Wednesday 17 July 2013

Author’s Corner: With Shefalika Verma

Shefalika Verma is the first woman writer of Maithili to have bagged the Sahitya Akademi Award. With fifteen publications – poetry, short stories, novels, travelogues, autobiography – to her credit, Shefalika was the image of perfect poise when she appeared for this interview. Excerpts from an hour-long rendezvous with the writer, lover and critic of literature and life:
Firstly, congratulations! How do you feel about receiving the Sahitya Akademi Award? Were you expecting it?
Shefalika Verma: Thank you! Well, I chose writing because it was close to my heart. I have been writing for a very long time now. I started off writing for self-consumption but gradually my works started to get published in magazines like Balak, Chandamama, Kadambini, Rashtra Bhasha Sandesh etc. It was then that the idea was nursed in me by my family that I could write and that I should write more regularly. My father, father-in-law and my husband really put me into the realm of writing and that’s how it all began. This award makes me feel happy that I could make these people in my life proud.
I did not expect it; it was a surprise. For a number of days till the news was formally confirmed by the Akademi, I used to wonder if they have sent me the correct information. I never wrote for grabbing an award. I wrote because it gave vent to what I thought and that cannot be awarded and measured, you know.
What serves as an inspiration for your writings? Do you wish to send messages across to people?
Shefalika Verma: I believe each woman is a writer. I say this because there is so much that she goes through, so much that she experiences that each life chronicles a story in its own right. Perhaps, my life as a woman inspired the writer in me. Kist Kist Jeevan is an autobiographical piece and each incident related therein is very personal. I had to write them. I had to bring it out.
I write to tell a story. Some might appear to have a message and but it is never a conscious effort. I think messages are interpreted and made in the minds of those who read them; one never sets out to give them.
You keep saying that your writings are mostly about your personal experiences and that your family literally cajoled you into this field. Would you wish to elaborate a little on that?
Shefalika Verma: I was married very young into a zamindar family of Bihar. There was this typical conservative atmosphere at home. Luckily, I had been introduced to books very early on in life by my father. They kept me company even at my new home.
I was studying at Patna University and had been married when one of my poems got published. It was a poem that talked about the trials of being a woman. My father-in-law read that and wrote a letter to me, in the form of a response poem. Later, he encouraged me to write more though women in our household were not very free to do everything. It was a lucky situation that education was barred from those notions. One could study, read and write as much as one wanted.
Then there was my husband who picked up this bit of interest in me and literally propelled me to write more. After he was gone, I was in depression for long but slowly I realized that by not picking up the pen, I am essentially doing injustice to him and his encouragement.
So, yes, my family has been very supportive of me and my work. In fact today, my children and my daughters-in-law all give unparalleled support to what I do and what I wish to do. That feels great.
Your writings show women in a very real light – donning hats of competence and at the same time playing roles that are very traditional. Do you think that that’s how women are today or are they only in your works?
Shefalika Verma: I believe that every woman has shades to her. She might be a professional and a mother and a wife and a writer at different points in time but her womanhood is her core. And that part of a woman feels and senses and responds to these going-ons. It is with this woman that I connect. Of course, there are disconnects and issues with woman that rip her apart socially and mentally and on many other fronts but she emerges strong. That is where I think I find them real. And that is how I try to portray them in my works.
You switched over to Maithili though you began as a Hindi writer. What explains that shift?
Shefalika Verma: I am very comfortable in both the languages. But choosing Maithili as my major literary voice was a conscious attempt. My husband, late Shri Lalan Kumar Verma, explained to me how Maithili needs to be nurtured and how there are very few writers there. This struck me. If my works can protect, promote and enrich a language, why not use that in my writings? Also, the atmosphere at home and the mode of communication there was Maithili – culturally as well as linguistically. This choice, therefore, was well informed and shaped.
You have been called “Mahadevi of Maithili”, your works compared to that of Jane Austen’s. How do such parallels affect you?
Shefalika Verma: I remember that once I was sitting at a literary function when Mahadevi Verma walked up to me and lifted my chin. She asked me to write more and appreciated my writings. It was an overwhelming moment. I’ve always admired and loved her. So, when someone compares you to a figure like that, it feels fortunate and very happy. But as far as affecting oneself is concerned, I think it encourages you to write better and write more.

