Thursday, May 22, 2008

WE

WE

Krishan Singh Rajender Ritesh Kumar Shahadatt Sanjay Vijay laxmi Kanchan Jyoti Narayan Rahul Joyti Anish Nasreen Pooja Heena Ritu Ram Anju Rajan Sanjay Raju Singh Rakesh Shekhar Saini Kunal Gosain Saman Quraishi Shashank Nitin Gupta Vikrama ditya sunder Avik Roy Priyanka Nath Sakshi Gera Navita Gulati Gauri Saxena Ketan Puri Shailendra Rawal Lalit Bhushan Vipin Gupta Mahima Copra Anukriti Gulati Swati Mehta Bindiya Bhathija Sukhmani Lamba Luqmaan S.Hasan Arushi Jha Amrita Dwivedi Bushra S.Kazim Snigdha Jha Greeshum Panesar Jyoti nair Tripti Singhi Ayush Gupta Varun Karishma lamba Damini Ralleigh

have joined hands together.
Want to know why ??? just wait and we will invite you for the same..

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Yuva-Ekta Summer Program: 2008

Dear friends..
Its long since we have been in touch. Apologies for a long absence, but we will now try to be regular here..
To start, here are the details of the Summer Program 2008, more details and Program schedule can be accessed through the foundation website.

The Tehelka Foundation understands the importance of a platform where young people come together, connect and work towards social equity. The Yuva-Ekta: Summer Program, 2008 is one such opportunity for young people from different socio-economic backgrounds to interact with one other and ideate on a number of socially relevant issues ranging from the Right to Information to appreciating what one already has, to human rights issues and environmental concerns. Students from various schools, colleges and non-profit organizations will come together for duration of one month to work together and learn from each other. Beginning with a three day “self empowerment” workshop, the participants relax through activities that enables them to get to know each other as well as get in touch with their “inner selves”.

Another salient feature of the program is the “City Walk”, organized by Salaam Baalak Trust, an NGO that works with street and working children. Volunteers from the trust will guide the students through the New Delhi Railway Station, recounting the hardships they had faced when they initially ran away to Delhi. The walk leaves an indelible impression on the students who are exposed to street life for the first time, as it dawns upon them that millions of children live in our country under such harrowing circumstances!

During this month long program, the students will also spend time at the children’s shelter home in Paharhganj and engage with them in fun learning, games, music art and craft and so on. Their experiences, their hopes and insights get expressed in a street play, conceived, scripted and acted by the students, which is later staged at many public places as well as schools. The workshop will also include many fun filled activities like film screenings, group discussions, singing and poetry. Sports activities will also be a part of the program.

info : Shivani +91.9910001164 / akif [at] tehelka dot com
venue : Bluebells School International
Opposite LSR College
Kailash Colony
New Delhi 110048

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Being Human.........

If you are looking for something as expected then I am sorry. It is a contemporary issue but just that it has been contemporary since civilization began.


I am talking about a very personal issue, personal to me and maybe to you too.. because it resides in the very closed corners of every human heart today. It’s about being human.
What I am referring to is the nascent idea of humanity, quite different from the present and so called progressive idea of humanity that encompasses more of charity than humanity.
Humanity for me is not the compassion one is supposed to have towards fellow beings. For me it is about living and not merely existing.
It is about the common intrinsic impulse that has been numbed today by the worldly mutings. Its about giving in to those impulses one gets of stopping on the way to see a blooming flower, of sitting idly just watching purity personified in a sleeping child, of helping a cripple cross a busy road. I am talking about the most innocent, most beautiful impulses we encounter but we push them into oblivion under the pretext of a busy existence denying ourselves those few chances to learn living as different from existing.

Undoubtedly, life is a hectic affair today and the present concept of a meaningful life has obsessed us so much so that all it allows us is a feeling of pity at the site of a hungry, tearful urchin. Maybe sometimes our conscience penetrates our thick skin deep enough to manage out a coin for him but never does this present hectic and difficult schedule allows us to wipe his tears, pick him up, say a few loving words and then offer him a nice meal. It never allows to listen what our conscience says, what our instincts indicate at. Our humanity is far too adulterated for a true instinct’s innocence.

