Please visit the link below:
http://ssa.nic.in/monitoring/joint-review-mission-ssa-1/joint-review-mission-ssa
and look out for the pdf file of the JRM in January 2010 from the table given in the webpage.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
My Tryst with Destiny
The following is a piece of writing that emerged out of the documentation workshop by Shibani Chakraborty, a teacher of Naba Disha center and now a core group member of the project. In the write up she explores her life and how Naba Disha gave her an opportunity to discover her hidden potential. How in her attempt to emancipate herself, she began a new innings of her life that in turn fulfilled her void. Today there are many mothers and children looking up to her, seeking her strength and guidance. Shibani has truly emerged winner in her tryst with destiny...
I was born and brought up in an orthodox family. I got married when I was just 19 years old, even before the completion of my studies. No one in my family bothered to find out how I felt about this. No one asked what I wanted. I completed my graduation from my father’s house. My father –in law was a very temperamental man and I was extremely scared of him.
After three years of my marriage, at the age of 22, I became a mother to a baby boy. I had suffered a lot till then. After his birth my sole aim in life was to nurture him and bring him up to be a good human being. In doing so, I overlooked and ignored a lot of suffering, and humiliation of my in laws and their authoritarian nature. I kept going on in my effort to raise my child well. That was my dream.
My son was admitted into a reputed English medium school in Calcutta. In my effort to help him with his studies I faced a lot of trouble as I was essentially from a Bengali medium background. So his textbooks and his syllabus were quite alien to me. Yet, this hurdle did not deter me. I was determined to educate my child well. Whenever, my son was away in school, I would utilize that time to read and decipher his books slowly and gradually. So that when I he returned home, I would be in a position to work with him on them. This prior preparation helped me teach him better.
Days turned to years and years flew by slowly but surely. And soon a day came when my son successfully completed his secondary examination. At this stage, he chose science as his field of higher studies. This was a time when even if I tried I could not help him with his studies. I could only help him in Bengali language.
It was at this time that the turning point of my life was about to begin. I came to know about a certain course in education called the ECL course (early Childhood Learning), it was an 8 month course that was conducted at the St Xaviers College. I was keen to take the course. I was willing to learn something new, to do something new. Yet I was not certain of my abilities. I was in a dilemma over my priorities too. I decide to discuss the matter with my son and opened up my heart to him. He firmly encouraged me to go ahead with this. I took admission into the course and then began a new chapter in my life.
Not to say that this ended all my struggles. Maybe it was in a way the beginning of a new phase of struggle. A different kind of struggle. A struggle for identity and emancipation. Though my family was not supportive enough, I wanted to study this course whole heartedly. Initially the course seemed very difficult to me. Since I had lost touch with studies years ago, getting back to it proved difficult. I found it difficult to follow a concept taught in class. As such, I made it appoint to reach the college very early and use that time to discuss with my teachers the various concepts and learn them at my own pace. Gradually my closed mind began to open up and I started understanding things being taught. Time passed and I completed my course. I got my certificate on the 5th of September 2001.
After the completion of the course I joined Vikramshila’s Naba Disha School. My sole aim was to be independent, to be constructively engaged and to do something useful. My value in my own eyes had to rise. I had to be someone. Despite the fact that my husband held a high rank in his company, I had become desperate for a job. It was not about money, it was the need to breathe freely.
I did not think for a single moment about the place of my work, the community where I would have to work or anything else. I was concerned only about my performance. I wanted to work and give my best.
A new innings of my life began. My work dealt with those under privileged children of society with an aim to bring them back to the mainstream. My initial experience was not at all encouraging- I faced a lot of stumbles. Neither the community nor the children accepted me whole heartedly as I am a Hindu and the community was Muslim. I also faced language barriers as let alone Urdu, I could not even manage to speak Hindi well. The community was in fact quite suspicious about our entry and it took me a long time and huge struggle to gain their trust. It did not happen overnight. I slowly learned their language, began to spend a lot of time with time, talking, listening, dealt with them with care, love and affection. Slowly their resistance and suspicions began to fade away and the barriers dropped.
Soon the children and the community opened up to me. Mothers came up to me to discuss their issues and problems, seek advice. I had become a source of strength and reliance for them.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Mathematics and I
The following is a write up by a much loved member of Vikramshila....it is a sharing of Sutapa Di's love-hate relationship with Mathematics! Sutapa Mookerjee, is one of the senior most members of Vikramshila, a part of the Training team of Vikramshila. She has a vast experience of training behind her, has interacted with diverse groups of people all over India as a training coordinaor, can deliver lessons and sessions in no time, and yet, she has the outstanding quality that enables her to continue to look wonder eyed at the world around her.
Suatapa Di is terrfied of maths and terrified of writing...yet her Digantar course and a couple of documentation workshops, made her overcome to a large extent her fears and mental blocks! The end product is this write up that comes straight from herheart ....enjoy this piece...
Mathematics and I
At the very onset it has to be said that union of the two words, “Maths” and “I” is a very tough and unlikely one! Mathematics and I run like two parallel lines – always alongside each other, but always maintaining a certain distance and with little probability of ever converging! That the relationship between the two principle protagonists in this essay is very weak was a known fact to me; however it got further established after my attending the Foundations of Education course…!However, since I am assigned this topic, I am attempting to share some of my experiences and feelings in this regard. It may be possible that this sharing would become a catharsis for me to understand my incapability in this domain and justify it to myself.
At the very onset it has to be said that union of the two words, “Maths” and “I” is a very tough and unlikely one! Mathematics and I run like two parallel lines – always alongside each other, but always maintaining a certain distance and with little probability of ever converging! That the relationship between the two principle protagonists in this essay is very weak was a known fact to me; however it got further established after my attending the Foundations of Education course…!However, since I am assigned this topic, I am attempting to share some of my experiences and feelings in this regard. It may be possible that this sharing would become a catharsis for me to understand my incapability in this domain and justify it to myself.
