Chellu's summer camp final day show

Chellu really enjoyed her summer camp this year. She especially seemed to have enjoyed the drama and the cookery classes. Her camp hosted a final day show in which she acted as Vasudha (Tennalirama's wife) in a
Marathi drama. She was also in a spanish dance, another drama on shapes & one on germs, in a song & also in a karate display . Posted are some photos.

Her on stage performance proved that she really does enjoy drama. Drama is a very regular feature of our HSing days. So many lazy mornings have gone by in story telling & enacting it. Finally this past summer I gave it a shot and enrolled her in a drama class. On the days she had drama classes she would come back with a lot of excitement on her face. She wouldn't indulge the details of her show but many a times I've caught her practicing by herself or in front of the mirror.

I did get worried a bit on the final day show. She has NEVER been on stage. She has NEVER by-hearted a single line in her life. Will she be able to remember the lines , the steps in front of so many people ?  I observed her the morning of the show ..she was very cool & pretty excited. No signs of nervousness whatsoever. When it was finally her turn & she came on stage I almost stopped breathing. And then one look at her bright, smiling face made me relax. She was obviously very pleased to be all dressed up and on stage. She danced beautifully & delivered her lines perfectly in the dramas. She was in quite a few shows. One dance, one music, 3 dramas and 1 karate demonstration. She was enjoying each & every one of them. Also all the dress changes, going in & out etc etc..All the elements of acting on stage!

Im glad I gave her a chance to experience real acting. Hoping for many more such experiences for her.

Reflections- A week's internship at Hide-Out, Jhadpoli

• From Day two onward we seriously started participating in the plantations. We planted @ 30 or more banana stems. Chellu helped big time - she actually did the digging , planting , covering up etc..Kunju actively participated in the pineapple plantations & other activities like collecting plastics, roof work etc..

Reflections:
1. We want this/ we need this:
While doing this it started to rain and everyone else ran off to the Mandap area while me & Shankar continued. It was a magical moment- smnthg that will be etched in my memory forever. We were in the middle of this lush greenery in pouring rain. It was like all of nature was there to show its beauty to us. It was beyond anything that's describable. And that's when it struck deep in our hearts that we really really want to own a piece of land to grow, learn and pass it on as a legacy. This makes so much sense to pursue- in that moment of intimacy with the soil, in the middle of the farm during pouring rain , all our fears seemed to vanish. What were we afraid of? Whats there not to be able to do? Going back to having an intimate relationship with Mother Earth is commonsense not wrong.
Also the possibility of Chellu weaving it all together - her interests as of today seem very complimentary: Farming, Cooking, Mehendi, Arts & Crafts etc...This seems very promising. She has shown GREAT interest in farming ..Even Kunju for that matter participated in some of the easier activities like pineapple plantations , collecting plastic etc..So the possibility of passing this on as a legacy became very clear. Or rather motivating that someone after us might also be interested in pursuing permaculture.

2. Extreme hard work:
Farm work is crazy hard work. Its actually back-breaking. I really still can't come to terms with HOW MUCH hard-work it would have been to turn @ 5 acres of barren land into the thick fruit forest it is now.  All the 7 days I've also been raving at the farm help's strength. Madhukar the main guy is amazing- a thin looking rural guy , his muscle/back strength can put any gym going 6 pack urban fitness freak to shame. Not just him but  the  other 2 young girls & 10 a yr old boy. Gosh its shameful actually. Our strength compared to theirs. I think its just our urban lives that makes us very weak. We really did get to experience what physical fitness is needed when doing nature's work ..just doing those 7 days itself we found our bodies becoming more flexible & strong. We slept like never- just the fatigue of all that digging & planting & other work was enuff! No wonder insomnia is so common in the cities. Our bodies just don't get enuff physical exertion!
And we realized that farm work is not just about physical fitness. Working for nature also requires a iron-like determination, a deep love for nature and lots of patience. Or rather these qualities get imbibed in you slowly & steadily.

