Beautiful....pebbles

Beautiful pebbles have hopes for me,
these dices have wisdom for me
when I see these teaching learning materials,
I find a way out for my kids,
the kids of untouched India .
Standing on the doors of the school ,they pass a pleasant smile,
Which enrolls happiness of mine and thine,
I look for a way through them ,with them for a broader horizon ,
which defines the actual sense of education,
I ponder to see them smiling, in such extreme situations,
where a single glass of water makes difference,
I love to be with them where they have become a part of my destination,
I enjoy to be with them where we redefine globalization…

SUGANDHA

Is it heart or mind that matters…

What is important in the Human Body? Is that Heart or is that mind…or something Else!!! Today I met a boy, which make me to think so…His story is something very interesting. His mother died and father remarried and his downfall began. His stepmother told that he is mentally ill since birth but the community people said the different story …He is tied with chains for whole year. Whether, it is the heat of summer or the cold of winter, he spent his whole time beneath the tree tied with the chain. His meals, his world is that tree and his whole paradise is the surrounding. When I told him that I am from Kashmir he replied, “ my Kashmir is this tree and these fields”. At first when I asked the address of that boy none of the villager was willing to help me to find out that boy and everybody suggested me that the whole family is mad but anyhow I found the house and the reason for his imprisonment was that he beats every one when he is free, so we have tied him with chains. And they suggested me not to go near to him. But after taking few photos of him, I talked to him and asked him “can we be friend”, he replied, “why not…” At first I was scared of being attacked by him but suddenly I pray to God that please help me and then I approached him. He welcomed me and gave me the place to sit nearby him on khaat and then I had little normal conversation with him. One of the impacts of his life was seen clearly on his younger sister.
His mother treats him very harshly due to which his sister also suffers. She was in standard 3rd when she was also stuck by the disaster and in her case the mother also said the another story…according to him she had polio but I think there is some psychological disorder. The main chances are of Hysteria…fugue.
And also one of the important thing, which I observe is that whatever is the state of his mind, the basic instincts of human were there, and i.e. aggression. When I was talking to him suddenly his aunt entered in the lawn, he started using abusive language and he shouted on her and asked her to leave the house immediately and when I asked about this sudden reaction by him, he informed she is responsible for this whole thing. But one thing, which attracts me the most, is that if he is abnormal then how he recognizes his aunt and how he blames her and how he knows that these few abusive words spoken can heart her feelings and sentiments?
What is the real cause of this can only be guessed, but the real pain was felt by the boy and her sister…and might be by her family also!!!

Tehseen

Inner power.. will power...

When we talk about will power, its tough to define it. Is this something, which comes from within or something which needs motivation from outside? Motivation can be understood again in various perspective, am I looking for the motivation from some extrinsic factor or looking for it somewhere within. A force, which keeps me going on without the need of external interference, in the form of support and appreciation.
Well, the point to be pondered here is, that if my will power and motivation to sustain it , is subject to others behavior and support, am I free ? Am I free when the key of my motivation is in others pocket?

A big question but easily answerable , for me at least, NO! when the key of my will power sustainability is in someone’s other pocket , that’s the biggest slavery in the world. So feel free, breath free, live with freedom , not only extrinsic but intrinsic as well.

SUGANDHA

Govt. Job means …!!

We heard and read that before independence people of this nation dreamt to serve the country by doing Govt. job. For them the Govt. job meant social service and they did that with true spirit. The reflection of the same could be seen in the education set up. Gurus were worshipped and there status in the society was highest in the hierarchy. And now sometimes, it appears to be the tale of lost folklore.
In present scenario Govt. job means secured life. In post independence the dream remains same but the goal has changed. People want to be a Govt. employ but not to serve the nation……….infact their pockets. Even the price tag of the groom touches the sky, if he is a Govt. employ. The reason being, the security of his life being a government employee rather than his concern towards his duty. They feel and know, that whatever we do around the month, or wherever we roam around, our salary is due and definite. And if one ask them any single question about their role and duty, the bombardment of questions and blame game start. Nobody explore themselves what he or she is doing, and the irony remain they don’t even realize they themselves create the government and the system.

