SPRUHA - the awakening

just about a month after my first visit to Arkapalli i am a part of a group called SPRUHA - the awakening. Anurag, Sudeep, Sinu, and i have started SPRUHA. we have carefully chosen our team for Arkapalli and we are now 8 people. we don't want to spread out of proportions too soon. we are being very careful about that aspect. SPRUHA is being funded by the college(Osmania University - college of engineering) as of now. we do plan to look for other sources also.

SPRUHA is just back from a one week camp at Arkapalli. we stayed there for a week. we held holiday classes for the children. we taught them english, helped in math and sciences, performed experiments, made them perform experiments, made learning as much fun as possible. i wonder if we ourselves ever thought of learning as fun, but we sure do now. teaching in telugu wasn't that easy. but the kids helped us along when we got stuck. we talked about our lives, our world. we talked about the opportunities the world has in store for them. we spoke about general awareness. there we around 60 students. some of us went and spoke to the parents of the childreen who dropped out of school.
most of them asked the same question - " if we send them to school not work how will we survive?" we really couldn't answer that question. that was surely discouraging. but there were also some parents who were really happy that we came and were telling the kids about what they could do with their lives.

some of us conducted a survey of the village with the sarpanch's permission, and help. we now have a map of the pipelines in the village, 'coz we intend to give them technical help in the long run. we know many of the children by name and sight. we know the most promising of the lot. we know a few of the problems they face in their lives. we know what their wants are, we know what their dreams are. we also know that half their lives are bleak. especially when i go stand in front of them and tell them that they are less to none, and we are equals. i feel that i have had an unfair advantage, an advantage we are working hard to erase.

our next plan is to conduct a parent teacher meet in the village. the villagers know us now, have seen or rather stared at us as we walked along. we spoke to some of them, and some more of them have heard about us. we had some intermediate students in class. they were home on vacation, and they came to us with doubts in specific subjects. English... was one thing
they all were keen on learning. but how much can we really teach in a week??? how much can they grasp in that same one week?

along with the parent teacher camp we are conducting a health check up for the children. we are just entering the village. but the more time we spend there, the more is our desire to help them. outside the village at a distance of 3 km or so are located some "tandas". lambadi tribes live there. Anurag and i went there on the last day. there are hardly 20 houses there, but they have a single roomed primary school with 2 teachers. the older ones come to Arkaplli for their education. the response we got there was amazing. they weren't properly informed, so they didn't turn up for the classes. they regretted it a lot. so did we. wish we went there on the first day!

the 7th class is our star class. the most enthu-d class. its a pleasure being with those kids. if we can do something for that lot we will all be happy. how can i forget Khatam Raju, the 4th class kid, who sits and corrects 6th class students??? thats is one kid we really have to do something for. we so badly want to provide him with a chance to make something of himself. the last day we had a response session. one girl, suhasini, studying intermediate in Hyderabad, got up and said "i also want to pursue engineering. then i will also get my friends and come back and do something for my village." thats when we realized... yes we could achieve something. 1 week - SPRUHA "and miles to go before i sleep, and miles to go before i sleep."

inspire

Today I met 2 guys Sushanth and Ashwin. They are from inspire. They have formed inspire. Inspire is a group that is working for a social cause. Inspire is working for the upliftment of the under privileged in India. Inspire is working to improve the education delivered in government schools. Inspire aims to be a common platform for the many small social service groups actively working now, in their own small ways.

For me this was a part of the process I had begun hardly 2 weeks back. When I first thought about working for education upliftment... and sinu suggested arkapalli... and going there... till I actually started finding out what the situation there was... I never really thought that this idea would be such a long term plan. Yes, eventually sometime down the lane this was the work I was gonna do. But it wasn’t some thing I was gonna commit to now. I mean I didn’t think it possible. Now I am glad that it is possible. 'Coz the sooner I can get to put a helping hand in... The faster the work is done. The more the work done.

There is so much to do... as Sushant said "India is in negative now. We need loads to be done, by loads of ppl... to get it to zero first of all". As a country on the outsides we r trying to appear all glittering. Well perhaps we do have some glitter in the terms of the potential we have inside. We have tremendous potential. Oh so much... there is so much we can do for our INDIA. My INDIA, your INDIA... OUR INDIA. When we really sit down and ponder over it ... it hardly needs any time at all. We don’t have to stand up and revolutionize the world. We just have to silently put in a helping hand. Infact we really don’t have to do much else than do whatever we do properly.

Sushant spoke a lot about value education. Yes that is oh so important. But when you are fighting for basic survival how can u really make sure you are fighting fair??? How do you care to treat someone good when you know he won’t really show you the same kindness??? I know that it can be done. But then there also cases where the situation is so difficult that in the pure madness of basic survival best people loose their moral souls. If one talks about value education... we need to first start in the city itself. We have to start in our very homes and classrooms.