3. Circular Cycle- Everything that comes out , goes back:
This is one of the things that really impressed me. Hemant had also told us that in a permaculture farm the general rule is if you get 50 kgs from the farm , then you give back 100 kgs. And that's what is glaringly lacking in the farming done today. All the produce is shipped to the cities and the waste from the produce never goes back. So a lot is taken out but hardly anything returned!! Shankar & I sat & discussed about this and he commented that maybe someday a system will start that will get all the waste from produce sent to the cities back where it belongs- in the farms.  Seems very impractical right now..but who knows what? when?
An example of a sustainable cycle with inter-woven processes is :
Farm gives raw food & sticks which is used for cooking . The food eaten with banana leaves also from the farm. The waste is all thrown for the cow to consume which produces milk & dung. The dung is again used to build the farm floor, the dust from which goes back in to the farm!
Isn't this an amazing cycle? Vs urban living where everything is linear. Maybe terrace gardening if done in a somewhat similar manner can replicate the above circular cycle? Everything that comes from the garden goes back into it? This is so doable even in the cities.

4. Nature is the Best Mother:
I really felt mothered like no other way. No human mother can do what nature can do for us. Of course humans are also nature but that speechless interaction with the trees & the insects & the night sky & the mud & the waterfalls is something else. It gives you a perspective of something really ABOVE AND BEYOND YOU.Also you never feel lonely.. I felt like I had constant company..especially all the insects & birds teeming @ you. Where ever you are there is life @ you. This is the single most thing I miss about living in an apt. It is devoid of you expect humans & that too just the family. Unless you go out you totally miss out on any other type of action..in the farm its just the reverse.
One night we were chatting with Hemant and slowly the Kamini flowers @ us started to bloom. This is what is " Life happening @ you". It subtly reminds you of how much mothering is happening..how many things are being taken care of by the universal energy. If this universal energy can take care of so many things, if it can mother so many beings why will it leave me out? You are always taken care of no matter what. The real question is of being conscious & aware of it..The moment that happens then mothering automatically happens. Dadaji's ( Pandurang Shastri Athavale's) reminder of "God not only works with you but also works for you" can best be experienced in a farm like this.
Also I had this constant remindal /realization of this beautiful universe has been made for our enjoyment & experience. The rural night sky for example looks like God has studded diamonds in the sky for us to gaze at & enjoy. The wind has been made for us to feel cool. The fruits & the veggies provide for nutritious food..so many plants are medicinal. In a sense nature takes care of all our needs if we shift our perspective from wants to needs. One experiences a sense of content in such a farm. And also a sense of BOUNTY.My goodness! Whether its the insects or the plants or the wind or the summer sun or the mangoes hanging from the trees its "so much" of everything.  No wonder our Rishis said " Dhanam Agnir, Dhanam Vaayu , Dhanam Sooryo, Dhanam Vasu" The fire, the wind, the sun and the land -these were wealth according to the Rishis. Cause this wealth alone can make one feel really rich..rich mentally & physically. And this wealth doesn't make one feel insecure or greedy. There is no comparison or instability like the stock market. The co-ordinates are fixed and the results the same for everyone. If you have this wealth its for good. And it only makes you a better human being by the day. Nature indeed is the biggest & best wealth that once could really possess.

5. Nature needs TRUST:
Permaculture farming is really about trusting nature to know the best. Letting Her decide how to protect Herself, letting Her thrive at Her own pace. Hemant practiced ahimsa farming for a good 10 years or so which means he didn't even pick a leaf or fruit from the farm. Everything that came from the farm went back to it. And no chemical was added. No pruning done. Nature was allowed to thrive at her own and only protected from outside elements. And then the birds came..the insects came..the watertable rose..the plants started to support each other ..the wind pitched in..everything came in and did what it was meant to do. And the farm started to thrive and now its this bounty of everything. Its a treat to watch the mangoes hanging from the branches, a treat to see the ripened pineapples, a blessing to notice the bananas..So didn't nature do her work? Didn't She give back abundantly? It was just a matter of trusting that Nature knows how to take care of Herself.

