yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

ODOC - Meat of the matter One District One Cuisine ( ODOC ) initiative of the Uttar Pradesh state government is in the news.  My initial reaction was that Uttar Pradesh has since long accorded food the priority it warrants. Today too, besides taste and variety, it respects seasonality, celebrates harvests, and prioritizes home-cooking – per capita usage of food-delivery apps here is way lower compared to other states! Why mess with the food when there is a lot else in the state that can do with some change? The sheer diversity of Khoya at Khoya Mandi Chunar ( Mirzapur district ) I then took a step back and read about the initiative. First, the number of cuisines (208) way exceeds the number of districts (75) so why is it one district one cuisine to begin with. Secondly, at-least half-a-dozen districts have Samosa as their cuisine or one of the cuisines. Samosa which is consumed across the country in millions each day and even tops the food-delivery platform lists! Third, at-lea...

Behind the Chai , Mithai and Paan in Banaras A slighted edited version appears in The Hindu . Warm thanks to friends at each of these learning spaces and Eesha. A lot has been said about Banarasi’s lanes being home to some of the finest chai, mithai and paan one can savour. Locals affirm that some of these older stalls and shops are, akin to the ghats, very much a part of Banaras' identity. Over almost a decade that I have put in at Banaras I have visited and revisited some of these stalls and shops. Initially I was blown away by the regularly high quality of the chai , mithai , and paan that permeated my senses. Some of the tastes, textures and smells I experienced here were new for me as were the sensations they aroused in my body. Over a period of time I realised that at these spaces perfection is the norm. As I put in more time I observed, and engaged with, the people who ran these spaces; people behind the perfection. These people, centred beings, live in the moment ( the ...

A young friend at school gave a wonderful parting gift,  As a project he had to talk with an adult, ask her / him to tell a story from her / his life, and write it down, like a book, with illustrations and all,  When he approached me I wondered for a bit on what to talk about - a story that would be a interesting for him as well, I needed to stay away from complicating and ensure that it enthused him enough to write about it,    Initially my mind wandered to my days in Agraa and Baghmara, but then I settled for time in Banaras, the Ramleela,  We talked a few times, it was fun to engage with him on the event, (locally referred to as the mela, the Ramleela at  Ramnagar  takes place over a month and at different spots across Ramnagar, there is no use  of electricity despite the large numbers it attracts),  It is special for me for multiple reasons, but it is a also kind of event he has never been a part of, this made our interactions all th...

Began a newsletter for the school few months ago A once in two months affair Three issues up so far  One of the sketches made by the children, Newsletters talk about these and other actions at the school, Actions of the children, by the children, for the children, September 2024 November 2024 January 2025

Last fortnight (In a not very good state of mind) Snippets of some conversations,  Glimpses that underscored how at the end of the day we are all humans, Very similar to each other, very different from each other, carrying our contradictions,  At the reception (or the waiting area, around midnight) Another person waiting: यह साले हॉस्पिटल वाले ऐसी खुरसी क्यूँ रखते हैं? मरीज़ के साथ आने वाला बंदा ना तो ठीक से बैठ पाए ना ही ठीक से सो पाए! वो साला खुद ही मरीज़ बन जाए! At the lift (on way for an emergency C T scan) Me to the fellow pushing the stretcher: क्या हुआ? चल क्यूँ नहीं रही? His response: नीचे से कोई खुला छोड़ दिया है दरवाज़ा, बंद करने जाना पड़ेगा. At the operation theatre (after the surgery) Doctor (assisting the surgeon): Do you want to click a photo of the blood that was removed? My response (with folded hands): I just want my mother back fine. At the pharmacy counter Aunty standing next to me: बेटा यह उपर नीचे करते करते तो मेरी हालत खराब हो गयी है, और दवाई लेने आ...

