The following piece has been written by Riti Dhankar, who has recently joined Vikramshila as an intern . Riti has completed her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rajasthan and has a keen interest to work in the development sector. She is now in the phase of exploring and dicovering the education sector and has decided to spend a few moths with us in Kolkata. At Vikramshila, she is variously involved in the Naba Disha, E2E and Madrasah projects and has undertaken several visits to the different learning centers and schools. The piece below is an account of her experiences at the Vikramshila's Naba Disha centers (alternate education centers running in urban slums in an attempt to educate out of school and drop out children to finally mainstream them to formal schools). It is a colourful and interesting piece giving a first hand account of her as an observer, written in a lucid form resembling a personal diary...
(P.S. there were several photographs in this write up...we are in an attempt to upload these images...)
27TH OCT ‘09
I was asked by Manjula di to be ready by 9 since she would pick me up and then we would go to 3 Naba Disha centers- Taratala, Watgunge and Hastings. Manjula di i think lost her way and couldn’t find me for a while but once she did, all three of us including Moutushee proceeded towards the bus stand.
We took the bus to Taratala. Though the bus was jam packed and traffic was usual, still i could get a feel of the city, its people and roads (obviously).
We changed the bus and took another one and got down right in front of Taratala center. The whole journey took around 45min to 50 min but it didn’t feel that long since to get the feel of the city its v imp to see the basics first, the actual Kolkata and I was absorbing every bit of it.
Taratala center was the first Nabadisha School that I visited. When we entered the building and then the classroom, it was pleasant to notice that the students were so unruffled by visitors that they wanted to make friends with me! I was briefed a bit by Manjula di about the strength of the students, the pattern in which they are grouped, about how they managed their timings with the government school and basically about how the school functions.
The students here go to government schools too. The students having morning shifts come to Nabadisha in the afternoon and have their mid day meal and those students who go to govt school in the afternoon, come to Nabadisha in the morning, have their mid day meal and then proceed to their school. The thing to notice here was, in spite of having such long school hours, the students are very enthusiastic and lively and look forward for every activity that they do and look forward for studying too.
In this school, the medium is Hindi. There are a total of 120 students and it is under Kolkata police along with 12 other centers out of 20 and the rest are under west Bengal police.
Every center has 3 levels- New level- for beginners, level 1, level 2, level 3 and level 3+. In all the levels except the level for beginners, the students are prepared for admissions in the main stream schools and made to sit for the entrance exams as and when they are scheduled.
The lessons they study in their schools are explained in a much simpler manner to them in Nabadisha with the help of charts, work cards and work sheets. This makes the students more confident and helps them perform a lot better at govt schools.
Those students who are a bit matured then the rest, in the age group of 10 to 12 yrs, have formed a group. This group does community survey, conducts community visits and tries to bring awareness about the current issues like bird flu, swine flu,aila etc. they have a minutes notebook with all their agenda written in that.
The group 3 and 3+ were happy to show me their minutes book and i saw many interesting issues in that like- donts of travelling by train, dengue awareness, how to cross a road(road rules),about health checkups that are conducted in the centers, polio drop awareness, list of people who have taken it, global warming etc.
This group also conducts plays on issues like alcoholism, domestic violence etc since these are the issues that pose serious concern in their locality. On interaction with the teachers, they mentioned, some improvement had been seen in the community post these plays.
I think people from one’s own community have a much better reality check effect rather than people coming from outside and delivering lectures. Same happened with Nabadisha too and the children are somehow striking the right cord.
After interacting with this group, I went to level 1 group. i would say these were the kids truly enjoying their school with all sorts of activities and learning materials like poems, colour tablets, storytelling card cue etc.
They were enjoying reciting poems and taking pride in their recitation skills so much so that they all started reciting their favourite poems at the same time and Manjula di had a tough time managing the bunch of enthusiastic orators...
When the poem for hand identification came, a statement was given that right hand is the hand with which we eat our food and a little lefty kid seemed a bit lost until he was explained that it is ok to eat with the left hand too!
The assessment by the teachers in this group is done by noticing the responses given by the students and a feedback is maintained in each student’s assessment record book. Accordingly, future lessons are planned and the agenda made.
I saw an old gentleman teaching in the school and upon asking his name, the kids’ promptly told me his name was Dada ji. So, I will be referring him with the same. Dada ji comes to the Taratala center to teach math. On interacting with him, I came to know that he was in corporate and after retirement, saw the TOI( Times of India) ad in newspapers for teach India and contacted Nabadisha. Since he is 83 yrs old, he was assigned a school very near to his home and he seemed to be very happy with the fact that he was helping young children and genuinely felt disgusted with the current political scenario and education system of India. If I get an opportunity to talk with him again, I would surely like to know his views more clearly on these issues since it looks like I live in absolute ignorance and he has so much knowledge and wisdom to share..
