Would you do social work on a week day?

31st December, 2010

A lazy long day.. this wasn't how I would have like the year to end. And then, this happened..

Infosys has been running SPARK - Rural Reach Program (RRP) which is a one day program that aims at improving awareness of computers and the power of IT among children in rural India. The target audience for this programme is school children of classes 5th to 7th. This is also connected to the PC donation scheme of Infosys.

With regards to the above programme, I was contacted to help coordinate the programme in a Government school in this area. The person from Infosys (may be some manager) explained the thing in brief - some volunteers would be coming and a target audience of 200-300 (later increased to 500) would be reached. Some of her lines shocked me, she stressed on the following - every volunteer would bring their own laptop, none of the volunteers would get paid for coming on a Saturday, it is very fruitful for the students, the program is being conducted all over India for the last 5-6 yrs and it has been a great success, they will provide computers to all school which submit a request within 2-3 months and on on.

Then I asked her - there are more than 50 Higher Primary schools here (surely an underestimate, I don't know the exact figure), is there any selection criteria to organize the programme?

"There is no such criteria. You can select it. We will cover all the schools in the future. There are 1000 or more than 1000 schools in the country, we can't finish all schools at once, we will cover them slowly." And another round of praise for the programme and the volunteers followed.

We decided to work on that and the phone goes dead. The thought kept playing on my head and then suddenly I realized that Saturday is a half-day for schools. So I send her a sms -

"One more constraint, Saturday is a half day for schools. So it might be difficult to have it on a Saturday. Please check for other options.

Praveen"

And the call comes in a while -

The lady on the other end says, "I saw your message now. We have successfully run this programme for so many years. It is very fruitful for the students to spend time with us. It is because our DC suggested this organization we are contacting you. We have so many schools waiting in the pipeline and they invite us to come to their school. Other than Saturdays is not possible as we have a working day in Infosys. We can't do social work on weekdays. Would you do social work on a week day? We are not wasting the time of students beyond 7th and we are not wasting the time of students below 5th. We are only asking for 5th to 7th. I hope I have explained the point. Instead of sending a message, give me a missed call. I will call you back."

And some 45 min later, I get an sms -

"It can be conducted without affecting to their classes please verify with the school head master n let me at the earliest for further arrangements. Trust me from this program lot of govt. Schools have been benifited..thanks for coordinating n Wish u happy new year."

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This evening had raised some questions I couldn't quite answer. We live in the corporate era and this conversation exposed some realities for me. We have schools where students find it difficult to write in their mother tongue in High School, students who don't come to school unless they are served the mid-day meal and here is a corporate firm who will send their people on Saturday and expect the school to function full time. We have a person who thinks there are 1000 or more schools in India, and she is the same person who thinks their RRP sessions are very fruitful. Is that true Corporate Social Responsibility? Well, it is for Infosys (which is the best among the lot)!

I would agree that these exposure sessions would be good for children but have they been chalked out well to facilitate the learning process or are they just the picnic visits of those people where they show  a few models of laptops? Can you plan to teach a kid without having any knowledge of that kid? Their show of skills (communication and presentation) may vastly undermine the skills of the teacher (in the eyes of the student) with whom the students would have to spend maximum time. Why shouldn't we train teachers? (Training teachers doesn't seem big enough in annual CSR reports, after all we feel more sorry for a child beggar than an old-aged beggar!).  The programme may or may not reach the intended goals, however, their lifestyle, culture, etc. may influence the kids in ways we may never understand. May be for good or bad! Who cares what happens to a child in these remote villages, after all the software-walas don't get paid for spending time with that child!

I have questions all over, didn't know where to start and where these would end. This seems to be the harsh reality of the modern world. Why can't CSR be truly for nation building? Why should we be paid for spending a few hours for our nation? In spite of so many questions, I still have a hope that these sessions will help some kid somewhere and I will try to facilitate these sessions until I find answers to at least a few questions.

Would you do social work on a week day?

I don't know what to say for that. May be the answer lies in another question -

Does your hunger take leave on a Sunday? It surely doesn't in the countryside.

--buddi

0119

01 - 01 - 2011

Dangers of a good resource

Dangers of a good resource
"Imagine a few balls held together and stationary at a place. Now imagine several small balls revolving around the balls at the centre, like what happens in our solar system. Except that the sun is replaced by a group of balls... Are you able to see what I am saying?"
"We don't understand it, just show us the Learnext videos" replies a student.

