Education Camp @ Mallarpur, Birbhum in July 2013

My experience of Bharat

-  by Krittika Saha

There is no element of surprise in the fact that our country suffers from poverty, malnutrition, exploitation and chronic illness, specially the suburban/village areas. But knowing and experiencing this state of our country are two completely different things. I became aware of this fact, when I embarked on a journey to Mallarpur to assist Kalyan Ashram in their work. We reached Mallarpur at about 11 am and went straight to Kalyan Ashram Boys Hostel where the generous organisation had provided small boys of class V to X with shelter, food, education and basic needs of life. 

On reaching the hostel, I saw the young boys working according to a preset schedule. So disciplined and hard-working, the lifestyle of these little boys reminded me of the contrasting leisurely nature of my childhood. We, the children from metro cities take everything for granted. Our parents provide us with good food and so many facilities and we do not even acknowledge how lucky we are. But these boys were deprived of even the basic needs of life. When I sat down to teach them, much to my surprise, some of them were quite intelligent and were capable of pursuing higher education, given the chance. The boys took care of all our needs from cooking the meals, serving our lunch, making our beds to fetching filtered water from far distance just for our comfort. As afternoon came and the boys just finished their meals, I engaged myself in their simple games and the innocent smile of the boys made me realize how cruel we have been to them.

We have emerged from darkness into the dawn of technology, innovation and comforts of modern civilization and have never looked back on these humble beings of our society. A feeling of guilt and anger struck me and suddenly the feeling that I was doing charity work turned into a feeling of responsibility, a responsibility which we had been running from all our lives. I realized it was at their expense that we were getting all the luxuries of life, while we never even had the mere humanity in us to make sure they got the basic needs off life fulfilled. 

As the day drew to an end, I saw another beautiful practice. The boys hummed 32 "shlokas" in Sanskrit, regarding India, a practice not seen in even the best of institutions in Kolkata. It was, through and through, an enriching and eye-opening experience for me. What I saw and felt created a new side in me. The experience is one, I will remember, hereafter, whenever I succeed in any phase of my life and it will make me come back and carry on my responsibility, rather than running away from it, to make sure their innocence is not exploited.

Education Camp on 6th & 7th April'13

EDUCATION CAMP - Baghmundi hostel, Purulia, W.B.
Activities - Interactive sessions, games, quiz with resident vanvasi children in the hostel & local sightseeing. 
Departure - 5th April, Friday by night train from Howrah

Arrival - 8th April, Monday, early morning at Howrah

All are welcome to join!

contact - vasugoyal8@gmail.com

Chalo Jalayen Deep Wahan !!!

Saksharta Essentials - The first step

Last summer, the youth wing of Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram took an initiative of coaching the students of our chhatravas who were then in class 10.  The students gained from this initiative and the volunteers enjoyed a lot teaching Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, English and other subjects. It was a common observation that fundamental subject knowledge of the students was poor and there was none to help them out. Sticking to our objective “Saksharta Essentials”, we prepared an annual calendar of our educational activities to motivate the students and to prepare class 10 students for Madhyamik exams. The first step was tutoring vanvasi students who have just been promoted to class 10. The long weekend in last week of January coupled with the holiday on Netaiji’s birthday provided us with the right opportunity to call twenty students of class X from 8 chhatravas across South Bengal. The students landed in Kolkata on 18^th January and stayed till 27^th  January. 

Starting the day with intricacies of Mathematics at 6.30 AM in the morning, our youth volunteers answered their queries time and again until they understood. Arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry were touched upon so as to make their fundamental knowledge of the subject very clear. After a break, they were taught English lessons from their text book. The students even enacted a small skit mentioned in the exercise. After a lunch break, the tired minds rested for some time before being jolted by logics of physics and chemistry. One of our vanvasi brothers, who is a computer engineer and works in a software firm in Kolkata, was moved by our initiative. He managed time from his packed schedule and taught physics and chemistry. Hailing from the same language background as the students, every word uttered from his mouth was very easily understood by the students. 

