Freedom to choose – my happiness

She hops from one room to another ,
at the corner of her village periphery ,
She smile, she giggles, she laughs, she rejoice,
the moment of her life where she is going to be married ,
a young girl of 20 years in the village of Rajasthan,
sharing her thought ,she turns red to talk about him,
the one who is now her new world,
she display her jewellery ,her clothes as an asset,
an asset jewelling her memory ,
she is sweet ,she is vibrant ,
for her globalization are her two nests,
the one where she learnt to fly .
the other where she is taking shelter,
once again the reality is encountered ,
happiness is subjective, very subjective,
she teaches with her vivacity,
to enjoy ,feel and love the subjectivity,
she foster her actual right ,
her right of freedom to choose her happiness.

SUGANDHA MUNSHI

Little souls.....

Often in the folklores I heard that the kids never cheat and lie. During my journey through psychology I go through many readings, which explains that by various projective techniques one can explore the persons mind. But in order to explore the children we doesn’t need so hard and big projective techniques but simple a kind interaction and he tells the truth whatever he observes without knowing that what it is and for what it is. Because they are not yet getting mingled in the social environment and they doesn’t have learned its tricks….
Observe the picture which one of the class second girl made today and when I ask her what’s this…. she explains with a smile
It’s my school. The jumbled kids is her class where kids are fighting with each other and next to it is another room where her teacher sits whole day…i.e. office

Tehseen Haroon

Quantity v/s Quality

Once upon a Russian PM visits India for a week on some diplomatic issues. He heard a lot of fame of Indian administration and know he want to check it out. He visits parliament and various other offices including some education departments. Take a guard of honor from Army, police and also visits various other departments. As he was departing, at airport he has to face the reporters and one among them asks him how you feel after spending a week in India and what you learn from here. He smiles and said I was atheist and Know I believe in God. The person who asks the question said again sir how is this possible in a week you have such a shift? The PM smiles and said after visiting the political chamber and other various departments I observe the real situations of this county and then I find out that such a country can only survive if there is some mighty power and that’s only God…laughs the HM of my school as he shares this jock in front of his staff as I ask him why there are two schools existing in a same premises?
There are two schools in same premises and both have problems, which if they get combined get solved. But who cares and what’s the policy of any authority is a big mystery to understand. As the HM shares there are around 4 schools in a single village, which is just 5 to 10 minutes, walking distance from each other. But why… As they seems the promises of politicians made during elections to get a vote explains the HM with big laugh.
Here I felt that is it quantity or quality that matters. How the resources have been utilized and what’s the policy behind them. As for example during the electric fitting in the school each school got the equal budget for that work to be done irrespective of number of rooms in the school. Two-room school get the equal amount as the eight or 10 room school and see the logic, every Headmaster has to spend the amount and one of my school got 4 tube lights in 2 room and another school of mine has the ratio of one tube light for 2 class rooms. And in another school the condition was worse, as they even don’t have the electricity connection so what was there need first?
We are loosing quality and this slow burning of our resources which every person of the country pays are getting wasted and nobody cares and we are saying we are moving towards development. I am asking to myself, if there are around 85 thousand schools in Rajasthan and if we take an average of 40 kids in each school then what’s the future of 3360000 kids?
Is that only enough to make a kid read and write his name and some few lines of his book? And they are the countries future…and we the people make jocks and mockery to such a nation, which gave the world zero (0), and now we stands on that place....

Tehseen Haroon

Ahmedbad GFs- a tad late, but better late than never!

Hello, namaste and sorry for being so horribly late. This is arpita writing on behalf of all the Ahmedabad PGFs. i thought the first thing we should do was to introduce ourselves, and since i'll go crazy if i run around asking for self-applauding writeups us- i'm putting us all at my mercy and writing abilities.

First there is Tanazz- my PLDP partner- fun, reliable, fiesty and and really great with anything that has anything to do with art,craft , origami, or shot put ( just learned this last week)- she's the one girl who will never say no if asked for a lift, a pen, a key, or food! She's the most unspoilt army kid i've met and she's amazing with children.

Then there is Divya- who i can say adds a lot of zing to the group. Eternally chirpy,perpetually busy, and generally grinning, she can also be seen eating bread jam while jumping up and down on the sofas ( hehe). Her juniours titled her "pocket sized powerhouse", and i'd agree for sure. She's also one for thinking deep about change, reflecting alone and getting hold of when there are deadlines to be met.

Next would be Shraddha- my amazing super sensible and super sensitive roommate who has more guts than anyone I've ever met. Shraddha is the youngest amongst us but in the short span of 20 years her achievements include protesting against her corrupt principal, creating sapce and love for an adopted child in her family, putting a relative behind bars for dowry, and making me laugh when i need it the most. She's done her bachelors degree in social work and she 's here to change herself before changing the world.