Tehseen Haroon

We are living in a competitive era…………………………………….

We are living in a competitive era with everlasting struggle and competition with each other. We never try to hear the bird chirping in the morning, to see the hills after rain, to see those rocks shining in the sun, the leaves sparkling, to see the clouds go by and to rejoice on a clear morning with full heart and a clear mind.
But, we lose this feeling when we grow up with competition, worries, anxieties, quarrels, hatred, fear and the everlasting struggle to earn a livelihood. From childhood we spend our days in battle with each other disliking and liking and derives pleasure from it. We never try to understand the beauty of the world, a feeling for beauty because we soon get caught up in the pseudo mechanism of life, as we go to the college, get married, have children, husbands, wives, responsibilities, earn a livelihood, finally we grow old and die! That is what happened to us. Because, we do not understand the meaning of education or never try to figure it out. Basically, education means “no end”. It is not where we read books, poems, facts, and formula, pass an examination and finish with education. But, during the whole life the moment we get born till the moment we die, the process of education and learning of life continues.
But, we can never learn if we are in conflicts, with our self, with our neighbors, with society… But if we learn about the mechanism of putting together images of life, we will see the extra ordinary mechanism of life or beauty...




Salman U Khan,
(Written in Chalanabas village in Rajasthan, winter 08)

conversation with coffee...

My coffee table muse,
Hot black coffee
Stirring, whirling, flowing.
Eyes meet across
Streams of hot vapour
Emanating…Vapid wandering through
Thought laden clouds
Drifting fleeting
Words appear,
Choices, Voices..opinions unfold,
Life stories told…
Loves, Laughter,
Heartbreaks – Tears?...
Shared dreams….?
Broken…
Yet..rent asunder…
By choices, Voices, Noises…
Stir, stare,
Ponder, wonder…
I wonder…if you have a phone number….?

Shreya

Mother Nature...

Valleys talk to you,
Gazing from the height into the valley,
Pulls you with love,
One word comes to one’s mind,
What an experience,
What an amazing glamour of nature,
Eyes catch the scene, as a camera,
Heart deposits it as a shutter,
Soul engraves it as an edict,
Mood swings with the breeze,
Walking on the hills, reaching heights,
Gives you beautiful sights,
It’s the journey to the destination, full of life experiences,
Where embracing you, are standing the mountain ranges.

Sugandha

* Here it’s the experience during the learning journey to Dhramshala.

BODH ...redefining the education system

The experience at Bodh has been the experience of the life time. It’s an organization , which works for the slums kids at Jaipur. This is the organization which reaches to those kids for their self - development, and gives the true meaning to India of being a welfare state. The Bodh experience of the 11 of us Gandhi fellows, was an experience to the new world of education system, where equality could be seen among the students. The kind
of work the school is doing there is filling the gap between the community the slum and the faculty, where they bring education to their rooms.
The three days spent in the organization Bodh , at Jaipur and visiting its Bodhshala, Amagarh, was very crucial , in understanding the wider horizon of education system. This organization is the one which puts the ideal into practice. The idealist system of education is practically followed here, where the interaction with the organization workers, the teachers, and the founder Mr. Yogendraji had an added on input in the learning. It works for the poorest .

It works for the poorest of the poor , it reaches where the government do not reach. The Bodh strengthen and defines the essence of welfare state.
interaction with Madhuji working as the facilitator of Kishori Sabha in the slum, was an enlightened experience, for me where how the organization takes the education to the rooms of the slum, delving into the staunch patriarchal set up.
Being there for more than an hour what I could feel and have practically seen was how on the name of security the girls are made insecure for the whole of this birth of theirs. They are not allowed to move outside their home because they are unsafe………….I wonder what is their safety?

