

That day I learnt what rain was....

I sat at home watching it fill around me… it was water…just water. But for me it was different.




I, Sameera Javed, live in the Ambujwadi area in Malad (West). You don’t know me, you may not even have heard of the area I live in. It’s a slum, you know, hidden behind a huge MHADA complex in Malwani. Each year, when it rains in Mumbai, the area around my house gets waterlogged. It is difficult for a 3.5 ft person like me to get to school. My parents don’t let me go. What if I drown? Or I slip and fall in a ditch? They would lose me forever.



Every morning when it starts pouring, I try and get ready fast so I can walk down before too many puddles fill in for me to jump over. I don’t have an umbrella. Just a partly torn raincoat, which I got from my school last year. This year’s new raincoat will come in August hopefully. I walk down a kilometre to the school. Yes it’s raining. Yes it’s pouring down heavily. But I know I need to get to school. After all Didi promised that whoever has full attendance will get to go to the school trip at the end of the month. I smile at the thought of it. Even before I know it, I reach the school gate and realize my hair is wet.



I woke up to the sound of the rain this morning… it was raining cats and dogs… I didn’t want to leave the comfort of my dry home, but I start getting ready for school…



I, Ritika Chawla or Ritika Didi as my kids call me, teach in a municipal school, situated at gate no. 8 of Malwani in Malad (West). You would’ve heard of this area if you read the Mumbai Mirror, as almost every week there is news of a murder or some crime occurring in this area. Each year when it rains, my school gets flooded. The backyard turns into quicksand. The kids don’t have a place to play. There is at least two feet of water in the school building, leaving no place for my class to sit. Well, their benches are just one foot from the floor. To make matters worse, the school toilets get flooded, with human excreta flowing in the corridors.



Today, I step out of my building, safely under my umbrella and start looking for an auto. After almost 20 minutes of wait and 10 autorickshaws refusing to go to that area, I convince one. The traffic gets worse by the second. I finally reach school and I am still a little dry. As soon as I step into the building I am met by a warm smile. It is Sameera, a 7-year old little girl from my class, who stands in front of me, wet from tip to toe, yet smiling. Despite all odds set by the rain, she has made it to school one more day….

Punblished in Teacher Plus Magazine (August 2011)

Find Yourself

This story has been published in Chicken Soup for Indian Singles' Soul...

Born in a typical Indian Punjabi family and being a girl, I was always treated like a princess. I was the eldest kid in my generation and my parent’s first child. Hence, I was adored by all the members of my family. When I say princess, I mean I had every possible toy, type of clothing, books, music, etc. anything that one could want in my cupboard! Life was awesome for me but this is what pushed me more towards struggle. Since everything came so easily to me I started searching for struggle intentionally. Weird as it may sound but I have purposely given up on a lot of things in my life to lead a little less comfortable life.


In a ideal world (as per my parents), their daughter, I mean me, should have had this kind of life: Graduate at the age of 21, postgraduate at the age of 23, working by 23.5 years and married by 24 with first child by the age of 25. But here I am, at 24, I am done with my grad, postgrad, worked with 2 firms, have had a series of relationships and break-ups, and now I am working with an NGO. Leaving my amazingly high paying and less strenuous job in an AC office, I teach 70 kids in a dilapidating municipal school building. I work with and for one of India’s education movements and feel proud to say that I am the class teacher of grade 2 in a municipal school based in Mumbai.

I completed my graduation from one of India’s best colleges and started working with a corporate firm in Delhi. When I couldn’t handle the pressure of politics at work, I called it quits. I started working with another company soon after I left the first. As I loved challenges, I started studying for a distance learning course, preparing for my MBA, volunteering with an NGO and interning with another over weekends, while working fulltime as a research analyst. I had packed my life with all the things that could make my resume look great!

Life for me was very convenient but I chose struggle. I did not choose struggle to get away from a typical life that my parents had planned but to find myself. When I was working in a plush office and getting a hefty salary, I was happy as I could afford every luxury in the world. But what I am getting now is immeasurable. No feeling in the world can be compared to what I get when I see my class progress. The kids in my class come from small communities and slums around the school. Everyone of them has a story to tell. Whether it is Devi, whose father is a drunkard and beats up her mother, or Faiyan, whose father left his mother while she was pregnant. Seven year old Zeenat’s mother is my age! Sameera’s father stays away from the family in a different state to earn livelihood and Dilshaad and Raza’s fathers don’t have jobs, pushing their kids to get into labour work at the age of 6! Yes, these are the stories I struggle with everyday. These kids are my life. They have helped me discover a new side to life.

