Happy Birthday!!!!

Here's wishing a very very Happy Birthday to a very special friend Neelima!!

Happy Birthday to You Neels... may all your dreams come true!!

Hey all! Do leave your birthdates in the comment box so we can all wish you too!

Making a Difference!

Last month an essay contest titled ‘An Idea That Made a Difference to My Classroom’ was conducted by Scholastic India. I sent one of my tried and tested ideas across (Remember Casper?) and my entry was chosen as one of the top 100 from over 1500 entries that were received across India. As a token of appreciation I was awarded with a certificate of honour, a set of books and a jewellery box as well. The news made my Teachers’ Day even more special. Thank you all for your wishes..

The big and small of it

Last evening I was waiting for the elevator , I was surprised to see this little girl alone inside it.
I asked her," Where's Mummy?" After a moment of thought, she replied, " Small mummy..in the kitchen, and capital mummy ... to the market."

What did she mean? Now you figure that out! :P

Current Music- Native American flute music -Carlos Nakai

Under the Microscope...

I first began teaching when I was 18/ 19, when friends would approach me to get their doubts cleared. I started taking up tuitions of my next-door neighbours (now very good friends of mine) at the request of their mother. By the time I graduated ( 1993) , I had made up my mind that I wanted to take up teaching as a profession. Easier said than done! My parents wanted me to become a Chartered Accountant, but nothing could make me change my mind because by that time, I had realised that even after 5 nightmarish years of studying accounts, I wasn’t really able make any sense of what my teachers had tried to teach me. Much to the chagrin of my parents and brother I applied for a teaching job ( I needed to be working to get admission to a part-time course in B.Ed) in a school located in a god forlorn part of the city.

After a brief interview, I was appointed as a teacher in the Secondary Section. I was to take up English in Class 5 and Economics Class 10. Whew! Now I thought that teaching English to the 10/ 11 ear olds would be a cakewalk and it would be a pain to teach Economics since I really really hated the subject.

And here’s what happened on the very first day of my teaching career. I entered the class a very confident teacher, armed with my English textbook, all set to wow the children with my teaching . The lesson was about Microscopes. I explained the lesson in great detail showing them pictures of microscopes and flashcards of new words. ( I must mention that 90% of the children were first generation learners and most of them would converse with me only in Hindi) so after I was through with my droning I encouraged them to ask questions if they had any. I was pretty sure that I had done a great job and that there would be none… one hand went up and I nodded at its owner (actually dared him) to go ahead and ask his question.

Boy: Teacher..(thoughtful pause) germs/ micro organisms bahut chote hote hain na? (The germs/ micro organisms are very small aren’t they?)

Me: Yes, they are very tiny.

Boy: Hum log unko dekh nahi sakte hain na? (We can’t see them with a naked eye, can we?)

Me: Nahi..Err, no. (getting a li’l panicky now)

Boy: To phir usko pakadke microscope mein kaise daal sakte hain? (Then how can we catch them and put them under the microscope?)

You could have knocked me down with a feather. Don’t even ask me how I wiggled my way out of that question! I won't be able to answer you anyway. I think I lost time ... just blanked out and honestly I have no memory about what took place in the next 10 minutes.
What I do remember is my resolve to be a good teacher (when I came to). Well, I have been true to my word, and 12 years and several schools later I have 2 awards for being 'the best teacher in my section' and several appreciation letters to my credit. That incident was surely THE turning point in my life! Today I make sure that I am more than thoroughly prepared before I enter a classroom... 'cos I wouldn't want to cut a sorry figure in my class ever!
*Grin*

Baby talk!

Kids are so funny. Just when you think nothing they say can surprise you anymore something like this comes along and says, “Think again!” Sometimes I am amazed at the things they come up with.

Last week I was walking down the stairs with this teacher who is in the family way.
A chubby cherub walked up to us and asked the teacher: What is the matter teacher? Your stomach seems to be growing everyday!
Teacher: (squirming uncomfortably) Err... God put a baby in my stomach.
Girl: (nodding her head wisely) Oh! So you are reproducing…

We really had to exercise super control over our facial muscles on this one!

Oh No! Not Again!!!

Oh dear God! It's happening all over again:((

Incessant rains

Water logging

Rising water levels

Traffic jams

Stranded people

Power failures

Unpotable water

Dead phones

No trains

Delayed flights

Floating vehicles

Forced holidays…

Loss of lives

Wiped out households

Tragic stories

Panic attacks

All this plus what’s left of Torrential Tuesday

Rotting debris

Unbearable stench

Floating Carcasses

Undiscovered bodies

Missing people

Muck

Grime

Well-founded fears

Rumours

Unfounded fears

Government apathy

Jokes about govt. relief work and its empty promises

Looming on the horizon is another dark cloud…an impending epidemic

God save us Mumbaiites! Please keep us in your prayers…

Horror Revisited...

