This is based on a field trip to Dhaulpur district of Rajasthan to visit child Anganwadis (care centres) in the district. I went with Sudha, a friend and colleague. DAY 1: A Meeting of ICDS functionaries On our first day at Dhaulpur, at the ICDS Project Office, we chanced upon a gathering of about 60 ICDS functionaries, including AWWs, ANMs and primary school teachers. This was their third day of a workshop, where they had been listening to expert speakers on a range of issues including ayurvedic home remedies, malnutrition, AIDS/HIV issues, education, etc. The functionaries were drawn mainly from […]
Yearly Archives: 2006
She is interesting…and intriguing. Somewhere along the line, I developed an urge to understand her. I normally don’t attempt to understand abstract maths, modern art, and women. For a little over a forth of a century, I successfully resisted any temptation to understand them. There was one slip though, when a friend convinced me that abstract maths was just like the rest of maths. I applied myself with tremendous energy and soon the ‘rest of maths’ started appearing hazy too. I told him that the rest is now looking abstract. He was rather pleased at my newfound understanding. I tried […]
Miss Understanding
I wish to share with you a message of hope in this anniversary issue of Humanscape. As a recent entrant in the world of social action, I have been asking myself whether people’s campaigns are effective at all. Are they capable of bringing the concerns of people into the political centre-stage and affect the way government works? In two short years of my association with such campaigns, I have gained hope that a well-organised and sustained campaign can indeed bring meaningful changes to the lives of poor and marginalized people. I have drawn inspiration from campaigns on several issues; but […]
A Message of Hope
“God bless mummy, god bless daddy, god bless teacher who will teach us, and make them happy”. Standing in a perfect circle, at 10 am sharp, children chanted this prayer to start their activities of the day at the anganwadi. In the next five hours they would learn through play, have one nourishing meal, take a noon nap, and return home to their mother, who had the comfort of having her child taken care of for a significant part of her working day. Immediately after the prayer was a round of physical exercises, accompanied by poems created for the purpose. […]