When I try to teach something in class and my lesson doesn’t go well or my class is in no mood to study or they are restless, I feel I failed. At such points, I do feel maybe I didn’t make all that right a decision but then I look back on how much my kids made me smile that day and I feel it’s all worth it. Everytime I think of my life now, I remember the slogan for Mastercard – “There are somethings money can’t buy”. It is true that for some people, they find true bliss while doing corporate jobs or working with the government. For others it is going to an MBA institute of their choice and their profession helps them to find happiness in life. But I am still trying to find myself.....

It was never easy for me to give up on my family and friends and move cities to do what I am doing, but I feel if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have done this either. Sometimes I wonder if I wasn’t here, I would either be doing another masters or would’ve been married or atleast engaged to be married soon. I am not sure if I would’ve been happy had I not taken up this chance to do things differently in life as planned by others.

On days like these when I think of how things could’ve been and how they are, I always listen to the song by Brad Paisley– “When you find yourself, in some far off place...And it causes you to rethink somethings, you start to sense that slowly you’re becoming someone else...And then you find yourself...”

Something they call training...

Is the system corrupt and badly managed to the extent that change is impossible or an extremely far-fetched dream that might never turn into reality? I was recently at a BMC teacher training for CCE, a training that can change the marking system and the lives of all kids studying in BMC schools....a training I thought was important and reached punctually at 8 am and it finally started at 9.....A training where I saw most teachers picnicking and gossiping or flipping through magazines......wasting time which is meant for their students...a training where everyone sat and ate ....and the trainer asked them to entertain everyone present by reciting poetry or singing a song...Here are the exact words - "Agar aap sab thoda discussion karenge toh sabka timepass hoga..."

Day 2 of the training: Have you ever cheated in an exam? All my life I chose to walk on the path of honesty but for once I'm not sure if this is even a matter of honesty....Once the training is over the teachers are handed a paper to check how much they have understood...The catch is that the exam is in Marathi! For the first time I felt mentally handicapped....now I know what alot of my kids feel when I give them a paper with topics they dont know or words they cant read....With teachers from Telugu and Tamil medium schools, how can the exam be in Marathi? Mr. Thackarey would you like it if you were asked to answer a question in Kannada or Punjabi?

And I am back to where I started from....

Before I start off with whats been up with me, I really want to apologise to all those who are pissed with me for not being in touch. I really have no excuses to give you since I don’t know why I haven’t been in touch myself...I guess school and work took a toll on me and Iv just been struggling with that....So before anyone of you freaks out I just want to say that I will be in Pune till 11th June and Bangalore soon after and then Delhi...so all my friends in these 3 cities please take time out and let me know when can we catchup....cant wait to see you all....:)

The last time I wrote was in February and these last 2 n half months have been so hectic that I havnt had the time to breathe....with school about to go in for vacations, exams, results, my co-teacher leaving, some kids leaving the school, this trip and that trip, friends visiting Mumbai and all that these two n half months have been full...of excitement, nervousness, work, happy moments and sad moments.....

Half way thru February, I took my class for a 3-d movie – Alpha and Omega, I am not sure if the kids enjoyed the movie cos some of them dozed off, but i am sure that stepping into a hall was extremely exciting for them and so was the bus trip...The biggest challenge of that trip was taking the kids to the washroom! Its another thing for us but for kids who have never seen a WC or a flush it was weird to use it....my volunteers I am sure realised that it wasn’t easy to handle them....but even though the kids were in a strange zone they were well behaved and did not cause any trouble

The month of March went in preparing for 2 things – End of Year exams and the Showcase....while we were struggling to ensure that we push the kids to do well in Math and English on one hand, we also made them practice songs, speeches for their Showcase (A showcase is a presentation of all that the kids have learnt over a year)....my lower order (weak students) struggled with practicing Math but ask them to sing the song “This is the way we brush our teeth” and they would jump to action

They did bomb their exams but I feel its more of my failure and not theirs as I havnt been a great teacher. Though individually most of them did very well in Math (I was primarily teaching Math and my co-teacher taught English) but we were unable to meet the class goal in Math. The good bit was they did meet the English goal. I am not concerned about the class goal honestly what bothers me today is that I haven’t been able to reach out to a silent Vikas, to a lost Sana and to a most-of-the-time-absent Mahek Fatima.

So next year I hope things will get better....