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Filling the chasm


The passage of the Right to Education Act, 2009, made education free and compulsory for all children aged six to 14 years. While there has been a progressive shift in people’s minds, especially those belonging to the society’s weaker and marginalised sections, about the necessity of education, the quality of education imparted at most government-run schools have left most parents anxious and unsatisfied.

They complain that in most cases, the knowledge imparting system was too mundane and namesake with teachers often disinterested in the job at hand. Infrastructure is another major impediment with overcrowded classes and lack of enough instructors.

In this scenario, a non-profit outfit — Nidan — has come forward to fill in this yawning gap. The organization has been working extensively with people employed in urban unorganised sectors in Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Delhi.

“Currently, one of our most engaging projects is to facilitate the provision of quality education to the children of various slums in Patna,” says Ratnish Verma, who heads Nidan’s operations in Bihar.
Nidan divides the target group of various children into Shala Poorv (pre-primary), Shala Arambh (Classes I to III), Shala Madhya (Classes IV and V) and Shala Samooh (classes VI to VIII) slots. This was done to cater to the specific requirements of each group.

“Often in government schools, children are made to sit in a classroom which has a mixed batch of students of Classes I to IV because there are not many teachers available for each class. This leads to a gross confusion in ‘what to teach to whom.’ Also, managing a huge classroom makes only the choicest few students, who pick up fast, gain the bulk of what is being taught. Having been left behind for long sustained days, slowly the kids begin to lose interest in studies and drop out of school,” reflects Rashmi Lakra, the head of the education project under Nidan.

Neelmani Devi, a vegetable seller and a mother of five, says, “It is better that Ramesh (her third child) sits with me and learns how to tackle customers than waste his time in school doing nothing.” Ramesh dropped out of school after Class III. He cannot recognise alphabets and letters and one wonders how he was promoted from his previous classes all the while.

“Looking at the alarming rates of drop outs between Classes III and V, we figured out that lot needs to be done to build the effective gap between classroom teaching and students’ learning. So in the various shalas, we basically aim to cater to the lack of knowledge gap among various kids by providing them with extra assistance and care, right from the beginning. For this, we began with ensuring that small children enrol themselves in government schools early on and simultaneously in helping the older kids retain their attendance in schools,” shares Ms. Lakra.

“Shala Poorv familiarises the children with the basics of language, numeracy and literacy skills. Once that happens, we help them to enrol in government schools. At Shala Arambh, Shala Madhya and Shala Samooh, we work rigorously to ensure that the children left behind in the process of learning are given adequate inputs to pick up pace with their other classmates,” Bhola Prasad, another associate with the projects, says.

Sunday 26 May 2013

Self-insight to healing

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/selfinsight-to-healing/article4750461.ece?homepage=true

Gautam Buddha discovered the meditation technique of Vipassana some 2,500 years ago. However, it was gradually lost to India. Fortunately, Myanmar preserved the technique through an unbroken chain of practitioners and teachers.
According to its practitioners, Vipassana leads to the development of insight into one’s own nature by which one may recognise and eliminate the causes of suffering.
Taking cue, medical practitioners believe that this development of self-insight helps patients of various psychological and mental disorders to delve deep into their own psyche to discover gradually the root cause of their sufferings within their own minds.
Mumbai-based Dr. Malti Sharan explains, “Often patients come with hallucinatory tendencies. Some are agitated beyond measure, always insecure about their well-being. More often than not the reason for their acute suffering resides outside their control…Through Vipassana, I have observed patients gradually get out of this frustrated attempt to blame other causes or people for what’s happening to them. And once that’s achieved, it is easier for medication to deliver benefits.”
Herself a severe migraine patient once, she shares, “My expanding business took a toll on my health. Migraine became a huge problem until I tried Vipassana. After some persistent practice, I discovered that this disease got cured permanently.”
Its practitioners believe that Vipassana sends message to the brain to calm it down — resulting in reduction of the intensity of mental restlessness or pain.
Dr. Anirban Malhotra maintains that by concentrated and neutral observation one can get rid of mild pains and body aches without any drug medication.
One of the techniques used is anapana-sati. It calls to observe one’s breath without any regulation or self modification over a triangular area between the nose and mouth. This, medical professionals believe, “allows one to sharpen the attention span without any stress”.
Shaswat, a IIT-Kharagpur student says, “With regular practice of Vipassana, I have discovered a huge leap in my attention and concentration span.”
Sonia Mangwana, a psychiatrist based in England and a regular practitioner of the meditation for seven years, observes, “The core philosophy of Vipassana that everything is impermanent, anicca, gradually informs the mind to treat desires and cravings as similar entities. And slowly, The patients who I recommend the same, learn to just observe even their greatest addictions as just a matter of time bound reality.”
What more, Vipassana was even taught to Tihar jail inmates. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has been reportedly planning to introduce the course in all Indian prisons.

