Marzena's Blog From POLAND
Sunday, 03.02.2008
A 9 hours and a half flight from London and here I am in India!
After waiting for my luggage (which happened to arrive as almost the last one) I
headed out from the airport to find Subro, Bishnu's driver waiting for me outside.
After an exquisite lunch (fried fish and prawn noodles, great!) in one of Kolkata's
restaurants we went with Bishnu to catch the train to Santiniketan. The drive through
Kolkata's streets was impressive - some people living their lives virtually on the
streets - from washing their clothes or having a "shower" to sewing, tailoring and
selling. As we reached the station I could see it was swarming with people, many of
them carrying their luggage on their heads and rushing to catch the trains. We found
our compartment and punctually (!) departed to Santiniketan. The drive through the
countryside offered wonderful views and a glimpse into rural life in India. What I
learned from today about India is that it is far more different than I could imagine, full
of new sights, new smells and new tastes - as intense as no place I've been to before!
Monday, 04.02.2008
Today in the morning I was given a ride on Bishnu's moped to see the town. It is a
quiet, lovely place with lots of students, small street shops and a cosy atmosphere.
This was also the first day I met the tribal children. They were all happy to see the car
coming and shouted from the distance: hello, hello! Then the first lesson took place
and I quickly found out that these are the most eager, enthusiastic and motivated
students I've ever had!
Tuesday, 05.02.2008
Day by day I'm learning some new Bengali words, like chaabi, cha, maach, darun,
namskar and some other. The most fascinating is, however, getting to know the
names of wonderful dishes I'm treated to by Shampa, Bishnu's maid. She is a lovely
cook! Before going to school we visited the bank again, trying to perform the
exchange-money operation, only to find out that the bank system was not working
again. Anyway, almost 2 hours and 3 cups of tea later I went out of the bank happy to
carry some rupees with me. In the afternoon we went with Bishnu to school and I was
given a tour of the tribal village by some students. It was an unforgettable insight into
genuine tribal people's life. After the "excursion" we came back to school and found
most of the children already sitting with Bingo cards and waiting for us... And so the
lessons began!
Wednesday, 06.02.2008
After a really good sleep I was woken up by Shampa who brought the usual morning
cup of Darjeeling tea. The taste of this tea is just great! Then it occurred that the
information that Bishnu received yesterday about a possible strike (called by some
political party) actually proved to be true, meaning it was not possible to move by car
and many shops were closed. Unfortunately, strike means - no school today. After a
mouth-watering lunch prepared by Shampa (roti, dhal soup, rice, fish and curried
vegetables) we went with Bishnu for a little ride through town on his moped. On the
way, we ate some samosa with chatni and then went to the artcraft's fair in Sriniketan.
It was a lively, crowded with people place, where one could buy anything from clay
pots, cups and statues to various hand-made materials and clothes. In the evening
we drove with Bishnu to a hotel where a conference of American poets took place.
We were entertained by the Bauls singing and playing and afterwards treated to a
delicious dinner, where I tried Biryani, a mughal dish. What a day!
Thursday, 07.02.2008
It is my 5th day in Santiniketan, but it already feels as if I were here for weeks! I don't
remember when I experienced a few days as intense as the last ones - full of new
experiences, people, smells, sounds, tastes...
In the morning, just after breakfast I was called by Shampa, who wanted to show me
something. She led me upstairs, to another apartment where some people were about
to move in - and thus making preparations for the usual blessing of new place - puja.
The room was full with people who greeted me with a smile and let me observe their
preparations. The women on the balcony were slicing fruit, some other were cooking
traditional dishes and a priest was preparing the altars and placing herbs where they
should be. The floor was covered by various dishes, flowers, herbs, utensils, god's
and goddesses' images. I got an explanation that everything had a ritual as well as
scientific meaning. The room was filled with the smell of incense sticks and some
natural incenses such as bamboo wood burning. On one of the walls and above doors
I could see the om sign painted - for protection. It was wonderful to be able see how
the spiritual dimension of life intertwines so easily with ordinary, every-day activities
of an Indian family.
