Why it is important to Vote this time ?

Dear Friends,

Hope you are doing good. Today I am not writing this as a representative from Youth Alliance but as an active citizen of India. We all have chosen the path which will surely bring social change in our country, it might happen in our lifetime, if not then I am sure that we will lay the foundation for coming generations.

I am writing here to talk about the basic right that we all have as citizens of India - Right to Vote. I believe that it is important for each one of us to exercise the right that has been given to us as a citizen. We are the ones who are trying to bring in some change and hence it becomes more important for us to have faith in the existing system and use the existing tools to innovate it for good. I think it is first time in our lifetime that we have seen such an upsurge in youth voices and so many youngsters coming out to demand their rights. This will become more meaningful if we go out tomorrow and exercise our right to VOTE.

I am writing this before Delhi election because Delhi has witnessed some change in the way politics has been done in our country ever before. I request you to sense the change that might be round the corner. First time in near history any election is being fought on development agenda and anti-corruption. Its not just about any party winning elections, it is more about how many people support or are ready for change. 

Having said this I request you all to go out and vote tomorrow. Mobilize your neighbors, friends and of course family and appeal them to vote. 

Please forward this to your friends and motivate them to go out and vote tomorrow.

Looking forward to see a better India in years to come :)

- Citizen First

Prakhar Bhartiya

Don't Act Pricey ; ))

Dear Friends,

Its been very long since I have shared something with you. Life after TFI has been very hectic, the days are passing like hours. Family and friends are being annoyed and they say that since you have come to Delhi you are being very busy or acting pricey ; )

What should I say.....don't have any words. I was always in love with her but never thought that it would also love me so much. Now we are mutual lovers, me and my sweet Delhi. My lover has embraced me so well that I don't get time for anything else. With so many plans in mind I came to Delhi on 6th of May this year. Joined my new job at NIIT Foundation and started working on the next project of Youth Alliance.

Just to remind you all Youth Alliance is something that was started during my college days. It has been desperate to move ahead but the two wonderful years at TFI gave it the time to mature and do something significant. Two months in Delhi and it launched its new initiative,"Samarpan" and a brand new website. Friends now you could have guessed where my time was going, why was I (rather am) so busy with my work. The idea behind Youth Alliance is to connect youth with a cause and Samarpan has already started doing it. Thinking what is Youth Alliance, what is Samarpan all about, today I will not tell you this, go visit the website find it out, there is a lot more for you(th) to explore there. (http://youthallianceofindia.org/).

At present I don't have any personal life, I take the work of YA as my personal work but all this apart the life has to move on, learning and unlearning have to continue. I thought who else knows me better than you, so thought to share it with you. In this fast track life between NIIT Foundation and Youth Alliance, I am preparing to plan it in a better way.

Here is my daily routine that I will follow from now (unless in case of a meeting or any emergency). You have to keep a check on it, whether I am following it or not because you want me to grow, you want me to prosper so this is important for me as well as you.

‎7:00 - exercise, newspaper
---- OFFICE----
6:30-7:30       - internet, email
7:30-8:00       - practice silence
8:00-9:30       - food, phone, entert.
9:30- 10:00    - internet
10:00-11:00   - YA/ study for GRE
11:00- 11:45  - Read
11:45 - GN     - internet,calls, write diary etc.


If you want to suggest something and improve do comment or contact me, would love to do so.


Love 
- Prakhar

Why I want to join Politics ?

Dear Friends,

My school was in front of a slum and as a 7 year old child I used to feel something different seeing that sight but would never understand why or what. I never shared this with anyone and just felt helpless. I always had goosebumps seeing slums and needy people. As I grew up, went to college and was capable enough of doing something for the people of that slum, I went back, back to the place from where the seed of giving back to the society was planted deep in my heart. During these years besides being a student, I worked for different social causes, founded an organization “Youth Alliance” and tried to learn the basic problems of society. At the age of 22, I was there, in front of my old school from where it all started. I asked them about their problems, convinced them to send the kids to school and helped them as much as I could.

But the need was endless, it was just 15 - 20 families in front of school and there are millions of such families in our country. I stepped back and thought why poverty is still prevalent in our country and that too at such a large scale. Why don’t we have clean drinking water? Why can’t we challenge illiteracy and throw it out ? And many other such questions came to my mind. I came up with many answers such as corruption, ineffective policies, corrupt politicians, government, lack of awareness (about our rights) among people etc. What struck me the most was politicians and government. Because it is the place from where policies are drafted and politicians are the people who have to execute them. A politician is elected by the people and hence he/she should be held accountable for their sufferings. I think that a person who has seen ground realities and can connect to the masses, their needs, can better help in framing policies and work for the upliftment of the under privileged.