 6. This suits my family:
The girls had a gala time in all that outdoor space available to run around. Their physical health would have greatly  improved during that one week. They ran @ a lot, played a lot, ate a lot, slept a lot. It was very easy on me too..because they had all this space , they demanded lesser from me. Of course the usual sibling fights etc did happen and they did get bored once a while especially during long plantations in which they couldn't participate but overall it was very nice for them.
I realized that both of thrive in mud which suits our future plans of having a farm ourselves. They love trees and animals & nature in general. Hemant had commented on the last day that Shruthkirti was blooming in the farm. That's so true! One of the days during the plantations when Shankar & I were in the farm the girls wanted to join us from the mandap area. And it was pouring. So Shruthkirti came with an excellent solution. She picked a huge banana leaf and covered herself & her sister . Both the sisters reached us safely without getting wet! A farm gives a lot of avenue fro such exploration. Nothing can beat nature when it comes to encouraging innovation, exploration & artistic expressions.  It is the best teacher becoz it teaches by " letting be". Also it occurred to me that a farm and HSing go hand in hand. They compliment each other.

Overall it was a great experience for our family . We came back healthier, stronger & more peaceful. A perfect 10th marraige anniversary celebration! Very simple,  very basic , no frills but deeply meaningful and one that touched our hearts, minds and souls. 

Spontaneity, Spontaneity, Spontenity- Life is all about the Here and Now

I  had noted this a couple of days back.."Today was one of those days again when bang in the middle of the day I experienced HSing in its true beauty. I posted this on Facebook that day in the afternoon "Elder daughter blissfully reading to herself Hindi stories in one room while her sister blissfully dancing Ballet like steps to a movie song...While me enjoying this moment to the max trusting it for its spontaneity, space & learning it brings..That's the beauty of HSing - doing what one wants to do when one wants to do it with total peace without worrying about a thing! HSing is really about LIVING THE MOMENT. "

This is one of the things I absolutely love about HSing-Spontaneity. It brings so much joy that every worry about HSing ( that a Hsing parent generally has) vanishes in its moment. Hsing allows for one to live life "in the moment" , a trait I think school life kinda completely crushes out. I as an adult have a real challenge to enjoy & focus on life in the Now. Im so stuck with the past or the future that the "NOW" many a times sadly passes right under my nose. After all , all through my childhood I"ve spent time in time-tables , mostly anticipating on what this hour and the next few hours are " supposed to be" rather than what I think it should be . My girls have the luxury of the latter. At 9.30 am on a weekday they are downstairs playing in mud becoz they wanted to. They don't have to wait till the end of the day to play mud-play. 


They get to play doll-doll,  play outdoors, cook, clean, experiment, do water-play, mud-play, read a book, build a castle, paint on the walls, fight, sleep, eat and mostly just PLAY , PLAY, PLAY whenever and for whatever amount of time they feel the need to. They get to LIVE THEIR CHILDHOOD IN ALL ITS ORIGINALITY. Their days are not slotted into a time-table when every single action of theirs ( even answering nature's calls) is supposed to happen at a fixed time...this is really one of the single most factors that keeps me in favor of HSing my children. There are days when being with the girls 24/7 can drive me up the wall & make me wonder why this madness ?  why not school? and just the thought of their lives losing its natural flow and being slotted into time-tables brings back my faith in what I do immediately. 


The amount of play & the learning it brings is in itself astounding. They get to play so much and many a days my personal meter of whether Im on the right track or not is simply their laughter. They are such happy beings most of the days.-Of course they do have their "cranky, sibling rivalry" days but majority of the time they are very happy creatures getting to live childhood & getting to learn in their own terms. Just because their learning doesn't happen in a bookish , very planned manner it cannot be devalued.