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/selfinsight-to-healing/article4750461.ece?homepage=true

Wednesday 22 May 2013

No student is ‘average’

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/no-student-is-average/article4737932.ece

What defines an ‘average’ child? Does academic performance alone reflect the aptitude on every child? How many times does a child’s talents otherwise remain unexplored due to such blanket branding by society?

These issues are often discussed and debated at length by educationists, psychologists, policy makers and innovators at conferences on education across the country.

“The gap between the worlds of a child and an adult is so wide that often the problems of a child go unnoticed. I handle cases where often learning disorders go unidentified. This leads to low performance and the gradual branding of a child as an ‘average’ without realising that the process often leaves out the diverse potential untapped. Slowly, the pressures and the expectations of regular academic performance mount huge and lead to various behavioural problems within a child,” said Dr. Aruna Broota, a clinical psychologist.

Teachers point out the need to realise that each child is unique and that the education system must cater to their individual requirements. “At present, the monolithic model of trying to fit all sizes into one is something that we need to improve on,” said a teacher Rehana Siddiqui.

The importance of teachers and parents alike in helping the ‘average’ child cope with the demands of the time to emerge as successful professionals is paramount.

“The need of the hour is to build modules within the academic circles so as to tackle the twin problems of behavioural issues and academic mishaps,” said Jyotsna Bharadwaj, educator and facilitator at NCERT.
“In our various models in place in different institutions and organisations, we build up a support chain of teachers and psychologists to talk to students, identify their problem areas and tackle their issues at the levels of counselling, providing extra care and attention via tutoring and working with them,” added Deepinder Seekhon, director of Turning Point.

Several educationists feel that the idea of an ‘average’ child is more of a construct than a reality. And that it needs to be dismantled at the earliest.

Monday 29 April 2013

Inspired to change

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/inspired-to-change/article4660838.ece

A simple question, “Are you following your truth?” changed the world for Madhusudan Agarwal. Chasing their truths, Madhusudan and Meghna Agarwal, moved to the United States to learn film making. Later, they returned to India to find stories and co-found MAM Movies. For, according to Madhusudan, “Stories are important. What they tell is important.”
MAM Movies, media for social change, is a platform to bring about social transformation in a non-intrusive manner and film makers from all walks of life are encouraged to submit their works. “In a way, it is an attempt to sustain the spirit of that anonymous act of kindness which gifted me a camera with a smile card,” he says. This was when the duo, Meghna and Madhusudan, were on their way back to India after having learnt film making in the US.
A report by the United Nations that talked about the need for expression as one of the biggest needs of society propelled the initiation of a project SHE Creates. Girl students of 10-15 years from schools in Dharavi to international and public schools of Mumbai, were brought together to participate in a film making workshop and made short films on anything that attracted their interest. 
“We offered them cameras and asked them to just shoot on anything that struck them. Issues of human trafficking, dowry and female foeticide emerged on the reels. The confidence which they gained after having submitted their films about issues that they felt were very close to their hearts made them quite bold. Fuelled by this self confidence, girls from Dharavi later entered government offices with cameras and made sure that ration cards were issued on their names without delay and corruption. And that did happen,” says Madhusudan.
But MAM Movies, as an organisation, does not have an activists’ approach and they make films because it makes them happy, Madhusudan is quick to explain. It is an open source network of voluntary independent film makers.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/inspired-to-change/article4660838.ece