I joined Teach For India, which addresses the issue of education inequity, the root cause of many problems in India, to enhance my personal skills as a leader and work at ground level to understand the basic issues and address them. I feel that it has provided me a platform to work along with committed, passionate and like-minded young people and I am learning a
lot from each one of them. Currently I am working in a government school and here I have learned a lot about our system, like how difficult it is to change an ineffective and redundant policy; the root cause of failure for great initiatives taken by government etc. And now my beliefs that there is a need to change our policies have strengthened. And I feel that this can be done only by active involvement of youth in politics. We are a very young nation and youth of our nation have immense potential, we have the potential to change our nation and give it a new shape. We can make India a healthy, educated and a safe place to live in. I dream of an India which is free from poverty, hunger, illiteracy, corruption; an India with no urban and rural divide; an India which is a safe place to live in; an India where liberty, equality, fraternity and justice is not just written in the constitution, come let’s make it true, together we can change our nation.

I want to be a part of political system and transform the system that caters to the needs of 1.2 billion people. Let’s change the definition of politics in India, let’s start the politics of development, ethics and values.

I am sharing all this with you because if over a period of time, I get drifted away from why I joined politics, you can support me and bring me back on my track.


“Service before Self”
-Love Bhartiya

Aspire, Achieve, Be the Change....!!!

Dear Friends,

It was a hard decision to leave the classroom which was all set and on track but keeping the larger picture in mind I think it was a good decision. A decision to shift to Mumbai and be a part of MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) transformation project. Again starting from scrap but with a year of experience in bag. This year apart from class there were some additional responsibilities of school management. Being a part of transformation project I have to be proactive and reach out to the HM and other teachers to know them better and lend them a helping hand. But all this would be effective only when my classroom is a model classroom.

Learning levels were extremely low; kids were at least 2 to 3 grade level below their current level. There were so many groups within class, few were able to read but a few don’t know ABC… . We started together with a name “Superstars” which later became “Team Superstars”. My basic focus was phonics and numbers. It was challenging but interesting to notice rapid improvement in few of them. Few of the kids such as Adarsh, Jayant, Khansa, Sahil etc have shown tremendous improvement in last three months, their reading fluency has doubled, they can write a short passage and have started talking in broken English. I feel phonics has helped them a lot, apart from this I have tried to cultivate that desire or hunger to study or for knowledge which helps me in pushing many kids. To motivate them I call my friends in classroom so that kids can meet in person and further establish their belief on what they want to become. In our class we have inspiring quotes all around.
When you enter the class these are the words written in front: ASPIRE, ACHIEVE, BE THE CHANGE and kids have to follow the following procedure every day. They have to look at one word and think the following:

1. Aspire: Enter the class, look at it and rethink want you want to become.

2. Achieve: Now look at it and think, are you working hard, to get what you have aspired.

3. Be The Change: Now think what change you can bring in your family and surrounding by achieving what you have aspired..!!!

If I look at my class now, I feel that there are at least 8 - 10 kids who want to study now and work very hard to compete with the top ones and it is really satisfying to push a kid from middle level to upper level. But there is always a flip side of the coin. I still struggle with nearly 10 kids because of one of the following reason: attendance issue, three have learning disability and lack of 1 -1 attention from my side. But I am very hopeful that at least I have authority over attendance and 1-1 attention which I will be solving in coming month. Home visit and investing parent is the best way to address attendance issue.
Visiting community is always a great experience it shows me the background from where my kid is coming, the atmosphere he lives in and thus gives me enough knowledge to plan how I should deal with that particular kid in class and his mindset. They mostly live in hard conditions; a 10 * 10 feet house with 5 siblings is the general trend in my kid’s communities. There is a lot to learn from kids and their community, how they search for their happiness from their daily miseries, how they come school laughing and dancing when they know that they will be beaten back home, when they know that today again their parents would quarrel, when they know that today it is his turn to be awake till late night because few of them have to sleep in shifts due to lack of space….. . Now how can I scold a sleeping kid in my class because I don’t know the reason why is he sleeping. They are with me for six hours a day and I have just one target in my mind to make these six hours special for them, six hours filled with fun, love, energy, excitement and learning. So, that they come next day with same excitement and forget the pain (if any).

