…I began my task of luring the kids to the stall with help of puzzles and story books. And this kid comes to me, DevaDarshini, and she asks me to read a story, and I read it word by word and she repeated after me and impatient as ever, after two pages she asked me to read the last page, and hence we “finished” the story together…
…I was with DevaDarshini almost throughout the caravan and her smiles and interest in the activities made my day. Finger painting with her, reading for her and simply being around her was amazing. Its overwhelming and feels really great when you have a kid around, who is learning from you and appreciating your work (she loved my painted cup) at the same time. I’ve realized that I end up reliving my childhood with the kids and I love it and cherish every minute of it.
…We took out our puzzle boxes and 2 story books and decided we would start our stalls with this. Our regular bunch of children came and in a very organised manner started playing with the puzzles. We volunteers don’t have to tell them anymore to work in groups or to share, they just automatically do it now. You can notice skills like reasoning, leadership qualities and ability to compromise while they are in a group… …Later when the crafts stall started making the masks, kids started coming to us for help. One of the most impatient of the lot was Aamir. He wouldn’t let me help anyone else unless I finished tying the rubber bands to his masks. Each time the rubber band slipped from my hand he would get a little bit angry and would mumble an insult. But in the end he did help me. He got more rubber bands and another mask (for his brother) and explained that his elder brother’s head is much bigger than his so he needs more bands. Once the mask was ready, he was happy and his usual self. I’ve learned that if you want him to be nice to you, you have to be extra extra sweet to him. The minute he senses you being hostile or your tone changing, he becomes defensive. I know it’s quite normal for us to loose temper and get angry, but we shouldn’t be holding grudges or label certain children. They too are just getting used to us and we should be very patient till they can completely trust us. Only then will they even consider listening to us.
…Most of the girls of the stall were very amused by my piercings, so I used that as a base to enquire about them . I asked why they don’t pierce their ears too and most of them said that their mother would hit them. When I questioned them further, they admitted that their mother and their brothers beat them often. I asked if they prefer school or home. All of them said school because they could do whatever they want at school. I spoke to over 11 children.Most of them either had incomplete families or got beaten up at home. Kiran and Keerthana seemed to be most happy to speak about their family. Satya, on the other hand, was the most difficult person to interact with. Getting to talk to us about her family was impossible. She did tell me about her sister and a brother, but when I tried enquiring about her brother she would just withdraw. Meena also was very stringent initially, but upon further enquiry I realised that her brother had passed away, and that was something that was holding her back. She revealed that playing sports made her happy and she enjoyed activities that kept her physically engaged. I felt that this was her escape as any emotional or verbal advances i made towards her caused her to immediately shut down…
…I saw girl sitting in the drawing stall and she had a constant grin; I asked her if she knew English and she enthusiastically said yes. Her name was Anu. She showed me her drawing and came stood beside me, waiting. I asked her about her family and the grade in which she was currently studying. She animatedly told me about her mother and father and that she had no siblings; where her parents worked and that she studied in the sixth grade and she liked school more than home because she had many friends at school. Maybe she had reached her threshold because she closed herself off before I could ask anymore. There was thegrin again and she walked away… …I also tried making some conversation with a little boy, Ganesha, but every time I asked him a question, he would simply stare at me with a vacant expression. Feeling slightly dejected that my attempts were not going anywhere, I went to immerse myself in a game of throwball with the girls. There was a girl standing next to me, Vijaylakshmi, who was what one would call super-active. Every time she successfully caught the ball, one could see the excitement playing in her eyes. She knew tid-bits of English and it was enough for a simple conversation. She told me that her father is unemployed and her mother works in a store and her brother passed away. What struck me was the indifferent manner in which she spoke of everything. And I then realised that this was the manner in which so many of the children spoke; there was no emotion. There are so many conversations remaining and it is going to take time but if the children are ready to talk a little today, they will gradually open up. — Parvathy Nair
… While we were waiting for all the kids to be done with registration, I tried talking to our in-house ‘Messi’, Prashanth, and this time he actually opened up, probably because of the efforts of Amy who started the conversation. He spoke about how he used to live with his Uncle and Aunt as his parents were no more. He told us about how he and his friends slept in the tractor across the field the previous night and upon questioning his choice to not go home and the worry his uncle and aunt must have felt, he told us that he was currently living with his friend as his aunt and uncle had kicked him out of the house. When asked why he had been kicked out of his house he was a little hesitant to talk about it and immediately changed the topic. He also mentioned that he worked in a juice shop and earned close to Rs.3000 a month and he used this money to buy himself clothes and food. In the meantime the registrations were done and the kids were all asking for the ball, so Prashanth went ahead and started playing with them while Amy and I stood and contemplated what we had learned about Prashanth…