SILENCE! It was a very irritating silence. This was what happened in one of my classes recently. It wasn't a welcome sign to get back to teaching after a long gap. The last couple of weeks or so have been challenging for me to revive my interest and moreover accept the circumstances and plan my way ahead. I have had 2 very disturbing experiences - one of them was the above and the other with a group of teachers.

On November 13th, I was addressing was a gathering of 86 primary school science teachers at the Block Resource Centre at H D Kote. On the evening of the previous day I was given a list of topics of science to talk about. I chose topics primarily from physics and spent about 6 hours planning for the programme. I tried to stay within the syllabus of the Higher Primary School and wanted to primarily clarify their conceptual doubts. But only later did I realize that I got it wrong. I was of the opinion that if I can help teachers understand the concepts, they would put in their efforts to come up with newer ideas and customize their teaching as per the students in their classes. But what teachers were looking forward from this "training programme" was a ready-made package which they could directly deliver in a class. They just wanted to be postmen who deliver letters on time and in good condition (They just don't want to break your head about the content).

The other incident was something on these lines again. In both cases, the teachers and students have access to  resources - wonderful teaching materials, teaching aids and so many other things. Our world is surely a smaller place. Now a days, our teachers are able to teach better and students are able to understand better. But nothing comes for free.Teachers understand lesser and students think even lesser. All the teaching aids we have, have made the teachers and students less creative. They can't imagine abstract things, read lesser! Any small challenge in front of them and they are looking for support.

This is going to affect the creativity of teachers and students. I have seen quite a few students come up with ready made kits as part of their projects! What is happening? Are we ever going to break our heads, burn our fingers and dirty our dress for understanding how something works and may be get something to work. When resources are limited... thats when everything happens. I think it is time for us to have a look at the resources more critically and then decide what is that we need the most.

--buddi
0029
27 - 11 - 2010

Am I at the right place?

Sitting in Anirudh's home, Bangalore... All software-walas still sleeping!

I am all set to go and meet the Prema Vidya team. By the mails exchanged, it looked like the team are expecting a 'different' person. This doubt and the experience at the Annual General Body Meeting yesterday, complemented by the several others, cements my doubt - Am I at the right place? Or to be more truthful, Am I the right person to work at this place?

Some of my friends might just laugh off, saying - you are just being modest. But modesty is not supposed to trouble mentally! My life has always been in mediocrity, choosing to do well and show commitment only when it was pleasing to me. And around me, at SVYM, are people who have achieved a great deal all through their life, topping almost everything they did and they did everything with utmost sincerity.

I, on the other hand, did almost nothing completely seriously. I found Calculus by Thomas & Finney more interesting than 10th board exams, Tendulkar's sixes against Akthar and Caddick in the World Cup more memorable than PUC, reading nuclear chemistry more important that preparing for IIT JEE, football and morning jogs more relieving than the sleep before exams at IIT, my nuclear physics project more worthy than any other BTech course and on and on. As a result and as expected, I did nothing that I would really be proud of. I left IIT feeling that the degree didnt mean anything to me and I dont know when I may get that. (I dont regret that) And here I am surrounded by people who have accumulated gold medals and gold medals.

I still stand by the opinion that the degree means nothing to me and knowledge is more valuable, and so I wonder - am I the right person to work at this place? I am just too playful..

-- buddi

0706

27 - 09 - 2010

PS: I did win a couple of gold medals in school for being named in the football and cricket teams for the inter-house tournaments. Do they count?:-)

Random thoughts

Random thoughts – Independence Day (15^th August 2010)

On the very same day, last year I was here. It was a different experience then. As Anirudh put it, on our way back, 24hrs of the Independence Day well utilized! That was quite a while back! Things have really changed now… back then I was the known-unknown. People at the VSOE knew that there was a fellow coming from Chennai; had released some newsletter and went back. I knew Malathi and Anitha, and I met Dr Padmaja and Dr Bindu to give them a copy of the newsletter (I was very confused between Dr Padmaja and Dr Sridevi at that time). I hardly remember any interaction with Prathima and other staff here.