Today at the sight of the needful we do feel pity but unfortunately that’s all we do, just feel, no actions to liberate the choked pity follows. I realized this disability, or better describe as a world spread epidemic of passiveness just a few days back.
No no I am not going to tell you one of those heartening incidents or any of the great life changing moral stories. It was just another one of those incidents where nothing happened, thanks to my passivity.
It so happened that just a few weeks back as I was on my way back after a watching a show of the latest flick, thus, in a pretty elated mood, I saw a man lying on the road divider with the upper half of his body on the road. Amazed like everybody else I turned for a second look to grasp in the unusuality of the situation, he was middle aged man in rugged clothes and was probably lying there in a drunken stupor completely unconscious.
Just then I saw an auto take a sight detour to avoid hitting him, so did the rest of the following vehicles. Everybody was taking the care of avoiding his head but no one stopped over even for a second to place his head safely back on the divider. By the time my mind was rattling with these thoughts my auto had already left the scene behind, out of my ken. But, it remained… the sight of that man lying there unaware of everything and more glaring than that the passivity of all his fellow beings around. Like all the conscious beings around I also criticized the whole human race for its indifference but then another realization shook me from within, the realization that I too was one of the fellow beings around him……Why did not I do it? I tried hard to overshadow my conscience with an excuse of “I COULD’NT” but this time I failed .Then dawned over me the passivity of my life more appropriately my existence. I have not been able to push this incident out of my mind.

I am not saying that since then my every act has been with a philanthropic intent…Infact, I have been living the life very much the same practically if you can forgive me those few moments when I have stood and stared at the blue sky or when I have held a grandpa’s hand to help him cross the road. These incidents haven’t been many in number but I have been making efforts to try and live every moment, to try and listen to the unadulterated innocent soul in me. I have faltered, I have turned a blind eye to situations where I could help and I have even now ignored the conscience sometimes but I have also succeeded many times and I am ready to keep trying all my life.

I sincerely feel that an experience like mine must have come to you too, its just that for some the realization might be awaiting, for some it may already be there and maybe for some it was there but now no more. I did not intend to teach you a lesson in humanity but this was just one experience that needed a vent and this medium could not get better because some one of you must be identifying with this realization somewhere down the line.

What I feel today can be summed up as-‘Let us live while we can still have the essential humanity alive in us.
Let us live while we still have a Zest for living.
Let us convince ourselves that living is more important than a successful existence.
Let us enlighten ourselves with the true meaning of life.
Let us LIVE.’

by Yashna Shravani
Symbiosis Law College (Pune)

Friday, June 22, 2007

Yuva Ekta Summer Program, 2007- An Intern's Experience

I joined The Tehelka Foundation as a volunteer for the Education Summit, 2007. The Summit dealt with access to quality education and inclusive education and was unique because the delegates consisted mainly of students. The objective was to provide school children from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to voice their opinions on 'education'- an issue in which they are undoubtedly the majority stakeholders.

I then became an intern at the Foundation and my first project (along with the Coordinator, Gauri) was to figure out a way in which the Summit could be carried forward at a grassroot level.The idea that emerged was that we would conduct a one month workshop, wherein we would work with kids from a variety of backgrounds. The workshop would culminate in the preparation of a play on socially relevant issues.

The big day was 14th May. 18 kids from different schools and NGOs- Salaam Baalak Trust, Bluebells International, St Columbas, Convent of Jesus and Mary, Amity University gathered at The Tehelka Office for the first time. From then on, it has been an endless roller coaster ride. For the first time, I fully appreciated the job that teachers do, managing little devils year after year. The first 3 days we did 'ice breaking' exercises so that the kids could get comfortable and get to know each other.

The next few days were spent in brainstorming on what topic the play would be on. It was interesting to see that most of the children agreed that education, awareness , civic sense and participation in the political society are the keys to solving almost all social problems facing our country. Finally we all decided that the play would be such as would convey the message that since we are all a part of the system, any change that needs to be done has to begin with us.

What did I feel about all this? Was it educational? Undoubtedly. Was it fun? Absolutely. Did I get irritated at times? Sure. Did some days try my patience? Undeniably. But would I trade it for the world? Most definitely not. I have definitely become better at interacting with people. Thankfully since Gauri was there to oversee things, I could afford to play the fool. Yours truly was always the first one to suggest a break or playing dumbcharade or even chain chain at that. What a blast!

As part of the workshop I also got to visit a children's shelter home at the New Delhi Railway Station. I hadn't done something like this since my school days, so it revived fond memories.