The last couple of days were fun....Namita and I took some kids to the beach one day and to hypercity on another..they even had a chance to go to the local fire station....and they did pot painting...I have never seen Ubed do anything with so much concentration! He cant sit straight for more than 5 seconds and here he was trying to beautify a mud pot with paints! On the last day we had a class party which ended on a sentimental note...it was my co-teacher’s last day in school...she hugged and bid farewell to the kids...I was teary-eyed but she just smiled

 

School ended with loads of admin work...i literally had to make the result sheet for 76 kids 3 times!! Along with their report cards...so if I didn’t take someone’s calls now you know why...

On 16th May, the first batch of TFI fellows graduated leaving us with the burden they had carried these last 2 years....on 17th May, my batch had our End of Year summit, where I found out that my class had grown 1.5 years in one year in Reading Fluency (number of words they can read per minute)! This just made me realise that having a Big goal is not just inspirational but as well as aspirational...

As soon as school ended I landed in Pune for Institute...and so a year later I was back to be a part of the Institute madness like last year...the difference is then I was a new fellow wanting to learn...this year I was an old fellow passing gyaan and trying to make people’s life easier....

More institute news in the next update!Till then loads of love

The Void

With Valentines Day gone by, and having so many single friends....each day I see more and more people dealing with the feeling called VOID.....

Nah its not a bad thing....its a feeling where you feel lonely and wish you had someone there...when you wana go back home to someone....when you wana share your happy and sad moments with someone...

Till the time you are a kid, you are unaware of this....when you are a teenager, you have too much on your mind and dont have to deal with it....its when you are in the quarter bit of your life you realise it exists....most people dont even realise or avoid thinking about it as they feel its a temporary phase after a break-up or being single for a long time...so they try to fill it up...some find people to fill it up with, others fill it with work or too many things to do....if nothing else some fill it up with materialistic things they enjoy or achievements in different fields...

The truth is the void has always and will always exist.....no amount of promotions, or cars or houses, gfs or bfs, or jst frnds can cover it up....The void is like an empty box which doesnt have a bottom...when you fill it with anything it wont stay cos the box will let it fall out.....

The good bit about the void is that it lets you detach easily and keeps your expectations low....

Here's how you can deal with the void...accept it...live with it....there is no guarantee that when you will have that person whom you can go home to, the void will vanish.....or when you become a successful person things will get better....cos the void will stay....and let it....

Phew! January over! February half way thru!

If there is something known as overtime I felt I had crossed the limits last month!

I was busy with something or the other on Sundays too! The highlights of the last month were the Synergry Conference, a training, visit to Pune twice, walk into Sanjay Gandhi National Park...and a few more....

So January was a busy month...and I knew it the minute it started! I spent my New Year's Eve with a friend from TFI at the terrace building watching fire crackers! I slept at 4 and was up at 7am for some work! Someone once told me that the way you spend your first day, your entire year goes the same way...i don't know about before but now Im beginning to believe it! After finshing work I traveled to Pune to meet friends and the college alumni meet....iv set a record of being in Pune every year on the 1st of January for the past 6 years now! I hope this continues....the meet was fun with my batch having the highest turn out (there were 10 of us after all!)....the embarrasing bit was when I had to dance with a junior on "Tujhe dekha to ye jana sanam" on the stage!

The week after that was super exciting! Teach for India hosted the Teach for All - Synergy Conference...for those who didnt know, there are 18 countries that have similar organisations as TFI such as Teach First UK, Teach for America, Teach First Estonia, Teach for Malaysia...and believe it or not there is also Teach for Pakistan....

My school had four visitors...fellows who teach with Teach for Australia, Teach First UK, Teach for Israel and Teach First Germany....when I took them on a round of the school, the Urdu medium kids were just leaving...they met the visitors and started taking their autograph...they thought that Geoff (fellow, Teach for Australia) was a cricketer! Not only that, some of them asked me if Karen (Teach for Israel) was Pamela Anderson, whom they has seen on Bigg Boss! When I told Karen this her reaction was "Pamela Anderson, me? from where?"

It was an amazing week! I heard crazy facts like Estonia has 500 dropouts every year and thats about it! In a country like Israel, teaching is not a very respected profession! The conference also made me realise that there are 1000s of people working for the same cause as I am and everyone is facing similar situations and dealing with it. That I am not along in this.....

The weekend Synergy got over, I traveled to Pune again for another TFI event.....I guess I was just looking for an excuse to get to Pune again...

