Teach or Learn?!?

          Now , how many of you remember the pre-kg days’ yelling goooooooooooooddddddd mooooooooorrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggg miiiiiiiiisssssssssssssssssssssssssss???!!!! Can you recall the times of fluffy teddy bear bags, opening the barbie boxes with the front teeth, creating a rachquet at home before getting ready, with mommy trying to cover our faces with the ever-famous ponds talc, which appears as though your family ends up getting a powder tin every week! Can you fancy getting back to those times?!? Now, I would like to consider myself lucky. I got this wonderful opportunity of re-living these moments, only now as a spectator rather than a participant  .

          ’TEACH INDIA’ – strikes chords? A few months back we had the Times of India, advertising for the need for volunteers to help educate kids. Remember the white shirts with blue letters ad? Kudos to this daily, as it put in a great effort, to turn it into a reality! With college semesters done in june, i was just idling my time, spending more than 3/4 of a day being online(pl guys don’t ask me wat i was doing, i hardly recollect it myself !!!)that i eventually stumbled across this site through google, and though i kind of made out it was about teaching, i could not draw a clear picture about what exactly the programme was. Excited a little, i signed up for the volunteer list, and expected a mail to pop inbox the very next day, asking me to heed to some place and teach a pack of kids. But, even this mail, decided to take it’s own sweet time(the other one being my call letter ). After a wait of almost 3 months, there was a mail from team teach india. Pretty excited, i opened the mail to tell me that the team had finally reached my name in the queue(it was almost like a job queue), and was finally asked to attend an orientation programme, which would help me choose an organization near my place of stay.  At last, i was to be a member of team PAVITHRAM!!!

          I was sought of feeling squeezy, because i had no idea what i had to do. I spent almost an hour in search of the address and finally found it a narrow lane, with innumerous small box-shaped flats. I was directed to a place that was a plain 100 sq feet area by the edge of the road, which was covered 4 sides with plastic sheets and asbestos sheet for the roof. I got down from the bike and stood there uneasily not knowing what to do. All of it vanished the instant i stepped into that place, where there was 40 odd kids ranging from standard 1 to 8 screeching “Gooooooooood eveeeeeeniiiiiiiingggggggggg miiiiiiiiisssssssssssssss!”. Now dont laugh at that, i know it is quite funny me, being addressed as miss . i was immediately confronted with loads of questions. “miss neenge than enge puthu teacher a?”, “entha standard ku edupeenge miss?”, “miss engalukku edunga miss!”, “miss miss round adipeengala unge bikele, pl misssssss?”. I was literally lost amidst, when there was a roar of voice instructing them to stand up for prayer. It was Mr.Jyothi, a local resident who had offered to spend the evenings taking incharge of the kids, and maintaining silence while the volunteers, take classes. This ‘Jyothi mama’ (as they called him) , was indeed a stern man, who didn’t hesitate to tap(a bit less than beating) the kids to bring them into control. All of them stood up staright joined their hands to recite a prayer. I was then joined by 2 other volunteers, who instructed me what ought to be done. It was not like a classroom teaching, rather was more like a tuiton centre. We were to help them out with their homeworks, teach them the basics of all subjects.

          These kids, man are truly awesome. None of these kids are a less on their ability and talent, only oppurtunity deprived. Like for example, there was this kid in 1st std, who asked me to help her out with a few additions(3+2 say). I asked her to hold out 2 fingers and count after 3. Nw, i’ll tell you exactly what she said – “Misssssssss, appadi ille miss, naan solran. 3 in your mind, 2 in the fingers, 3 after, 4, 5 (dont forget to read it in a sing-song manner)” . I was actually surprised. These kids are no less in thinking, but putting their thoughts down was a huge problem. Like believe me or not, almost 1/2 the class did not know to write their name in english!!!!!! So we thought we would start on with basics. We had a session where each kid was asked to write their name in board and introduce themselves in english(it was a nightmare to them), but all of them had a great deal attitude, wherein they wrote down their mistakes and showed me the next day! It was only later, by the month end, i came to meet Mr.Harish Kumar, who started the pavithram. He was one sweet person and i instantly felt like respecting him. We discussed on how we could take better steps , and decided on dividing the classes into 3 groups. 1-3, 3-5, 6-8. This settled, it was also decided that instead of doing with homeworks, each day was to be dedicated for a subject and start on with the basics for each group individually. This, proved to be quite successful, and we saw the kids showing a grade of change in activities and studies.              

