http://www.songsforteaching.com/index.html

A site which allows legal downloads of MP3 files and provides lyrics for traditional songs is

http://freekidsmusic.com/

And one more that has specific activities even for Indian festivals

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/index.htm

www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/Highlights/#PictureStory

The first memorable drive was with Narayana of Kumaraswamy layout. We were struck in a jam near BTM layout when he began his painful story.It seems he had just begun his day and became     a  victim to a superwoman. He had ferried her to some company. She offered to pay with 100 rupee note. He didnt have  the necessary change.Kind soul that he was offered to bring change for the note he possessed. By the time he came back, she was gone.The story began now. He was so dejected , he was going back home.He went on to tell me some incidents in which he had ferried people for free on being told of their problems.What amazed me was he told me that he would not lose faith in people just because he was  cheated by one.

On one another such journey, late in the evening , we travelled with a senior member of their  tribe. He asked us which route we preferred..we told him to choose -depending on traffic density.Just this little  trust in him made him happy. He talked about how honesty has helped him and his family. He narrated an incident where an unknown  passenger gave him a recommendation  letter to a  philanthropic hospital. This gift saved his son’s life.He said that if we  ever earned anything by dishonest methods the money would just go to medical expenses. This belief of his has kept him happy , healthy and content.

It was truly a learning  path that we travelled .

Posted in Uncategorized ]]> http://neel3.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/start-off-living/feed/ 5 neel3 http://neel3.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/my-little-jakkanachareez/ http://neel3.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/my-little-jakkanachareez/#comments Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:49:53 +0000 neel3 http://neel3.wordpress.com/?p=163 ]]>

My kids(age .. 5+) were given a demo on how to make clay models. As it was their first lesson, their Craft teacher showed them how to make a Ganesha.They made these in just a few minutes.This was sometime in July.The multi coloured one below  is made by kind -hearted  Rohit.

In August they made collages.

More Ganeshas

More Ganeshas...

Ganesha-- in my class

And when I was conducting the finals, the kids were shown 10 objects and told to close their eyes and recollect them .Rajat could hardly concentrate ..or so I thought. He was hopping and playing imaginary games with someone. When his turn came, he cooly reeled off all the names of the 10 objects.And the kids who I thought were calmly recollecting and would score full marks were leftfar behind.

My perceptions were wrong -yet again.

Another lesson.

kids drew flowers, trees,animals, cars and what -not

And dear Aneeket drew a boy with tears .

A few minutes ago I had   told him to sit away from his newly acquired friend.

Kids are so sensitive.

I felt lousy.

I hugged him and told him to move back to his coveted  seat

I was repenting my action :’(

Truly a rewarding lesson on the first day of school—for the teacher.

When asked the reason for this gustatory gift.he reminded me of the upcoming valentine’s day. I nearly fell ….

I was dizzy with surprise .

I couldn’t believe that commercialisation has  reached the  such levels ..

I consoled myself that he must have just mimicked his mother in wishing me a happy V day.

His mother met me at “going home” time and hugged me..saying,”happy V day!”

I somehow controlled my laughter.

If Mr. Custodian of Culture could hear this ?? I wonder what his plans would be ?

Celebrating  such ‘days’ is no longer a choice..the friendly neighbourhood malls and gift shops give you no choice.

And Mayank is all of 5 years and 4 months old.

I was  stunned..

Should I put my foot down and refuse the chocolate bar..Or simply avoid creating an issue and divide it among the children…

On Teachers’s  Day my standing instructions to ‘my’ children: I accept gifts ONLY in the form of hugs.

I didnt know.. primary section school kids of this century end up celebrating  V’s day.

Next time I will be forewarned. Infact at the end of the day when my fifith standard kids reminded me of V’s day..I just told them I believe more in showing love to family and friends  through out the year and not ‘showing’ it  sporadically according to the diktats of Tv and other media.

My visit to BengaLooru this time was a little tizzy at the start. I stayed with my bil and family at Koramangala and once our planned activities got over we statred freaking out to visit all the malls in the vicinity.

We circumambulated Forum, Star Bazar, Big Bazar, both the Lifestyles, Garuda …… Our footwears showed signs of wear and tear and by night my twice injured  left foot ‘sang’ songs . Once home I felt as if I was still precariously walking on the slippery mall floors…And  soon started expecting  an escalator in the next room or a Macdies in the  next floor ..

My senses were  revolted by the overdsose of vanilla essence near the cookie /cream and fudge  factories  ,the sight of dark red chaats in the roadside eateries, the open gutters in national games village, the kids ‘playing’ in barricaded play pens at the so called fun  place  in  one such mall.

The kids were being minded by teenagers who were more interested in chatting with themselves, or tossing the balls among themselves.I don’t blame them, however. The poor kids were in a make -believe playground. The slides and seesaws were all so cozy that it wouldn’t have been any fun !! There was no thrill in sliding down those slides as the gradient was so simple , the ‘plastic’ world around was exactly that!There was no sand for them to play with. Instead they had a wide array of coloured plastic balls to throw at each other or sink into.The place was quite tiny. Elsewhere it was full of virtual games letting out  screaming lights and sounds.Yeah, the lights were screaming too.. They were that obnoxious. Kids were  busy counting the tickets won and calculating what they would eventually get . They barely enjoyed the game as such.The ‘gifts’ on display included silly looking incorrect  rulers and  useless pencils. There was just too much of showiness and unreality in the whole place. Some grandparents were enjoying more than the kids. This was the only pleasing sight.

When I came down to Malleshwaram, I somehow felt I had come close to my old BengaLooru. The long , slow sojourns on Sampige Road and Margosa Road , the scents of mallige and grandhige angadies, the sight of MaakLi beru, nallikai, Amtekai , the discourses at Madhwa Sangha, the taste of Panchaamruta at the SP extension Rayara Mutta ,the slow climb over the 11 th cross , the gradual roll down of the 10 th cross , the lure of Sandiges from Loveluck Stores,the scented adike from Srinivasa Stores, the visually appealing Hurigaalu angadi, the beckoning happalaas of Radhakrishna Stores, the come hither looks from the second -hand , yellowing ,ageing ,books , the unputdownable Real cane (this was available at K mangala in an unappetising way ,though  ) the ‘aaseya dukhakke moola ‘ freshly unravelled jackfruits , the  unrelenting call of the friendly  hanchu, sowtu , baandle ,halguLu mane shops , the stop – pray and scoot shrines that abound here …….

…Oh!! Paradise revisited.