When a living being first takes birth, she gets directly or indirectly inextricably woven with mathematics, though she may or may not realize this. Normally, one first gets formally associated or introduced to mathematics at school in class 1. And from that moment on, the person in question begins to feel that that her relation to Maths starts and remains in the classroom and the formal school sphere- i.e. it gets institutionalized.
I too am not beyond this conviction. From the very beginning of my formal introduction to maths, my fear towards the subject began and the foreboding consistently remained and cumulatively increased. However, why this fear emerged, grew and sustained itself remains hidden and forgotten today, though I will admit that there was a consciousness somewhere inside me that was aware of the development of this apprehension in my mind.
Given that the foreboding remained in my conscious mind somewhere, as a school girl, the maths classes seemed to me very long and unending. However, on the very few exceptional occasions, when I was able to solve the sums or understand what was being taught I actually did like the classes.
My Mathematics teacher was far from being a fearful creature- quite the opposite in fact, she was a small built and quite a sweet and polite person, although very very grave. She was so grave, that if by chance a smile escaped her serious demeanor, she appeared visibly uncomfortable at being caught! When this small structured lady would ask in the class “Has everyone completed?” my heart would turn cold and I would get a sinking feeling. Again, on the rare gem occasions when I did manage to complete my task I would eagerly run to teacher to show her my work and couldn’t wait to stand in line! Nonetheless, the fact remained, that these occasions were few and far between.
While writing this piece when I started thinking about my predicament ‘today’, one thought keeps recurring…that being, why this fear got built in the first place, where and when did it happen and settle in my mind and how came no one tried to find out the reason behind it? And when the reason itself was not sought, trying to solve it didn’t arise at all!
Straining my mind, the little that I remember, was that as my fear kept growing gradually, my mind automatically began acting as a machine, sorting and selecting units that it thought “I could do” and those that “I couldn’t do”. In accordance to the selection process a kind of a template was created in my mind based on which , one look at a problem would determine whether ‘I could’ and whether ‘I Couldn’t’ do it! Gradually, as algebra and geometry joined the bandwagon, my principles or sorting and selection were applied with equal force to the new entrants.
However, what was happening as a corollary was that in as much as I was going by my fixed rules of choosing and eliminating problems and sums that I could and couldn’t do, I was also ending up narrowing my sphere of knowledge and understanding. And although this narrowing down was taking place; in my mind I was unable to trace the real zone of my discomfort and the reason behind it.
Today, after many years of being associated with an organization in the education sector, I have progressed a little in my search for my zone of discomfort with mathematics. Armed with the role of a trainer in the world of education, and gradually understanding the nature of this subject, I can say that the strictly established parallel lines have somewhere dissolved and I can see a light at the end of the tunnel where Mathematics and I are progressing towards the direction of convergence.
Looking back today, I can recall how I had fervently wished and looked forward to the day when I would get my release order from the maze of mathematics. When I was a student, the release order opportunity came as early as class 8. It was only an opportunity, meaning that I had a choice of taking it, but I of course jumped at it and finally breathed free and easy.
Today however at a certain age and stage of maturity, when I look back at my life, I feel there are many things to which I have not done justice to. In this list, mathematics has added its name. Perhaps I have not done justice to it.
I however have a question, that while mathematics is inextricably woven into our lives from birth, if in later life one doesn’t participate in the formal mathematics learning process, does it act as an obstacle in one’s life?
To answer my own question, drawing from my own life I can say perhaps, at the institutional level it does. Not knowing maths has indeed affected some of my dreams and aspirations, for instance I had wished to pursue my higher studies in psychology, for which mathematics was a requisite. Needless to add, my dream remained unfulfilled.
But my life didn’t stop there. In life itself, mathematics is inextricably wound with me and will remain so. My life went on proceeding in its own rhythm, and included the rhythm of mathematics of life within it.
Sutapa Mookerjee 24/11/09
Vikramshila Education Resource Society
256 B Prince Anwar Shah Road
Kolkata 700045
Curriculum as a means to overcome Social Exclusion- Our Experiences...
The following is a piece that was evolved through Vikramshila's participation in Save the Children's national consultation on "Equal Opportunities and Inclusion in Education". Vikramshila's core activities and its action research by way of pilots has seen curriculum as an effective means of addressing the issue of social exclusion, particularly in urban slums and rural villages, where the classrooms fail to deliver to students needs and more often than not, result in high cases of drop outs. The write up tried to highlight ways in which the curriculum can act as an effective means of making education relevent and meaningful to children...
Equal Opportunity and Inclusion in Education
Vikramshila’s genesis in 1989 was as an education resource organization with the twin aims of addressing the issues of equity and quality in education. Inclusive education that would address the issue of alienation was seen as critical for achieving quality both in education and in life. This philosophy has found echo in Save the Children’s belief that education is important in breaking the cycle of exclusion and marginalization.
Vikramshila’s definition of quality education finds its foundations in this philosophy which links life and learning. The organization believes that most gaps in educational quality can be filled through
a. Curriculum design (relevance of curriculum)
b. Implementation (teacher’s capacity and teacher’s ability to exercise agency).
The formal school system is often inflexible and applies a common approach towards all students, not recognizing the needs and vulnerabilities of the deprived groups. Instead, they expected the children to adjust to the system which is distant and unrealistic to their lives. As a result of this mismatch, education remains inaccessible particular groups, in spite of physical presence of schools in a locality. This is true both for the urban slum dwellers as well as the rural villagers. In the Indian educational system, very frequently, the curriculum has very little to do with life in the rural village or the urban slum. A clear case of social exclusion and marginalization, it results in many children dropping out prior to completion of school.