          Fun, never ceases with the volunteers, themselves being students (into college). We have these sessions of word building, sentence completion, quiz, games, anthakshari, what not! We started becoming more closer, more like a family unit. And surprises also never ends, as these kids keep surprising you a lot everyday in some form or the other. I was really very touched when a girl gave me a dairy milk on her bday . We celebrated children’s day in a great fashion. Had speeches delivered by these kids, dance, music, games, art-competition, story-telling, etc. It was whole lots of fun. Mr.Harish, bought some pencils and chocolates and we distributed them to everybody(i was reminded of my school days as this was a ritual done there). Actually, there is a lot to learn from the kids. Happiness and smile-always topping the list, adjustment, helping(the kids of higher grade help the smaller ones with their subjects sometimes), curiosity(its present in a humongous amount in them), and lots more. Sometimes, i feel happy about my call letter getting delayed. If not for that, defenitely i would have missed these times. Sometimes, i also feel like ‘Those were some of the best days of my life!‘

 

Team Pavithram,Teach India

Take a deep breath and bid Goodbye!

            Cluless huh? I am not talking about the take-a-deep-breath-and -it-will-pass panic syndromes. Nor am i talking about the early morning good-for-health breathing exersises of yoga. I am talking about this gray colored emmision let out from the tiny finger sized, or rather a finger amidst fingers in hand! Alright three guesses anyone? Cigar, Cigeratte, Siyar , there you go, we got a winner!!! The first one, are these big brown cylindrical ones, that we are most used to seeing in the 70 movies, held by the villians or the highly affluenced people. What started off as a piece to show off financial status, later got trimmed to suit and adapt to the increaed style and trends, in the form of smaller, lighter, white ,rightly stimulatively compositioned, cigerattes, which went around as a trendy object held by many youths(well these are still not extinct, for they do so even now!)- thanks to heroes’ gimmicks! These, are accompanied by the siyar-chewable tobacco in nascent form. Actually as a matter of fact these serve as main elements, that are used by people to paint the road red , spitting unpartially throughout the entire stretch, not bothered of it being the middle or corner of the road, unmindful of where it lands, be it on the roads (or sometimes people on the roads, thanks to the population in metropolitan buses and the poor ones on their bikes)! 

            Evolution apart, where is this leading to? A great hero ? An automaticly chosen leader ? A kewl guy ? Maybe possible, for those in their fantasical world! Those, who want to live in the world of Popoye and let out smokes in continuous ring shape or heart shape or whatever shape. Those who choose to live a world of mirages where reality, is a word forbidden. The most sadest or ironical part of this scenario, are the part of the six billion, who do not smoke, yet are forced to inhale the stenchy, hazardous smoke! Cancer, tuberculosis, heart disease, blood pleasure, blah blah blah, the list is quite endless. Now, am not this cold-blooded steel- boned feamle who says, let those who smoke be infected and spare the non-tobaco population. Of course methods and techniques need to be adapted to stop this so called addictive habit smoking! It is a much appreciative initiative effort by the government to ban smoking in public places, though a slight twitch of saddening thought, that such an issue, should be forced into a law, where people fail to understand that it’s done for their sake! This, quirk of fate, can be very aptly elucidated by the report on one of the magazines, which quoted quite an intresting or funny piece of news, where people claimed that only smoking is banned, and they can still turn onto the Hookahs in the recreation clubs, pubs and lot other famous joints and continue their venture, as, it seems that the ingredients used in them contain very little level of tobacco content in them-Now do you see my point!?!

            Statutory Warning : Smoking is injurious to health! Well, does it make any sense at all? On top of it being printed in a readable font size in the product cover? Now, this is the part where the segregation between the population comes into picture! Ones who smoke(active smokers) and the ones who do not(passive smokers)! The former ones, make it their choice to go and have a fag knowing about all nuances of what they are doing, forget the innumerable reasons they provide(am depressed, lonely, bored, curious, and other nonsensical stuffs). But where does that leave the latter ones, who are left out with no choice but to take in the smoke too, in turn making them vulnerable to lose out on their lives too! Not that i do not appreciate the essence of the law enforcement, i do, but i think this is just going to be another case of helmet-fine-story! All said and done, nobody can be blamed and no one can change the scenario, except the choosen ones, who can decide to make finer choices!!!