…One of the boys was so involved in solving the puzzlesthat he got very annoyed if anyone (including other children or volunteers) stopped him or interrupted him. The interesting part was, no matter how deep he was into his puzzle, he sang all the songs that was being played by the music/dance stall with the same amount of dedication. There was a point where he finished the whole puzzle except for one piece, and he is searching for that one piece so anxiously while singing a song. Way to keep calm…
With every passing week, the Caravan is now becoming a part of me. Saturday, though being one of the most hectic day of the week, is still the most awaited day of the week for me… In the games stall, before we started a proper game per se, the kids had already started to play among them either football or cricket. I reached the venue and immediately joined the kids in football, one of the kids, Prashanth, who seemed very enthusiastic about football suggested the we pump in some air to make the ball better and offered to accompany me to the pump shop at the corner of the road, walking towards the mechanic’s shop I learned that Prashanth actually loved to play football and the he had represented his school at state level in both Football and Volleyball and won 1st place in football competition. He said he loved playing the game. When I questioned him about why he didn’t want to try for the Nationals if he was so good, his reply was that he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to make it there and that his uncle and aunt, who he lives with, couldn’t afford the expenses anyway and it was no use thinking about it. That one statement hit me hard.
I felt a sense of familiarity as I walked into the school on Saturday for my 3rd caravan and saw familiar faces all around me. The excitement levels never cease to amaze me as every week the children just seem to quadruple their energy reserves which I find to be an excellent thing as it constantly keeps me on my toes. The most endearing part of the day for me, personally, was when I had a child I got familiar with last week come up to me and introduce me to her younger brother and sister whom she had fondly told me about last week and named as part of a game that required the kids to name the people they liked and loved the most. What I found most endearing was that she constantly seemed to be available to her younger siblings, especially her baby brother and involved them in all the activities…
Its been seven weeks since I have joined the Tackle caravan and so much has changed since the first day I came to Nellurpuram.We have learnt how to bond with the kids,in fact our equation with the children has changed. We have grown as a team,the whole Tackle crew has become so close, and most importantly we ourselves have grown as a person mentally and emotionally.Its interesting how children can shape our personality.Its astonishing how I have changed from a restless person to someone who is more calm than usual. Just three hours spent with these kids in a week has transformed us. Even after a tiring day in college,I find myself gravitating towards Nellurpuram just to spend time with these kids.Its like every Saturday the kids have a new story to tell. The kids eagerly wait for us to come.They have even learnt our names. Just to hear them say, “Hi akka” makes your day. They are always excited and enthusiastic about everything we have in store for them.
Today was different. Yes, I played with the children as usual. Yes, I danced with them as usual. But it was still different. It was different because today a boy of 14 years old trusted me enough to give me a glimpse of his life story. The boy was Prashant, studying in the 5th std.
He told me that he has no parents and was on the street when one woman approached him and asked him if he wants to study. At first he said no,but then later on when she asked him everyday, he agreed. Then that woman told him to meet her at the railway station. But she never turned up. Then he went on to tell me that a woman called Anita took him into her house. He tells me that Anita aunty is not like the others who used to make him work. She makes sure he goes to school and studies. He said that there are two small children living along with them. The other boys his age go to the cinema but Anita aunty tells him to be nearby and not go with these boys, because he should be a good boy. He says he likes it there. He reads the Bible as well. Then he went on to tell me how he hit one boy in school theother day and that boy’s lips were bleeding. When asked why he hit him, he replied saying that the boy made some comments on his mother, because of the rosary he was wearing. His words weren’t very clear and it was difficult for me to understand. I told Prashant that I know that boy hurt you by commenting on your mother, but you shouldn’t hit him. He then replies saying I know akka but I was really hurt. BeforeI could say anything he runs off…
After a while, though, I got a few minutes with him again and this time this was how our conversation went : P: Akka where are you from? S: I’m from Mumbai P: When I first saw you I thought you were from China S:China?!Why China?! P:Because you are black no akka (referring to my skin color) S: But dark people are mostly seen in Africa Prashant! P: No akka China!!
