CHILDREN

A malnourished boy, in shabby clothes, stood trembling in fear at the Chennai Central Railway station. Unaware of the surroundings and people, he sat in silence at the railway station for hours. Only when the Railway Protection Force (RPF) employees initiated a conversation, did he open up about his risky escape from a confectionery unit in Karnataka. The 17-year-old boy, a resident of Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu, was coaxed into work by a middle man, when he was barely 13. The promise of a decent job and good salary soon turned sour, as the boy was forced to work…

I found this impressive building in Panduranga Nagar, just off Bannerghatta Road. What struck me about the big claims was that no course of study was being talked about....all that this tell students is that it will help them pass the *entrance* exams to various courses. We have degraded our educational system to the point where passing an entrance examination is a great feat, to be aspired to. If it is accomplished,goes the subtext, the rest of the course is just a breeze. Nowhere is there anything about learning anything these days; it's all about marks, and toppers, and rankings.…

For our readers in English Chennai has over 1350 Anganwadis under the ICDS. Contrary to popular perception, many of these centres are clean, well appointed with teaching aids, toys etc (maybe lacking in infrastructure as compared to private playschools and daycare centres) and well run by dedicated teachers and employees who take a holistic view of the daily needs of a 2/3 year old child. In addition, many anganwadis also serve as centres for spreading awareness about maternal and child health, importance of nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood, vaccination etc ஒருங்கிணைந்த குழந்தைகள் வளாகம் (ICDS) - ஒரு பார்வை பொருளாதாரத்தின் எந்நிலையில்…

Public parks play a key role in recreation and health of citizens. For children growing up in fast developing, concretised urbanscapes, time spent in parks is their only respite from walls -- in their houses and schools and tuitions. It is a good thing for citizens, therefore, that renovation of parks gets a mention in almost all annual budgets of the Chennai Corporation. However, a visit to some of the public parks in the city will break your heart. On the ground, these parks are anything but child friendly, with most of the play equipment and accessories to engage children…

In a tragic incident, a Class 12 student riding a two-wheeler died in an accident at Thirumangalam in central Chennai in the first week of April. The case drew even more attention than usual, as Chennai Police, in a first, arrested the mother for letting the minor boy ride without a driving license. Chennai police seems to have followed suit of the Hyderabad police in this case, with reports of the latter having launched a massive crackdown against underage driving, are arresting the parents.  Business Standard recently reported that police in the Telangana capital catch more than 30 minors behind…

Wearing a plain school uniform, holding a banner in one hand and a lunch bag in the other, a young lad marched on the streets of Padur last year. Apart from the words on the banner -- ‘Kudiyai Vidu, Padikka Vidu’ (Give up liquor, let us study), it is the steely determination of the eight-year-old boy, A Aakaash, that caught everyone’s attention and spirited the anti-TASMAC agitation at Padur, a small hamlet on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). Toys or clothes do not interest Aakaash. His worries belie his age. When a liquor shop in an inappropriate place needs removal or…

Once in a while, it's a refreshing change to look forward to a children's play, and on the 31st of March, '18, I took my grandchildren to watch "Fish Tree Moon", a play by Ranga Shankara as part of its "Aha!" initiative for children. The beautiful moon from the play. The performances (3 in all) had been well timed for the start of the school summer vacations, and the play drew an almost full house, with many children eager to watch, and their families eager to immerse them in theatre. The play deals with a varied set of characters.... an…

As school-children, many of us have probably heard lectures or talks emphasizing the use of emergency helplines during distress. On an average, a school-going child is aware of at least one helpline. Over the years, we may also have come to know about helplines through advertisements, Public Service Announcements (PSAs), hoardings, messages on social media etc. The government has repeatedly emphasized on dialling helplines during distress by conducting several campaigns for creating awareness. New helplines are also being launched to cater to the growing needs. So, what happens when we dial a helpline? Let’s look at the working of some of…

We are always worried that our children are completely dependent on powered devices for their pastimes, but the photo below proves that many children know how to enjoy themselves where there is no electricity! The three boys are playing with their tops..an untiring source of entertainment for boys, and some girls, too! Here's a video of a smiling young man, playing with his top, that I took five years ago: https://youtu.be/NzTBke6JZvY As the summer vacations begin for schools across our cities, we can, if we look, find children playing board games and ball games as well as games on gadgets.…

இரண்டு வாரங்களுக்கு முன் சென்னை கோட்டூர்புரத்தில் அமைந்துள்ள ‘பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவிற்கு’ (http://tnstc.gov.in/periyar-science-tech.html) என் இரண்டே முக்கால் வயது மகளை அழைத்து சென்றேன். வாழ்க்கை பயணத்தில் சென்னை வந்து பல வருடம் ஆகியிருந்தாலும், பள்ளிப்பருவத்தில் சென்னையில் இருக்கும் உறவினர் வீட்டிற்கு வந்தபோது ஒரு முறை மட்டுமே அங்கு சென்ற ஞாபகம். ‘பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவின் ஒரு பகுதியான  பிர்லா கோளறங்கத்தின் உள் அமர்ந்து கோள்களையும், நட்சத்திரங்களையும் கண்டது மட்டும் இன்னும் பசுமையான நினைவாக உள்ளது. நான் சென்றது ஒரு விடுமுறை தினமாதலால் பல பள்ளிகள், சில கல்லூரிகள் என மாணவ மாணவிகளின் பெருங்கூட்டம். பிர்லா கோளரங்கத்திற்கான நுழைவு சீட்டு கூட கிடைக்கவில்லை. அறிவியல் மையத்திற்கு மட்டுமே கிடைத்த நுழைவு சீட்டை எடுத்துக்கொண்டு நானும் என் மகளும் பயணித்தோம்.      பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவில் உள்ள காட்சிக்கூடங்கள்: பெரியார் காட்சி கூடம் Periyar Gallery போக்குவரத்து காட்சிக்கூடம்…