How insecure they are made just because they are women.
“to just walk few steps out of their house and reach the most nearby school, which is only 5 steps away (sometimes the reality speak) ……..
One needs to walk miles and miles …and sometime the journey never gets completed.
Here, Bodh plays the intrinsic role whereby , Madhuji as a facilitator takes the classroom, the education into their rooms. The classes taken for these slum women in such constructive ways to see are real life experience.

To see the success of the Bodh in making community responsible was another practical experience of how the slum people can be made responsible to shoulder their duties towards the kids’ education.
The one of the most striking point of this place was that it has been successful in making every one realize their responsibility, everyone shoulder their responsibilities whether it’s the community , parents, teachers , kids or society. “ Nothing is impossible , one’s you think it can be made possible.”
The Bodh is the place where it seems for the kids to be ………….
“ My class, my space, my world”. It empowers the kids mentally , overshadowing their actual condition to an extent .

Sugandha

Chipkali... main aur mere bacche:):):):):)

wo mere gandhi fellowship ke shuruati dino ka sabse amazing experience tha...ek field visit ke liye mai udaipur wati ke ek school me tha. Pata nahi kaha se Stephney ne mujhe bol diya ke ek class tum le lo aur ek mai lene ja rhai hu.Tab mai jyada dara nahi tha,class thi 1st and 2nd.:):)
sO mai class me chala gaya,kuch pata nahi tha ke class me ja k kya karu? Unse naam poochne k baad unki english ki book le li..socha k pyaar se padhaunga aur sab parhlenge ,simple!!!..mai unki kitaab se photos dikha k unse naam poochne laga...pata nahi mai us din khud ko kitna bada teacher samajh liya tha ,galti kar di pooch kar k kisi ne chipkali dekhi hai...?Bass ek bacche nenazar ghum k class me dekh li....fir kya wo utha aur apni chappal feink k diwal par chipkali marne laga ...shayad ye leadership thi...baaki saare bachhe bhi shuru ho gaye...mai bichara kya karta....na to unhe bitha saka na hi padha ....bacche apni msti me the unhe maar padne ka daarr jo nhi tha....:):):):):)

Vaibav

Unke sapne...

Kehte they padaenge,
itihaas naya Banayenge
in bachon ka ujjwal
bhavishya hum sajayenge.
Inko aankhon mein jo chote chote sapno ka bada sa pahaad hai
us tak inhe pahuncha ke dikhayenge
lekin aaj who bacho ke sapne kahan hai,
Ye unhe nahi pata, shayad unki yadon mein band hokar reh gaye.
magar kya ye wade sirf sarkaar ne kiye they,
woh teachers jinko Maa Baap bhagwan mante hain,
aur apne bachon ko saump dete hain.
aakhir who bhagwan kya kar rahe hai?
unke paas iska jawaab hai kya?
Unhe pata hai kya unke bachon ki kis cheez ki zaroorat hai,
unke mote dande ke alawa?
Khair chodo ab hamari baari hai aayi, ab hume sabko milke kuch karna hai bhai,
HM ho ya Teacher sabko is baat se Rubaru karayenge,
Ki yeh hamaare pyaare bache bahut door tak jayenge.
sirf kitabe hi nahi , unse bahut zyada hai seekhne ko,
ye hum samjhenge aur aage badte jayenge.

Geetanjali

A new morality...

She looks at him playing with pieces of paper

She watches his hands as they pick up the pen

She is a wistful spectator of carefree actions

Defined as the sole privilege of men.

Going about her daily work

Surrounded by life, yet quite alone

Taking solace in all things familiar, yet

Heart aching for pleasures unknown.

She passes by the old school building

Like everyday, quietly sets down her urn

Straining her eyes, hidden by the door

The boys are unwilling, but she’s desperate to learn.

She yearns for education, to go where no one has tread before

But she’s of age now, and must be married off instead.

Gazing into the heavens, reaching out for the stars

Her dreams all shattered, her life is a farce.