During the last few minutes in the center, the children of group 3 and 3+ sang a song for me that was Saare Jahan se acha Hindustan humara...as they were singing the song; a very beautiful line caught my attention."mazhab nahi seekhata apas mei bair rakhna" and I was happy to notice that the children were not only singing the song, they were even trying hard to understand the meaning of it.
As I was leaving, the students gave a a hand made card, a greeting and a thank you for visiting the Nabadisha center.
After saying goodbyes and promising to return to their center soon, we then proceeded towards Watgunge center.
This center is located right in the premises of the police station! And i was surprised to see the children playing in the police station compound totally ignorant of the police walas and paying no attention to them even while climbing on their boundary walls and jumping on the other side!
The levels in which the students are divided are the same as Taratala. The only difference is, the medium is Hindi and Bengali since children of both Hindu and Muslim community comes here.
On interacting with students of level 2, they became very friendly and slowly the topic of religion creeped up. They asked me whether I was a Hindu or a Muslim and on answering them, they very simply told me that there is no difference between a Hindu and a Muslim and even showed me a picture in their book of a Hindu and a Muslim embracing each other lovingly. Their simplicity of thought and logic and the simple idea of live and let live with peace and harmony made me think why the people all over the world can’t understand this simple sentiment of respecting each other's religion and how can these 7 and 8 year olds understand what people don’t understand in a lifetime.
After my wonderful interaction with them, I then interacted with children of level 3 and 3+. They seemed to be a serious lot and showed me their folders, their drawings, their poems, their comics that they have drawn on social issues like cleanliness, swine flu, bird flu, water problems etc. One girl even showed me shayaris that she had written...but I couldn’t help smiling when she showed me some love poems written by her. it was a bit surprising but a sign of growing up i believe.
Like all other centers, a monthly meeting is conducted here also where current issues are brought up and discussed. The parents, teachers and a police man from the Thana have to be present in it.
The children are very active and take active part in traffic education programme and road safety week duty. They even won a medal for a play on terrorism. A whole shelf is adorned with their trophies that they have won and prizes.
They showed me all the prizes, their folders, their write ups etc. One girl who was particularly interested in mehendi art, had drawn beautiful colourful patterns in all her classmates notebooks.
The computer is also one of their prized possessions as they all have an individual folder in it and they are eager learners of the same.
As we were leaving, the children sang a song for us. It was from a recent movie, a sad song, Ta Ra Rum Pum and I remembered the last i heard this song, I was sitting in a multiplex with friends and pop corns , not paying much attention to its lyrics . That was a stark contrast to this since this particular song was picked by the children because it talks about never giving up and having a positive outlook. This time I heard the lyrics and loved it.
The next center scheduled for our visit was Hastings. I was hearing about traffic awareness programme all through the day and finally I was happy to see a class was actually being conducted by a police man on road rules. I must say even I learned a few things here that I somehow didn’t know even after 5 years of driving experience.
The policeman was very eager to convince me that police people are not monsters and are as human as us and to prove that, he was taking the class very patiently and was involved with the students with an ease that comes only with a deep involvement with the students.
Though the classroom was small and due to some leakage problem the floor was a bit damp, it had no effect on the children or on the teachers and I remembered my school days when if 1 fan didn’t work out of 6 fans, the children would ask the teachers to give them a free period because they couldn’t concentrate on their studies!
After visiting all the centers, Manjula di took me and Moutushee to one of the teacher’s house for a pooja. We were there to eat the amazingly tasty bhog and even though I didn’t know the teacher personally, my hunger made me eat very shamelessly and I have no regrets about displaying my recklessness since the food was worth it!
We then proceeded towards home and on the way back, I talked to Shibani di who is supposed to be my mentor for tomorrow and fixed the time for meeting in the morning. I reached back at around 5:30 pm and left again at 6pm with a friend of mine just to see what this city is like.
28TH OCT ‘09
My parents never approved of my sleeping after midnight and getting up late but I never payed attention to their thoughts but this morning I seriously thought this habit is doing me no good. Sleeping at 2:30 and getting up at 7 in the morning is not that fashionable I guess.
Anyway, Moutushee met me at around 8:20 AM and we then took an auto to Taratala where Shivani di (who is very punctual) was waiting for us lazy beings.
We took another auto and then a bus and finally reached Garden Reach. The first unit that we visited was Unit 2. It was established in the year 2000. The community here is all Muslim with only 3 Hindu students studying here.
Another fact that shocked me was, most children did not have their birth certificates and so it was difficult to put them in the main stream schools. This was true for almost all the centers. But, Nabadisha has now arranged for that and all the students going for admissions in the main stream now have their birth certificates.
Here also, the students are divided in the same manner ie the beginners group and then the different levels for main stream.