Today was better. I knew almost everyone at the school and many at the SVYM function. From a visitor, I have grown to be a volunteer and a friend in this place. I have participated in the discussion in the Recreation Committee meetings and to have some extent influenced the way the event was organized. The interaction with Dr MAB was as insightful as any of the earlier ones. The discussions on Independence vs. Swaraj and Equality vs. Equity were thought-provoking. These followed by the visit to Mysore made the day even more exciting. Prathima, Sophia and Sumalatha were there all along. Some eating, shopping, window-shopping, again eating and the long travel back made up our trip. I have had a really great time with them, especially Prathima. She has been one of my best friends here and is like anyone else. But the simplicity and openness to suggestions and ideas just puts her one step beyond. Another new place, another new friend… this surely is one thing I am always happy about – I find a friend everywhere (not in everyone though). It was yet another memorable day for me here. Not because of the work but thanks to the people around…

Yet another Independence day, yet another year. Life seems to be running fast, a cause for concern. So much to do, so less time to do. I am almost always caught up in a fix where I really find it difficult to strike a balance between 'productive work' and friends. Is it always a trade-off? I just can't find the answer. Nevertheless, either way I choose I still have the satisfaction of doing justice to one of my prime interests. Well.. eventually I would find the balance I just hope I don't run out of fuel before that. This entry I am sure ran all over the place and hence the title 'random'. This was supposed to be about the people - people who guide and people who befriend.

--buddi

I Discover Myself

I Discover Myself

SVYM, My Experiences - 3

I am 6 months old now. As always – it has been a great journey so far. I can’t help it, that’s always the first line. 6 months already… I just can’t believe it, time seems to have flown by. I still have an entry to be posted three months back (editing going on, no need for it anymore). It is only these incomplete blog entries, bookshop bills and travel tickets flying around and a heavy bag of memories which give me a feel of the 6 months.

I have learnt a bit, traveled a lot and enjoyed the most. Some special moments – removal of stitches on the toe, “Room Clean” to “Clean Room” (RC2CR) Program, “spherical” balls of dough for chapatti, clinical trials of lady’s finger and potato deep fry, lunch invitations, pumping fists and cartwheeling (attempt) in computer lab after the success of a program, preparations for ERB (Online coursework :P), a six over the cover in the evening cricket match (ball went missing), diving with kids in water canals (unfortunately the water was only knee deep), long drives to Hosahalli, Pi day question paper, high fives after scoring the goals (short fives with Anup and Pranav), the unexplainable theatre (oops.. it’s a tent!), the frustrated kick which left the toe in pain for 10 days, students laughing at my jokes (happens pretty frequently), science club, midnight birthday parties, innumerable snack sessions, sleep inducing ‘resource person’ talks (should consider attending more of those), surprise trip to Trivandrum on friend’s birthday, trips to Siddapura & Thirunelli, “bad at eating” talks with Malathi, the 30min sleep after the posters preparation slog, Beatrice & Virgil, everyday walks (out of boredom, excitement, frustration), the new pairs of shoes for football, yes / no thinking sessions, 4 days when I did nothing, photography trials, phone calls running into hours … on and on.

Yes, they were 6 long months - flooded with thoughts and memories, every moment offering something to learn. I keep telling people about this place and would continue to. People have been very helpful and share their experience with me. While it has been difficult to get into the system (roles, rules and expectations), it had been an even greater challenge to gain acceptance from people. During my stay at IIT, I have been made villain many a times because I raise questions (places which taught science didn’t encourage questions) and talk about ‘actual’ work. This place has been more kind on me; people take questions and dig for answers. Few of my interactions with Dr MAB have been memorable. There have been situations where I couldn’t decide or talk straight to people. From the indefinite thoughts and discussions, I learnt that no person can be bigger than the organization itself.

There are several things a good room and a beautiful countryside can’t provide, we need people around. Dr MAB and Dr Sridevi have been very helpful all the way. Every time I walked into Dr MAB’s office with a question/doubt, I have come out laughing at myself. Foolish Praveen went with a silly doubt! Hours or sometimes days of thinking haven’t given me answers anywhere close to that of Dr MAB. His friendly nature and strive for perfection have been great inspirations. While Dr MAB gave me a chance to explore my work, Dr Sridevi has given me the chance to run wild in anything I could think of (ERB, Database, GIS ...). Living with my constant overshoots of deadlines, I still wonder how she keeps her cool. Everyone here, in their own way, has influenced my life. I would only belittle their influence by a ‘Thank you’, so no attempts.

In October 2009, I confessed to a friend that I didn’t know where I was heading and wanted some time to clear my head. And so I came to SVYM to learn about NGOs and simultaneously plan for future. I haven’t chosen this over my career, this is my career. I just hope to continue in this domain for a long time to come, there is no turning back. Here or somewhere else.. Wherever!