After that comes Aruna, who i think has mastered the zen like art of stayig happy always. Aruna has done her masters in social work and is very familiar with social terrain we amateurs navigate- often adding her own sharp insights and observations
and bringing clarity. she likes the colour sky blue and can often be heard humming chetna geets. ( oh, and she's always R for "moturam halwai")

Then would be Snigdha, who cooks amazing food and came here because she wanted to experience a life beyond the definitions created in her engineering college. Funny, smart and practical, she 's also one of the strongest people i know.

Nibedita, hails from Assam and DU/ DSW and is happily heard deconstructing the latter. She cooks, sings, cleans, dances,listens and gives very no-nonsense advice ( and is also the sushil kanya of the group). Spiritual and sensible, thats why i believe she's here- to be the change she wants to see in the world- which as she will point out doesn't always happen by reading tons of theory or wearing corporate suits.

Amit, the sole boy in the "Piramal Girls Gandhi Fellowship" often has to deal with taunts about how he came through the males minority quota. That apart, we're glad he did, because apart from being the Resource person for pest control and toasted bread, he is also the most child friendly and nature loving of us all- and is able to link Bodh theory with classroom concepts in simpler ways than anyone else. Amit's list of achievements include graduating from Nirma in Computer Engineering,creating works of art with anything from charcoal to tin foil, and being the least ruffled during LQ.

and I, Arpita, am a graduate in literature from DU- I 'm here because what i'm doing resonates with my search for meaning. I feel if we are to create a better world, it has to start from the classroom and gullible (!) kids. I love poetry, literature, dance,art , good conversations, chocolate, lame jokes and integrity.

more from us later ! :)

Kya de sake ga mere koi.....................

Kya de sake ga mere, Bachpan ke din koi……..
Jab na tha Gum bas thi kushiyan he sari,
Jab Gumo mai thi, ye ankhe soyi soyi,
Jab Kushiyon pe hi bante thi, bate hamari,

Kya de sake ga mere, Bachpan ke din koi……..
Jab paise mai hi simti thi, khwahishe hamari,
Jab Dada ki kahaniya hi thi, tamanna hamari,
Jab paro pe hi hoti thi, manjil hamari,

Kya de sake ga mere, Bachpan ke din koi……..
Jab padne se ankhe hoti thi bhari,
Jab kitabo se hoti thi junge/ladayion hamari,
Jab ankho se hi bahti thi nadiyan sari,


Kya de sake ga mere, Bachpan ke din koi……..
Jab baheno ka karna phati kamiz per silaye,
Jab naye kapde pe hoti thi, ladayian hamari,
Jab andhere se lagta tha mujhko dar or chil-laker pukarna kahan ho mere bhai,

Jab patango ke doro mai thi, uljhan hamari,
Jab kancho-goliyon mai simti thi gunjee hamari,
Jab chejo ko todna thi fitrat hamari,

Kya de sake ga mere, Bachpan ke din koi……..
Jab papa ki ungiliyan thi manjil hamari,
Jab ammi ke anchal mai thi dunia hamari,


“The smallest children are the nearest to GOD, as the smallest planets are nearest to Sun”
(Salman )

What we expect…

Burger, sandwich, milk with boost ask the mom

Running jumping, chasing kid to make him eat

For lunch what you want to eat dear

Hunger pangs her child, which she can’t bear

Everything she tries just to make her child eat….

Same country and same state with glimpse of modern life

Kids from villages are not so full of luck

Eating and sometimes even just single morsel

Borrowed by poor mother from the neighbors

To fill the empty belly of her dear little angels

Running, jumping semi nude and taking small steps for school

Holding plates and waiting with hope for a midday meal

Sparkling eyes reflect their joy and fun

How they enjoy the meal makes me dumb

This is there burger, pizza and the bun

Filling the emptiness which they carry all times with their fate

What we are expecting from them

Could might defy the Meslow’s hierarchy

Will anyone ask the Uncle Piaget?

How can we understand the Law of conservation?

When these little angles don’t have even a morsel to eat.

TEHSEEN HAROON

Today I found myself…

In the corner of class sitting quietly, trying to hide myself by just imagining, that if I won’t look towards teacher he won’t find me. Class seems strange as thinking where I have landed but silently and helplessly sitting in the grips of fear. Those roars of teacher and that fierce eyes still fresh in my mind and ah…. taking a deep breath, I am adult now and no more to bear that fear. Today, I found myself in one of the kid of my school. I can understand what he was feeling because the teacher’s resemblance and the attitude was same as was of mine. Now I was imagining, if these little kids will get the opportunity as we got during our college days of attending lecture or not? All was mine choice as what I enjoy completes my attendance criteria and the one, which bores me, completes my attendance in college canteen with my friends. What the teacher will do if we give such a freedom to these kids? But one question I am asking myself… If my teacher do not do all that with me by his stunt looks and roars will I be able to learn or not? Was that all necessary or not? Yet an unsolved mystery…
I ask so many teachers of my primary schools now…why a child attend school? Why s/he attends your lecture and why s/he listens you? Why s/he keeps quite and disciplined in class?And I think when a child starts doing that s/he is no more a kid…. S/he is called then a mature adult. Because we always make a comment in negative notion ‘don’t act childish’ then how we expect child to do the reverse…

Tehseen Haroon