The entire week after that went in school and community visits....I used to find it weird when old people would tell me how they had to walk 40mins to get to school....i dont find that unbelieveable anymore....alot of my kids do that...when i would hear people would study sitting under a lamp post, it used to amaze me...not anymore, i mean what are u supposed to do when there is no electricity....i guess nothing has really changed in all these decades.....

The next weekend I participated in the Dream Run (Mumbai Marathon)....so I walked 6+ kms (believe me  there was no place to run!).....when everyone returned home tired post the run, I was out at a book fair, and set another record of calling 100 TFI applicants in 3 hours! I actually felt I was on some energy drug!

Not to put an end to the fun bit...I went to watch Vagina Monologues the next weekend.....had dinner at a rooftop restaurant and asked a tarot card reader silly questions....i dont believe in astrology, etc. but i guess its fun at times...i was actually confused cos TFI wants me to move to Delhi, but I dint kno if I shuld...not that the tarot reader would've helped but i just wanted someone to put an end to my confusion....

So my working weekends dint end and I ended up going to the TFI board meeting.....heard about top-level stuff and met people such as the Dean of ISB, Hyderabad, Anu Aga (Thermax Industries Head), etc.
The next morning I was out for a nature trail at Sanjay Gandhi National Park....ok....im not elaborating on that one....

January did finally end but funfilled weekends didn't!

The first Saturday of Feb, my kids got stationery sets from someone in Singapore...an client of an acquintance sent it....how networks with people work! it truly amazes me! Post that I took 4 kids to Inorbit for playing video games....Cant describe how happy they were....

My bday weekend finally arrived...not like I was looking forward to any celebration..but thats one day when I hear from people I havnt spoken to in ages! And it makes me thankful for having so many friends that my phone doesnt stop ringing even at 3am! I cut a cake at Marine Drive! roamed at Kala ghoda festival...had dinner with friends...the kids sang for me....When your bday cards are letters from kids saying "Sameera love Ritika Didi; Didi love icecream"...and your gifts are roses from kids or their moms...you know you have become old.....:)

Signing off!

Thank you everyone for your wishes and for supporting me in every way you could this past one year:)

Some major..some minor..moments

I haven’t written in a long time....was just busy and at times keeping myslf busy...over the last 1.5 months or so alot has happened...moments where I felt lost..moments where i felt i cant take somethings anymore..moments where i felt proud...moments i felt strong....moments where i felt vulnerable....so here are snippets describing those moments....


What if....???The most painful moment last month was when Kaif in my class fell sick...one day, while my co-teacher was taking the lesson, i saw Kaif crying and took him out of class...he said there was some insect coming out of his body...and it turned out to be true...a 6 inch long red coloured worm came out of his body...tht was the first time i felt scared and panicked...wht if it had been somethn major?wht if i hd lost the child? Iv never felt such an emotion before...somethn i cant expln......thankfully kaif is all fine...

A night in the slum...Have u heard of dharavi? The biggest slum in Asia? Well not only have i heard of it and seen it..i have lived there for 2 days! In order to figure out what my community project should be for next yr i attended a workshop called empower india conducted by 2009 fellow at TFI. The workshop was held at a school in Dharavi and I had to stay there during a weekend. I really don’t understand why is it the biggest slum? I actually saw apartment buildings there! I mean i seen worse conditions around my school! Anyway, now i can say iv stayed day and night in school!

The fun moment...the most fun time in school were the last 2 days before the winter break...we had an art competition for all the classes – the theme was “Christmas”.....the kids sat in the corridors on mats and drew and coloured....it was great to jst watch them go all out and let their creativity flow...the winners were announced next day at the Christmas assembly...this was the first intra-class art competition! Sameer Shaikh from my class won in class 2:)

And now about the highlight at the end of every 6 weeks that my kids look forward to – the Parent-Teacher meeting! This wasn’t a usual one...we had had a Christmas party just before the meeting! The kids came all dressed up! The funny thing was they all called Santa Claus as Jingle Bell! Hardly any kid from class 1 to 7 knew that it was Santa Claus! They all called it Jingle Bell! My class was decorated...and we got plum cake, juice and chips for everyone!

The PTM wasn’t a crying scenario this time..but the winners were absolute surprise! Kids who never thought could do so well actually won! Some of them had moved from 30% to 80% in math! Sameer Firoz’s expression actually shows he wasn’t expecting this! Unfortunately his parents weren’t there....the only thing he said to me when i congratulated him was his parents didn’t come...i was unable to say anythn....

And then we broke for Winter break....

Believe me i havnt slpt as much as i did during these vacations! A frnd of mine can vouch for tht!