2 core activities of Vikramshila attempt to attend to this issue of social exclusion by addressing the curriculum. That is by making the curriculum more relevant to the lives of the children by customizing the existing state curriculum around the child’s own histories, practices and lives.
Shikshasatra is Vikramshila’s rural experimental school that is located in village Bigha at Burdwan, West Bengal. The children come from agricultural families mostly and are provided education in a unique way that links the school learning with their life. These children too are taught in a way that ensures school readiness after which they get mainstreamed into formal government schools.
Naba Disha is an intervention for the urban deprived communities- for those living in slums, squatter colonies and streets. The programme attempts to provide quality education into the lives of those children who have either dropped out of schools or have never been to school and to then mainstream them into formal government schools after they have acquired the readiness for it. The population density of slums being extremely high, there are just not enough schools in some areas and the existing schools are unable to accommodate all children. Language mismatch often acts as a further barrier as a large number of children came from Urdu or Hindi speaking families and were unable to adjust to Bengali medium schools. In each of these centers, the curriculum attempts to address these challenges.
Both the schools have been operative for 10 years (12 years in Bigha) and have delivered a number of high school graduates and self confident young people who are aware and active. In both the cases the curriculum is the key area of intervention. It is the curriculum that addresses the issue of isolation, alienation and marginalization, providing an integrated learning not divorced from their lives and environment. It is in this way that education here acts to bring about equity and social inclusiveness.
How does curriculum act as a medium to break the cycle of marginalization and exclusion?
Two interconnected principles – relevance and participation lie at the center of the working philosophy of the schools. A truly relevant curriculum is shaped by the circumstances of the students of the particular classroom, by their daily lives and experiences.
Curriculum is viewed as a dynamic process - one that goes much beyond the ‘syllabus’ and involves using life experiences of children as meaningful opportunities for learning; one in which the learner is at the heart of the learning process. It is also considered a working document and as such the teacher has the liberty to set its pace according to the child and to go back and forth in its delivery. When curriculum evolves into such a process, it automatically ensures that the alienation encountered by the majority of children in our schools no longer exists and both the children’s and parents’ expectations from the school are met.
Both the projects operate in a way to ensure holistic learning. A typical classroom will see the children divided into 4-5 learning groups according to their levels sitting together in small groups around round tables (in the case of Bigha). - Each group has a set of competencies mapped for each subject. The children study and learn at their own pace and can move up to the next level, once they have attained all the competencies. This kind of flexibility creates an enabling atmosphere in the classroom where there is encouragement and nurturing which results in children working without fear of failure.
The projects being a holistic endeavour in the sphere of equity and quality in education, education itself is seen very holistically in order to attain this end. As such learning and activity are not limited to attainment of the designed competencies alone. The projects take the “Critical Pedagogy” and ‘Multiple Intelligence’ theories at its heart. The teachers thus strive to provide children with the faculties of critical thinking, reflection and analysis and understanding of all issues pertaining to their lives. Learning “how to learn” is emphasized over “what to learn”.
Health, nutrition and sanitation are issues that are greatly emphasized in the classroom as well. For instance, a classroom experiment on water purification becomes a success as a lesson in science as well as sanitation. Children are encouraged to question each aspect of their life and their curriculum, so that they do not become passive ‘depositaries’ of irrelevant information, rather, become active creators of knowledge.
In addition, creative and artistic activities are also a part of the curriculum and pedagogy, as these activities; for instance juggling, drama, fine arts, crafts, yoga, balancing, logic puzzles etc, requires and generates concentration and cooperation- skills that are essential for going through life , even on a day to day basis. In addition, the massive rise of self esteem that the children receive upon mastery of an intricate task is beneficial for generating self confidence in them. These activities go way beyond functional literacy to develop creative and critical faculties.
Creating a relevant curriculum means that the child’s cultural background as well as prior knowledge base needs to be taken as the starting point of learning. Relevance can also mean integration of issues from the student’s homes and communities into class work.
Innovative Pedagogy- Both projects while being restricted within the walls of the state curriculum, use its special discretion to interpret the text in such a way as to make it relevant to the lives of the children. The teachers put strong emphasis on contextualizing the text and link it rationally and logically to the realities of these children. This unique pedagogy is seen to have had great success as it ends up generating interest, and creates consciousness among the children towards the text, the classroom and the larger society. For instance, in EVS one of the topics in the state curriculum may be “water”- yet this topic is not dealt with in a rote based textual way- rather the children are made to think about water in their life and surroundings- questions are asked and discussions and debates are held on issues such as- “what are the sources of water? What are the sources of water in your locality? Where does water supply in your locality come from? Is it adequate? Is there evidence of water wastage? How much water do you use in a day? How much water is used by an average family? Who uses maximum water? Who wastes a lot of water? How can this be tackled? Are there open taps in the locality? Does it add to the already existing water crisis? How can this be dealt with? Where does drinking water come from? Is it pure? How can water be purified for drinking? What measure can you take to ensure that your drinking water is safe? Can you think of ways to reduce water scarcity?, Do you know about water wars ? Etc.” In this way through dialogue and brainstorming, a regular lesson of a text is made so much more challenging, interesting and meaningful for children.
In Bigha the school’s science curriculum is perhaps the most dramatic way that life and learning have been linked, and the community is actively gaining from the scientific procedures that affect their lives- e.g. pesticide usage, pH balance, chemical fertilizers, HYVs, importance of crop rotation, soil, organic farming, experiments on bio degradable and non biodegradable items are a part of the classroom. A demo kitchen garden at the school campus also exists.