These months have been my most creative and productive after school. I have started enjoying myself a lot, a childhood which I once enjoyed in school. I Discover Myself.

--buddi

Why I chose to be what I want to be

There are several people who keep asking me questions like.. Why did you join the development sector? Why did you want to become a teacher? Why did you start GRID? Why did you quit IViL? Why did you join SVYM? Why do you take classes at ABS? Why did you choose nuclear physics? Why did you drop nuclear physics for neuroscience? And the best of all.. Why are you ruining your career at SVYM?

"Just trying out different things!"

And suddenly in most cases there would be an expression of shock or giving up on me. Most of the times I don't have convincing answers. However, it is an interesting exercise to look back and think of why I chose to be what I wanted to be (Sometimes / Many times what we want to be is different from what we choose to be). This is my search for those answers and a look into if I still do it.

Why I chose to be a teacher & my experiences..

My first assignment as a teacher was to spend some time with the students of 7th class on weekends and get some pocket money. The first few days of my class were mechanical - a presentation (given to me by my employer), few students and a blackboard. As the students changed and as I got used to the "drill" I started realizing that in the name of a foundation programme (for competitive exams :P), parents were being cheated and students were being tortured. I never really understood, why parents wanted to pain their children with these classes on weekends.

To answer my conscience, I had broken off from the traditional way and started discussing rather than lecturing. Things suddenly looked changed, the kids were more active and interactive and I was sure they learnt more this way. Very soon, I stopped using the presentations and discussions.. we got into a story telling mode. 5 of us, sit in a circle and tell something that was related to that day's theme. We used to have two sessions of 1.5hrs each and in between there was a round of badminton. We all used to enjoy it! The kids suddenly had so many things to tell me. I learnt one of the first lessons as a teacher - students have so much to say, we just need to give them a chance.

I did have to bear the heat from my employer and I was forced out but I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a teacher. I didn't want to step outside the class and say "My class in over"... I wanted to be a mentor. I had envied many of my teachers and tried imitating them. That is what being a teacher is more about - not just teach science or social but being a role-model in every sense. The dressing, body language, language, behavior is all looked at very closely by our students, I was learning all of these. As I started enjoying it more, there were more issues troubling me and I set out to change at least a few. I started talking to teachers and wanted to change the way few things were being done. Hit road-blocks at most places!

In my quest to understand more, I began to teach several age groups... those in the age group of late 20s to 6th standard kids. It was a very different experience, learnt new things. Students tend get more conscious about their surroundings and neighbors with age, even getting a doubt clarified would become very difficult. Unknowingly I had started observing the psychology of the students - changes in it and the external influences. It was interesting to note how a child's thought process changes.. my first case study was myself, how small and seemingly unimportant things change our attitude towards life. It was nice to come up with a chronological order of events and relate to how they brought about the crests and troughs. This became one of the motivations for me to take a class to the ground and then observe the students - how they play, how they get involved, how they interact and so on. With a better understanding of the kids we would be in a position to relate better.

From being a teacher, there was a stage when I wanted to teach teachers how to teach. I just didn't say this to any teacher but that was what I meant.. I was sick of the tiring and quiet lectures. I was hated at most places, people started feeling insecure! I have neither had the qualification and experience to be a teacher nor did I read any books. I was questioned repeatedly. I am grateful to SVYM for having had faith in me.

Still the compound walls exist, most times wherever I go, people think I am more of an intrusion. I don't believe in bribing students with stars on the conduct chart, I want to be a 'teacher' not a maths/science textbook interpreter, I have to close eyes in the assembly for the kid to learn from me rather than keep a watch on them and punish whoever doesn't do it, I have to respect every high school student to make them respect each other, I have to leave behind my ego or other personal issues to work with the entire team to create a better environment for the kids to learn, I am sure none of these makes me a bad teacher and I hope I can be accepted as a fellow teacher or want-to-be-teacher. I no longer try to preach to teachers, that was a failed experiment. It is an emotionally more satisfying exercise to work with students than teachers!

The talks on "Brain & Psychology" and "Research in education" which I gave at VTTRC (Thanks to P Mahesh, Principal, VTTRC) have been my most memorable moments as a teacher. They were entirely based on my experiences as a teacher, giving examples of students I had observed. Though they would have been unorthodox, I can now proudly say I can talk for 3 hours on what I learnt from my experiences. Every place I go to - students are different, cultures are different. It is as if I am starting all over again. The journey goes on... I still WANT TO BE A TEACHER.

