Muthu

Muthu is an 11-year boy studying in the 5^th standard in Government Higher Primary School, Chandaranagar, Bangalore. I have been teaching 5^th standard English and Maths for the 8 months (I taught them when they were in class 4 too). Muthu is an hyper-active kid and is always busy up to some mischief. But when paid individual attention he used to pick up things quite fast. This year his messing around in the class was even more. He either used to constantly fight with the kids around him or he used to fall asleep. For the last few weeks I was really wondering why is he falling asleep? Is he really very tired or worse is he sniffing some gum or something? He was not learning anything academically in the class and had started doing more crazier things like making faces at me when I turned my back towards the class (still unusual in 5^th standard, I am expecting that only in 7^th or so). I had wanted to talk to his parents and asked him if I can meet them. Both are construction workers and he said they are never around. His younger brother, Arun is also in the same class, but he is quite the opposite. He pays attention and picks up things very fast. He is a good student.

I used to complain to all the teachers about Muthu and even to some of my friends. I used to even joke that he is my nemesis and he comes and frightens me in my dreams.

Today his mother happened to come to the school. She came to complain that she say him roaming around the streets yesterday instead of coming to the school. I also complained to her that he is not paying attention in the class and was disrupting the class too. But I did not expect what was coming next. She produced a stout stick and said that we should thrash him more often. “He would listen only to some sound thrashing Sir. Look, we are like this (construction workers) because our mothers did not thrash us”. She also started beating him then and there. I felt miserable that I ratted on him. Ominously, she also threatened him “let your dad come back home today, you are going to be dead body only”. At that point I recovered a bit and told not to worry about him and I will talk to him. Since I am “English” teacher (who wears jeans and t-shirt) I get a little more leeway in this school, so I hope (dearly hope) she takes my word and leaves him alone. Man, I have resolved I will never complain about my kids, not even in a non-serious fashion.

After she left I had a long conversation with Muthu:

Ram: Whats up Muthu, why all this trouble?

Muthu: I don’t know sar.

R: How come you feel sleepy all the time, too much work at home?

M: No, sar.

R: Ok, what are the issues you are facing in the class, why did you skip school?

M: Everyone bothers me and talks to me and then I get caught. The students and teachers beat me and so I did not come to school

R: Do you beat the students too?

M: Yes :)

R: What do you do at home, when do you get up?

M: 6 am

R: What do you do after that?

M: I fold all the bedding

R: And then

M: I go and collect 10 pots of water. The distance is like between here and the bakery (around 300 meters).

R: And then

M: I cook food.

R: Doesn’t your mom cook?

M: No, she also leaves early. My dad leaves without eating. My mom does other work at home, eats and then leaves. So I do the cooking

R: What do you cook?

M: Rice and sambar. Some times sambar with just dal and sometimes with vegetables.

R: Do you like vegetables?

M:No

R: Don’t you like potatoes?

M:Yes :)

R: What else?

M: Potatoes and Bhendi (Okra)

R: Wow, I like potatoes and okra too. They are might favorite, in that order. We have things in common. Do you like bitter gourd?

M: Yes, also they say it helps in clearing your stomach of bugs.

R: What about nighttime?
M: I cook then too and have to get 2 to 4 pots of water.

R: Do your parents beat you?

M: My father gets drunk and beats me. He also beats my mother.

R: Why does he beat you?

M: When I don’t do my work. Like not getting the water.

R: Why don’t you do your work?

M: Because I have to study and all.

R: Yeah right, really tell me?

M: I also like to go out and play with the other kids outside :)

R: Hmm, that is not right beating you like that. Is it?

M: No, it is not right.

R: How come then you beat other kids?

M: !!!!! (silence... smile)

R:ok, lets come back to the classroom. What do you think can be done?

M:Everyone talks to me and bothers. When I talk back or hit back I get caught all the time.

R: Well, if you don’t sit in the back row it might not be a problem. Do you go to movies?

M:Sometimes

R: Where do you like to sit, in the back or in the front?

M: In the front

R: Why?

M: The screen looks big and I get excited :)

R: May be if you sit in the front in class also it might be exciting. Think of the class as the movie and think of the teacher as a hero or a heroine or a villain if you like (ha ha ha)

M: ha ha ha

R: Will you do that?

M: Yes I will sit in the front row from today.

We then had a math’s class and Muthu sat in the front and was very eager to participate in the class. He repeatedly attempted to answer questions though only a few times he was right. I hope this continues in the future too.

I was feeling quite bad that I was quite quick to judge this kid and complain about him. A 11 year old cooking and doing the housework. So much violence in his house. I think he would like to unwind in the school and his idea of doing that is horsing around and have some fun. Can we blame him? I have to be kinder and more patient with him. This also explained why Arun was doing better academically. He had a more relaxed life (comparatively).

That said, having 43 such kids in the class does test my patience. I don’t know how long all these nice feelings will last before I go back to my....