In the afternoon we drove to school and I practised with all three groups the
alphabet, numbers, we played some games and acted out some activities (run, walk,
eat, drink, sleep, smile, dance, turn..) which provoked a lot of laughter and good fun.
We also had a visit of some of Bishnu's Canadian friends who were absolutely
enchanted with the school.
Friday, 08.02.2008
Today it was a more quiet, relaxing day. In the afternoon we went to school and after
classes distributed ladoos and some other sweets to children. You should see their
delighted, surprised and happy faces!
Saturday, 09.02.2008
In the morning I had a cooking lesson by Shampa. Since today it was raining and it was
a bit foggy we cooked kichiri, the dish meant to bring the sun back. I was told that
presumably many people are eating kichiri today and it proved to be true, as I asked
some people later during the day! I also observed Shampa prepare the tomato chatni
and fried eggplant (begun). Trying to remember all the vast sort of spices she used
was quite an effort, but I feel like I'm slowly getting it. Turmeric powder and cumin
seem to be at the base of many Indian dishes.
Since on Saturday and Sunday there are no English classes, we went in the afternoon
to a forest market, again with artcrafts and various out-of-natural-resources made
products. Really nice seed earrings, couldn't resist the temptation to buy them.
During the fair we observed a drama prepared by local students, the topic touching
the important social problem - mainly the under-10-years-old marriage. During the fair
we met a tiger photographer, Tubludu, a friend of Bishnu and some of his other
friends from Kolkata. Later on, we had a wonderful evening altogether on the roof of
our house, with a delicious mutton curry prepared by Shampa.
Sunday, 10.02.2008
It was really beautiful, clear sunny day (sunday!), seems that kichiri had worked its
miracles. In the morning, as we drove with Bishnu on a moped to town to recharge
the phone and do some other activities, we met Joanna, the one-and-only student
from Poland in Santiniketan who is studying Indian philosophy and Kathakali dance.
We talked a bit and invited Joanna for a lunch the following day to chat a bit more.
In the afternoon, as always trying not to run over animals coming in our way (Indian
dogs and cows have an interesting tendency to sleep, walk or rest on the roads and
remain indifferent towards tooting), we went to school to see Hindi and clay-modelling
class by Sweta. Great to see the children so much willing to learn and absorbing
quickly whatever you teach them!
Monday, 11.02.2008
The 11th of February is the day of the puja for education goddess: Swarasati, which
means a holiday and thus, no school. After breakfast we went to see the "altars" for
the goddess, prepared by local people, scattered around and out of town. You could
observe nicely dressed women and men walking on the streets or riding rikshaws,
lots of wonderful, eye-catching, colourful saris!
On the way back we picked up Joanna and had an exquisite lunch: sea fish in a spicy
sauce, dhal soup, rice, curried vegetables, fried eggplant and, for a dessert - chatni
and curd (dahi). Simply delicious!
In the evening, I noticed one thing that made clear why Suma (one of the advanced
students in English school), when asked to draw a moon on the board drew a U-letter
shape instead of a C-letter shape that a European is used to see on the sky - the
moon in India "grows" vertically not horizontally, so she was absolutely right!
Tuesday, 12.02.2008
After having googni, curried vegetables and dhal soup for lunch, we drove with
Krishna to school. As we arrived it became clear that some of the children are still
enjoying puja, since only about 20 of them appeared for the class. We started with the
usual Bingo game which is always welcomed with huge enthusiasm from the kids.
Then, with the Red Group (beginners) we reminded letters of the alphabet, numbers,
the words they got to know so far and some popular every day activities. The Yellow
Group proceeded with body parts' names and a more detailed introduction of
themselves. The Blue Group practised describing members of their families, got to
know new vegetable names and even managed to learn a new song!
Wednesday, 13.02.2008
This day was said to be one of the coldest within the last few months - and it indeed
was quite chilly. But the sun was shining and the weather was otherwise fantastic!