Thats why this email is coming late to everyone! Besides I thought of keeping it short...so i don’t have to write a separate executive summary!

Hope you all had an amazing New Year! Thank you for standing by me during the last year! If it weren’t for you guys i wouldn’t have been here and doing what i wanted to.

Been a month I guess...

My Delhi break was awesome! Thanks to all those who took time out to catchup! I slpt thru most of it though! So the 2 tasks I got complete during these hols were making upto ppl i hadnt spoken to in a long time and slping al tht i could!

I am writing to everyone today since I had an awesome day! And it was all thanks to a lil kid in class 1 in my school. Municipal schools start from class 1 so it is Sameer's first year in school. And like most of us did when we were asked to leave parents at home and go to school for the first time, Sameer too has been howling at top volume while coming to school evryday. Most days he sobs or pretends to be unwell so he is taken back home by his mom, who beats him out of frustration everyday! today was the second time i tried approaching him and helping him. Sameer was adamant about going back home...I didnt know how to deal with his crying..and unlike the last time i dint want to leave him sobbing...so i held his hand, patted his back and asked him y he was crying. he jst said he doesnt lik school. so i asked him if he wuld lik to sit in my class...and he agreed.quietly, holding my hand, he entered my class and sat on a chair besides mine. once the class started, i asked him if he was alright and would want me to tk him to his class and he nodded. i took him there, promising him that il b in my class if he needs any help. And so Sameer came back in break to share his lunch with me and making me promise him tht i wont leave school without him. When school ended he was back in my class and dragged me home! I have never seen Sameer talk so much or smile so much! He made my day!:)

Going back to post-Delhi...i went to ahmedabad from delhi...for the Teach for India retreat....before i tel u about the retreat, i must tell u about the amazing service Air India provides! I reached the international airport at 5.30pm for a 6.50pm flight and was at the check-in counter for 1 hr! wen my turn came the guy at the counter tells me my ticket isnt confirm! then he says there are no seats left! and finaly he upgrades my ticket to business class! While giving my boarding pass he said " You should feel lucky, tht I upgraded ur ticket', all i said was "Thanks to your slow speed, if im able to catch this flight in next 10 mins and get to Abad in time, I will definitely feel lucky!"...my flight got delayed by 3.5 hrs! i landed at Ahmedabad at 12.05 am, only to find the international airport had no taxis!no lounge!no food place! thankfully i had a frnd in town who came to pick me as i dint know hw to gt to the hotel either! so i stayed at my frnd's frnd's place...

During the retreat we had loads of reflection sessions, where we talked about the last 6 months and the struggles we were facing...but the fun part of the retreat was staying in a village! yep we stayed in a harijan village called Saraswadi for a night...stayed with a family there, sat on a tractor, walked in the fields, helped prepare food for a wedding, wash utensils with mud, cut about 50 potatoes, watched a gujju wedding, slpt with ants, had tea in a plate, ate khichdi (i absolutely abhor it!), chatted with the villagers, etc. etc. day 2 of the retreat was spent at Riverside school...tht was another first time for me...living in a school fr a day...we slpt on the terrace! Ahmedabad is a cold city!! the last day was full of activities...i played frisbee after years...! at night we all took a train back to Mumbai.....And was back in school the next day!

My kids were very well behaved the first 2 days...seeing a newly painted classroom and being back after long, they were in a trance..which ended after 2 days and they were back to their usual naughty selves :)....unlike most classes we had 50+ attendance the first day and the kids got to paint a corner of the classroom as an incentive for returning on time...

Schools been the usual except that im able to gt more stuff done with the increase in the timings and also we have started Circle time every Saturday where the kids can talk about anythn they feel like.....i went to some students' houses yesterday and today and will hopefully do more visits now...

i also recently attended a workshop for my community project...stayed in a school (Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir) in Dharavi (the biggest slum in Asia)! It was amazing to connect with different people working to empower different communities in Mumbai...will hopefully be working with some of them soon:)

Its 2.15am and im too tired to write any further....and im sure ur tired of reading too...

Btw, I saw social network, harry potter and break k baad...social network is a must watch! i hope most of u have seen it by now!

Off for now....

Hope you have a great weekend! Also if you find time, please go thru my school's FB page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/MHB-Municipal-School/148248261889256

P.S. Forgot to mention a funny thing...so in order to teach my class commonly used sentences, i taught them " Please may i go to the washroom" instead of using the word 'toilet'... and here is wht some of my students said the first week...- please may i wash your room, i want a washroom (their other fave line is "i want a pencil"), please my wash the room, i go please wash the room....and many more of these!

