Volunteer Diary

Godson Samuel, a pastor from coastal Tamil Nadu, now working in Pune was a student of a lady professor in Bangalore's United Theological College some years ago. Hearteningly, the woman's courage and ability to break the gender barrier seems to have had a positive effect on the young man. In an exhibition titled Women, Leaves and Lent, the priest exhibited some of the exquisite creations that he carved out of dried leaves of the palm tree. The highlight of the theme - a focus on the women who are often missing from Biblical narratives! Here is a peek into this…

The current socio-political (re)awakening nationwide encouraged me to share this piece that I had penned sometime back. I do not recall when and where I first heard the word feminist. But I am certain that it is essential to remember some of the positive contributions that feminism has made to women and society overall. These include the securing of voting rights for women, the right to work outside home, inclusion in anti-discrimination laws, et al. All this was achieved through the relentless and determined efforts of many courageous and committed women and some men, amidst much opposition. And the women's…

India has different varities of millets and is the largest producer of these foodgrains in the world. The country is apparently the top exporter of small millets which feed pet birds in American and European homes.But we are yet to completely understand the ability of millets to manage diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, fibromyalgia, backaches and other chronic diseases. This weekend offers a great opportunity to learn about the health benefits of millets and interact with nutrition, processing technology and cultivation experts at the Millets Mela. Grameena Natural, a Bangalore based shop for natural foods and earth360 Eco Ventures Private Limited from…

Goa. The name evokes images of beaches, Konkani and Portugese heritage and the good life. And perhaps of drug peddling, sex trafficking and other vices. However, over the last few years, the state has been in the news for the rampant unlawful mining of low grade iron ore that is exported to China. (It is important to note that iron ore mining dates back to the period of Portugese rule in India). The consequent damage to the water bodies, indigenous communities and biodiversity in the state have been brought to the forefront thanks to the relentless efforts of people such…

Where is the world's highest motorable road? And the nectar of seabuckthorn (better known as Leh berry)? In Leh, Ladakh, obviously! As many of us know, recently, terrible landslides and flash floods devastated this exotic part of India. Some of us have heard, seen and read heart rending accounts of the resulting death and destruction. And probably want to reach out to the people there. Feeling the same, a group of five friends in Bangalore, namely, Manjari Ranasaria, Christina Daniels,  Lakshmi Karanth, Swathi Chaturvedi and Mayur Jain pondered about various ways to do that. Not wanting to ask people for…

Coming from a family of academics, I assumed that teaching ability should be second nature even without formal training. And I'm apparently fine according to many children I have volunteered with although I may not match the exceptional skills of my grandfathers, mother and some of my extended family or a few of my school and college teachers. However, I never expected to receive such honour and affection as I did this September, 5.Actually, I have been a tutor, mentor, learner and friend rather than a school teacher and am still amused when kids address me as Ma'am or Miss…

All children I have voluntarily tutored (often, first generation literates from low income families)  over the last several years yearn to become fluent in English irrespective of the languages they speak or study in. And their parents' common refrain "Yenga pasangalum ungala maari dasu busu nu English lo pesanum" (our children must also converse fluently in English like you) has compelled the children and me to make frequent attempts to use English.   But, considering that they mainly converse in their mother tongue and/or the principal language of their neighbourhood, it is a challenge for them to find an environment…

The Pottery Town government school (on Pottery Road where I had volunteered for nearly four months) closed for summer holidays in end March but I often find some children  playing in the ground or loitering around in the neighbourhood. That's hardly surprising as many of their parents and sometimes the kids themselves work and live nearby. But I see only boys - Ramesh, his younger brother Praveen and Narasimha et al almost always! Some of the girls I know, like Pushpalata or Shashikala are definitely busy helping with or doing household chores. But what prevents even a few of the…

7th FebruaryOnly Venkatesh and Surya stayed behind to discuss the contents of 2 editions of Young World. We talked about eclipses and as expected Venkatesh asked about the common Indian myth that a snake or demon swallowed the sun or the moon. The previous day, their teachers had displayed many Kannada books for them to choose from. Venkatesh mentioned that Ramesh and Murthy had selected joke books and story books while he had taken one on the wonders of nature. Surya then suddenly remembered that he had a 'project' folder.14th FebruaryI went to the playground later than usual, confident that…

It's been a month of my Saturday visits to the school but children across classes are unhappy that I don't go there every day. Most of them remember to confirm if I had lunch and ask if there is any chance of my being there during the week. I was glad to see that the knowledge hungry and uninhibited Divya, the mischievous and sharp Monika (both in class V) and inquisitive Dhanalakshmi (from class IV) who usually skip their Saturday meal were actually eating there.Sudharshan and Surya took the Young World editions from me while I went looking for Michael.…