There are umpteen examples from daily life that after a point it becomes impossible to just keep track. The other day Chellu suddenly got this instinct to experiment with water in the freezer. She promptly did so and after a few hours the sisters must have spent a good 45 mins just trying to drink water from the frozen water-bottle.Watching them go about trying to figure out  how to melt the water was a treat to the eyes. They banged the bottle, tried hitting it with a spoon, tried shaking it vigorously ..after all this they showed the bottle under running tap water and realized that the ice started to melt faster. Immediately they filled a vessel with water and put the bottle in it- lo! they realized the natural , quickest way to melt ice! Hasn't science happened?

Another day they wanted to do water-play with the garden hose in the morning. But before that they proceeded  to "soap" their dolls with mud. And then themselves. They were covered with mud from head to toe. And then had a blast with the water from the hose. After all this they realized that their skins had become very soft- they had learned that mud can be a very good soap.

Yesterday bang in the middle of the day Chellu got this urge to paint on the walls. She painted A & B in a very beautiful , pictorial sense ..when asked she said she is doing this help Kunju learn the alphabets!

So many examples..sometimes i feel like i need to hang a book from my neck & note down everything just so that I don't miss a detail...:))

What the girls learned at Hide-Out

Well one of  the first things that struck me at HO was that when the rest of the kids in India would be going for their first week of school, my girls were here , attending the best school in the world. The school of nature. Can any class-room really beat the farm at HO? Can any amount/kind of science, nature lesson substitute the lessons they would learn during their week's stay at HO? I assumed not and was proved absolutely right.
When I came back from the trip i got a bit of ranting from my family about how we just " choose to chill out in a farm" instead of being responsible parents who would enroll their kids in a school. That comment made me sit down and list everything we discussed and did as an activity to remind myself that our learning during the 7 days of HO was beyond anything that any school could have offered. So here goes the list:
1. All of us TOUGHENED UP big time:

• Especially Kunju. For the first few days she was constantly complaining about the mud in her feet and dress & the wetness everywhere. She is by nature slightly finicky about cleanliness. But after talking to her several times about how mud cannot be avoided in such a place and that MUD IS NOT DIRT, MUD IS GOOD and that its okay if her dress gets a little mud on her, she eventually loosened up. By the end of the week at HO she didn't even bother wearing any damn shoes and was running around in her jaddi happily. 
• They got to experience darkness and overcame huge fears. In Pune they would sometimes be scared to go to the toilet without the lights in the passageway. And here in HO in a few days they had come in terms with the darkness..every evening the lights would go off at 6.30 pm and they would eat their dinner ( with insects literally swarming @ us) , find their ways across the garden to & from the room with a torch and would go to sleep in utter darkness with no fan ( & it was quite hot). One afternoon while searching for Chellu i realized that she was sitting in pitch darkness on the toilet seat ( the bathroom had no windows and was generally pitch dark even during the daytime due to the power-cuts) all by herself. She hadn't even bothered to ask us.
• All of us got used to @ 14 hr power-cuts. Of course being in an open environment like that made it easier but it was certainly very hot. I think for 2-3 days or so the temp must have hovered at @ 40 + or so. Our attitude towards sweating changed- we accepted it as a good thing rather than the usual fretting.  Every night the girls went to bed without electricity ..anywayz  they used to be dead tired too by then to really bother about any fan!
• The lack of electricity was indeed a huge lesson in getting out of one's comfort zone. Of becoming stronger mentally & physically. An extremely valuable lesson I believe. 

2. We learned how to plant  :

• Pineapples -
• Banana trees-
• Drumstick trees
• Rice ..Included in these planting were up & close observations of the above plants ( I have never known all my life as to how pricky a pineapple plant can be), learning to dig, interacting with the farm help while resting & what effort it takes to plant anything! That food dosen't appear like magic in the shops. Hemant had mentioned latter on that what we eat is not just the sweat of the farmer but his blood! Rice plantations require a lot sitting throughout- its kinda like doing a 100 baitaks. Imagine the effort that goes into growing food! 
• Lotsa physical labor. Chellu participated in each and every digging during the plantations. It was just amazing to watch her. How strong she is mentally. She should have been born to a farmer. 