This year working in Municipal School’s transformation project gave me an opportunity to work closely with other teachers and HM and through that I have learned a lot about the system and teacher’s mindset. The biggest learning is that there is no one in the system that supports the teachers or acknowledges their problems. It is always top down, instructions come from top and teachers have to follow them. And the result is that they just follow the instructions, nothing else. The teachers have great talent and they are very receptive to feedback, ideas or change but this happens only if you can build trust and a strong relationship with them. I feel that I have a great rapport with nearly all the teachers and HM of my school. Love, humility and empathy were the simple tools that helped me in building this relationship. Now, we have a staffroom, mini canteen and a resource centre working effectively at school. One of the best compliments ever said to me was said by my HM, “Sir, we have started laughing and happiness is around since you have come to the school. Thanks for being with us.”These words were like handing over the baton to me and I personally feel a lot more responsible since then.

I am enjoying my days at TFI, as the time is passing by; my hunger to give more to kids is increasing. At times I feel just six months are left in fellowship but sometimes I also feel six months and then I will be out to do a lot more to bring a systemic change. At TFI and being in classroom my self belief has strengthened that yes “I CAN”, I can see my timeline to complete my plans is shortening. I feel myself to be more motivated, planned and structured. At times I feel overwhelmed and get confused what next but I know in coming months I will chose the best thing for me and my classroom. I always feel privileged to have such great friends in and out of TFI and an active staff who is always ready to help.

Excited for the coming days.

Service before self
Love Bhartiya

Letters To My Friends 9 "Towards the End of Year: 1"

Dear Friends,

I wrote this letter on 13 April 2010 in Pune, when I was about to complete one year as a teacher. It was a sad period of time as I have to leave my current class "Superstars" and shift to Mumbai for another project within TFI.

13 April 2010, Pune.

In the last few months I have learned few basic things which I think a teacher should know and especially those who are teaching kids with challenged back ground. These kids suffer with few basic problems or the word “problem” is not correct it should they don’t know what they are capable of. They are fond of love and attention. They need a helping and caring hand and a shoulder on which they can rest their head when in problem. As they come from diverse and challenged background their exposure to the modern world or facilities of the world is nil. So, in this case extrinsic rewards work like anything. What I have observed and noticed in my class and by talking to other fellows around, small rewards to kids increase their confidence level to a new high every time. (But one should be very specific while choosing the kids for the reward; it should never hurt other kid’s DIGNITY)

I would like to share a few examples from my class. Preeti was a very shy girl at the starting of the year but was capable of doing much better. I had few conversation with her, went out for field trips etc. and her interest in academics kept increasing. She became a role model for others in class, she improved so much that in the last exams she ranked 1st in class. Pratap, Mustafussdin were two boys who tried hard but were unable to deliver what they were capable of. Regular mentoring, 1 – 1 conversation gave them the required confidence and they started delivering in the class. Nikita a very quite girl and was very weak in academics, gained her confidence in class when she secured good marks in a class test and I personally greeted her and boosted her in class. Then I took her to a field trip to a Bookshop (Landmark), discussed few things over there with her. And her investment in class rose to a record high, now she is doing very well in class. I called her mother and told her about the improvement in her.

This is one of the biggest successes for me related to any individual kid. Abhay was a very naughty boy, always engaged in mischievous acts with other boys of class. But I always believed in him that he is capable of doing wonders in class. I changed his seat and allotted his seat with Preeti(as a part of buddy system in my class), then took him out for lunch. We had a long chat and I felt that this boy can do wonders in class if he focuses properly in class. He secured good marks in one of the test, which boosted his confidence. During my differentiation strategy in class he was the one who completed the work first. One day I was telling them about series, so, as a challenge problem I gave them to find the next two nos. in the series of square of natural nos. (this happened just before lunch). All kids were playing around but a few were busy in class solving the challenge problem. Abhay came up to me with a solution, it was correct. I was very happy but the most amazing thing was that he did it in a way I have also not thought and it was correct. Now, in the last exam he was among top 5 and he also works as a role model for others.