I used to sometimes have qualms about the project- would it really make any difference to any one at all? But as the workshop progressed, as I spoke with all the kids about their experiences, I realized that this was an opportunity for most of them to break out of their cocooned existence. All of them (me included) got to interact with kids who have had really difficult times in their lives that they have overcome with sheer grit and determination.

Finally after all the fun and hard work, we presented our play at Central Park in CP. Those three hours were the most fun I have had in the past 3 months. We received a good response to our play. But more than that, it was the journey to that performance that I cherished and learnt from.

Anindita

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Yuva Ekta Summer Program, 2007- Student Participants' Experiences

Srishti Gandhi- Bluebells International
“This was the first time that I participated in a workshop of this kind. On my first day, I was really skeptical about where this would take me, but as the days progressed I started enjoying myself a lot and made a lot of new friends. It was loads of fun.”


Pallavi Arora- Bluebells International
“This workshop was a great learning experience for me. Friends I made here are more caring and supportive than the ones I have known for so long. I would definitely like to participate in such workshops repeatedly. But the one change I would like to see is that the participants value each other’s time and arrive punctually. Further, once a student has volunteered for such a thing, he/she must be committed to it and must not shy away from his/her responsibility towards the other participants of the workshop.”


Mohd Danish- Salaam Baalak Trust
“Mujhe is workshop se bahut kuch seekhne ko mila, jaisi ki sabke saath mil jul ke naatak taiyaar karna. In sab logon se milke, mere andar bhi aage padhne ki aur padhai mein accha karne ki uksukta jaagi. Yahaan aane ke baad mera self confidence bhi bahut badha, jo mere andar bilkul hi nahin tha. Main yahan se bahut si meethi yaadein lekar jaa raha hoon aur main mere sab doston ko bahut miss karoonga.”


Greeshum Panesar- Bluebells International
“Being a part of this workshop has helped me become more independent and confident. I was never good at interacting with people before, but now that has changed and I can express myself much better. The 'City Walk' which is a walk around the New Delhi Railway Station organized by Salaam Baalak Trust with kids recounting their harrowing experiences at the station, was a real eye opener for me.I became aware of the magnitude of problems that so many children in our country face everyday.”


Shahadutt- Salaam Baalak Trust
“Is workshop mein mere kai naye dost bane, jinhe main kabhi nahin bhoolonga. Mujhe pehle lagta tha ki apni umar ka main ek hi hoon jo apne desh ke liye bahut kuch karne ka sochta hoon, par is workshop mein mujhe kai aise log mile jo Bharat ke liye kaam karna chahte hain aur duniya badalna chahte hain. Yeh dekhke mujhe bahut accha laga. Aise logon ke saath humaara desh bahut tarakki karega.”


Luqman S. Hasan- St Columbas School
“I remember being very nervous on the first day because there were new faces everywhere and I didn’t know what to expect. However, the various fun exercises that we did in the Self Empowerment workshop really helped me to unwind and also to get to know the others well. I also learnt many tricks of the theatre.
When I visited the shelter home at the New Delhi Railway Station, I was shattered by the stories of the children who come there. I sat with them and taught them to draw Superman. The kids were happy and started calling me Superman. This brought tears to my eyes. The experience gave me an adrenaline boost to work for and with children in the future.”


Swati Mehta- Amity University
“This workshop provided all of us with the opportunity to get out of our shells, meet new and different people and expand our social circles. We had a lot of fun, played a lot of games but there were some misunderstandings and tensions as well. However, I feel that these were necessary so that we could get to know each other better. Some friction did develop between some of us, there were some instances of ‘groupisms’ too, but our coordinators did their best to get us to talk to each other, so that we could all work together as a team.
Another tremendous learning experience was our visits to children’s shelter homes. I felt that the one very noticeable thing about these children was their insecurity, which was explicit in their need for love from others.
I really wish this workshop didn't have to end. I want us to take our message all over the city, the country, the world.”