4. Sorting of mangoes

5. Picked a lot of Marathi- interacted a lot with the farm workers and our Swadhyay Parivaar folks from nearby villages. 

6. How to prepare the roof for the monsoon- the 2nd day the girls climbed on the roof of the mandap and helped the workers with putting up new sheets and laying fresh hay and tightening the harnesses @ the bamboo sticks that go across the roof. An experience that no school would have taught them. 

7. How to prepare amrit paani & use of ash as an insecticide. Both were used during the pineapple plantations.

8. Touched and examined a dead snake ( garden snake called Nanavati)

9. Watched fireflies in the pitch darkness- @ it was a discussion of pollution and effect of city lights on the lives of fireflies. Kunju commented that it felt like fairy land. And indeed it was- almost magical to watch the fireflies in that darkness.

10. Watched the rural night sky in all its magnificence. Wow..that was like magic really. The rural sky has a beauty that's unmatched. It literally felt like diamonds studded in the sky- Discussion @ God has made everything so beautiful for us..his Greatness, Divinity, Gratitude. 

11. Collected plastics @ the farm- discussion @ bad effects of plastics vs natural decomposition. Also discussed why Hemant uncle didn't encourage processed food in such a place- the plastics it would bring, how it would tempt the farm animals & harm them. and that's exactly what had happened. One of the cats had spied on our Bourbon biscuits and had gobbled up a few. He was certainly not comfortable that day. 

12. Observed LOTS OF camoflauge & symbiosis. 

13. Animal behavior: Watched and played a lot with pets in a totally natural environment. The cats playing in the farm was a treat to watch..they would climb up the trees and the almirahs & play with the insects. We had read in a storybook that cats always fall on their legs no matter what- we gotto watch that everyday in the farm. 

14.  Sensitivities improved greatly due to the darkness.
15. Participated in emptying a huge pit. Conversation on how to look out for snakes.
16. Discussion on what's a dam, how is electricity produced?, Narmada Bachaao Andolan.
17. Recognition of various plants/trees- on the first day itself we went @ the farm trying to recognize the plants & trees and I was surprised at how much Chellu knows! Chellu could recognize all of them by the time we left.
18. Discussion on why is the cow worshiped in our culture? How the cow helps in natural recycling of all the wet garbage by eating the left-overs. They also got to feed somthng or the other to cows everyday leading to discussions on Herbivorous & Carnivorous animals , Rumination . 
19. Why sweating is good? We sweat such a lot there due to working in the farm during intense heat . We discussed about sweating as a good thing, the use of matki ka paani for a bath after intense sweating. 
20. Discussion on effect of permaculture farming on nearby villages= how the water table rises thus leading to more potable water. Chellu has seen a cartoon sort of documentary on  the same and thus could relate immediately.
21. Physical Play: They got to swing, climb, run a lot, play in a tent and of course play their usual role-play stuff like crazy! Just being in an all outdoor environment like that must have done a lot towards their physical well-being. 
22. Biodiversity & Organic Farming- How permaculture farming encourages all sorts of plants to grow with each other as against mono-culture farming. 
23. Learning from experts- From :

• Hemant- On how to pick a fruit. Ants being vital insecticides, Bird pollination being crucial to the growth of the farm and Pruning of trees, How the whole farm was a barren land and it was turned into a fruit forest with permaculture. 
• Madhukar- Terminator seeds, a lot of talk @ planting.

24. Swimming and experiencing two kinds of waterfalls ( one from a lake and the other from a dam), swimming in a dam.

25. Lots of playing withe PLENTY of natural items:

• Gulmohar sticks
• Stones,
• buds
• leaves
• Flowers
• Mud 
• Fruits

26. Experiencing and participating in natural cooking- Observed choola cooking. Observed how to cut a pineapple and preparation of various sauces, salad dressings. 