Multi lingual centers- The issue of multilingualism is faced in many centers of Naba Disha, where children come from varying backgrounds- Bengali speaking, Hindi speaking and Urdu Speaking. In order to deal with this issue of multi lingual classrooms the teachers apply the selective method in approaching the principle of language. The four main components of Language – Listening, Speaking, reading and Writing are approached in this method by first concentrating on the Listening and Speaking skills of the children through which they have already acquired a vast vocabulary from their homes and peers. This vocabulary is then put to use by the creation of vocabulary dictionaries. Word lists and vocabulary dictionaries made by the children themselves are used by teachers to then introduce them to the idea of the same word in a different language. E.g. ‘Safed’ in Hindi, ‘Shaada’ in Bengali. In this manner more lists are generated for colours, animals, things, fruits, birds etc. This way dictionary keeps expanding and children learn more and more words.
In terms of language- the whole word approach is used in the case of dealing with older children who enter the Naba Disha Centers- the words they know already are used, in the forms of lists and from these they are broken down to letters and matras. The letter to word approach is more useful when dealing with children who enter Naba Disha at a much younger age.
The word walls, dictionaries and lists are made in all the languages operative in the center and these are then lined to the existing curriculum.
The teachers develop- a) work cards and work sheets of different languages
b) Graded material
c) Hanging Material that has one language on one side and another language on the other side.
The Morning Assemblies are conducted where children speaking different languages all sit together and share their experiences with the teacher and the class in their own language. The others all gradually learn to follow each language.
Moving beyond Functional Literacy - Creative and artistic activities together with sports, juggling ,yoga, clubs and groups are greatly emphasized and form a core part of the curriculum at Bigha as well as Naba Disha centers.
The curriculum encourages drama and fine arts as a part of the education of these children. Drama and other arts encourage reflective thinking, analysis and critical understanding of issues affecting the lives of the children and enable them to question inequalities and deprivations. They begin to express their feelings and articulate their thoughts. The issues of migration, eviction, natural disaster, relief camps, local and village histories have been set in drama by these children.
Not only have they thought sensitively on these issues, but the process of actually transforming ideas into a drama encouraged research skills, it gave way to enhancement of elocution and articulation skills, acting and expression development. All these efforts paved way to enhance their learning abilities and helped the children shed their inhibitions in the classroom.
At Naba Disha for instance, at a center where the community experience eviction of slums, the children decided to write a drama dealing with eviction- the plot revolved around friendship between a rich and a poor girl, including themes of eviction, migration and refugee relief camps. The play was performed in Naba Disha’s annual cultural fest and was a great success, both in the artistic sense of dramatization, as well as, as an avenue through which the students could understand the complex and sensitive issues around them.
On another occasion, a similar attempt to make education relevant to the lives of the children, the center decided to begin a project examining the area’s local history. They learned that the area had a famous metal box factory that had closed down 15 years ago. Intrigued, the children conducted interviews to learn what the factory produced, and when and why did it close down. With the help of the teachers, the children organized this information into a story and a dramatist put the story into a stage production which was a part of the annual cultural festival.
An Inclusive and Fearless Environment Ensures better learning- It has been noticed that many children belonging to different socio-religious backgrounds come to the Naba Disha centers because of the inclusive environment that it provides. Adequately trained teachers and personnel are able to deal with several social, personal and community issues and provide help to the children accordingly. Moreover as teaching methods and materials are appropriate, meaningful and relevant it makes learning a joyful experience.
In some cases a special curriculum is designed for the children, for instance at a particular center a girl with no prior education began to attend Naba Disha. After a few days she began to feel embarrassed that younger children had more education than she had- in this case, the teachers worked with her through a special curriculum which included vocational education and practical skills like letter writing and communicating with the police. Now in class 5, this girl is a teacher’s assistant in the center
In addition the Bigha School as well as the Naba Disha centers operate by keeping the different learning levels flexible. Children move to the next level only after acquiring the competencies set for the previous level. The children are not hurried through these learning levels and work at their own pace. This creates a very enabling and fearless atmosphere in the classroom, where effective learning takes place.
Community Participation in the Child’s Education Improves Learning- Increased awareness of the community- including mothers, fathers, community elders and local youth and their participation in the education of their children is an essential and critical aspect in ensuring effectiveness in the child’s learning. The project has provided opportunities to engage with major events of the in the childrens’ community through, for instance, cultural festivals and community mobilizations on issues of health, nutrition, sanitation etc. Initiating ‘Amar Boi’ that consists of regular diaries written by children has been a medium through which children trace their family histories and identities, migration routes, maps of the locality and so on. In this effort, the community elders are interviewed by the children and thus they begin to take interest in the children’s initiatives and education.
At Bigha, the Eco group, the Sathi Group and the Mothers Groups are all evidence of community participation. Village timelines, crop and land patterns are mapped by children after thorough research involving interviews and analysis.
Working within the perimeters of the state curriculum, the projects have invented and reinvented alternate pedagogies and learning transaction processes that ensure that education does not divorce the children from their realities as is often the case in formal schools. This is essential to address the issues of equity, quality in education, in fostering greater equality of opportunity and inclusion in education.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
More than just a Convention!
The following write up is a delightful piece written by our beloved Margaret Waterworth on a recently concluded Teacher Convention at Tripura. Margaret has been associated with Vikramshila for a long time. . An expert consultant in Communicative English for the Education to Employability Project, Margaret's role however is much more in its scope-she's there to help us, advise us, counsel us and encourage us at all times and more often than not takes up a lot of additional work and responsibility for both her passion for the cause of education and her love for Vikramshila. Margaret had agreed to to accompany us at the teacher convention in Tripura which was all in all in Bengali from the beginning to the end. Sporting that she is, she sat through it all...and amazed as we are...her write up shows how much of it she has been able to grasp beautifully! it really shows that where there's a will- language barrier or no...there is a way!
Her piece reflects her nuanced observations of the details of not just what the speakers were saying, but the feel of the event, the environment, the nitty gritty details of just about everything...