What inspire is doing, what we wanna do... it is not an easy process. It is not a today, this week process. It is not a candle flame...it should be a forest fire. Inspire says "make India glow". Only entire INDIA can make INDIA glow. We want this fire to keep on burning. Not something that we start and leave to die out. We start in hope that more fuel is added. But yes, we start in hope that we will burn completely and thoroughly. Oh... there is so much to do. I just can’t help sigh out when I think of that. I’m happy now. I’m so happy coz I am busy. Happy coz my brain is filled and running... with useful info, not trash!!! Perhaps this is my destiny. Perhaps not. But this is where my road lies now. I have made my choice, and I know some how that

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference" - robert frost

INDIA - my INDIA....

yesterday i had quite an extrodinary adventure... i journeyed to India - the real India. all my life i was dreaming about this journey and i finally made it yesterday. i went to a village "arkapalli", mehaboobnagar district, andhra pradesh, india. a village around 60 - 70km from hyderabad. 10km from a very busy road, that can be covered only in a 7-seater auto. what i found there was quite unexpected.

life there is still how it was ages back. i dont know how many of them are aware that what i am doing right now is even possible at all. medical relief is still given out of a doc's home, with medicines that are stocked on a small table. scholl is still some place children ought to go to... but there is absolutely no compulsion what so ever. the one important reason to send the kiddos to school happens to be the mid-day meal, the "guddu(egg)" being highlighted days. a village which has cell-phones but works by the great clock in the sky, and the day ends at 5-6pm when the sun goes to bed.

i had gone there along with some classmates. one of them studied in that village. one day last week we were all wondering what is it that we can do for the world around us. all we had now was time and education. then that guy got up and told us about his village. the village which has both primary and high schools but where students never know what they are actually studying for. where students didnt know what they is there to be learnt and known out there in the world.
for the first time i yesterday i understood why there were reservations for the backward people in my country. i never thought i would sit and urge a person eligible for reservation to make use of it. i did it yesterady and simultaneously made a mental not to know more about reservations. yes i do support reservations now. i know that they are being mis-used just as any other previlage given to a population which has some educated and illeterate people. people unaware of their rights will never be able to use them. people who dont know what is due to them will never be able to make use of all the special offers the government wishes to hand out to them in a sliver platter.

i learnt a lot yesterday... i now understand what the faults in democracy are. i understand what poverty is.i understand that sitting at home safe and sound we can never really comment on the any issues... not reservation, not policies. i understand that INDIA is shining only in the cities and the known world. but inside there is just darkness... a darkness none of these politicians have been able to banish. i understand what is that i really have in life. i appreciate what i have and i know that somehow it is all mine with a responsibility. i cant help but feel that what ever that i have is of no consequence unless i am able to add a smile in this world. knowledge is power!!! that was the motto of my house group at school. how i appreciate that now!!! it is just this little thing that seems to hold half my country back...

where there is no awareness, no knowledge, no understanding... when there is no real fire within you how do you excell??? there has to be something that drives everyone. for us here it has always been very easy. especially so when everything is at hand. when it isnt and there is nothin pushing you forward where will the revolution start??? we are not starting a revolution... we are just spreading some of the light we have in our lives. we are lighting some more lamps to make sure INDIA will keep shining!!!

hmmm...

"When whisper blossom in thy sleep

How I may upward climb

The Alpine path, so hard, so steep

That leads to heights sublime.

How I may reach that far-off goal

Of true and honored fame

And write upon its shining scroll

A woman's humble name."

A couple of days back my brother casually remarked that were he a girl he would have had so many problems. As he is just in8thh class, I wondered why he made that statement. Then it came out that the girls had restricted dress code for childrens day celebrations at school. I had been through all that ages back... inspite of studying in a girls school!!! The world definitely has two different set of eyes - one for men and another for women!

Fortunately I had the privilege of being brought up as a human being and not as a "female being". My grandmother is a very very inspiring person. She has held many important posts in her life retiring as a vice-chancellor of an esteemed university, and is currently the secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Red Cross at the age of 75. My mom is just as industrious - managing the office, the family and a very very tiresome daughter :-). I wonder how I could have been anything less...

I spent the first 13 or so yrs of my life sheltered in girls schooling... so when I finally entered the world it took me a lot of time and energy to understand that things are not the same out here. I had many a struggle with old teachers and their conservative views. always, at all times I couldn't help but feel that I should show it to them that we aren’t anything less... we aren't willing to be pushed into the corners anymore. I still shock the lab assistants at the college workshop by being the first to volunteer to hammer the iron piece, or by insisting that I carry my equipment to the field while surveying. I unconsciously refuse any kind of helping hand... and reflect upon it later and laugh at the face of the guy extending the hand.

Why is it so difficult for people to accept the fact that sex has nothing to do with a person's ability??? The world isn’t changing... no it is not. Even some of my classmates think that I shouldn’t go out and do everything. I’m hope I’m changing their views... as do some of my other classmates. I have around many female friends who are more capable and intelligent than the men of our age. I don’t see why I should give up all my interests’ just coz a dumb-dumb guy thinks he ought to have all the power!!!

At one time it used to irritate me to come across such obstacles and I would get all frust with life... not anymore (at least I hope so!!!). I can laugh about it now, and do my work with renewed vigor and passion. I cant actually blame just all men... I have male friends who encourage me and who believe in me and gladly give me company in all my mad endeavors. Then again many a female friend has tried to keep me down on the seat, n say don't do this don’t do that...they say this n that!!! If they are satisfied with their lives being so narrow... good for them! but I want all that the world has to offer... I wanna climb my alpine path and live to the best of my abilities. I wanna to see my dreams come true, I wanna work, I wanna help, I wanna sing, I wanna dance!!! Why??? Because I don't see why I shouldn't live life on my terms by my rules... and I don’t see why I shouldn’t be allowed to do so. I told Prasad today 'I hate being a part of the crowd and love to do what to something altogether different'...always take the path less trodden by.

I don’t think I’m willing to step down for a world that isn’t really concerned about me but to comment on... there!!! Perhaps my dreams are impractical...but I believe in them. At least I have dreams... what are they??? Keep checking this spot I may put 'em down some day...

p.s - the above stanza is a part from an anonymous poem. i found it in the "alpine path" the auto-biography of l.m.mongomery. a person whose works had a great impact on my life... they brought beauty into it!!! beauty in nature, in truth and in the simple things of life.