It is said that all work and no play makes life cumbersome. Nine rigorous days of studying was marked with some fun as well. Children were treated with home made chocolate cake on one of the Sundays. They were very excited and jubilant while watching the national republic day parade on TV on 26^th January though they did not understand a word of the running commentary. 

The youth wing put in a lot of time and effort to make this initiative fruitful. Yet, as 27^th January arrived, there was a sense of disappointment. Disappointment of leaving the task at hand unfinished, disappointment of not seeing the curious innocent faces from the next day, and being sucked into routine life. But there was joy in our hearts. We tried to serve society and nation at large, however small our contribution in the last nine days may be. With the promise of calling these same set of students again during their summer break, we felt in our hearts the following verse from Kaviguru Rabindra Nath Tagore – 

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life was service. 

I acted and behold, service was joy.”

Shishu Mela 2012 Report

                                                           SHISHU MELA KALYANI 2012

On the morning of 25th November, a bus left with 35 volunteers, mostly sleepy to our journey from Kolkata to Kalyani. A one & half hour ride, with delicious breakfast & pleasant weather, seemed to be a good start for the day. We were escorted by a 'Flower Shower' & smiling faces of the children when we reached the place, a maidan in between the town of Kalyani, where more than 150 children from different Chatravaas were gathered to witness a celebration of themselves. Quickly, we refreshed ourselves & followed it up with a little briefing of all the volunteers. A Kalyan Ashram event mostly starts with a music & dance welcome. And so it did. The Karyakartas made all the necessary arrangements & it looked so beautiful & exciting that even we joined them for a jig. Some photos suggest that too. Then we paid homage to the deities & our unsung heroes, after hoisting the flag. Finally, the children out there, seemed more encouraged because they knew races gonna start now, what they were waiting for. First was the race, from the age group of 5 to 14 years, everyone participated, not once but twice. More so because, with every win there is a prize, just like us. Second, was Bin The Ball game, where you have to bin the ball in a basket from a distance, where even the volunteers gleefully took part. Final event was the relay race, which looked difficult for these children but then they did a pretty good job to complete the races. Even we had prizes for that too. After doing all this, we all took a break to just relax & take note of what all we did, how we did & many more. Lastly, a sumptuous lunch was like the icing on the cake. Again, we had a small session of play with the children before leaving for our city. The most saddest part was the goodbye, always has been. You just can't get enough of them, they're      

filled with so much of love & compassion, you'll be motivated to put more effort in it, to spend some more time with them. We went back from where we came, with lots of amazing memories with the children, the people out there, the positive vibe & the food.

Shishu Mela 2012

                             SHISHU MELA - 2012

                        Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram

                                       Youth Wing

Everyone heading towards the maidan.

Remember, That we celebrated Children’s Day in School? Of course, who doesn’t. We used to have loads of fun, with ice creams, sweets, games & dance. But, for some children this is just a DREAM..  Its time to make a difference in their lives..  Be a part of the SHISHU MELA being organized by the Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram, Youth Wing on 25th Nov. ’12 & witness the never before experience of your lives..

A kid enjoying his stint with drum with his smiling father.

Kalyan Ashram is working for the overall welfare & upliftment of the Vanvasis (people living in rural areas) since 1952. Through its various projects in different areas, we attempt to combat the exploitation & feeling of deprivation faced by the Vanvasis created after decades of neglect. Today, We have a strong workforce of more than 1044 full time dedicated karyakartas spread over more than 49,935 villages in India who are getting the benefits from about 14,500 service projects by Kalyan Ashram.

The Kalyan Ashram, Youth Wing is organizing the Shishu Mela this year, as it has been doing successfully for the past three years. As we all know, Children’s Day is celebrated on 14th of November, but due to social milieu this year, it has been scheduled on Sunday, i.e. 25^th of November. It’s being organized amidst a Vanvasi habitation in Kalyani town, which is about 50 kms from Kolkata. An inaugural traditional swagat by the Vanvasis people kickstarts the program. The Program includes races, games & interaction with children. A participation of 120 – 150 pre-primary Vanvasi children below 6 years of age from the nearby villages. A gathering of more than 300 Vanvasi people is expected.