Shikshak Sammelan- Teacher’s Convention in Tripura.
Saturday 7th November 2009
This convention was arranged for 250 secondary school teachers. They came from all corners of the state. Some needed to stay overnight because distances were so far whilst others arrived sharp at 10 am ready for the sessions.
However other teachers also came the night before to engage in interactive sessions with Vikramshila lead staff in the conference hall of local youth hostel accommodation.
One of the most engaging performers was the hostel cook straight from a Shakespearian play. He produced tea with a flourish and a flare rarely seen anywhere except on a stage. Then he proceeded to grind spices for the evening meal with an electrically operated machine – obviously his pride and joy! It’s furious noise accompanied the teachers’ discourse throughout the session. Nobody minded! He was once asked why his hard boiled eggs appeared on the plate coloured red. ‘Well” he replied my name is Lal, The Chief minister’s name is Lal, and we live in a Lal state so my eggs are also Lal!!! A real character who kept an eye on proceedings outside his kitchen too.
These sessions were informal and very fruitful. Teachers were able to discuss with their colleagues issues related to classroom management and good classroom teaching practices – what worked and what didn’t work! Excellent conversations about the actual practicalities of teaching in classrooms full, to bursting, with students, as well as tackling the WBB syllabi in a creative way.
Some of these tasks seemed near impossible but teachers had good case stories of innovative programmes they had introduced because of Vikramshila’s training. These they shared with enthusiasm.
The next morning there was an orderly queue for tea and samosa and exchanges between Vikramshila staff and teachers carried on.
The formal session started with the lamp lighting ceremony and the presentation of floral displays of carnations to the eminent persons on the platform. These had been carefully carried from Kolkata and once on the table looked splendid. Tripura doesn’t have carnations.
The conference hall is modern, comfortable and tastefully decorated. The surroundings were conducive to engagement and participation. For example no hiking of mikes, which are usually not working, round the auditorium for participants to use, as individual microphones positioned and working on the desks in front of the conference seats- so instant feedback to comments from the eminent persons on the platform was possible.
The morning sessions given by Prof. Ranju Gopal Mukhophayay and Prof. Pabitra Sarkar, eminent educationalists, supported the teachers and emphasized that there were difficulties in delivering the state curriculum in the classroom because of its constricting curriculum. It leaves little scope or time for a teacher to be innovative or introduce methods to strengthen the social and emotional development of the child. They applauded Vikramshila’s methods as these methods are transferable to the classroom, and that ongoing training is necessary to keep up with the changing times we live in.
The concept of inclusive education was mentioned by Prof. Mukhopadhayay and the need for teachers to be aware of inclusiveness issues in their classrooms.
There were many other classroom management issues mentioned including discipline versus punishment. Again these could form part of future training units as well as whole school policies on teaching English as an additional language not a primary language as so well discussed by Prof. Pabitra Sarkar.
The conference welcomed the Honourable Chief Minister who spoke about teachers regaining their dignity and commitment to the development of the whole child whilst they are in their care. He spoke about his own experiences when he was in school and reminded teachers that the holistic approach to the child building up trusting relationships is essential to good educational practices.
Of course, he was absolutely right, that there is a dual approach to the education of the child, whilst they are in school, learning through inspirational methods, and learning through taught components within the syllabus i.e. the functional aspects of learning.
In my discussions with the teachers they were aware of their dual role and felt very often that the ‘functional components often acted as a barrier to the inspirational! They felt constrained by the legislation and state policies imposed on them for time to time however hard they tried to be inspirational. More strategies on managing the functional alongside the inspirational could be developed. The master trainers are happy with their training but when in turn the teachers receive their training they are not able to deliver it well in the classroom, Prof. Pabitra suggested some counseling of teachers may be a way forward.
For me it was an extremely interesting event full of “hidden agendas” from the gentleness and concern of the local people to the determination of the master teachers and teachers to make the necessary changes to the teaching and learning that goes on in their classrooms. They are empowered!
Margaret Waterworth.
November 10th 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Insights of an Observer...
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.
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.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Tri Bhuvan
The following is a write up by Atanu Sain called "Teeri Bhuban". To read the piece you would need to install the Bangla font "Abhra". Atanu is a senior member at the organization and has ben associated with Vikramshila for more nearly 14 years. He looks into the orgainzation's capacity buildin ginitiatives and also provides his helping hand in practically all that goes on! The piece is a humorous one, which taps his inherent comic timing to the hilt!