Today Joanna joined me to see the school and English classes. Again, not too many
children today, but it is understandable since puja is one of the very few moments
they can entertain themselves. There is no electricity in the Santhal village and many
children need to help their parents with working in the field (at this time - working in
rice plantations). Some children in the morning go to Bengali school, then in the
afternoon attend English classes until dawn - I wonder how they find energy to be still
active and learn so quickly and enthusiastically! On Sunday there is sewing class in
the morning, followed by Hindi and clay-modelling class in the afternoon. So, basically
almost all the week long the children are busy with learning and helping their parents.
Thursday, 14.02.2008
In the morning I borrowed Sampa's bike and enjoyed a beautiful, long ride in sunny
Santiniketan. After quite a complicated booking procedure (forget about simply going
to the ticket office and buying a ticket a few moments before the train), I managed to
buy tickets for a short trip to Darjeeling, would be a big pity not to see it being so
close to it (for Indian Subcontinent the distance of 8 hours by train means it is close). I
was told to be very lucky to get the tickets only one week before the journey. So, next
week I'm going to see the Himalaya! In the school we were practising with all groups
acting out common daily activities (sleep, read, drink, eat, walk, smile, write, run,
etc...) and the most advanced students learned also past and future forms of those
verbs.
Friday, 15.02.2008
Again, a nice ride on the bike in the morning. Well, getting used to cycling on the left
side takes some time for a person used to riding on the right, especially that you have
to find your way between other bikes, rikshaws, motors, cars, dogs and cows that
meditatively cross the street.
In the afternoon we found much more students in the school, seems that the puja is
over for good. The children told me that yesterday some of them still had danced and
enjoyed holiday, but now "it is finished". Today we mainly learned new songs and
repeated what the children had learned during the week - new verbs, adjectives and
words, especially fruit and vegetable names. One thing I noticed is that tribal children
mostly go anywhere on bare feet, only some of them have got some slippers, but they
always take them off before entering the school, as this is the rule in India to leave
your shoes outside rooms, homes, temples, also some shops or Internet points...
Saturday, 16.02.2008
A relaxing day. In the morning I received a lesson from Sampa on Indian cooking
(today I learned to prepare dhal soup, which is one of my favourites!) and in the
afternoon we went to see the forest market again and met Kavita, the sewing class
teacher at First Light school. I saw so many beautiful shawls, saris and colourful
material for blouses that buying anything was really a hard choice!
Sunday, 17.02.2008
Two weeks have passed so quickly, every day filled with new experiences and so
intense! Already got used to the watchman singing and whistling at night, to Sampa's
wonderful cooking, to meeting tribal children, to leafy streets of Santiniketan, to
eating paan on the way to school... Even monkeys crossing my road can not surprise
me anymore (although it happened only a few times). Slowly I do not feel so much a
stranger in India...
And tomorrow - back to school!
Thursday, 21.02.2008
During the last 4 days I was happy to observe the progress of all 3 groups learning
English. The Red Group managed to learn new rhymes regarding numbers and
revised colours, Yellow Group proceeded with their favourite fruits and vegetables
as well as days of the week and the Blue group practised simple past and present,
possessive forms and introducing their family members.
I also explored a lot of the neighbourhood on a bike, tried to learn cooking Bengali
food whenever I could and got to see an astonishing number of monkeys!
A new, surprising thing that I got to know about was the fact of the existence of
animal jails in Indian villages. This is not a joke! Bishnu explained to me that if
anybody finds other people's animals (cows or goats) eating their crops, they can take
them to animal jail. Then, the owner will be notified that their animal was put in jail(!)
and will have to come, pay the fine and then take the animal back home. Some
percentage of the fine go to the animal jail responsible and the rest will be given to
the person whose crops were harmed. Certainly, it is the responsibility of the owners
to have an eye on their animals to prevent entering "forbidden grounds", but think of
those poor animals - they do not even realise that if they go too far in search for food
they might end up in jail!
