Attempting to create pathos and anger: 'Reaching hospital it was looking like messy type' 'I got him into the last point of insultation'Attempting - um - I don't know what: 'And if the film is ya some actors take more many if they don't hard work' (Mm? Can you say that again?)Imaginative writing: 'Their colour was blue as dark blue in the ocean, just as ocean their body was made of ocean.'Arguing for equality: 'The removal of Girls and a huge unrespect for girls is seen in the parts of India.'Innovative spelling:buque (Say it aloud; you may understand) masculur paniced humguous maintedLet's make up words and phrases! fightings unequality By mistakely step on your own feet … [Read more...]
Exam Gems
Correcting papers is a crazy experience. There are some things each teacher in the staff room feels compelled to share with the others.Commenting on a poem's language and style, students write... 'This heart-touching poem...', or better still - 'This tear-dropping poem...'Commenting on the expected audience, a student has a bewildering response - 'The language used is abit complex probably not aiming for audience but for readers who are mature.'Describing a forest, a student wants to create rich imagery, so talks about 'barked densed trees'The students are also tested on their ability to empathise. One exercise was a letter written by Theo to his famous brother, the painter, Vincent Van Gogh. A student writes - 'You have to treat such problems as a video game'Spelling is the most exciting - use your imagination here. Be warned, students cheerfully invent … [Read more...]
‘Shiva’
Last evening's performance at Bal Shikshan was a visual treat. Of course there were things I did not like. I did not like the opening piece or the concluding peace. I found them most peculiar. Yet, there is something about the perfection of classical dance well performed that cannot be compared to anything else.Vaibhav Arekar and his troupe performed a beautiful collection of dances - united by the theme of Shiv. There were some pieces I'd watched before. There's one that brings tears to my eyes every time - the story of an untouchable devotee of Shiva who wants a glimpse of the shivalingam inside the temple.Spurned by the higher castes, Nandan hides, crouches, apologetic about his very existence. When higher caste women see him, they recoil in disgust. He cringes, almost trying to become invisible. Yet, when everyone else finishes the prescribed rituals and has gone, Nandan goes … [Read more...]
The Table Family
Have you been introduced to the Table family? When I was in school, we were kept forcibly away from the family. The Table family was a strict no-no for us. Pronounce correctly. Stay away from the awful Table family.Trends are changing, though. Many children have found their comfort zone with this delightfully extended family.At lunch, they meet Veggie Table. When their handwriting is not so good, but not so bad, their teacher introduces them to Axe-ep Table. The mike stand has a secret name, I learned in school the other day. It is Adjus(t) Table. You are invited to join the family too! If you have something to give and give it freely, you are Charee Table. A child told me seriously about a naughty, uncontrolled child. "He is Ex-i Table."Maybe we should join the family. It sounds most Come-for Table. … [Read more...]
Essel World
When I was ten years old, I wrote a story that won me two tickets to Essel World, and 4 tickets to Nehru Planetarium. Going to Mumbai was impossible, so we passed the tickets on to friends in Mumbai. I have no recollection of being upset with it, or in any way deprived. I think the friends who used the tickets felt far worse than I did!When I won the same things again, a little later, my parents and our friends in Mumbai decided that somehow, this time, little Varsha had to go to Essel World. And so, we planned it.This was a time when I was obsessed with writing down everything to be sure I did not forget treasured experiences. I wrote down all kinds of details, including what we ate and where. At Nehru Planetarium, there were weighing machines that were fascinating. "On the moon, I'm 6 kgs," I wrote. I wrote all the details. What I weighed on earth, Jupiter, the sun... Figures and … [Read more...]
Hiding from Children
There are many things that you may successfully hide from adults, but simply cannot hide from children. Impoliteness is one of those things. As a child, my sister once turned to my parents. "When I said 'thank you', why did that uncle not say 'welcome'?"Today, a colleague of mine was trying to hide from her two-year-old son. Essentially, she knew that if her child saw her, he would demand her attention, become cranky, want to be carried... The works.Another colleague and I attempted to shield her while all the little children entered the refectory. Her son could not see her; we had hidden her completely.But one little girl ran around us, perhaps just to see what we were doing standing there. She peeked and then yelled, eyes shining, "Phil! Mommy!" And then, in case he had not heard, she called again, "Phil! Mummy! Mummy!"The game was up. … [Read more...]
Invigilator
Right through school, I enjoyed exams. People found that odd, so I often did not confess that I loved exams. I loved the excited anticipation just before exams. I loved that clean, fresh uniform. (Somehow, the exam uniform stays cleaner than a regular day's uniform.) I loved the light bag with barely any books in it. I loved the last-minute discussion of all those tiny little doubts. I loved the hurried revision one second before the examiner walked in.And in college, I loved the feeling of finishing early and walking out - sometimes an hour before my friends. Freedom!Today, I was invigilator. I felt all those familiar feelings and then, like a stone sinking within me, I grew bored.I miss being on the other side of the table. Watching an exam is nowhere near as inspiring as writing it. … [Read more...]
The Dahu
Do you know the dahu? What a fascinating creature it is! A friend in Grenoble told me the story.The dahu looks like a deer, you know. A deer with a difference. It has two short legs and two long legs and lives in the mountains of France and Switzerland. The most intriguing thing about the dahu is that there's no system that defines which legs are short and which long. If its two right legs are short, it can go up a mountain only clockwise, not anticlockwise. You can imagine why. But the poor baby dahu that has alternate legs short won't survive. How will it? How can it run from danger?Rarely spotted and therefore much coveted, hunting the dahu was considered great sport in the 19th century. Capturing one of those rare beasts was a source of pride indeed! Dahu hunts are still conducted as outdoor activities, but on April 1, 1967, the Prefect of Haute-Savoie (France) … [Read more...]
Butterscotch’s Washing-Machine
Ought I to be embarrassed by this one? It was written two days after my tenth birthday, when I was eager to show off newly acquired vocabulary and paragraphing abilities.Butterscotch was a brownie. He lived in India. You may not believe it, but he was tinier than a wild daisy!Butterscotch was very kind. He had a wonderful washing-machine. He not only washed his clothes, he washed all the other brownies'clothes. He charged only Re.1. The washing-machine was as big as a real one, so he could not hide it anywhere.Now in a nearby village lived human beings, Sarah's mother, father, Sarah and brother had a small house in Cherry Town, the village. Now Sarah was very poor. She did not have any toys. Her mother found it difficult to wash, for they didn't have a washing-machine. They used solar things. Sarah's neighbours were very rich, but they were misers and refused to help Sarah. Sarah … [Read more...]
Our Special Chief Guest – Amjad Ali Khan
It was compulsory for teachers to attend the inauguration of MIT's Vishwashanti Sangeet Academy. But my day was made when I saw Ustad Amjad Ali Khan ascend the stairs. With his characteristic humility, he acknowledged all those waiting on the sides, unlike many others who obliviously walked by. Unembarrassed by his outdated chivalry, he remained standing for as long as his wife was standing. He spoke briefly, boring none with long-winded, irrelevant speeches.I felt like a school-girl meeting a film-star when I saw him up close. My colleagues made fun of me, and I enjoyed that too - like a school-girl again. There he stood, dignified, poised, smiling. He didn't even play. He sat beside his wife and listened to long speeches in Marathi, not even in the limelight - because Lata Mangeshkar was in the limelight.There has to be something special about a man who, even without the instrument … [Read more...]