CHILDREN

Translated by Sandhya Raju கோட்டூர்புர வாசிகள் மேற்கொண்ட ஒரு மாற்றம் சென்னையின் பிற பகுதி மக்களுக்கு ஒரு ஊந்துகோலாக அமைந்துள்ளது. சுற்றுப்புறத்தை  அழகாக மாற்ற உறுதி பூண்டு, அங்குள்ள சிறுவர்களும் இளைஞர்களும் தூய்மைபடுத்தியது மட்டுமில்லாமல் சுவர்களை வண்ண  பூச்சுகளை கொண்டு அழகிய படங்கள் வரைந்துள்ளது பலரது கவனத்தையும் ஈர்த்துள்ளது. ஒரு வாரம் முன்னர் வரை, கோட்டூர்புரம் வீட்டு வசதி வாரியத்தின் எச் ப்ளாக், ஒரு சிறிய குப்பை கிடங்கு போல் தான் இருந்தது. ஒவ்வொவொரு முறை அந்த இடத்தை கடக்கும் போது, மக்கள் மூக்கை மூடிக்கொண்டு செல்லும் அளவுக்கு துர்நாற்றம் வீசும். ஆனால் இன்று அந்த இடம் முற்றிலுமாக மாறியிருப்பதை காண மாநகராட்சி மற்றும் குடிசை மாற்று வாரிய அதிகாரிகள் வந்து செல்கின்றனர்.  நகரத்தின் பிற பகுதி மக்களும் இந்த மாற்றத்தை பின்பற்ற ஆர்வம் காட்டுகிறார்கள். "பிற ப்ளாக் மக்களும் இதை கடைப்பிடிக்க ஆர்வம் காட்டுவது மகிழ்ச்சியாக உள்ளது. மாற்றம்…

The adage, ‘Catch them young,’ is associated with imbibing children with values. This dictum holds good when it comes to educating school children on road safety and making them change agents for safety and influencing the larger citizenry. A step in this direction was taken through the establishment of the first School Safety Zone at St. Joseph’s School (CBSE), Bengaluru.  The School Safety Zone is a result of 3Ms’ initiative Young Change Agents for Road Safety (YCARS) in partnership with Concern for Road and Pedestrian Safety (CoRPS) and United Way of Bengaluru. The initiative was launched on 19th November in…

A citizen-led, local initiative in Kotturpuram is creating ripples of inspiration across Chennai. Determined to make their surroundings better, the children and youngsters at Kotturpuram Housing Board cleaned the litter in the area and decorated the walls with colourful murals.  A week ago, the passageway at Block H of Kotturpuram Housing Board resembled a mini dump yard with bags full of domestic waste strewn all around. The stench was so unbearable that locals would cover their noses while passing the area. Today, the locality is the talk of the town, with officials from the Corporation and Slum Development Board visiting the…

As the country observed Teacher's Day, it was time to celebrate a fundraiser held recently in Bengaluru. The money collected through the first-of-its-kind initiative in Whitefield will help renovation of Government Lower Primary School at Chikkanakundi in Anekal Taluk. On August 24, Forum Neighbourhood Mall hosted InnQuizzitive 2019, a quiz for a cause organized by Inner Wheel Club of Bangalore IT Corridor (IWCBITC). As enthusiastic quizzers vied for the honours in the atrium on the ground floor, scores of visitors watched the spectacle from the sidelines. On a Saturday filled with fun and brimming with questions, Mr Hrishikesh Varma of…

It all started when a Facebook user Sandhya was browsing multiple online gifting sites for Rakshabandhan this year, and came across a website that sold ‘combo’ gift items for siblings. All that was fine, of course, except that there were some products designed and marketed in a way that specifically addressed one of the siblings as an adopted child, and in a manner that many found to be derogatory.  At a time when the concept of adoption is still not very well accepted in our society, the last thing we need is people making fun of an issue that has…

‘I can’t risk passing on an infection to my baby’ ‘Giving a stranger’s milk to my baby feels weird’ ‘I will not be able to feed my baby if I donate the excess milk.’ These are a few misconceptions among new mothers that deter them from donating to human milk banks or accepting milk from them. To be fair, human milk banks are a relatively new concept in our cities.  The World Health Organisation recommends mothers worldwide to exclusively breastfeed infants for the child's first six months to achieve optimal growth, development and health.  But there are many mothers who…

As school reopens after a break, Arjun is rather upset for still being in the first bench. "Why am I so short?" he asks, "Others in the class who are younger than me are taller. They sit behind me." What Arjun does not realise, perhaps, is that he is among the many short children who, by 2022, will comprise almost 31.4% of the under-fives in the country. But why are so many kids so short? Is it just genetics? Not really. Arjun is stunted rather than short. His physical stature is a key indicator of child malnutrition, indicating that a boy…

Just like many students, I switched schools after 10th standard, and in the first week at my new school, I experienced a culture shock of sorts. Till 10th standard, I went to Prakriya Green Wisdom School, which had a very strict health-food-only policy. All the students ate in the school canteen that prepared simple meals from organic, minimally-processed material – some of which was even grown on campus.  The menu included dosa, idli, or poha for snack, roti or rice with sambar, a salad, a vegetable dish, buttermilk and payasam for lunch. Birthdays were celebrated with chikkis; chocolates or any…

It was a show of creativity and colours in Whitefield on Saturday morning. As the sun and clouds played hide-and-seek, scores of children made a beeline for Nallurhalli lake to use their imagination and depict their natural surroundings. 'My Halli, My Lake', an initiative of Nallurhalli Rising, brought together more than 160 children, aged between three and sixteen years. Many students from Poorna Prajna International School were part of the enthusiastic crowd. The citizens’ group Whitefield Rising was the community partner. Oracle India Ltd provided the materials for painting - drawing sheets, pencils, erasers, water colours, crayons and pads. For…

Alia, 15, cannot move or talk. “She is totally dependent on me,” said her father Mohammad Asad, an electrician. “Her mother passed away almost nine years back. I have to remain with her most of the time”. Even 35 years after the world’s worst industrial disaster that claimed 3787 lives in one night (unofficial estimates, however, put the number of deaths at over 20,000 till date, including those who died from gas related illnesses since) and left 500,000 permanently ill, victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy continue to suffer the effects of the deadly gas leak from the Union Carbide plant.…