Before the long awaited/deserved break...

For all those who are not there on Facebook...I am in Delhi....Incase you are in town, please buzz me and we shall meet up during the week...




As for whats been up before this long awaited break, here goes...



School had been going on as usual...it was more or less revision time as the mid-year assessments were due.....the assessments included reading fluency, grammar, reading comprehension and maths....believe me I have never feared my exams and have given many without preparation and never been under stress...but i was under stress as the assessments for my class approached....iv had a sleepless nite before the exam.....and another when i was up checking the papers....lots of ups and downs...quite a few have shown improvement....few have gone down in the results.....the class average has gone up in math but english isnt tht good yet....



As always, we had a PTM after the papers were graded...the prize distribution still makes parents cry with pride and happiness.....Winners this time included Aliya (sorry for being biased but she is one of my fave kids in class).....



Aliya's mother passed away few months back...she never told me about it...one day in class, her best friend Chandani was arguing with her and asked her to swear on her Mom...and thats when Aliya couldnt hold back her tears and told me about her mom and how much she misses her...Her father left them as well...She stays with her elder sister and younger brother in her grandparents' house, who dont care about her or her siblings.....when Aliya received the prize for being a consistent performer....all she did was look at me and smile.....I wish her mom was there and she wished the same...



Another winner was Akansha (ok so I love the girls in my class)....this lil girl always has stories to tell me...extra class, break, transition time, etc. she just looks for the time I am free even for a minute and shares her stories with me.....another lil girl who showed improvement in English was Zahra.....she is the grandmom of our class.....the 2.5 ft person talks like shes 25! shes one of the cutest kids in my class...dont believe me? check out the pic! heres a fact about Zahra...she loves dressing up! she ensures her shoes are clean and that her hair is tied up neatly and that her sister puts kajal in her eyes everyday!




We also had a special prize for Sameer....Sameer is supposed to be in class 4 as he has cleared class 3 in a private school....his parents moved him to our school (municipal school) due to financial constraints....the pvt. school did not give him a leaving certificate and hence the municipal school put him in grade 2 and he will be moved to class 4 next yr...initially he had behavourial issues as he knew most things and was fast with work....things were so out of control that his mum beat him with an umbrella in school when she heard the complaints...but over the last few weeks Namita and I saw a major change in his behaviour....his work was always good but off late it became flawless and we thought of acknowledging him....Sameer and his mom both had tears in their eyes when he got the prize....Seeing them I couldnt hold back mine....This is one of the feelings I can never describe...its pure happiness...relief....pride....I don't know what.....but its a great feeling!



We also had a Diwali party on the last day.....the kids went crazy dancing.......the party was sponsored by a frnd of mine...who is reading this email but doesnt want to be named.....he also gave funds to get my classroom painted....yep my class now has brightly painted green and yellow walls...check out the pics.....I cant wait for the kids to see it!!

I also attended a training recently...TFI has undertaken a project with Gandhi fellows (these guys do trainings for teachers and Headmasters/HMs in rural areas) to change the mindsets of HMs in municipal schools.....the 2 day training took place in New Zealand hostel in Goregaon (I hope that clarifies my status on FB - Just came back from New Zealand:p )....during these 2 days we had the opportunity to understand and work with Beat officers, HMs, etc. mainly people who are above the HMs in the hierarchy....Most of them had been part of the system from last 20 yrs! the idea of the training was to make these people who are part of the system and us (TFI and Gandhi fellows) get to under understand each other since we all will be working together in future....When the training ended I realised thats its difficult to make ppl accept your perspective let alone change theirs....On being told that there are teachers in Municipal schools even today who hit children with scales, etc. these officers denied it flatly....On the other hand I met Gandhi fellows, an extremely inspiring lot of youngsters....these guys work in rural areas for development in education and communities....they train HMs and teachers....teach kids...work with villagers.....and do alot more.....

Since I am on vacation, I will not bore you anymore over emails....its about time I met some of you and bored you in person...

Before I sign off...heres the recent funny thing that happened in class....One day while the whole class was quietly doing their work...Faiyan suddenly walked upto me and said.. "Kashiyan, mujhe tang kar raha hai"...when I asked what happened....he said "Meri Khala (aunt) ka naam Munni hai aur wo Munni badnaam hui gaa raha hai!!!" I dint know how to react....kids i tell you!

With the hope of seeing you guys soon, I say bye for now!

Happy Diwali to all of you!