Such a Long Journey

It has been almost ten days since I returned from my trip to Ladakh and I have still not posted anything about my travel. Since several of my fans have expressed they could not wait any longer I am forced to write in short bursts whenever I find time. (Some may wonder what is it that keeps me that busy, but we would not get into that now)

We left Bangalore on June 13^th 2200 hours and reached Alchi (a monastery 60 kms to the west of Leh on the Srinagar-Leh highway) on June 19^th 15 hours. It was a 137-hour journey, I am sure Armstrong’s journey to the moon was much shorter but I am equally sure that the scenery on the way must have been no more spectacular.

June 13^th – 2200 Boarded Sampark Kranthi express leaving Bangalore from the Yeshwantpur station, a long commute by auto-rickshaw

June 14^th – The train journey was to be utilized studiously by pouring over philosophy, sociology and psychology of education. Instead concentrated on the food that was packed for the journey, which spoilt by the afternoon. So, fretted and worried about the next meal after each meal. As Douglas Adams aptly put it, the best way to deal with an uncomfortable situation is to frown a lot and go to sleep. So did a lot of both.

June 15^th – Reached Dalli in the morning. Had a bath and ate lunch at Arati’s (my traveling partner) sister’s place. I packed and unpacked my backpack so many times that we barely made it to the New Delhi station in time to catch Shalimar Express (4645). We were running with our heavy backpacks on the pedestrian over bridge and realized that the staircase to our platform was closed. We got off at the next one and got down on the tracks with all its muck and clambered up again to reach the train (yikes). Don’t get enamored by its name, Shalimar is a cattle-cart. It was one hell of a journey in that train packed like sardines with 8 other broad-shouldered jawans all heading to the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. All 10 of us in our compartment were either from Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, so I read Junior Vikatan on the way from Delhi to Jammu. It was sad to see so many young lives (all were in their early 20s) wasted in a totally unnecessary ‘conflict’. May be if both our countries should have conscription and when every family sends it young ones to the front sense and hence peace would prevail.

June 16^th – Reached Jammu bright and early at 1000 hours. The scheduled arrival was 0530 but no one other than us was surprised a bit. We missed the buses to Srinagar and so had to share a Sumo with 5 others to Srinagar. 4 of them were again army folks and the driver, Salim, was a spirited Kashmiri. The faujis were tense about the late start and wanted to reach the valley before dark. Salim could sense their unease and did everything possible to slow the journey. Thanks to him we had a fantastic rajma-chawal lunch in a relaxed pace. The road trip was great with nice views and was littered with vehicles that had missed the road altogether and plunged into the gorges and ravines. We got furthered delayed when the road was closed briefly to pick up one such wrecked car.

A wrecked car extricated and as always it is a good tamasha for everyone

By the time we reached Srinagar it was 2100 hours. We were politely informed in the bus station that 17^th being a Sunday there were no buses to Leh since they did blasting on the highway. Sounded as if India and Pakistan armies worked only on Sunday and did some uninterested shelling of each other’s territories on that day. My travel partner was slowly getting to know me better, especially my planning capabilities. So we had a day to chill-out in Srinagar.

June 17^th – A houseboat sounded appropriate for the night stay but it was just a shack. The only nice part was the morning spent in the verandah viewing the Dal (pronounced as dull) Lake and the vendors in their shikaras peddling their wares. I surprised myself and bought jewelry from one of them.

Buying jewelry on the houseboat verandah

We had enough of the boat when I heard obnoxious splashes when the bathroom was getting used. The sewage goes right into the lake from all the houseboats. So we decided that we would move to a guesthouse and at least the sewage is then centralized and if we are of an optimistic bent of mind we can even think that it would be treated before getting released in the Jhelum. The owner of the houseboat had sent his daughter in shikara to paddle us out and it was a very dreamy Kashmiri sequence, a pretty Kashmiri girl paddling the boat with me sitting on it. She was chitchatting in a friendly manner but the dream was rudely brought to an end when she asked “uncle, aap kahan se aaye ho”? It must have been my white stubble, so I promptly shaved that night.

Definitely not dull in any way

We did the usual rounds of Srinagar, the Mughal gardens, Hazratbal mosque and Jamia Masjid. The Jamia Masjid is a must see. Unusual for a mosque, it is constructed of wood with full cedar trees acting as columns.

Jamia Masjid, Srinagar - A differently shaped mosque with cedar columns

We finished the day with a fantastic Kashmiri dinner at Adhoos. There was a korma made out of lotus stems that was very unique and very tasty. Though there were a crazy amount of army men all over, Srinagar seemed reasonable safe. The town was very active though the touts are aggressive and annoying. We booked tickets on a Semi-luxury bus to Leh and settled into a guesthouse overlooking Jhelum for the night.

A Kashmiri family at the mosque, when shown the picture she said "behathareen". Urdu is so much more poetic than Hindi, "accha" sounds so flat.

The next post would be on our bus journey from Srinagar to Leh. Till then...