--buddi

0843

18 - 06 - 2010

PS: I have always avoided taking classes and feel uncomfortable if I have to in the Primary School, as it takes a teacher to be of high morals to teach and shape the minds. And I am surely not of the high morals.

Mobile Science Labs - An Experience

In the last 3 months of my work at SVYM, I have tried my hand in different things. Not academically eligible for any but I did manage to learn quite a bit. I plan to put some of my observations of various projects I have seen in last 4years in a series of articles here. Most of the projects I have taken interest in, work for improving educational standards in rural areas. This article is on Mobile Science Lab projects. Written for the group "All about science" it is a bit messy, I hope to improve the quality of writing slowly.

MOBILE SCIENCE LABS - Where do they start? Where do they stop?

For the last decade or more, mobile science labs have become a very popular idea for almost all NGOs and sometimes Government bodies. IViL took one to Natham! A simple Google search would give you several tens of news articles on the inauguration of a mobile science lab and even more photographs of the van / auto / lorry with some kids, and a celebrity! Though we are informed well about the inauguration and their plans, we are almost always left in the dark when it comes to the outcome of these projects. I am a part of a mobile science lab project myself, and this is an account of my experiences and unanswered questions - A hypothesis.

All mobile science lab projects aim at improving scientific temperament of students, providing infrastructure and human resource support to schools, primarily in the rural areas. Though the priorities and strategies might change a bit - the objectives and contents are almost always same. However, brain and beauty never go together! May be a bit biased but a comparative study of the two classes.

A couple of months back, I was at Agastya International Foundation, Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh. A 172 acre campus with 6 "BT lunch room sized" labs", full size cricket, football and basketball fields, a "Discovery" centre, in-house workshop, over 40 mobile vans and resource persons coming from Bangalore, Chennai and other places. Strategically placed where the three big southern states meet, it is a beautiful campus. The optical illusion display section in the "Discovery" centre was bigger than a couple of labs put together. Right from Guest rooms to the dinning plates to the office, everything shows crores of rupees being poured in. They claimed to have reached over 2 million children and 70,000 teachers. One of the striking features of the program is that they concentrate more reaching more students. A student will get a chance to visit a particular lab in the campus only once a year. Would that be enough? In sharp contrast is the SVYM project, Vignana Vahini. One mobile van, one coordinator, 20 schools, visiting each school once a month. Involving the local teachers to demonstrate the science experiments covered in that particular month, Vignana Vahini provides them the necessary equipment and raw materials. This is a model I believe in now (not necessarily the better). However, sometimes even the once-a-month visits aren't enough to sustain the interest of students for a month, what then? However, both models preach a hands-on experience and an experiential learning and though they have been successfully implementing these there is a large scope for improvement. The number of students being handled is a also a limiting factor.

Agastya has a very interesting concept of identifying the talented students in the sessions they take up and these students are made to participate in some science fair etc. However, the students themselves don't prepare the things for demonstration, they are only taught how to explain! With a workshop readily available in-house, Agastya prepares demonstration models with great ease. This kills creativity among the students and teachers - they hardly dirty their hands. In a couple of science exhibitions conducted recently, I had seen students explaining with ready-made kits. The concept works directly against Agastya's tag line - "Sparking creativity". Where do we start? And where do we stop? The kids selected in these sessions could act as the student-tutors and enhance peer-to-peer learning. Well the idea seems to be good, implementation presents a new set of challenges.

It is a fact that all the "best" B.Eds become government teachers (because they undergo a pretty tough selection process). However, the government post makes them good at counting money! Whatever teacher-force we hire outside or whom we have are all the second best. Be it the "well-trained" faculty at Agastya or the coordinators of our project none of them is as good as the government teachers. It is directly observable in the classes they take. However, well-trained someone is, only their vocabulary, body-language and methodology might change but their classes will be plagued with hundreds of conceptual mistakes. (A 'serious' common feature in most projects). They have equipments, they have resource persons but they are just not the best teachers. At Agastya, I had observed that the school teachers were alienated from the sessions going on (may not be the case always) and our project at SVYM involves the teachers too much. Both extremes are risky and will lead to a collapse of the whole mechanism.