Looking forwad to the change!

 

Stay Cool, Quit Smoking!

U are really lucky if. . .

* The mornings are after 12 noon.

* Your mom serves you paper roast with sambhar.

* You sneak past the security withot paying fine for being late.

* You manage to clear all the papers and actually get an A+ grade.

* Its somebody’s birthday, and your evening is scheduled with treat.

* You get phone call from your friends after a very long time.

* Its drizzling with cool breeze when you are walking alone.

* Some uncle returns from America and brings you a cartload of chocolates.

* Your friend borrows your bike and returns it with the petrol tank filled.

* Its pouring cats and dogs and you snuggle up in your mattress with a bowl of icecream to watch a movie.

A Tribute to Childhood

Eenie-Meenie-Minee-Moe

Catch a Tiger by its toe!

Does strike a chord, isn’t it? Who wouldn’t remember the days of the kinder garden clay artisans who claim their first ever made flower or snake or ball or god knows what shape is the best ever possible wonder! Play all time, no study thrust upon, people always around to pamper you and let you go around with your whims and fancies, those days mark the ever enjoyment period-yet sad, because we don’t understand it’s magnitude and go gaga over a silly doll or cry over lollipops and cotton candy. Those days are ever heaven period with innocence at its peak, and no devil thoughts to share the credit.

The first change happens with the transition to the primary school days. The days of taking immense pride in showing off the undersized lunch box filled with that time delicacies – noodles, pizza(home-made of course ), puris, parathas and watch everyone turning green with envy and heads turning from all sides to call out your name to see if they can have a share! A time where “why can’t I be her/him?” thoughts start creeping in as the devil starts entering the mind in angel covered form. But still those are days where we are unmindful of what others think about us, screeching through the school corridors are run dashing through the winds playing, falling, laughing, whew, those are true good times!

Then comes Middle school days, where ‘you are no more a small kid, you are a grown up now’, so expected to have lots of responsibilities. No more does Barbie makes sense at home. In comes home works, a crap called television that holds the most top priority in your life! Come to think of it, you actually enter your teens, where cool is the ‘IN’ thing at this glorious period! Now the devil walks straight out of its cover, into your mind, which was once all sugary, nice sweet angelic! Suddenly parents become bossy, siblings become pesky, and friends become snooping! Well at least one thing happens out of this period, you gain access to the school library full-fledged J !

Now its time for High school and Junior College, or should I say show time! Suddenly snoopy friends become blood-mates in this era. It’s the time, you actually turn off the tv to study, thanks to the public exams. Nevertheless partying has never stopped in terms of cultural events. Come any school cultural, hands shoot up in mid air and names fill in forms at rapid speed, not bothering to check what events our names actually get registered for(This laid the foundation for the future O.D.s in colleges)! Endless hours of tuitions never was a pain when road side pani puris and bakery samosa channas was present on an endless scale. Now we go in to terms of being adults. No more is balloon tapping fun, cartoon network great, pillow fights at home exhilarating , actually spending time at home by itself becomes a lot obsolete. We tune ourselves into the machine life. We ourselves become machines. Then with the end of exams, drowns a whole 15 years of magnanimous school life!!! Then begins college, now that’s a whole more enduring period of the devil-ship ruling the mind at the apex with zeal!

Down with quantizable number of years of life, I wish with true heart that THE CHANGES CHANGE. Not saying growing up isn’t fun, but staying a child is more fun J. Am happy for one teeny-weeny bit of change that has not happened in me – licking chocolate (dairy milk) out of hands and eating an ice cream from a cone, dripping it all through the way!!!!!!!!!

The Toddler Way!

The Beginning

Hi! i should say i have finally sought after pursing interest over laziness (ie) blogging which i should have done ages back, if not for this teeny-weeny thought creeping in which told me” I will do it later!”. I will really try my best to do justice by posting regularly. It would be really nice if you guys could pen down your comments and thoughts on my posts. Really look forward to continue this blog on and on and on, endless!!! So here i go, a toast to my start – TO THE BEGINNING!!!