I stared in dismay at the heavy rains lashing out, hoping against hope that nature’s fury would calm down by the time for us to leave school. As hours went by my hopes thinned out as I watched the rising water level.
Parents of students in our school had started streaming in to pick up their dear kids. Not all of them could make to school though, and at 7 p.m (one hour after closing time) we were marooned with around 100 children along with 25- 30 staff members (teachers as well as helpers)
The phone lines were dead! There was no way we could have contacted the parents of these children. Mobile networks were down too and we were completely shut out from the outside world! Teachers were frantically trying to call up their families to ensure their safety and to assure them of their own.
Outside, the rains were poring down mercilessly showing no signs of relenting. There was an unspoken pact among the teachers that they wouldn’t leave until all the students had left safely with their parents. We worked together tirelessly to ensure that children were handed over to their parents as and when they came in. The water levels were rising in alarming proportions. Our school library was partially filled up with water and anxiety writ all over our faces.
Very soon we were left with around 30-35 children, some of whose parents who had been able to make it to the school but didn’t want to risk their lives by venturing out into the rains again. The teachers did their best to keep the mood light. The children were oblivious to the fact that something was wrong. They were busy drawing pictures, playing games and chatting away gaily with their friends. Only a few glum faces were noticed, but teachers took them under their loving care and made sure to wipe out any traces of gloom. Luckily, our school had stocked up well on biscuits and soft drinks. We got these distributed to the children who were more than happy to get their hands on their favourite biscuits and soft drinks.
Somehow, our Principal managed to establish contact with a local caterer who was also a parent. Within hours she managed to send us rice, dal, pickle and papads. It was a welcome relief for us. Dal and rice had never felt so tasty before this.
Hours went by and we resigned to the fact that we were destined to spend the night at school. A few classrooms were cleared and mats were laid out for children and their parents to retire for the day… and what a day it had been!
Most of the teachers had already heard from their spouses and checked up on the kids who were in the safe custody of their in-laws or caring neighbours. Another classroom was converted into a makeshift dorm for the teachers. But sleep eluded us and we decided to make the most of the God-sent opportunity by chatting up each other. Most of us were still numb with disbelief. ‘Is this really happening to us?’ was written all over our tired faces. Our sense of humour was at an unusual high and we spent all night cracking jokes and laughing till our sides ached. We simply had a ball of a time.
We didn’t realise it was already dawn. We wished each other a good morning and wondered aloud what time would we sign out in the staff muster. A teacher’s family who stayed near the school managed to send us chai and breakfast. Soon worried parents started streaming in to pick up their kids and soon we were left with just 4-5 kids. The rains had subsided so our Principal suggested we leave soon too and she would wait until the kids dispersed. Outside there was a traffic jam and we could see people wading through waist-deep water. We split up and started off for home. I embarked upon the journey-all by myself :-( I kept telling myself to be brave and … I put my feet in the water. It was cold and mucky and I felt all my resolutions breaking down.
Somehow I managed to take the next few steps and very soon I was in waist-deep water. It was a very risky thing to do, because this road was full of potholes, and there was also the fear of getting electrocuted or worse still, drowned. Strangers offered their advice- ‘Behenji aap is taraf se chaliye (pointing towards the divider) idhar safe hai.
The water was muddy and I could see plastic bags, fruits, onions, pieces of broken furniture, footwear etc. floating and occasionally entwining around my feet. I couldn’t believe this! I, who have always been particular about cleanliness, would wash my hands with disinfectant soaps after reaching home was actually wading through sludge and grime. I shook my head in disbelief. I was still among the luckier ones who stayed very close to my workplace, now if only I reached home on time.
On the way I saw many damaged vehicles, school buses with children in them, public transport buses with passengers trapped inside, autorickshaws, and fallen motorcycles. I looked around and vaguely remembered seeing something like this on TV and here I was in the middle of all this! This couldn’t really be happening to us! What normally would have taken me 20 minutes, took me almost and hour and a half and I finally reached my locality.
It seemed like our locality had faced the brunt of the fury. I rubbed my eyes in shock when I saw that water levels had risen till the first floors (though it had ebbed by morning) Harried looking neighbours and Amma who had been waiting for me looked relieved when they saw me wading through knee-deep muck.

Water water everywhere…not a drop to drink!

If you think that my nightmare ended there…think again! I was in for a few more shocks…no power, no water… and worse still…I had to climb up five storeys:(( As hours went by, tales of horror started streaming in… everyone around was talking about carcasses of cattle, dead bodies floating in the water, people asphyxiated in their own cars…

Each of us has a story to recount… of horror…of survival… and I do so hope that things will get back to normal and Mumbai spirit will stay afloat...

Current Music: Alanis Morisette - Zacce Lyrics - I'm a Bitch

Be Right Back!!!

Hear This, All Ye Muggles, Hear!

The agonizingly long wait for Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince has finally come to an end. And for all those ignoramuses who don't understand what the excitement is all about, I can only say, "EAT SLUGS!"

I am gonna 'disapparate' for a while so that I can spend every spare moment that I can manage to squeeze out of my busy life, to lose myself in the world of wizardry and magic spells.

I will be right back after the magical break!

Choices...

Hindustan Times (its Mumbai edition is expected to hit the news stands anyday this week) or The Times of India( a newspaper that I have been reading for more than a quarter of a century.. .geeez that makes me sound so ancient) ??????

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All the best!