How do me monitor the progress / impact of the whole project? How do we assess how a mobile science lab influenced a student's life? How do we calculate by how much percentage the student's scientific temperament has gone up? :P I wish we could just wait for a generation to pass by and then look at a possible change these projects would have brough about. Isn't enough to just be happy with the verbal approval of all students that these ideas help them? The answer is a NO. Improvisation is always possible, and we should be doing justice to the money that goes in. How is that money better spent on a mobile science lab and a health or sanitation programme? Justification, monitoring, feedback and reshaping are important, however no project I know of has these mechanisms in place and hence there is now news of a mobile science lab running successfully.

Intentions are right but implementation is never the best. The should be a blend of several mechanisms and a new system should evolve to best meet the needs of varied groups of children. Agastya is creating a spark in the fast-learners, SVYM keeps hitting and hitting until the moderate-learners pick up, what do we have for the slow learners? Should they continue to be the neglected batch? Several questions like these leave our projects severely handicapped. They need a deep thinking!

Questions to be answered -

1. Show up once in a year at some school do a couple of experiments and move on, to see as many schools as possible.

Show up once a month in every school, conduct some experiments, competition, give reading materials - just concentrate on this smaller group.

Which one is better? Which has more impact?

2. Monitoring, feedback and performance analysis of the whole project. How do we do these? How do we find out whether it is helpful for the students?

3. Other contributing factors - It has been observed that some schools with science labs are not really able to help the students. So just providing infrastructure won't help. Which are other contributing factors that could help the cause of the project?

4. Teacher's role is unquestionable in education. To what extent should they be made a part of our project?

5. Usage of ready-made models for demonstration - Yes/No? Till what extent?

--buddi

18 - 05 - 2010

Sleepless nights at SVYM

This is a part of the letter to few of my friends and a teacher... I am yet to post the letter, felt like putting it up here.

It has been quite a few days since I have slept well in my room here at SVYM.. too many thoughts, too many things to do. I am having sleepless night here. Feels very awkward to say this and I have not been too successful to put my thoughts together. So much confusion in life around me, even greater confusion in my life.

Things have not been too good in the world around. A group of kids (may be some 12yrs old) trying to blow out some smoke onto my face from thrown away cigarette filters, a student securing 9/625 in SSLC exams, a politician making 700cr a day, BEO asking for extra bills so that he could pocket the extra funds, a cabinet minister sexually assaulting his friend's wife, naxalites brutally murdering 73 jawans, a corrupt Chief Justice of a high court being transferred to another, a school with a single teacher who handles 4 subjects for the students, corruption beyond imagination, a 52yr old citizen turning into a traitor and spy, thousands dying of starvation when rice is being sold at Rs2/kg, crores of crores rupees of black money (an estimated amount of 75 lakh crores is in Swiss bank accounts and Indian budget is of the order a lakh crores), a hungry kid feeding his dog, an elderly man crying helplessly for his ill wife, an eloping couple, and so on. The last three months of travelling have shown me life beyond the safe haven I had lived in.

It has been a testing time for me, the last few days - a test of humanness. Eating food and spending money has become a bit difficult now. I just can't digest the fact that there is so much going wrong around us. I hate myself for being a part of this system - we have to go and lick that BEO's *** from tomorrow to try to help a few students. We all form a society and almost everyone accepts that what is going on is not right, but can't take that one step to help someone. No one can be blamed, it is the sad part in this world... people follow. We need an inspiration to lead us.

I am a part of a NGO, I thought I was helping people but there is so much missing. "A caring and equitable society free of deprivation and strife" thats our vision - sweet and far far away. What good am I when I can't make even one person's life free of deprivation and strife. We have several tools to support us, we just need to make the right use - education, courts, RTI and above all having faith that justice will done. We have to tear apart the evils which plague us generation after generation.

The solitude and the climate I enjoy here is something that reminds me of my native place. They give me the space to try to understand the dynamics of life. In those cloudless nights, somewhere in the darkness around me, there is a great deal happening that eludes me.. I have have found some inspiration and energy to look beyond my "career" (this is my career and would be this way). Some day I would like to make myself happy feeding that hungry kid, helping that old woman, help that student pass SSLC, use at least a bit of the available money to help the deprived... I hope to, no matter where that takes me and what it costs. May be thats what is soul searching!

--buddi

0211

07 - 05 - 2010

PS: I am still writing the letter, will finish it soon.

SVYM, My experiences - 2

Nice to get back to this! I always enjoy it..

