Tried something New and Different

Had real fun and enjoyed every moment of it.

Trip to Sittilingi

Mountains in the backdrop with the r them, lush green fields around, the sound of a stream flowing, cute little huts ... this is the village of sittilingi where we spent a quiet diwali. It was a wonderful experience without the sounds and smell of crackers.
My brother and his wife who stay at Thulir(education resource centre for children and youngsters) invited us for diwali to this wonderful place.
We started around 7am and reached thulir aound 12pm. It was a holiday so the children did not come. We lazed around, children went for walk aound the place and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We went to the land which my brother has bought out there. Children and Partha enjoyed plucking mangoes(unripe). We even saw a house which has not been occupied for ages now housing snakes and ghosts(according to the villagers)
The next day we met the children and then attended the class which my brother took for them. We did a few origami stuff ..it was fun. Later varun observed water testing.
Partha and children went for a walk in the evening to the stream nearby and the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
The next day morning after breakfast was time to leave the place. We bought a few key chains and soap which the girls make out there for sale.it was raining and the journey back was scary. The visibility was bad but we managed to make it back safely.
The trip was a memorable one. A big thanks to Sanjeev and Anita for making it possible.

Stage

All round you could see excited eager faces. It was annual day of our campus and we were having a cultural event. Children dressed up in different costumes, parents running around doing the last minute make up for them.. the whole place was colourful and lively. In the midst of all this there were the tiny tots just two or two and a half also dressed up in complicated costume and there was a clear discomfort on their faces. Others calling them cute and pulling their cheeks, hugging and holding them at their will. After all this when the time came for the children to be on stage most of them stuck to their mothers and refused to get down. One or two children in the end due to the persistence of the parent stood on the stage but the others refused and ended up being carried by the mother for the whole programme.

Just thinking what is it that makes a parent to do this. Is it the eagerness to give their child exposure or is it just they are just getting to satisfy their whims and fancies because the child does not have a say. What would the child be thinking in those uncomfortable clothes, how would he/she be feeling, what is he thinking about the elders around him who do not treat him as an individual?

Why is it so difficult for parents to allow the child to be just be? Why are we so eager to show off our children in front of others treating them like puppets? Why do parents and adults feel that a child has to prove himself/herself in front of others all the time. Is it our insecurity with ourselves?

When a child is constantly showcased in front of others ..and the child is constantly fed with appreciation or praise would he be doing things only to get that praise or would he still enjoy what he is doing?

It is about time we as parents sit back and think about our actions and the thought process behind it and allow space to our children to grow at their own pace.

Star

A few days back:
Varsha: Mummy I made a mistake in maths. But we learn from making mistakes na? There were some children who got star in English. I did not get any star. Mummy, I was still happy because I know it does not matter. You love me anyway.

I knew she was feeling not so good about it and she was trying to work on it. Hopefully by allowing her to express her feelings and acknowledging it will help her to internalise it too one day.
They have a very funny system at school they give stars for keeping quiet and then when they meet the parents they say she is a very quiet girl and you need to encourage her to talk :-)

Shifu

Shifu is a cute little PUPPY
She came and stayed with us for a day,
She loved playing with varun and varsha,
But would bark when they fight with each other,
The children learnt it was not easy to take her out for a walk,
cos she would be running and they would be at the back of her,
When she went back we felt bad,
Cos' we really love her and it was very sad
We would love to have her once again,as she
loves us the way we are and does not want us to change.

Durga Puja in our Campus

Durga, in Sanskrit means "She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach." Goddess Durga is a form of Sakti worshiped for her gracious as well as terrifying aspect. Mother of the Universe, she represents the infinite power of the universe and is a symbol of a female dynamism. The manifestation of Goddess Durga is said to emerge from Her formless essence and the two are inseparable.

She is also called by many other names, such as Parvati, Ambika, and Kali. In the form of Parvati, She is known as the divine spouse of Lord Shiva and is the mother of Her two sons, Ganesha and Karttikeya, and daughter Jyoti. Destroyer of demons, she is worshiped during an annual festival called Durga puja, especially popular among Bengalis.

Artisans from Calcutta come here to Bangalore and make the idol which is one piece of work and not different idols. We have Lord Ganesha on the left and Lord Karthikeyan on the right. We also have Lakshmi and Saraswati on both sides of Lord Durga.

Singing, dancing and distribution of sweets is a major part of the festival. All the Bengalis are dressed in their traditional dress (white and red sari for the ladies) for the puja. The khichidi they distribute is delicious.

Going into the pandal and looking at the Goddess gives one a sense of awe and wonderment. The whole atmosphere is charged.

The decoration on the Goddess and other Gods is the upper layer taken from sugarcane, it is eco-friendly and dissolves in the water.

The sad part of the festival comes when the time comes for Goddess Durga to be immersed. It is called 'bisorjon'. It is very interesting when the priest in a tray of water keeps a mirror and we can see the image of Goddess in it. It is basically that the immersion has happened and what is left is only the physical idol of the Goddess which is immersed in water later. I have seen the pain and tears in the eyes of the people who had got so much involved in the puja, they just could not watch the Goddess leaving though knowing well that she would return next year.

Navaratri in our campus

In Southern states of Tamil Nadu and to a lesser extent in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the festival of Navrathri is called Kolu or Navratri Golu, where women set up decorated planks in a corner of the house and decorating it with dolls which are collected over the years.
These Navratri dolls are arranged in several tiers. Maximum no of tiers in which dolls are arranged are 9 depending on time and space constraints.




There are also different kind of rangoli made which attract people to come to see the display. The dolls are kept in such a way that it comes down from the top from immortals to mortals. Gods,saints and mortals.



The display is usually for ten days but due to constraints of time nowadays it is kept for any of the three days during the ten days. Saraswati puja is celebrated on the ninth day when children and adults keep their books and other important things at the feet of the Goddess Saraswati and chandan and kumkum is applied on all the things in the house including the vehicles. Children take charge of this activity and enjoy doing it. Then tenth day is Vijayadashami when new activities are taken up, children start school etc.On the 10th night after the ceremonial arti and prayers, the dolls are put to ‘sleep.’ And the next day, the exhibits are packed carefully in cloth or paper and preserved for use the next year.