The teacher in me..

Saturdays..

I'm looking forward to every Saturday..no not because it is a weekend, but because I get to meet some very interesting students.Yes, MY students.

A close friend of mine told be about Indian Literacy Project( ILP), a program which supports education and literacy projects in rural and remote areas across India.Their main objective I learnt was to be a 'catalyst' for 100% literacy in India. For this, college/school going children or youth in general could be the 'co factors'. This interested me greatly. If I could teach somebody/anybody of what little I know and if that would help the person..then there was nothing better.So we registered for the program and waited anxiously for the following Saturday.

On D Day, one Mr.Harish met us halfway and led the way. He is the man in charge of ILP in that area.A very genuine Harish brought us into this clean yet discolored room. I was fidgety because I did not know what to expect. Two minutes later, 40-50 children swamped the room with a biig thud.They were welcoming us with flashing smiles and wavy hands. I was thrilled to know that they were as excited as I was. Made me less nervous in a way. Harish introduced us to the children and briefed us on what we could do. He told us we could arrange activities, read stories to them..familiarize them with English words ..bottom line was to keep them engrossed.

I decided to begin by reintroducing myself.. I looked at their faces, glistening and happy. It was clear to me that they wanted to be here.No amount of laziness or force was behind their coming (it was unusual to me because that's not how I went to school). I asked them to tell their names, school and standard. There were students from 1st standard to 8th standard, all of them from Government schools. They admitted that Kannada was an easier medium of communication(in comparison with English I assumed).
We chatted for quite sometime and I got a vague idea as to what I could do.
After a while my friend suggested we make one big circle and ask random questions to each other. We began with 'Which is the capital of India, Karnataka' and the like. Then we moved into cricket and not surprisingly it struck a chord.The boys knew considerably well about cricket( the girls were a little clueless though). One particular boy Shreyas, he surprised us. He could name winners of the cricket world cup since the first tournament in 1975 to the present (with the year). Lovely, we thought! A while later, the tables turned..they took us on by asking us proverbs and 'kadamkadhas'  in Kannada and we did NOT know the answers. They lightly mocked us and we laughed too.With some more gibber jabber..we decided to call it a day. By waving a biig 'Tata'..we left. I could still hear their screams and cheers behind me. I thought next time I would be more prepared.

For the next Saturday, we prepared tiny chits with one English word written in it.So whichever word you pick, you make a sentence using the word. As usual they ran into the class on seeing us..and we began with no further delay. We told them what we had planned for the day and they had an expression which pretty much said 'Game on'. So one by one they picked up chits and made( tried to make) sentences. Some were so enthusiastic that they came for the second..third round. Later, we split the group into two and began reading stories to them. A boy named Narayana told me he knew many many words in English. I told him to write down as many as he knew. He did so and it was quite frankly a big list. He confessed that he could not speak English even though he knew all the alphabets and words(well English is a funny language). I felt an urge in me to help him..I told him I would do my best and guide him in that respect. I was also glad to see young girls, sitting along with theirs brothers and reading books. We read  a lot of books and stories to them..
My friend noticed some children getting restless.. so we ended things for the day. Before we left, they asked us if we could arrange a painting competition next week. They also wanted prizes..a pen for first, followed by a pencil and then an eraser. We agreed at once because this indicated that they liked us wanted us back with more to offer..

A big wave and we left..left with a sense of contentment and unconditional joy.

Kkkahani Khatam Kab Hogi?

Watching television serials has become a major part of the average Indian homemaker. An unending saga about Saree-clad women would almost always be the storyline.In the past month, I have had a terrible time watching episodes from a serial(from a well known channel) and I have to say these writers are more creative than science fiction writers! My question is how one can sit through every episode knowing very well that it is over hyped and exaggerated?!Some soaps bring mind numbing 'twists' like introducing a twin for every damn character!!

Ekta KKKapoor has already done enough damage with her KKkahanis. She has taken cinematic liberty to another level.Every serial of hers has a central character who is the epitome of love, goodness and all the likes, when in today's world survival is dictated by nerve and spine.So please wake up and smell the coffee, Mam!

In another one such brainless drama, a character falls into a coma. The doctor and a 'swami' suggest she marries as its the only way she can 'come back to life'. How preposterous can it get? A medical miracle of some sort would still be believable!Rural parts of the country which have access to these serials can fall prey to these situations and even go to the extent of mimicking them. Instead of using  television media to the advantage of projecting good sense and judgement, it is doing the exact opposite.

I  seriously hope and pray that a brand of healthy and sound serials are contrived by sensible writers, because our women(who are the targeted audience) deserve a lot more.

The Long Goodbye

I try to recollect his gentle face everyday, his way of talking and the pure man he was. I knew death was inevitable, but I  always thought of it as a distant event. This close encounter left me shattered.

To begin with, my grandfather (Narayanan Nampoothiripad) was a very knowledgeable person. In fact, “Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man” was his  favorite quote. Though degrees did not certify his knowledge, he knew how to raise a family of 4 children. He got formal education till middle school and made the most of it. Coming from an orthodox Hindu family he worked as a head priest in the family temple. He was married to my grand mom and remained so for 60 long years! Once his children were well settled, he decided to take time off.

He loved being surrounded by people and people loved him too. At the age of 90 he liked to believe he was 60 and boy did his looks agree or what? One would have been been stunned to see his tuft of black hair when he was almost a century old! (There was a time when people called him Dilip Kumar!).He never at once had a lonely, cheerless existence. The granddad I remember was a gentle kid; I affectionately called him my buddy. He told me stories from the Mahabharata and taught me slokas .Yes, his favorite hobby was to hum Sanskrit verses. He knew over 100s of them and very dutifully sang them. By the time he was 90, he developed a small hearing problem but that did not slow him down one bit. He showed every bit of enthusiasm to his surroundings. He read the morning paper with no word to spare. He had his appetite for knowledge, intact. His sense of humour was pleasant, yet so harmless. Even during his last days he was independent, not intending  any trouble to anyone around him. He was indeed a man of words and deeds.

The most prominent thing is that he has left behind a mark in my heart-a mark of love and concern.

It has been 2 years since you are gone and I miss you terribly. It chokes me to realize that you will not return. Your absence has created a vast void in my life..However...if I am sure about anything, it is that you will always remain in my heart and be my guiding angel throughout this journey called life.