For the news updates - I have joined 'the NGO' in the Mysore district.

This one is about my first couple of weeks here (Already!) SVYM, the exciting place, is still as exciting as ever. Once I have joined here officially I got to work with people even more closely and share ideas and opinions. I have been a part of several nice discussions, sometimes in favour of me and sometimes against me (but never the "heated" ones). I am enjoying my stay here, esp. with so many knowledgeable people around and ready to help there is hardly a time when I would like to sit idle, people are more productive than I am. I am sure I will catch up, at least I will try to!

SVYM has provided me with the optimism and opportunity to explore and experiment which I have not enjoyed at other places. It is surely the place to be. In the few days I have spent here I did make a strange observation. I am not sure whether many will agree. There is a striking difference in the attitude of the people here towards work and their place of work. While some people take pride in being a part of this organisation (which includes the founders and few inspired ones), for many it is just another place of work. I found it pretty difficult to digest. I feel the heavy turn-over of staff can be attributed to this point.

In my interactions with few people here, the only thing I could feel was the passion and optimism. Its like there is a transfer of enormous enthusiasm and 'can do more' attitude. These are the people who built, build and run this place. People at various levels, starting from the President to the doctors to the to the teachers these are people who have inspired me and brought me back to this place time and again. Dr Balu (my first choice, as Malathi akka told I like him the most. For me he has been more inspirirng than any person I have ever heard of), Dr MAB, Dr MRS, Dr Sridevi, Dr Padmaja, Dr Bindu, Malathi, Anitha, Sumathi, Beena, Poshini.. the list is surely endless. For all the people who question my motives and choices I don't have better answers than just taking these names.

Sometimes I am caught in a confusion should I call them sir, anna, or just by their name. I believe respect comes in how behave with them rather than how you call them (that is one thing 4 years in IIT has taught me, we called our professors as 'sir' but we never had any respect. I am a bit ashamed to say this but it is a fact). Moreover, I think I just know that with these people it doesn't matter at all and I know I have high regards for them. These are the people I have enjoyed talking to in the last few days, the best part has been spending time thinking over their ideas and ideals. I feel proud to be a part of their family (though I have questions like do I deserve to be here) Everytime this thought crosses mind, it is a hair-raising experience.

On the other side are many people here who don't seem to know about the social impact (or should I call it the social footprint) of this organization. I am among the few lucky ones to have visited few of the places. For them this is a working place that runs from 9am to 5 or 6pm, and within these timings they are expected to abide by the rules and regulations! And one more observation I had was that hardly anyone shares their good times (or even the bad times) of their work - classes, meetings... whatever. Every time a notice is sent calling for a meeting, people kind of gear up themselves to get some firing... :P (which may or may not happen). I feel very much out of place with such people around. Nothing is looked at like "our" work, it is almost always "mine", "yours". Sometimes people are afraid of talking a few things infront of me, they feel I would inform the "higher-ups". I don't understand whom they are afraid of, may be they are afraid of themselves saying the wrong thing! I can't help but smile as I put down all these. Well, I have had enough of these experiences even before I joined here and I know to walk my way around them but thats not the solution. We need a change in attitude. We are teachers who have to show how good students should be like! We need to be good students. I take pride in being a part of SVYM, no matter what ever little I have done. I hope I can inspire at least one more and may be build that emotional link.

SVYM has given me great days already and many more to come. There are some bad things here too. The sun rises late here (come on Earth be faster), the day ends very fast (come on Earth be slower) the school should have a nap break after lunch, a football team, a chit chat place for 'out of mind' people like me and more of 'out of mind' people... sounds crazy :P. Sometimes I do miss my friends, the ritualistic midnight coffee sessions and the long walks. These kids make me so jealous, I just want to join for 9th class next year here and relive my best years (9th and 10th classes)

@ Uday and Purri.. hope you people also join and then we will have a Purri's Boston Tea Party.

--buddi

1917

22 - 02 - 2010

SVYM, My experiences

Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) & Vivekananda Memorial Hospital

SVYM, My experiences

Reading through the entries in the blog, I feel so happy to know about SVYM and be able to watch it action. I have known SVYM for almost 3 years now and it has been a different journey. What started out as a quest has now become an obsession. This is SVYM in my view -

I have tried to become a part of several groups (16 precisely) which worked for varied causes from rural development to environmental awareness. I have been associated with them at different levels but every time I looked back at my experiences with them, something was always missing. SVYM was the answer to all. For the first time, I was with people who had committed themselves to this work for their life-time and at the same time I could see the immediate beneficiaries. Everything was so pleasing!