Friday, 22.02.2008
Today in the school we had a visit of Tublu (Bishnu's friend) and his daughter, who
came to Santiniketan to escape the heat and noise of Kolkata. I got so much used to
quietness of this small town that it might be a bit shocking to go to a big city like
Mumbai afterwards... In the evening I started preparing for my trip to Darjeeling,
excited about my first-trip-ever by an Indian night train!
Wednesday, 27.02.2008
Back in Santiniketan! Oh, what a trip it was. I learned that in India you should always
check the political situation of the place you are going to, especially if it is a
near-to-border or unstable region. I found out that there is a strike in the hills when I
was already on the way to Darjeeling by a shared jeep from Siliguri. Actually, the strike
began last Wednesday and I was lucky to travel during the 4-hour release of strike on
Saturday. I got there in the only possible time, and I think it was a very unique
experience - it was very quiet (all shops closed, no road transport), I had marvelous
walks in the vicinity of the Himalaya, saw demonstrations (people in this region want
to have their own, autonomous state, independent from West Bengal) and even got
the police escort to get out of the city!
Today in the school I found children already waiting for me, eager as always to learn
and play. I must say I missed them...
Friday, 29.02.2008
Last day at school... I revised with all 3 groups the things that they have learned
during this month and the results were satisfying! They really enjoy all acting-out
activities (they get extremely enthusiastic when asked to show: climbing, running,
dancing, hiding, turning, jumping, smelling, blinking eyes...). The oldest group (Blue)
enjoys very much writing with chalk on their blackboards and all of them without
exception are always ready to sing and chant... Oh, it was hard to say goodbye to
them. When they realised it was the last class, they didn't want to go home, they stood
there close to me, with suddenly sad and serious faces... trying to keep my hands as
long as possible. Difficult and moving moments...
Sunday, 02.03.2008
And so 4 weeks have passed and it is time for me to go... I'm just about to pack up my
things and tomorrow in the morning I'll be leaving Santiniketan. I've had a really
enriching, intense and memorable time here... Hope to be able to come back one day
and see how the kids are doing!
Sunday, 03.02.2008
A 9 hours and a half flight from London and here I am in India!
After waiting for my luggage (which happened to arrive as almost the last one) I
headed out from the airport to find Subro, Bishnu's driver waiting for me outside.
After an exquisite lunch (fried fish and prawn noodles, great!) in one of Kolkata's
restaurants we went with Bishnu to catch the train to Santiniketan. The drive through
Kolkata's streets was impressive - some people living their lives virtually on the
streets - from washing their clothes or having a "shower" to sewing, tailoring and
selling. As we reached the station I could see it was swarming with people, many of
them carrying their luggage on their heads and rushing to catch the trains. We found
our compartment and punctually (!) departed to Santiniketan. The drive through the
countryside offered wonderful views and a glimpse into rural life in India. What I
learned from today about India is that it is far more different than I could imagine, full
of new sights, new smells and new tastes - as intense as no place I've been to before!
Monday, 04.02.2008
Today in the morning I was given a ride on Bishnu's moped to see the town. It is a
quiet, lovely place with lots of students, small street shops and a cosy atmosphere.
This was also the first day I met the tribal children. They were all happy to see the car
coming and shouted from the distance: hello, hello! Then the first lesson took place
and I quickly found out that these are the most eager, enthusiastic and motivated
students I've ever had!
Tuesday, 05.02.2008
Day by day I'm learning some new Bengali words, like chaabi, cha, maach, darun,
namskar and some other. The most fascinating is, however, getting to know the
names of wonderful dishes I'm treated to by Shampa, Bishnu's maid. She is a lovely
cook! Before going to school we visited the bank again, trying to perform the
exchange-money operation, only to find out that the bank system was not working
again. Anyway, almost 2 hours and 3 cups of tea later I went out of the bank happy to
carry some rupees with me. In the afternoon we went with Bishnu to school and I was
given a tour of the tribal village by some students. It was an unforgettable insight into
genuine tribal people's life. After the "excursion" we came back to school and found
most of the children already sitting with Bingo cards and waiting for us... And so the
lessons began!