Brajesh Pandey- Salaam Baalak Trust
“Zindagi ke chote- bade anubhav hamesha humein kuch naya sikha jaate hai. Kuch anubhav humein kathin paristhitiyon mein bhi dhairya na khone aur saahas banaaye rakhne ki seekh de jaate hain, to kuch khushi ke shanno ko yaadon mein banaaye rakhte hai aur unhe yaad karke hum kabhi bhi has dete hai. Aise hi yaadon se bhara raha mera anubhav. Yahan par apne doston ke saath bitaaya hua har ek pal humesha meri yaadon mein rahega. Sabse aham baat jo maine isse seekha, wo hai teamwork, sabke saath milkar kaam karna. Humare is group mein sabhi bahut acche hain, milansaar hain. Is mahine mein har din humne kuch na kuch naya seekha, har din picchle din ke mukable khulta gaya. Beshak mein is experience ko zindagi bhar yaad rakhoonga.”


Shivani Mehta- Bluebells International
“This workshop was definitely a most wonderful experience. I was very apprehensive on the first day because I didn’t think I would get along with anybody. But thankfully I was proved wrong! I met loads of different kinds of people and made many new friends. Visiting the shelter homes was also a very educational part of the workshop. But the most fun was working together on our play. Brainstorming, testing various ideas around with the others made me more familiar with them and I also got to know myself a bit better. The most important I learnt in this workshop is teamwork. We must learn to work with everyone and also face everything, good and bad.”


Vijay Nath- Salaam Baalak Trust
“Being a part of this group was fantastic. I loved spending time with my new friends and would be really happy if we could continue with this program of spreading awareness of various socially relevant issues among the youth of our country.”


Bushra- Convent of Jesus and Mary
“This workshop was really cool. I met some people who think like me and it was great getting to know them better and spending time with them. Next time though, I would love to be part of a bigger group.”


Manju- Salaam Baalak Trust
“Jab main pehle din aayi, toh mujhe bahut darr lag raha tha ki kya karna hai aur kya hoga. Par dheere dheere mera confidence badha aur maine sabke saath milke bahut mazaa kiya. Yahaan par maine jo bhi kiya, jo bhi seekha usko sirf karne ke liye hi nahin kiya. Uspe main zaroor gaur karoongi. Mujhe play main jo role mila, use karne mein mujhe kaafi mazaa aaya.”

Friday, May 18, 2007

Ride On Delhi Roads - Joy or Misery

A ride on the Delhi roads is just like one on the moon where there are craters everywhere and this too when the city is on the verge of holding an international sporting event of the Commonwealth games’ status.
The roads of “The national capital” are bumpy, full of potholes and sometimes even with open manholes which make me feel inferior about my city as even small towns have roads better than ours.
The root cause for this condition of roads, according to me, is the corruption involved in their construction i.e. the usage of inferior quality of materials by the contractors for the construction when they are paid for the best ones. This leads to poor quality of roads which do not last for too long and then the condition mentioned above prevails. Also the problem is a crop of the occasional digging up of the roads by the corporation for setting up of “new pipeline system”.
But however, I have seen “good” roads in Delhi in the areas of importance to the Delhi Government such as Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, Chanakya Puri, and all the cantonment areas where the vigilance is kept tight during the construction of the roads.
The results of making these types of roads are many. Every time it rains the roads are badly water logged because of the manholes overflowing due to which there is a huge risk of water bourn diseases being caught by the area’s local residents. Also this situation brings in the risk of pedestrians falling in the uncovered manholes which are not visible because of the water logging. The roads are this bumpy that the suspensions of “the best of the best” cars fail to provide comfort. Also many a times these “killer” roads are responsible for big road accidents.
Talking about my personal experience, when ever I go to my school by a “rickshaw”, the journey makes me feel that I am a person sitting in a dirt racing car which is accustomed to the occasional “jhatkas”. This journey takes the hell out of me and in the school I am in a very less position to study. On experiencing all this, the thought off filing an “rti” form regarding the repair of these roads passes my mind but on remembering about my board class, I say to my self that “kaun time waste kare(who will waste time)”.
It seems that the contractors responsible for the construction of these roads have no sympathy for people like us and follow the ideology of the politicians that says “apna kaam banta bhaad mein jaye janta (if we get our job done, then what’s the need of thinking about others)”.
But I strongly feel that if this remains the story of the Delhi roads till the Commonwealth games, then certainly the foreigners coming to India then will take back a very bad impression about the country and this might have a negative effect on the “world city” as it might not get a further chance to hold a precious international event Of the Commonwealth games’ status.
In the end ,to sum up ,this is an effort to shake up the government to save the image of our beloved city in the eyes of the world by improving the condition of roads.

- by Rohit Gupta
New Era Public School