I first interacted with the beginner’s level and now I was certain that I am right about the beginners enjoying the maximum in school. Their activities were so interesting that even I wanted to try my hand at them!
At the time when I was interacting with them, they were filling up the outlines of pictures with seeds. Shibani di and one of the teachers there told me that for beginners, big seeds were given, then small ones like rice and dal seeds for improving their concentration. Some children were stitching with a thick thread and bringing it in and out of holes on a sheet. This activity will prepare them to hold the pencils right.
The level 3 children were making very cute looking cuddly yellow teddy bears. I talked to them a bit about their hobbies, their favourite subjects and what they do in the pass time.
Few boys, who looked to me of 3rd level were sitting on the benches and it was then that Shibani di told me that one of their ex students who is in college comes to Naba Disha every day to help the younger children in maths or any difficulty that they face.
As Shibani di briefed me, I came to know that pair learning is very good in this class and then when I payed attention, I saw the children who had finished their work, were helping their colleagues to do the task and in all, it seemed they were all teachers in themselves!
Sanju gupta is a student on Naba Disha and was interacting with Shibani di. Later, shivani di told me a little about her background. As told to me, Sanju has 2 elder brothers and when they were very young, their father left their mother for a second wife and her mother came on the streets since she had no means to fend for 3 children and herself. To make the matters worse, even though her father is a rich man, he refused any monetary help. Shibani di saw the mother crying in the street one day and it was then that the children were admitted in Naba Disha and now, after a few years, their situation has become a bit stable, with both the sons standing on their feet and Sanju wants to be a lawyer so that she can fight for her rights and the injustice done to her mother n siblings by her father.
Tabassum Ara was another girl with whom I interacted and she told me that her mother does not keep well, so, she has to do all the household chores and she has dropped out of Govt School and comes to Naba Disha only. While we were having this conversation, she was having her mid day meal along with all the other students.
One student, Manoj kumar, studying in 8th std in a govt school, was not having his meal and when I asked why he was not eating anything, he said he has a huge appetite and had 6 puris a while ago and couldn’t eat any more. He then told me about his schedule and I was shocked to hear that to play with his friends, he gets up at 4 in the morning ,comes to the school at 7, then leaves after having mid day meal.
Just as I was having a conversation with these kids, a young boy of around 21 came in the classroom and greeted Shibani di and all others. On talking to him, I came to know his name is Noorul Hasan and he has started working in a call center. He then explained me what his job demands are, how he practices his typing in the cyber café every day and how people from all strata come to the call centers for work. The difference between him and the youth from the other part of the society was, they needed money for fun, for discos, for movies and for him, and his earning meant a living for his family. Talking to him was very interesting and slowly we came to a stage where were both became completely at ease and then he told me that he goes to a gym every day for body building! He also confessed that he doesn’t like any actor/ actresses because they only show they are concerned about the society and social issues but in reality, they don’t really care for the common people.
As he told me how he came to Naba Disha, how he studied here, how he went for the interview and how he was selected, he wondered out loud, what would have happened if Naba Disha had not touched his life?
As we said goodbyes to the children and proceeded towards Unit 1, i asked Shibani di about what was going on in my mind since I came to this center and that was, as compared to the Taratala, Watgunge centers, the girls here did not mix with me at all, in spite of my making several attempts to strike a conversation with them. When explained by her and watching the community, it then became clear that these children came from a very conservative atmosphere on contrary to the children of Taratala and Watgunge who at once became friends with me and seemed a lot more “free” in their attitude.
We then walked towards the Unit 1 of garden reach which has 170 students. Since it was a Wednesday, the children, like in Unit 1, were having their vocational class and making teddy bears but this time not yellow, but a bright purple.
This center was established in 1999 and has Urdu medium since there are no Hindu students here. The teachers are only girls and again, as I have noticed in Unit 2, the enthusiasm of children in regards of making friends, the friendliness was missing a bit.
As we went towards Unit 3, Shibani di told us that this is a very crime prone area, and even the police were not allowed to enter the community. Unit 3 has 150 students and was decorated in a very lively manner. Even the roofs were decorated with bright paintings and there was a huge teddy bear sitting on top of a table. The teacher told me this teddy bear the children had made for themselves since they said they wanted to cuddle a big teddy sometimes and so, now, whenever the children wanted a hug or a cuddle, they could sit with their teddy for as long as they wanted.
The learning material was shown to me and though I don’t understand Urdu, I felt the language is made much easier by such easy to understand material.
We then caught a bus to Rabindra Nagar and reached there in around 20-25 min. This unit was established in 2004. Though the majority of the community is Hindu, the majority of the students coming here are Muslims. The medium is Bengali and Hindi. As we were walking towards the center through the community, one could easily make out that this community like garden reach was a very conservative one and when I talked to Shibani di about it, she explained that the majority of the people’s occupation was rickshaw driving and vegetable vending. Also, alcoholism was a serious issue in this locality with both males as well as females since it is made in almost every household here.