Wednesday, 06.02.2008
After a really good sleep I was woken up by Shampa who brought the usual morning
cup of Darjeeling tea. The taste of this tea is just great! Then it occurred that the
information that Bishnu received yesterday about a possible strike (called by some
political party) actually proved to be true, meaning it was not possible to move by car
and many shops were closed. Unfortunately, strike means - no school today. After a
mouth-watering lunch prepared by Shampa (roti, dhal soup, rice, fish and curried
vegetables) we went with Bishnu for a little ride through town on his moped. On the
way, we ate some samosa with chatni and then went to the artcraft's fair in Sriniketan.
It was a lively, crowded with people place, where one could buy anything from clay
pots, cups and statues to various hand-made materials and clothes. In the evening
we drove with Bishnu to a hotel where a conference of American poets took place.
We were entertained by the Bauls singing and playing and afterwards treated to a
delicious dinner, where I tried Biryani, a mughal dish. What a day!
Thursday, 07.02.2008
It is my 5th day in Santiniketan, but it already feels as if I were here for weeks! I don't
remember when I experienced a few days as intense as the last ones - full of new
experiences, people, smells, sounds, tastes...
In the morning, just after breakfast I was called by Shampa, who wanted to show me
something. She led me upstairs, to another apartment where some people were about
to move in - and thus making preparations for the usual blessing of new place - puja.
The room was full with people who greeted me with a smile and let me observe their
preparations. The women on the balcony were slicing fruit, some other were cooking
traditional dishes and a priest was preparing the altars and placing herbs where they
should be. The floor was covered by various dishes, flowers, herbs, utensils, god's
and goddesses' images. I got an explanation that everything had a ritual as well as
scientific meaning. The room was filled with the smell of incense sticks and some
natural incenses such as bamboo wood burning. On one of the walls and above doors
I could see the om sign painted - for protection. It was wonderful to be able see how
the spiritual dimension of life intertwines so easily with ordinary, every-day activities
of an Indian family.
In the afternoon we drove to school and I practised with all three groups the
alphabet, numbers, we played some games and acted out some activities (run, walk,
eat, drink, sleep, smile, dance, turn..) which provoked a lot of laughter and good fun.
We also had a visit of some of Bishnu's Canadian friends who were absolutely
enchanted with the school.
Friday, 08.02.2008
Today it was a more quiet, relaxing day. In the afternoon we went to school and after
classes distributed ladoos and some other sweets to children. You should see their
delighted, surprised and happy faces!
Saturday, 09.02.2008
In the morning I had a cooking lesson by Shampa. Since today it was raining and it was
a bit foggy we cooked kichiri, the dish meant to bring the sun back. I was told that
presumably many people are eating kichiri today and it proved to be true, as I asked
some people later during the day! I also observed Shampa prepare the tomato chatni
and fried eggplant (begun). Trying to remember all the vast sort of spices she used
was quite an effort, but I feel like I'm slowly getting it. Turmeric powder and cumin
seem to be at the base of many Indian dishes.
Since on Saturday and Sunday there are no English classes, we went in the afternoon
to a forest market, again with artcrafts and various out-of-natural-resources made
products. Really nice seed earrings, couldn't resist the temptation to buy them.
During the fair we observed a drama prepared by local students, the topic touching
the important social problem - mainly the under-10-years-old marriage. During the fair
we met a tiger photographer, Tubludu, a friend of Bishnu and some of his other
friends from Kolkata. Later on, we had a wonderful evening altogether on the roof of
our house, with a delicious mutton curry prepared by Shampa.
Sunday, 10.02.2008
It was really beautiful, clear sunny day (sunday!), seems that kichiri had worked its
miracles. In the morning, as we drove with Bishnu on a moped to town to recharge
the phone and do some other activities, we met Joanna, the one-and-only student
from Poland in Santiniketan who is studying Indian philosophy and Kathakali dance.