27. Lots of relaxing , sleeping in a hammock ,  feeling the wind- lots of day dreaming ( very vital !!) 

28. Experienced True Community: On the last 2 days Dominique Anthony & Joon joined us. The girls had a blast with them. They wouldn't let go of them. To have adults who accept children just the way they are is a BLESSING that's hard to comprehend. The girls would have played like crazy with the guys. 

All of us went swimming together and it was a treat to see Joon & Dominique help Chellu to swim. Shankar, I, D & J formed four corners of a square ( which Chellu recognized immediately as a square!) and on D's command Chellu went swimming from one to the other. 

Then the last day Hemant took us to the waterfalls and let Chellu ride on his back to experience the foot of the falls.  For HSers like us community is vital and when we experience it we feel lucky and always one the right. That the universe can attract and bring to us the right people who accept us the way we are and show us better and bigger paths & goals.
29. Lots of hands-on cooking & observation: We cooked a lot especially during the last few days when Dominic & company arrived. Just watching that kind of spirit and team work can be valuable for anyone. Lots of talk @ healthy cooking & eating. Lots of valuable community time. Yes my girls are very lucky indeed!!
30. Nature decorations: Around the farms are small, wide pots/vessels that's filled with water and decorated with flowers & leaves. Shruthkirti had helped in decorating the same quite a few times.
31. Warli Painting: Gotto hear about the history of Warli artists and learned how to do Warli painting from an artist himself.

A week of internship at an organic fruit forest -Day 1

To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in a way that all of us will really enjoy, learn and relax we chose to intern at Hide-Out- an organic fruit forest, Jhadpoli village, Thane District.  Here is the summary of all  the reflections, learnings, impressions recorded at Hide-Out.

Day 1:
A feeling of deja-vu on arrival. The rain gods blessed us on our arrival and the immediate feeling was " Wow this was indeed the perfect choice for our celebration" Cause the rains in such an area are to die-for. The wind, the lush greenery, the mud smell from the rain made the rain bath so yummy and refreshing. We were so glad to be back at the farm! The excitement on the girls' faces was too obvious. They were running @ everywhere familiarizing themselves with the surroundings. Chellu was gaayab in 1/2 hr or so in her own world with plants as her friends.
We went for a Warli paiting workshop later during the day at a Warli painter's home. It was a very interesting workshop where the artisit showed us how to draw warli style as well as talked about warli art's  history. Each of us gotto do a sample later on.
Then came the cooking session back at the farm with H. He showed us how to make dips for salads. Chellu was mesmerized by the demo..she participated in everything - the cutting, peeling, tasting things around. Kunju enjoyed it too.

The first night was really a scary experience for me. Everyone had left by the aft and it was just the 4 of us and Dhaadhi ( Hemant's mom). The lights were out (due to heavy power-cuts in the summer) and it was a shock of sorts to deal with that kind of darkness. Pitch darkness ! U don't see that kind of black in the night in the cities due to some light, somewhere..but this was like a bolt to the eye & the mind. Really scary.  And then we took out the lanterns and discovered that we weren't the only ones in the farm. There was like a zillion other insects around us. We kinda made out when we saw the cats playing @ with smthng. Huge bugs, ants, flying insects everywhere..wow-never seen anything like that. I had a hard time sleeping that night. Since the windows in the room  have no grills or any barrier,  there was this scare that an animal or maybe snakes? would just get into our room. A coconut would fall and that sound would scare the hell out of me! who is it? what is it? what's lurking in the dark? I still don't know what exactly was it that I was anticipating ( ghost, human, animal??) but there was this constant fear of the UNKNOWN in the dark. Kya hai woh? We have become so accustomed to being in the security of lights, concrete walls that to be in a place like HO teeming with life makes one very uncomfortable initially. You just feel like smthng is definitely gonna bite you. And then I read on the bathroom doors that there might be frogs in the bathroom since they seek moist places. And so began a detailed hunt with the torch to find one and only when I saw the frog was i ok. I was very scared that there might be one sitting on the toilet seat when I would go to use it !! haha!

