Amusement

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Formidable Force

Why is it that even when India has marched into the twenty-first century with great aplomb and things are really looking up for this ''great and forward looking country'', we have still not been able to break the shackles of some traditions which show us in a bad light?
What is it about caste, religion, gotra etc. which never fails to instigate public sentiment to the extent that we are willing to kill or die for it?
If it is really that important, let love be your religion, humanity your caste, and if gotra matters that much let it be integrity....let the flame in you burn for the cause of saving another from the clutches of fundamentalism and violence.Why is it that we can still kill in the name of religion? Why have we not understood that to progress we have to work together for a common goal and to have an environment which is conducive to progress we have to be tolerant and have a great degree of acceptance towards ideas and opinions which might not be the same as ours.
It is more important to fight poverty, corruption, violation of human and child rights,terrorism rather than keeping on harping about religion gotras and the likes. How can brothers and fathers kill daughters and sisters in the name of misplaced honour? How can the man turn against the woman who might be depending on him for financial and emotional support? And what does he want to prove by physically assaulting her? That the trust she might have placed in her family for standing up for her was sadly misplaced? It is a sad day for women when their own parents do not want to protect their rights to marry the man that they want to.
I feel we need to create a force which fights this kind of oppression by only believing in love.....which speaks the language of peace, justice, humanity....which surges forward in the common belief that whatever little their contribution may be, they have done the right thing in any given situation.It is only then that we will transcend these narrow boundaries which we have created over centuries and cannot break down. That will be a real awakening for the youth of India.

Perils of Perception

Every person has their own perception of life or how they choose to live it, understand it, and portray it. Interpretations of situations vary from person to person. And, of course, that makes all the difference....how people perceive you, judge you and pass judgement. No one gives a thought to what it would be like to be in the other person's shoes. I have always felt ,''your freedom ends where my nose begins''.......
The society that we live in today has different parameters of respecting other peoples' right to privacy. Nobody judges, measures or gauges public reaction or the long term repurcussions of public airing of opinions and thoughts. If you don't enjoy freedom with responsibility, it is very likely that the right would be curbed. And that is detrimental to any kind of freedom of expression. To enjoy the fruits of freedom one has to also bear the load of responsibility. It is something we owe to others who want to maintain a demarcation between private and public life.
The press also does not respect this demarcation. They violate all norms of decency when covering news, justifying the same by saying they want to give people the real picture. I don't subscribe to this at all. An individual is free to decide what he/she wants to reveal and what should be concealed, not because they are hiding something, but because what is being portrayed by the media is its own perception of the situation. Needless to say perception varies from person to person. What the media thinks is the truth ,on the basis of what is made public ,might be as far from the truth as the mountain from Mohamed.

Words don't come easy to me these days. Can't say why? But i always try to draw inspiration from those to whom they do. It's a pleasure reading other's point of view, especially when it happens to reflect your own. There are times when your mind is a blank, somewhat like looking out of the window of a fast-moving train. You like the scenery but at the same time you feel that the things outside are moving too fast for you and you have no control over what's happening. It is surreal. One wishes to have a better understanding and insight into the situation but has no inkling as to how to go about it. Anyway, all in good time. ''Lord for my sake, teach me to take.......one day at a time.''

ATITHI, TUM KAB JAOGE??????????

I took the kids to see this new flick yesterday as it is good, clean family entertainment. On coming back from the movie some thoughts sprung up involuntarily about ''atithis'' and their likes. My maternal grandfather was a well-known figure in Kanpur. Some of my traits ,or should i say most of them, have clearly been inherited from my mother's headstrong ancestors. With great enthusiasm he built a house which my family inhabits till date.
But their peace of mind is constantly thwarted by the ''atithis'' in our house.
One of them stays right above us since decades now .The lucky chap does not pay any rent. He only has to deposit the paltry sum of Rs.300 in the court as the house is governed by rent control laws. Thanks to our judicial system he enjoys a safe co-habitation which is almost free of cost.He dictates where we should park our car, whether we should lock the main gate or not, whether we can repair the leaking roof or not, even whether we can access the roof-top or not. The last straw was when he lately called up and mother and asked for a settlement , if she would agree to pay him a substantial amount of money. Reminds me of the Seema Biiswas ad on television where a court case is going on for years..........''chalta rahe....chalta rahe.....''
"justice delayed is clearly justice denied''.........but who will explain this to the makers of the law or better still those who implement and execute it. My grandfather also constructed a separate block for his special guests. Little did he know it would be occupied by people who knew the real translation of ''atith devo bhav''. Someone who refuses to move out once he safely lodges himself under your roof. So for those who wish to invest their hard-earned money into the construction of a house, my sincere advice would be not do it. Instead, be smart, go live in someone else's house and then conveniently develop amnesia and forget to move out. After all ''atithi bhagwan hota hai''.

It has been a while.......and life is not really sailing on smooth seas. But all said and done it has some good moments too. Sometimes your faith that goodness still exists in human kind is reaffirmed. My trip to Bombay was not under the most ideal circumstances but i managed to snatch a few brief moments for myself. On paying my regular visit to ''Crossword'' in Kemps corner, i was pleasantly surprised to see children having the run of the place. One could see them in every nook and cranny exploring books while parents clucked over them like mother hens. Very heartening to see them doing something other than watching T.V. and playing video-games. Going to book-stores is always on my to-do list, no matter where i am.
Another attraction was the ''Hobby Ideas'' store adjacent to the book store where a number of creative ideas have been given shape. Hand puppets, moulds, tampera paints, modelling clay etc. You name it they have it. Manifestation of ideas to encourage unbridled ceativity for kids and adults alike. It was a pleasure looking at so much colour and craft in one place.
But the Bombay traffic was a real killer and pollution was at an all-time high.
People looked high strung and flared up easily (witnessed some cases of road rage). But amidst all this one could still see the thread of compassion and resilience that runs through the Mumbai people. Always willing to lend a helping hand. And the famous never 'say die spirit' still going strong and still intact despite several attempts by undesirable elements to break it. God bless them!