We talked a bit and invited Joanna for a lunch the following day to chat a bit more.
In the afternoon, as always trying not to run over animals coming in our way (Indian
dogs and cows have an interesting tendency to sleep, walk or rest on the roads and
remain indifferent towards tooting), we went to school to see Hindi and clay-modelling
class by Sweta. Great to see the children so much willing to learn and absorbing
quickly whatever you teach them!
Monday, 11.02.2008
The 11th of February is the day of the puja for education goddess: Swarasati, which
means a holiday and thus, no school. After breakfast we went to see the "altars" for
the goddess, prepared by local people, scattered around and out of town. You could
observe nicely dressed women and men walking on the streets or riding rikshaws,
lots of wonderful, eye-catching, colourful saris!
On the way back we picked up Joanna and had an exquisite lunch: sea fish in a spicy
sauce, dhal soup, rice, curried vegetables, fried eggplant and, for a dessert - chatni
and curd (dahi). Simply delicious!
In the evening, I noticed one thing that made clear why Suma (one of the advanced
students in English school), when asked to draw a moon on the board drew a U-letter
shape instead of a C-letter shape that a European is used to see on the sky - the
moon in India "grows" vertically not horizontally, so she was absolutely right!
Tuesday, 12.02.2008
After having googni, curried vegetables and dhal soup for lunch, we drove with
Krishna to school. As we arrived it became clear that some of the children are still
enjoying puja, since only about 20 of them appeared for the class. We started with the
usual Bingo game which is always welcomed with huge enthusiasm from the kids.
Then, with the Red Group (beginners) we reminded letters of the alphabet, numbers,
the words they got to know so far and some popular every day activities. The Yellow
Group proceeded with body parts' names and a more detailed introduction of
themselves. The Blue Group practised describing members of their families, got to
know new vegetable names and even managed to learn a new song!
Wednesday, 13.02.2008
This day was said to be one of the coldest within the last few months - and it indeed
was quite chilly. But the sun was shining and the weather was otherwise fantastic!
Today Joanna joined me to see the school and English classes. Again, not too many
children today, but it is understandable since puja is one of the very few moments
they can entertain themselves. There is no electricity in the Santhal village and many
children need to help their parents with working in the field (at this time - working in
rice plantations). Some children in the morning go to Bengali school, then in the
afternoon attend English classes until dawn - I wonder how they find energy to be still
active and learn so quickly and enthusiastically! On Sunday there is sewing class in
the morning, followed by Hindi and clay-modelling class in the afternoon. So, basically
almost all the week long the children are busy with learning and helping their parents.
Thursday, 14.02.2008
In the morning I borrowed Sampa's bike and enjoyed a beautiful, long ride in sunny
Santiniketan. After quite a complicated booking procedure (forget about simply going
to the ticket office and buying a ticket a few moments before the train), I managed to
buy tickets for a short trip to Darjeeling, would be a big pity not to see it being so
close to it (for Indian Subcontinent the distance of 8 hours by train means it is close). I
was told to be very lucky to get the tickets only one week before the journey. So, next
week I'm going to see the Himalaya! In the school we were practising with all groups
acting out common daily activities (sleep, read, drink, eat, walk, smile, write, run,
etc...) and the most advanced students learned also past and future forms of those
verbs.
Friday, 15.02.2008
Again, a nice ride on the bike in the morning. Well, getting used to cycling on the left
side takes some time for a person used to riding on the right, especially that you have
to find your way between other bikes, rikshaws, motors, cars, dogs and cows that
meditatively cross the street.
In the afternoon we found much more students in the school, seems that the puja is
over for good. The children told me that yesterday some of them still had danced and
enjoyed holiday, but now "it is finished". Today we mainly learned new songs and
repeated what the children had learned during the week - new verbs, adjectives and
words, especially fruit and vegetable names. One thing I noticed is that tribal children
mostly go anywhere on bare feet, only some of them have got some slippers, but they
always take them off before entering the school, as this is the rule in India to leave
your shoes outside rooms, homes, temples, also some shops or Internet points...