This endeavor will give you an opportunity to get acquainted with the tribal culture & tradition. The CHILDREN are the future of the nation & so this an effort on our part to encourage & bring them forward..

If you’re willing to participate or contribute any gifts for these children then contact the volunteers (given below). The timings & details are subject to change with prior notice. The participation expenses share – Rs. 300/- per head.

Traditional dance to see us off, last year.

                                          ..CHALO JALAYE DEEP WAHAAN..

Contact us at:

Sidharth Shyamsukha  Mob. No. +919903047170

or via email on - sidharth.shyamsukha@gmail.com

Urvashi Chaudhri  Mob. No. +918820890780

or via email on - urvashichaudhri@gmail.com

Chamba Medical Camp

A Medical Camp organised by Himgiri  Kalyan Ashram, as it is known as in Himachal Pradesh, at Pangi district near Chamba on 1st, 2nd & 3rd September '12. This was the 1st Camp at this venue. It was started by the girls from Saraswati School by lighting a deepak as well chanting there ritualistic slogans. It was followed up by a cultural event displayed by the girls which was so beautiful that all of them were in awe of them. Even they were dressed up in there cultural attire form Milad Valley. The food they served was a very delectable treat. Moreover interactions with the girls was an enriching experience for all of us.Some facts about the venue - This is a little unapproachable area because for 6 to 7 months its totally covered under snow. Its situated near the Chandra Bhaga river. And its more beautiful than the Rohtang Pass. Kalyan Ashram is planning to initiate a prospect of befitting this place with better inroad facility. A group of more than 5 doctors with there respected specialisations came. More than 877 patients were treated starting from the age group of 9 to 90.

Balarampur Educational Camp

This was our 1st Educational Camp, situated at South of the Ayodhya Hill Range. Balarampur is a centre of sheelac industry and business. An overnight train journey from Howrah to Barabhum took us almost 8 hours to reach our destination. Our Chhatrawas was some 15mins away from the station. We (four of us) were escorted by a beautiful bouquet to each of us, followed by flower shower & smiling faces. After taking an hour long break, we had our breakfast, which tasted real good, followed with a brief interaction with the Chhatrawas Pramukh. Then we started our 1st interaction with the kids and it was a long & an interesting interaction for everyone. Slowly, each & every child was getting into their comfort zone & then we started teaching them. Our 1st & foremost intention is to understand in

which subjects they face difficulty & it always turns out to be Mathematics & English. After teaching them for two & half hours, we had our lunch. The Dal, had the homely feel to it & we all enjoyed our food. Then we took some rest. Evening time started off with there prayers, then some field play & Balarampur is a beautiful place. We were chalking out apt locations to click pictures. After that we again had a session with them which solely emphasized on clearing their doubts on particular chapters & motivating them to study, which is the only tool for them to succeed in life. Moreover, our Chhatrawas, was devoid of electricity, but still they arranged fans, tubelights &

generator so that we don't feel uncomfortable adapting to there environment. Such deep thought makes us more proud of what we do. Dinner was served in the night which was light. Then the prayer session, followed with a good night sleep. And it was a full moon night. Next morning, we quickly completed our breakfast & another long session of teaching, interaction, games followed. It was evening when we  have to leave for station, and the kids were feeling little bit off because we were leaving. Even our heads were down. And an overnight journey way back home followed. It was a wonderful experience for us.

Forthcoming Events in August'12

Planned events in West Bengal:

18-19th Aug'12 - Education Camp in Mallarpur (Birbhum) Hostel of Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram

18-19th Aug'12 - Eye Check up Camp at Belpahari Hostel of Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram for vanavsis from 20 villages.

25-26th Aug'12 - Medical Camp at Puncha (Purulia) for vanavsis from roughly 20 nearby villages.

All well wishers are welcome to join. Contact - 9748223120