তিরি-ভুবন
-অতনু সাঁই
তিন সংখ্যাটি আমাদের জীবনে এমন ভাবে জড়িয়ে গেছে যে এর থেকে আর মুক্তি নেই। অনেকে বলবেন, “এ আবার কি কথা, সব সংখ্যাই তো আমাদের জীবনে প্রয়োজনীয়!” আমি বলি, ‘তিন’ আমাদের ভারতীয়দের একটা মানসিকতা তৈরি করেছে, একটা বিশেষ সংস্কৃতির জন্ম দিয়েছে। তাই ‘তিন’ শুধু একটি সংখ্যা নয়, আরও অনেক কিছু। শুরুটা সেই ‘তিনে নেত্র’ থেকে।প্রথম শোনার সময় ‘নেত্র’ কথাটির অর্থ এতোই দুর্বোধ্য ছিল যে, সব মনোযোগ ‘নেত্রতেই’ আবদ্ধ ছিল।তিন ছিলো অবহেলিত। পরবর্তী কালে দেব-দেবী মূর্তিতে ‘তৃতীয় নেত্র’ দর্শন করে কথাটির অর্থ হৃদয়ংগম হয়েছে।‘মানস চক্ষুর’ দার্শনিক ব্যাখ্যা অবশ্য অনেক পরে শুনেছি।তবে নেত্র যে তিনটি, সে ব্যাপারে আর কোন সন্দেহ ছিল না। এইতো রাস্তাঘাটে, বাড়িতে সব জায়গায় শুনি ‘তিনকাল’ গিয়ে এককালে ঠেকেছে। খামোখা ‘তিনকাল’ কেন? ঐ যে ‘তিনের’ মাহাত্ম্য! আবার দেখুন ত্রিলোক - স্বর্গ, মর্ত্য, পাতাল। ঘুরে ফিরে সেই তিন। আর হিন্দু ধর্মের তিন দেবতার কথা তো কারও অজানা নয়।ব্রহ্মা, বিষ্ণু, মহেশ্বর-সৃষ্টি, পালন ও ধ্বংস। লিঙ্গ বৈষম্য দেবলোকেও আছে। পুরুষ শাসিত সমাজ তাড়া করবেনা - হয় নাকি? যাক্গে, ‘তিন’ আছে নিজের মর্জিতে।‘সত্যম্-শিব্ম্-সুন্দরম্!’ ‘শিবম্’ নিয়ে যত বিতর্কই থাকনা কেন, ভারতীয় দর্শনের এই তিনটি মন্ত্রের প্রকৃত অর্থ আজও কি আমরা বুঝেছি? আলোচনা, তর্ক-বিতর্ক তো চলবেই, চলবে অর্থ বোঝার লড়াই। আক্ষরিক অর্থ বুঝলেও প্রকৃত অর্থ বুঝতে অনেক ঘাম ঝরবে।ঝরুক, তাতে ‘তিনের’ মহিমা কমবে না। শাস্ত্র নিয়ে বেশি নাড়াচাড়া করতে যে পুঁজি দরকার তা আমার নেই। তাই ভাঁড়ার শূন্য হওয়ার আগে চুপ করাই ভালো।
অনেকে বলেন আমাদের, মানে ভারতীয়দের মানসিকতাই ‘থার্ড গ্রেডের’ তাই তিন ছাড়া আমরা আর কিছু ভাবতেই পারি না। আমাদের দেশ ‘তৃতীয়’ বিশ্বের দেশ। প্রথম,দ্বিতীয় কীভাবে হলো, কারা ঠিক করলো? আমরা কেন ‘তৃতীয়’? এসব প্রশ্ন নাই বা করলেন। তৃতীয় বলে অখুশি নাকি, আরে ধুর! ‘তৃতীয়’ বলেই না প্রথমের এতো কাছাকাছি! চুক্তি করে- ভুল বললাম, নেমন্তন্ন করে একেবারে হেঁসেল ঘরে! দেশের নিরাপত্তাকে কাঁচকলা দেখিয়ে প্রথমের সঙ্গে গলাগলি। বিশ্বের সব্বাই দেখুক, তিনের(তৃতীয়ের) কেরামতি।
‘তিনের’ প্রতি ভক্তি ক্রমশ বেড়েই চলেছে। যতই এদিক্-ওদিক্ দেখছি, শুধু ‘তিন’, ‘তিন’ আর ‘তিন’- তিনময় ভুবন। দেশে তিন সরকার-কেন্দ্র, রাজ্য আর পঞ্চায়েত। ‘পিএম টু ডিএম’-এর মত অভিনব তত্ত্বও ফ্লপ! তিনের ত্রাণ দিতে ‘অপছন্দের’ রাজ্য থেকেই যায়। ঝামেলার শেষ এখানেও নয়।পঞ্চায়েত আবার ‘ত্রিস্তর’ – জেলা, ব্লক আর গ্রাম। শেষ পঞ্চায়েত ভোটের পর কোথাও সবুজের মধ্যে লাল, আবার কোথাও লালের মধ্যে সবুজ। সবুজের মধ্যে লাল তো ‘তরমুজ’, লালের মধ্যে সবুজ কী? ‘ম্যাও’- ঝোলা থেকে বিড়াল বের হলো বোধহয়; ওরে থামা, থামা!