Viveka School of Excellence (VSOE), Saragur

During my first visit (2007), I was there without any aim and may be that was the reason I couldn't carry back much. But that was first chance to meet Dr. Balu and Anitha akka, who left an ever-lasting impression on me. The passion with which Dr Balu explained his vision of "exploratory park" (that is what it was called then) and Anitha akka's commitment to realize it. One of the lines I remember - Dr Balu says to Anitha akka, "You people come up with the design and we will get the funding. This project should be done before next academic year. No marriage until then!"

My second visit (2008) was more productive in terms of spending time with the teachers and students. Satheesh (Ph.D in Robotics) was with me. Starting with his talk on robotics at VSOE, the trip ended with a 4hr long discussion with Triveni ma'am and Vasantamani ma'am on efficiently using the available lab equipment at VTCL. Satheesh and myself used to dine along with the kids at VTCL and I sure had few of the heaviest meals of my life. We also went to backwaters and that was it - both of us knew we will be coming back for sure. Two lines to remember from this trip, Anitha akka taught me "Chennagadira?" and the second, at the resort at the backwaters, Satheesh asks, "Do you have any cool-drinks?" and the guy there replies "We have chilled beer!" During my second visit, I couldn't see much of Dr Balu or Anitha akka, but I could understand SVYM as a whole. I met two more very influential people Triveni ma'am and Malathi ma'am.

My third visit (2009) was the longest and by far the most productive. I was literally taken aback when I heard that most of the faculty were new. But very soon I realized, new faculty meant more enthusiasm. After a quick meeting with Malathi ma'am, I moved on with my idea of conducting a written quiz for the students of classes 5 - 8. Anitha akka was very quick in adjusting the time table and finding convenient periods for me. Towards the end of the day, the maths & science faculty and myself met in the computer lab and discussed about the ideas to improve the students' understanding. That was a good first day!

The second day was very exciting, as I prepared to take 5 classes for classes 7 & 8. The students responded well and in the last hour I joined some of the kids in the ground. PT sir found a spot for me in the kho-kho match but I didn't last for more than a minute. Aniruddh, a 6th class kid, got rid of me. He was the one who had topped the quiz the previous day. He had the killer-instinct, he was way ahead of others. He is a kid to watch out for! Few of us again met in the computer lab, where I demonstrated some experiments on light. The next day I went to VTCL. After watching an English play by 7th Class boys, I moved to the Physical Sciences Lab where with the help of Triveni ma'am and Mr.Vardharaj we conducted a quiz for a few selected students. Then the discussion on use of lab equipments and encouraging the students to take up projects continued. The return to VSOE on Mr.Devdas' bike was good, he took me to the Kabini Dam. On the fourth day, I had a couple of periods on career guidance and handling science projects.

The third trip was eventful in every sense. When I was there, the 40th anniversary of man's landing on moon was being celebrated, we witnessed the longest total solar eclipse of the century and the heavy rainfall in the Western Ghats had filled the Kabini Reservoir and all the gates were opened. These three were very important themes for the classes I had taken. We discussed about India's space mission, how solar and lunar eclipses occur and how rainfall and water management play an important role in agriculture. I was having a great time with the faculty - played carroms with them, helped one of them solve sudoku, had lunch & dinner with them, discussed classroom experiences and so on. I finished reading "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. A line to which I could relate to - "... no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." SVYM was the best place I could read that book. Helping students in rural India realize their dreams has been my dream.

I have picked up loads of memories and experiences in my visits. I couldn't quite digest the fact that few teachers left in search of better jobs. The commitment and vision of the people at SVYM had pushed GRID out of my diary into reality. Whatever, little bit I have tried to do through GRID, a major share of the credit would go to SVYM, Dr.Balu and Anitha akka in particular. Over the 25 years of existence, I can't imagine how many would have been benefited and how many more would have been inspired listening to the story of SVYM. It would be foolish to claim that SVYM changed lives in rural Karnataka. It is not just in rural Karnataka, SVYM built lives everywhere. Given an opportunity I would like to join as a science teacher at VSOE and contribute my bit to help Dr Balu start the Exploratorium. I wish to realize my dream!

--buddi
05 - 08 - 2009


P.S: An edited and better version is available on the official blog of SVYM. Edited by Dr C Anil.