Saturday, 16.02.2008
A relaxing day. In the morning I received a lesson from Sampa on Indian cooking
(today I learned to prepare dhal soup, which is one of my favourites!) and in the
afternoon we went to see the forest market again and met Kavita, the sewing class
teacher at First Light school. I saw so many beautiful shawls, saris and colourful
material for blouses that buying anything was really a hard choice!
Sunday, 17.02.2008
Two weeks have passed so quickly, every day filled with new experiences and so
intense! Already got used to the watchman singing and whistling at night, to Sampa's
wonderful cooking, to meeting tribal children, to leafy streets of Santiniketan, to
eating paan on the way to school... Even monkeys crossing my road can not surprise
me anymore (although it happened only a few times). Slowly I do not feel so much a
stranger in India...
And tomorrow - back to school!
Thursday, 21.02.2008
During the last 4 days I was happy to observe the progress of all 3 groups learning
English. The Red Group managed to learn new rhymes regarding numbers and
revised colours, Yellow Group proceeded with their favourite fruits and vegetables
as well as days of the week and the Blue group practised simple past and present,
possessive forms and introducing their family members.
I also explored a lot of the neighbourhood on a bike, tried to learn cooking Bengali
food whenever I could and got to see an astonishing number of monkeys!
A new, surprising thing that I got to know about was the fact of the existence of
animal jails in Indian villages. This is not a joke! Bishnu explained to me that if
anybody finds other people's animals (cows or goats) eating their crops, they can take
them to animal jail. Then, the owner will be notified that their animal was put in jail(!)
and will have to come, pay the fine and then take the animal back home. Some
percentage of the fine go to the animal jail responsible and the rest will be given to
the person whose crops were harmed. Certainly, it is the responsibility of the owners
to have an eye on their animals to prevent entering "forbidden grounds", but think of
those poor animals - they do not even realise that if they go too far in search for food
they might end up in jail!
Friday, 22.02.2008
Today in the school we had a visit of Tublu (Bishnu's friend) and his daughter, who
came to Santiniketan to escape the heat and noise of Kolkata. I got so much used to
quietness of this small town that it might be a bit shocking to go to a big city like
Mumbai afterwards... In the evening I started preparing for my trip to Darjeeling,
excited about my first-trip-ever by an Indian night train!
Wednesday, 27.02.2008
Back in Santiniketan! Oh, what a trip it was. I learned that in India you should always
check the political situation of the place you are going to, especially if it is a
near-to-border or unstable region. I found out that there is a strike in the hills when I
was already on the way to Darjeeling by a shared jeep from Siliguri. Actually, the strike
began last Wednesday and I was lucky to travel during the 4-hour release of strike on
Saturday. I got there in the only possible time, and I think it was a very unique
experience - it was very quiet (all shops closed, no road transport), I had marvelous
walks in the vicinity of the Himalaya, saw demonstrations (people in this region want
to have their own, autonomous state, independent from West Bengal) and even got
the police escort to get out of the city!
Today in the school I found children already waiting for me, eager as always to learn
and play. I must say I missed them...
Friday, 29.02.2008
Last day at school... I revised with all 3 groups the things that they have learned
during this month and the results were satisfying! They really enjoy all acting-out
activities (they get extremely enthusiastic when asked to show: climbing, running,
dancing, hiding, turning, jumping, smelling, blinking eyes...). The oldest group (Blue)
enjoys very much writing with chalk on their blackboards and all of them without
exception are always ready to sing and chant... Oh, it was hard to say goodbye to
them. When they realised it was the last class, they didn't want to go home, they stood
there close to me, with suddenly sad and serious faces... trying to keep my hands as
long as possible. Difficult and moving moments...
Sunday, 02.03.2008
And so 4 weeks have passed and it is time for me to go... I'm just about to pack up my
things and tomorrow in the morning I'll be leaving Santiniketan. I've had a really
enriching, intense and memorable time here... Hope to be able to come back one day
and see how the kids are doing!
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