So in the midst of all this confusion going on in the brain about the pitch darkness I had to train my eyes to be able to see with the minimum light from the torch. And slowly after sometime I could start seeing things much much better. But first i had to quieten my brains and fears. That was the first night...a very unique night. In the midst of nature but with a lot of chaos in my head. ;)) btw funnily the kids seemed much more at peace than me. ;)) The girls got a little freaked on seeing the giant sized beetle but fear soon turned into curiosity and then excitement on watching the cats play with the beetles. Chellu was chill otherwise- she would happily go around the area , finding her way with a torch. Excitement was written huge on her face. 

Innovations At Its Best

Somehow my girls always prove to me that no science experiments are needed to add a touch of innovation to their lives. They are born with it. What is innovation after all? Do we need complex science labs to encourage it? For me innovation is really about " out of the box " thinking. To come up with a solution for a problem in the most uncommonest of the ways . We somehow tend to think innovation as this complex process requiring hi-fi gadgets etc..But my girls have taught me otherwise.  And one of the best ways to preserve and encourage innovation is to just let kids be kids in their natural environment and then the fun starts.
There are plenty of innovations happening all the time in our "home-lab" but some of the more recently observed innovations:
1. The way my girls dress up their dolls with their own clothes. It really surprises me. I was thinking of doing a "lets stitch dresses for the dolls" project and I'm glad like a zillion other things I never got to it. The sisters realized that their own closet provides a wide-array of choices for the doll's clothing needs. I've seen them using their panties- one of the bum area's clothing is used as the dress for the body and the other one covers the head like a scarf, skirts- the entire skirt is used like a frock with the string tied up around the neck to hold up the skirt, frocks- the upper part of the frock is tied around the neck to hold up the weight , socks-used as pants, swimwear- used like frocks ..the list is endless literally! Will take photos in the future to prove my case effectively!
2. Few days back the girls went down to the park for a early morning mud play. They took lotsa plastic containers, buckets , lotsa water etc..i was sensing some real action and it turned out to be so. They came up with an amazing creation- they had made birthday cakes for their dolls. They had filled the small plastic buckets with mud ( this was the chocolate cake) , covered it with a layer of white flowers ( for the cream) and then bang at the center was a bright pick little flower for the cherry! Wow- if this isn't innovation , what is?
3. We were out with the Hardikar gang and their friend for a outing in Empress Gardens. We did our usual round of activities and then the kids ran off to play in the canal. In it was lying a half-torn football. I looked at it and shunned the very act- how could one use the canal water as trash! But the kids saw somthng else in it. They divided themselves into 2 teams- Ram, Chellu on one side , Kabir & Kunju on the other with the 3rd boy in the middle. The kids wanted to use the half-torn ball as a ball but how? They quickly figured that if filled with the right amount of water it would easily fly across! So after a few trials & errors they were having a gala time playing ball with a half-torn football filled to the right amount with water! Wow..now if this isn't innovation, what is? If this isn't experimentation what is?

All the above activities had a problem, observations in the immediate environment , research, experimentation with existing objects, fine-tuning the available solution and then coming up with a solution. I would guess most scientists went through this exact process! And we think we need encyclopedias and robotics classes to make our children into future scientists!! Let kids be just kids and you will see a lot of innovation happening automatically! And somehow I'm always inclined to think that this is true education.

We need to prepare our kids to know " How to think rather than " what to think?" The latter Q is just facts which the current education system lays great stress on but the former part is the vital part. Who knows what kind of problems our kids will need to face in their adult lives? Will the environment be the same? will social & financial systems be the same? how can we assume that what we know today is sufficient to equip them for tomorrow? That the facts that are being fed into their brains today will provide them with solutions 20 / 30/40 yrs down the line? Rather dosen't it make more sense to let them think for themselves as to HOW TO COLLECT AND USE INFORMATION/FACTS around them for whatever little problems they face on a day-to-day basis? In that sense the effective use of a half-torn football to meet one's needs is hugely significant! Looking forward to many more such innovations display..really nothing can beat HSing!! :)))