সরকার, বাজার-অর্থনীতি আর সাধারণ মানুষ এই ‘তিন’ নিয়েই তো দেশ।আজ বাজার সরকারের উপর চেপে বসেছে, শিক্ষায় বাজার, স্বাস্থ্যে বাজার।এখন সবেতেই বাজার এর সুবিধা দেখতে হবে।১২০ কোটি ক্রেতা হেঁটে চলে বেড়াচ্ছে লোভ সামলানো যায়? সাধারণ মানুষ গোল্লায় যায় যাক্!বাজারের স্বার্থ বজায় থাকুক!নড়বড়ে সরকার আর হাঁসফাঁস করতে থাকা আমজনতা নিয়ে দেশ এগিয়ে চলেছে। একের মধ্যে দুই, ইন্ডিয়া আর ভারত। ইন্ডিয়া সাইনিং!ইন্ডিয়া সুপার পাওয়ার!আর হাড় জিরজিরে ভারত আরও অন্ধকারে তলিয়ে যাচ্ছে, যাক্! ‘তিনের’ মধ্যে ব্যালেন্স না থাক, ‘তিন’ বেঁচে থাক।
লিঙ্কন সাহেব রাগ করবেন না, আপনার গণতন্ত্রের প্রধান তিন সূত্র –‘অফ দা পিপ্ল’, ‘বাই দা পিপ্ল,’‘ফর দা পিপ্ল,’ কে আমরা একটু পালটে নিয়ছি।আমাদের দেশে ‘অফ দা পার্টি’,‘ ‘বাই দা পার্টি’ এবং ফর দা পার্টি’, এই তিন মন্ত্রই আমাদের চালিয়ে নিয়ে যাচ্ছে। দেশ উচ্ছন্নে যায় যাক্, দল বেঁচে থাকুক। সবার উপরে দল সত্য, তাহার উপরে নাই! তবে সুখের কথা আপনারও ‘তিন’ আমাদেরও ‘তিন’।
আমাদের গণতন্ত্রের আরও ‘তিন’ স্তম্ভ হলো- জনপ্রতিনিধি সভা, আমলাতন্ত্র ও বিচার ব্যবস্থা। আজ জনপ্রতিনিধিরা দলের প্রতিনিধি, জনগণের মন্ত্রী নয়, দলের মন্ত্রী। সবেতেই চম্ক, চমকদারি আর চম্কানির রাজনীতি। সবাই যেন কল্পতরু, ভিত্তি প্রস্তর স্থাপন, উদ্বোধন আর দলের লোক সমাগম!মানুষে মানুষেও কত ভাগ, লাল,সবুজ,টকটকে লাল, গেরুয়া আরও কত কী! জন প্রতিনিধিরা কেউ কেউ আবার সুবিধা মতো সব রং নিয়ে হোলি খেলে, ঘষে ঘষে রং তোলার চেষ্টা করে। তার পর গলা বাজিয়ে বলে দেয়, ‘ওদের সংগে আমাদের কোন সম্পর্ক নেই, ছিল না’। চলছে ভালোই, চলুক।
‘আমলাতন্ত্র’? থরহরি কম্প, কেউ কেউ কাচ্চি ঘানি! খাঁটি সরিষার তৈল! কেউ আবার কুম্ভকর্ণ, ছ’মাস ন’মাস অন্তর ঘুম ভাঙে। আড়মোড়া ভেঙে, গা ঝারা দিয়ে কাজে লাগতে আরও দু’মাস! কী করে চলছে কে জানে? বিচার ব্যবস্থা!না থাক, বলার দরকার নেই। বিচার ব্যবস্থা নিয়ে বলে, আদালত অবমাননার দায়ে পড়ি আর কি? ‘তিন’ স্তম্ভের মধ্যে ব্যালেন্স নেই তো কি, ‘তিন’ স্তম্ভতো আছে। আমরা তাতেই খুশি।
‘সংরক্ষণ’ আর ‘সংরক্ষণের প্রস্তাব’ দুই-ই আমাদের দেশে বেশ শক্তিশালী রাজনৈতিক তাস।এই পাত্তি বাজারে একবার ফেলতে পারলেই হলো, দরদ নিয়ে দরকষাকষি শুরু হয়ে যাবে।সংরক্ষণ যেভাবেই হোক, যাই হোক, ‘তিনেই’ আটকে থাকে। লোকসভায় মহিলাদের জন্য সংরক্ষণ ৩৩.৩৩%, যা কিনা তিন ভাগের এক ভাগ। যে কোন সংরক্ষণের প্রস্তাব, তা সে যে দুর্বল শ্রেণীর জন্যই হোক না কেন, বেশিরভাগ ক্ষেত্রে ‘তিন’ ভাগের এক ভাগ। অন্য সংখ্যা নয় কেন, জানা নেই। তিনের ভাগের ভাগ পেয়ে, ‘সংরক্ষিত’ দল খুশি হয় কিনা জানি না, তবে ‘সংরক্ষক’ তৃপ্তি পান। অন্যদের আক্রমণ থেকে বাঁচেনও বটে। ‘তিন’ বাস্তবিকই আমাদের জীবনের সঙ্গে মিশে গেছে, ‘তিন’ ছাড়া আর উপায় নেই। ভোটের ফলাফলে নিরঙ্কুশ সংখ্যা গরিষ্ঠতা, দুই-তৃতীয়াংশ গরিষ্ঠতা এসব এখন সবার জানা। না জানলে, দুই-তৃতীয়াংশ গরিষ্ঠতা পাওয়া দল তাদের আচরণ দিয়ে বুঝিয়ে দেয় যে গরিষ্ঠতা কাকে বলে। এসব বোঝাবুঝিতে আমি নেই, আমার আগ্রহ ‘তিনে’। এখানেও নির্ধারক শক্তি ‘তিনের’ অংশ, অন্য সংখ্যা নয়। সত্যিই আমাদের ‘থার্ড গ্রেড’ মেন্টালিটি!
