ABRACADABRA!
I always was sceptical when it came to watching a magic show! But am just back after seeing magic happen before my very eyes! My job involves story telling to children,and I was invited to a residential school outside Chennai close to Hosur(about 6 hours by road from Chennai towards Bangalore) to do a 4 day worshop for their kids who are in the age group 5- 13.A school which is a 40 minute drive from the Hosur bus stand in a place called Baliganapalli. It is a co-ed and the children who study there are kids from the economically backward class.The screening is very strict & those kids with a basic IQ level are chosen. These kids are those who come from homes that cannot afford even one square meal a day.
An illustrator friend of mine & I reached there on the 19th night least expecting what we were to see the next 4 days. What we did see was sheer MAGIC!!!On 20th we were taken around the school and then started our sessions after we were formally introduced in the assembly to all the kids. They are all children who are well groomed. Literally & figuratively.Smartly dressed they read the news & stunned us with their perfect pronunciation & enunciation of the words. Once we entered the prekg i.e., 5 year olds , we were surprised with their immediate reaction to their teacher which was, "Aunties are tall,Raji mummy you are short!" They listened with rapt attention to the story with puppets & asked grammatically right questions,all from children who could not speak a word of English a few months back. Our next session was with the 7th & 8th graders. We were trying out a story with pictures on such senior students for the first time but the way they reacted was great!
Each session was an eyeopener for us.Each class a challenge to us. The kids are so fortunte to have a well equipped library & they make full use of it. By the time they are in the 5th grade many of them have read "The Lord of the Rings"!! As they go higher they are so aware of so many things happening around them.Generally when we work with children we try to make them think out of the box ,but with these children they naturally think out of the box!!Talking to them is sheer pleasure and the way they think is mind boggling!!
OVERALL AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE WE WILL NEVER FORGET. THE TEACHERS LOVE WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND IT SHOWS IN THE PRODUCTS THEY ARE TURNING OUT.
Started by Dr.Abraham George Shanti Bhavan is an institution which is his dream. His "India Untouched" part of which is how & why he built this is a great book.
Shanti Bhavan is a place true to its name A HAVEN OF PEACE.Led by a dynamic principal, Mrs.Lalitha Law, the whole team is a dedicated lot.
They always welcome volunteers who are there from all over the world and share some of their knowledge with these children. An exposed lot the children are very creative.
If you have time on hand and you want to use it well try volunteering at Shanti Bhavan.Donations are welcome too.
The details are there in their website www.tgfworld.org.
If you have friends who are looking for a teaching job & want to do it for the love of the profession suggest Shanti Bhavan.
They pay their teachers well for,after all they are the ones who are the magicians.
And if you like me believed magic does not actually happen, take a trip to Shanti Bhavan & you can see magic before your very eyes.
I HAVE, DON'T YOU WANT TO?