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN
Maybe we should develop a crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb.And everytime a crisis developed, we would launch one first- before we tried anything else. It would explode high in the air- explode softly- and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth- boxes of crayolas. And we would'nt go cheap, either-not little boxes of eight.Boxes of sixty -four,with the sharpener built right in.With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination instead of death. A child who touched one wouldn't have his hand blown off.
Guess that sounds absurd, doesn't it? A bit dumb. Crazy and silly and weird.
Let me be clear about this. When i consider the horrible things we have developed at horrifying expense to drop out of the sky, and when i think about what those weapons will do-well, then, i'm not confused about what's weird and crazy and absurd.And i'm not confused about the lack of, or the need for, imagination in low or high places. We could do better. We must do better.
There are far worse things to drop on people than crayola.
ROBERT FULGHUM

My experiences as a teacher have been varied and at different points of time i have felt elation, dejection or a sense of purpose depending on the circumstances. It is only when you see your efforts bearing fruit that you feel fulfilled. In the initial years, while teaching junior classes, drawing four lines on the black-board and using coloured chalk to emphasise the shape of alphabets was a normal routine. Children were more than willing to copy the letters demonstrated on the black-board. Imagine my surprise when i started teaching senior classes. The fragmented and disjointed handwriting samples came as a shock. It was a perfect reflection of their mental state. It showed a singular lack of continuity in the thought process. For me it was torturous to go through such sheets as to me they signified a lack of equilibrium. In Sheiling House we follow the Marion Richardson script in the primary section. Richardson's general theories on the development of young children were considered revolutionary during the 1920's and 1930's in the United Kingdom.Richardson noted that little children found the looped style with the required thick and thin strokes physically difficult to achieve. She later in her career suggested that young children should begin their writing patterns using chalks, thick soft pencils and crayons. The staccato movements were to be discouraged by providing younger children with large sheets of paper and encouraging them to incorporate 'rhythm and swing' in their writing and writing pattern activities.
Convincing parents and students about the advantages of a neat and legible handwriting is a difficult task today. The most alarming trend is the usage of ball point and gel pens. This also adds to plastic waste as most of these pens are thrown after using. The art of calligraphy is dying and people have stopped using fountain pens. For me using a fountain pen is like having an extension to my thoughts. They flow out as words on a sheet of paper.....smooth and succinct. I wonder if kids today will rediscover the pleasure of writing.

SUNDAY......
Was in lucknow again today and managed to pick up some books from landmark book store.The service was personalized and atmosphere warm. I soaked it all up.........and also found ''This is it''-discover the man you never knew. Enoyed a relaxed lunch with the kids and the drive to and fro.........great music and bonhomie. Would love to do it again sooooooon.

CONSERVATION CONCERNS
ICSE has deciced to do away with Environmental Education as a subject from the session 2013. This step is most welcome as this subject was only an additional burden for students who are already buckling under pressure. The stipulated two periods per week assigned for this never proved to be sufficient considering the extensive expanse of the syllbi, especially in senior classes. Most students found it difficult to comprehend the technical jargon and therefore lost interest. Since conservation of environment is an issue which requires immediate attention, the main objective of the subject should have been to awaken in the students an active desire to participate in such endeavours. Instead, embroiling them in the nitty-gritties of verbose textual matter was a wrong beginning. They should be asked to participate in various activities like tree plantation, nature walks, cleaning up the environment in and around the school premises. They should be made to realise the importance of conservation by handing over their text book sets to their juniors to be re-used instead of buying new sets. Exercise books should be collected and recycled to make paper. Such an initiative can be taken easily by the school management.This will help to make responsible citizens and a new generation which is aware of it's responsibilities towards creating a cleaner environment. So the need of the hour is to take immediate steps and not preach through books. "A stitch in time saves nine''.Saving of paper will save our trees.

NOT SO GROWN UP AFTER ALL........
Was again in ''wattle grove'' today.The part of the building which has the playgroup section is called ''dilaram''. This is where i taught nursery classes in the initial years as a teacher. This can now be called a heritage building of the british era. I realised that no matter how old you are sand play can still be therapeutic.... It made me laugh when i overheard a parent trying to convince his son to go back home after the interview by promising to get him a sand-pit in the house.Another child only stopped crying when he was told that he could come into the interview room on the tricycle. Despite ample persuasion from all quarters he refused to walk in, he wanted to ride high while being questioned. The weather was lovely....a lethal combination of sunshine and rain!

Was at the junior wing of SHS today.....the peace and tranquility of the wing and the old world charm never fails to soothe and rejuvenate. Kids were walking in for their interviews and worried parents were fussing over them. It was a nice sunny day though the morning was a little foggy. Having smiling kids around uplifts the spirits.Some could'nt care less about what was happening...they just wanted to have a good time on the swings and ride the tricycles.Some were bawling loudly refusing to let go of parents.But the best part was sitting under the trees in the lawn and reading after the kids and parents had left. In all an enjoyable, relaxing day.:)

LOVE AFTER LOVE
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and, say, sit here. Eat.
you will love again the stranger who was yourself.
give wine. give bread. give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
sit. feast on your life.
DEREK WALCOTT