জ্ঞান কমিশন তৈরি হয়েছে। হবেই তো আমরা যে কৃষি আর শিল্প বিপ্লবকে পিছনে ফেলে তৃতীয় বিপ্লবে ঢুকে গেছি। জ্ঞান-ভিত্তিক সমাজ তৈরির দিকে না গিয়ে উপায় আছে? আসুন, তথ্য যোগাযোগ প্রযুক্তি বিস্ফোরনের সঙ্গে মানিয়ে নিতে নিতে ‘তিনের’ গুণগান করি। কারণ, এটাই যে সভ্যতার ‘তৃতীয়’ ঢেউ।
অনেকক্ষণ আঁতলামি করলাম এবার ‘তিনের’ প্রতি ব্যক্তিগত দুর্বলতার কারণ ব্যক্ত করি। একটা সময় ফুটবল খেলতাম, দু’গোল করার পর তৃতীয়টির জন্য আপ্রাণ চেষ্টা, কারণ ‘হ্যাট্রিক’ চাই। দুর্বলতার শুরু সেখান থেকেই। আসলে প্রতিটি জিনিসের অণু-পরমাণুতে আমি ‘তিনই’ দেখি। এই দেখুন, পরমাণু তার মধ্যে আবার তিন ইলেকট্রন, প্রোটন, নিউট্রন। সত্যিই ‘তিন’ লা-জবাব।
শিক্ষায় তো তিনের কেরামতির অন্ত নেই। প্রারম্ভিক-শিক্ষা, মধ্য-শিক্ষা আর উচ্চ-শিক্ষা মূল তিন ভাগ। কোঠারী কমিশনের ত্রি-ভাষা সূত্রতেও তো তিনের রাজত্ব। ‘কোঠারী’ নামেই মন খারাপ হয়ে যায়। আসলে আমাদের দেশে শিক্ষা ছাগলের তৃতীয় ছানার মতো। ছাগলের তৃতীয় বাচ্চা লাফায়, চেঁচায়, দৌড়োদৌড়ি করে, দুধ পায় না। অন্যের দুধ খাওয়া দেখে আর দুধ পাওয়ার ইচ্ছা আরও প্রবল হয়। প্রতিরক্ষার বাজেট লাফিয়ে লাফিয়ে বাড়ে। প্রতিবেশী দেশ গলা টিপতে আসছে যে! প্রথমদের কাছে অস্ত্র কিনে টাইট দিতে হবে। আমজনতার জন্য ‘সারে জাঁহাসে আচ্ছা……গানের সুরে গলা কাঁপিয়ে বলে দেওয়া, “দেশের নিরাপত্তার সঙ্গে কোন সমঝোতা নয়”! আসলে প্রথমদের অর্থনীতি চাঙ্গা করার গুরু দায়িত্ব আমাদের কাঁধে! তাদের অর্থনীতি আবার অস্ত্র বিক্রির উপর দাঁড়িয়ে। কাজেই প্রতিরক্ষা বাজেট বাড়াও। এখন আমাদের বন্ধুভাব প্রবল। শিক্ষা চুলোয় যাক, বন্ধুত্ব অটুট থাক। কোঠারী কমিশনের ‘জাতীয় আয়ের ছয় শতাংশ’ খরচের সুপারিশ ভুলে যান!শিক্ষার লক্ষ্য সাক্ষরতায় ধরা থাকুক! লিখি, পড়ি আর বিজ্ঞাপন বুঝি। ‘থ্রী আরস্’ এর বদলে টু আরস্ আর অতিপ্রয়োজনীয় ‘এ’! এ-ফর এডভারটাইজমেন্ট। ক্রেতা চাই, ক্রেতা তৈরি করতে হবে। আমরা নির্বিবাদী মানুষ, অত সাতে-পাঁচে থাকি না। সব কিছু বুঝলেও মুখে কিছু বলি না। যাই ঘটুক কুছ্ পরোয়া নেহি, তিনের রাজত্বে সুখেই আছি। ১৫ই আগস্ট, ২৬ শে জানুয়ারি জাতীয় পতাকা উঠিয়ে তৃপ্তির ঢেকুর তুলে বলি ‘মেরা ভারত মহান’! দেখেছেন আবার ‘তিন’, ত্রিরঙ্গা পতাকা! তবে এই তিন রং-এর শীঘ্রই পেটেন্ট নিয়ে নিতে হবে। এমনিতেই জাতীয় পতাকার ধাঁচে দলীয় পতাকা তৈরি করে মাঝে নিজেদের চিহ্ন জুড়ে দেওয়ার রীতি বেশ পুরানো, তার উপর ২০০৯ এর ১৫ই আগস্ট ব্যান্ডেলে রেল স্টেশনে উড়ল ত্রিরঙ্গা দলীয় পতাকা! যারা উড়ালো তারা হয়তো দলীয় পতাকাকে জাতীয় পতাকা বানাতে চায়! সত্যিই মেরা ভারত মহান! তাই তো বলি ত্রিরঙ্গার পেটেন্ট চাই!
বিখ্যাত দার্শনিক প্লেটো জনসমাজকে তিনভাগে ভাগ করেছিলেন যথা শ্রমিক, যোদ্ধা ও শাসক। আরও অনেক দার্শনিক সমাজকে মূলতঃ তিন ভাগে ভাগ করেছেন। আজও আমরা ভারতীয় সমাজকে আর্থিকভাবে উচ্চবিত্ত, মধ্যবিত্ত এবং নিম্নবিত্ত এই তিন ভাগে ভাগ করি। যদিও মধ্যবিত্তের ক্রমশ অবলুপ্তি ‘তিনকে’ সংকটে ফেলছে। ‘তিন’ নিয়ে আরও কতো কী যে লেখার আছে তার ইয়ত্তা নেই। ত্রিকোণমিতি নিয়ে সবে শুরু করতে যাব, পাশের ঘর থেকে ছেলের পড়া শুনলাম, “পৃথিবীর তিন ভাগ জল আর এক ভাগ স্থল। তবে সরাসরি ব্যবহার যোগ্য জল মাত্র ১ শতাংশ!” ত্রিকোণমিতি গুলিয়ে গেল, গ্লোব নিয়ে পড়লাম। বিশ্ব যে হারে উষ্ণ হচ্ছে, তাতে সমুদ্রের জল আরও বাড়বে। হয়তো জলের নিচে চলে যাবে অনেক শহর-গ্রাম। হয়তো নিশ্চিত ধ্বংসের দিকে এগোচ্ছি সবাই। ব্যবহারের জল আরও কমবে, বিশেষ করে পানীয় জলের সংকট প্রকট হবে আরও। কারা যেন বলেছে তৃতীয় বিশ্বযুদ্ধ হবে জল নিয়ে। বাজার দখল নিয়ে দু-দুটো বিশ্বযুদ্ধ পৃথিবী দেখেছে, এখানে আমি কিছুতেই ‘তিন’ চাই না। যদি সব ‘থার্ড গ্রেডরা’ মিলে পৃথিবীর যুদ্ধবাজদের বিরুদ্ধে এক হয়ে চাপ সৃষ্টি করতে পারে তবে যুদ্ধবাজরা ভয় পেয়ে পিছিয়ে যাবে। সেদিন ‘তৃতীয়রা’ হয়ে যাবে প্রথম, আর আমি প্রথমদের স্যালুট করবো, হয়ে যাব প্রথমের ভক্ত।
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