A voice is heard, she speaks out at last

Unheard, unheeded, frail, withdrawn

The solitary voice falters in the silence

Defeated, she falls, and her heart is torn.

They laugh bitterly at her fruitless endeavor

Tears fill her eyes, she’s imprisoned forever.

Is there a new morality?

One day, some day but not just yet.

There’s need for old shackles to be cast away

Traditions to be re-built, new rules to be set.

Have we moved forward, has India progressed?

The gap between men and women compressed?

Are the counsels of history thus to be unheeded

And change to occur, except where needed?

It’s time to wake up, to gain what we lack

For each pace forward, there’s been a step back.

It’s time to gaze into the horizon

It’s time to welcome, face-first, the dawn

And be swept along as change unfolds

And face with courage what future holds.


Shreya

My learning...

I remember my first class of psychology in B.A 1ST year in which my teacher repeatedly explained ‘what is learning’? At that time my acceptable definition of learning was something like this…
“Any relative permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of practice or experience.”
I remember the first lecture on the topic Learning, in which our professor gave us a new definition of learning which was given by Gordon Allport.
But, here I find something different and something very confusing. I recapitulate the story of one of our school in which 2 kids were fighting with each other and during fight one of the kid pushed another kid’s head on wall and the reaction of this was a bang of cry. Meantime the teacher entered the class, and queried about the incident. The reaction of the teacher was unbelievable to see. He banged another kids head on wall and asked “do you now feel the pain”? This was the way of justice by the teacher .I was shocked to see the way teacher dealt with the situation . Many questions came to mind, the questions which were unanswered.
At that time, I wanted to ask the teacher what sort of learning you are giving to these kids? Are you teaching them how to take revenge? Or you are teaching them blood for blood concept? Is this the learning ? What sort of learning took place there? What’s the way of learning? And whom we blame when these kids do a crime in future?
But, now here after spending my two months in primary class with school kids, my whole definition of Learning has been redefined and I feel learning can be defined in many ways in different contexts. Today with my practical experience, I can explain learning , as “ a continuous struggle of organism with environment in order to achieve equilibrium for survival in which the genetics act as a barrier.”
I have a hope that in this journey , in future I will be much more closer to the exact definition of learning based on my experience.


Tehseen

Ankush: The sincere 'Sarpanch' of the lot!

Abhyudai: Unintentionally funny, preserving his own picture of the cosmos!

Stephney: The Laughter Enthusiast

Gitanjali: When not lightening up the atmosphere with her theatrics,ask her if she's ever seen a silent film?

Sugandha: The Steady Steam Engine

Preyansi: 'Mother Superior' of unwavering spirit

Vaibhav: The mature, levelheaded 'Handyman'

Sometimes Seen...Sometimes Felt...Impact

The journey of the last four months, here has been the journey full of new destinations. Playing the role of a facilitator in the government upper primary school of Uttrasar village in the interiors of Jhunjhunu, was a platform whereby somewhere there was a new world of horizon in front of me. Acting as a facilitator here, for the 4th and 3rd std kids, for eight weeks, I explored many avenues of impact at the grass root level in subtle way. The impact gives a meaning, whereby the insight of the fact, that yes the impact is something, which if sometime not felt can sometimes be seen and sometimes not seen can be felt. While acting as a facilitator in the classes, I did not know when it took me closer to the village people thought. Visiting the community, meeting the members at their places, gave me an insight that the beginning of an impact starts from the road, where your journey starts. Meeting with them in their house and then being a part of them, for the time being gave an impetus, of how slowly the impact starts whereby your step toward them start the process of impact . I remember my first few days of the school where I was there standing with the agenda of the need of quality learning through the alternative based learning, with my understanding, I also saw the day when the mathematics teacher of the school, was standing giving his thought on the need of quality learning, with positive roles played by the alternative based learning. At least this thought , has the beggining , an initiation towards completion of the journey.

Sugandha