  Taking stock of books (and ourselves) When kids help in taking stock of books Text and images: Anshumalika Rai and Nimesh Ved Published at the Deccan Herald .   What happens when we go with our guts and trust children? A quick look at our school before we jump on to the details. We focus on languages , Hindi and English . The book room is a favoured place; many of the 250 children and 15 teachers can be seen reading here. Children of classes 7 and 8, the senior most children, also join us in taking care of the book room. The idea is to deepen their engagement with books . This year we got a tad ambitious. The annual stock-taking turned into a project: 1 room, 5 days, 1,500 books and 30 children of class 7. As we look back, we realize, that throughout the project it was not the children assisting us, as we had once envisaged, but the other way around - we were assisting the children. This brings smiles to our faces and reminds us of P L Travers’ , “ you should t...

Previous post on the topic Glimpses from the past ~   Sarai Mohana.  1940. Some of the young people began asking for a library. Ethel applied for a grant and pressed the College Trust into donating a piece of land. The young men themselves decided to build the Reading Room in their off time and found used bricks for the purpose. While the men built, Ethel planted oleanders and made paths, making the front yard into a playground. In the end, she says, they had a very charming library. They got books and magazines, daily and weekly papers from various offices. The Reading Room became a popular feature of the village, until the day-school teacher, who Ethel was discovering was quite a faction-maker with his own ambitions, tried to take it over for a night school for children to make extra money for himself.  In the census of 1872, the occupation of all males above 15 years of age are noted. I give some of the items.  Alms-takers: 184 Beggars: 3,490 Barbers: 979 Pun...

Learning languages together This piece finds place in the Deccan Herald . Thanks to the team there. Thanks are due to colleagues for being together during the journey, the questions, and sharing not only confusions but also memories.  Thanks Richa for the comment on the draft.  Some time back we initiated capacity building sessions for teachers at our school. These sessions focus on English and Hindi; languages.   10 out of the 15 teachers at the school teach languages; they are the participants. Our school is located in peri-urban eastern Uttar Pradesh; these teachers converse in Bhojpuri. Today, while it is not easy to pinpoint what has worked and what has not gone right, it is not difficult either to discern the positive energy these sessions have or the learning they enable. Looking back and gleaning through the journey is fun; we have experienced more learning, more surprises than we had bargained for.   Sessions. Together the 11 of us walked the langua...

Language conundrum This piece appears in The Hindu . Thanks to the team there. Can two languages walk the road together – hold each other’s hands and grow? Can we begin with our schools? Two colleagues recently went for some workshops. The organisations they applied to sent not only the application forms but also the follow-up emails in multiple languages. The entire communication was in two languages — English and Hindi. This set me thinking. Is this the way out of the Hindi-English conundrum? We are part of a Hindi-medium school in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and like many other schools in the landscape, we are grappling with the conundrum. Over the years we have either pitched one language against the other or as an alternative to the other, and, as a corollary, have been left struggling at both. I talk about Hindi, but I would hazard a guess that the scenario is not very different with other regional languages and dialects as well. In other words, ‘Hindi’ can well be replaced with ‘regi...

Pal pal peepal  No theory, no gyaan comes to mind as I stand and look at this tree each time i visit CHITS The only line that does is Majrooh Sultanpuri's classic bahon me chalo aao And it is as stunning from the 'other' side too Previous posts on trees Pakhad Peepal Campus trees Peepal in Banaras Banyan in Banaras Akshay Vat

Sarnath on an early morning  Some places take special form at select times, this campus (managed by the  ASI ) is a different world altogether during the mornings ~ Did the Daniells –  Thomas and William  - paint during this time of the day? Is this why  Diana L Eck  calls Banaras – City of light? Neem flowers on the morning grass, fun it is to lay alongside these and watch the Stupa ~ There are nooks and corners that hold surprises, once in a while one comes across changes as well ~ There is something special about this, have little idea about it, but the experience of standing in front of it and look at it was good ~ Just outside stand new installations, whether these were needed is debatable, but now that they are there can one take time out to experience, figure these ~ Previous post on Sarnath  here Other monuments in Banaras Dufferin Bridge Sanskrit University Laat Bhairav