The interaction with students could not be much since the majority of them had left but a few young children were eager to get their pictures clicked and I was happy to oblige them.
Nadial center is again located in another interior and only has Muslim students. The medium is Urdu only. When I went there, the children were giving their exam. Though they were discussing the whole paper, explaining each other why their answer came to be what it is, it was in total, a very good atmosphere. This center in particular faces a huge space problem as the students are more n the room is only one and that too a very small one. Still, the spirit of teaching in the teachers and the spirit of learning in the students is unaffected by the circumstances.
29TH OCT ‘09
I was to visit another Nabadisha center today and then interact with teachers of all the centers at Taratala. I reached the Narkeldanga center at around 12. Sutapa di was there and briefed me a bit about the history how the center was started. I was surprised to know that this center started from footpath. As I observed the class and interacted a bit with the teachers, I found that the medium of teaching here is Urdu and mostly the students are Muslims. Some students, after becoming my friends, even taught me how to write my name in Urdu. As I had observed in Taratala and Watgunge, the students were very free with the teachers and again I observed a bit enviously that the beginners’ level children were having the most interesting looking study materials. The teachers here were then supposed to go to Taratala with me and Moutushee for a group talk. Since the teachers are from the community itself and the school is in the community, they told us they will be going for lunch and will be back in 40 min or so. As promised, they came on time and then we all left for Taratala.
At the center, a group of about 13 teachers were waiting for us. They had a different picture in their minds about why they were all here and thought I will be conducting an interview. To put everyone at ease, I told them that I was there to know them better, know about their families, how they became a part of Vikramshila, and anything that they wanted to share with me.
I must say that the group in return put me at ease with their easy going ways and immediately started talking to me without me having to make any efforts to initiate a conversation.
As each one in the group introduced themselves, I had a much clearer picture about what Vikramshila actually means to them.
Each one had a different story to tell me. Like a girl who is a teacher in garden reach and continues teaching even after getting married and giving birth to 2 children. I was happy to know that her father in law and her husband were very supportive and encouraged her to go to work and had a faith in her that what she is doing is right.
Another girl from garden reach unit 2, said her father had opposed her going out of the house for a living. He was always very skeptical of what she was doing since even the police were involved in her work! But his views changed when she alone took charge of the situation and took her father to the hospital when he became critically ill. He now feels that it was a right decision to let his daughter work and even gives the credit of her improved confidence to his wife as it was due to her persuasion that he let her work.
She even told me that now she is much more frank with her father and even talks about her marriage with him without any hesitation stating that she will not leave her work after marriage and she wants an educated husband!
A teacher from Narkeldanga told me that everyone in her locality greets her with respect now though she says she becomes a bit embarrassed when the elders greet her.
Nikhat, another teacher from garden reach unit 2, was a student here at first and then in spite of her family’s opposition, is now teaching there. As told to me, she is now a role model for other students as she worked her way from being a student to now being a teacher.
A few things that I noticed were, almost all the girls told that it was their mothers who encouraged them to go out and face the world and start working.
Also, it seems Vikramshila is not only limited to the staff and its schools and its students, it goes much beyond that and touches the lives of the people involved with them too. A girl recalled affectionately that it was due to Vikramshila that she when she became ill; she was given full pay without having to come to the schools for 6 months. As they said, in govt schools, even a day’s leave has its effects on their pay and hence, the consideration showed by Vikramshila was something that they are grateful for.
Another thing is, all the girls in unison said, now they felt a confidence that was not in them before joining Vikramshila. Now they felt confident to go out on their own, visit different places in different parts of the city and commute alone. For girls who are not allowed to even go to nearby places on their own and hence had no confidence about travelling alone, this is a big achievement. Also, they are now respected by the community and this has given a boost to their personalities.
None of them considers Vikramshila as their work place, they consider it their home. They were all praise for Sutapa di since she took a great care of them and looks after them. If they face any problem, be in financial, or family or any kind of trouble, they have a faith that Sutapa di would give them a solution. And the interesting part is, they not only get a solution from her, but the confidence when they talk to her makes them feel stronger. A girl said she went to Bihar on her own and when asked whether she was nervous about travelling alone, she said that she was never nervous since if she faced any problem, she would call Sutapa di and then she would either get a solution or the confidence to solve the problem.
When discussed about the ways of teaching, everyone agreed that the materials through which they teach, is unique and something that is unheard of in formal schools. Some even confessed had they been taught with such kind of learning materials, they could have performed much better in their schools.
The discussion went on really well and in the end they asked me a few questions about my visit, my education, my views about Nabadisha, Vikramshila and them.
As we finished the discussion and everyone started dispersing, I felt that education is something many institutes impart but, changing a person’s life for better, is what Nabadisha is doing.