But there is always a flip side of the coin, I have few kids in my class for whom I feel that I have not done enough justice to them. It can be due to a large class size of 50 kids or due to a fact they were far back then their grade level. Moin, Imtiyaaz, Umar, Sohail are a few who were unable to show great change in their academic level during the past year. Yet I would say that they have changed a lot in their behavior. Moin and Umar being mentally challenged are still few grade levels below class 3. I think I should have made a separate investment plan for these kids during the starting of year but as it was my first year in teaching I was also not so expert. But now I plan to make a separate investment plan for such kids in my next academic year.

I am of the thought that it is better to improve the system rather than criticizing it. For me school should be a place where the focus should be on kids and they should be the centre point. It is place that if the system over here is changed and it runs with sole motto of proving learning to kids then it can change lives of hundreds of thousands of kids passing through it. I started interacting with teacher and Principal of my school once I was well set. I started going to different classes, interacted with them. Slowly I came to know that it’s not only the fault of teachers here, they are over burdened with clerical work, that has been given to them by the government. For a newly appointed teacher the salary is 3,000/ Rs. for next 3 years. How can someone work with great efficiency and commitment when his daily needs can’t be fulfilled by his salary. He will take tuitions, avoid teaching in school and I personally don’t think that it is wrong in such case. These are the things that provide him extrinsic motivation and so they go for it. I had 1 – 1 conversations with different teachers and they came up with different issues or the loop holes of the system. A teacher has to pay 2 – 3 lakhs as bribe for getting the job after he/she is selected in the merit list of exam and after that they get a salary of 3,000/ Rs. for 3 years. Nearly all the teachers at my school have paid that, just for the sake of government job.

I would like to share an incident with a teacher at my school. The teachers are with so rigid mindset that corporal punishment is very important. So, once I was having a chat and the other teacher was not ready to accept that kids can be taught without corporal punishment. I gave him the example of my class, Aniket’s(other fellow from TFI) class told him that we are new to this field but still manage our class with it. I stressed on set consequences rather than beating them. Talked to him about the background from where these kids come, the love they want and deserve from us. And finally he promised me not to beat kids and I hope he follows in class.

As the days in class are passing by I am finding myself to be a much more matured and responsible person. I feel as if the targets that I have set for myself are changing and are becoming much harder, as I push my kids in class, something pushes me also to achieve more than what I had desired previously and that to in less time. I feel as if I have developed a teacher in myself which teaches my soul of what is right or wrong. Now I try to practice what I preach. I am more open towards feedback and readily accept and try to change myself if required. Now I reach out to someone not only to take something from him but also give him or help him in the way I can. My friends find a matured person in me and ask for my views on different issues.

Finally once again I would say that it’s an incredible journey. I enjoyed my first year and as I move forward in the second year of teaching I have set new benchmark for myself and my kids. Together we will reach the places never travelled before. Looking forward to the next year….!!!!


Thanks a lot for support.
With love "Service before Self"

-Bhartiya

Letter to My Friends- 8 " Lead by Example"

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year...!!! May the year and life ahead bring about positive changes in your life and you achieve all what you deserve. Today I would share my thoughts about inspiration, what changed me as a human being and will hope that you read through till last and give back your responses.

            “INSPIRATION” which means a lot and has a great impact on anyone’s life. It is like a flash of lightening and can come from anywhere even a small child can inspire you or a very small incident that occur in our day to day life and sometimes you might see a lot happening around but nothing effects you. For me it is a process which continues inside us and keeps reforming through various things happening in our life. It happens through internal reflection and that can be done only if you give time to yourself.  Sometimes we see a movie and are highly inspired by it or we read a story about someone and get influenced, we get inspired in numerous ways.  BUT the big question is, “FOR HOW LONG DO WE KEEP OURSELF INSPIRED OR MOVING FORWARD?”

            I think to keep ourselves inspired we have to undergo the process of reflection regularly or have a co-investigation with our inner self. We have to find out meaning in our actions, not just to satisfy us but to give us the pleasure or energy or an internal boost to face the challenges that occur in our day to day life and to keep ourselves motivated to work for our BIG GOAL.  During the past couple of years I have learned to thank each and every person or  thing around me, that I am related to or sometimes not. In October I met Geet  Sethi (Billiard Champion), he is an incredible man. He shared something, that I would like to share today. He told me that after every match he plays he thanks to each and every person related to him from the man who has made the billiard table to the man who has designed the stick for him and that too no matter what is the result of the game.(Thanks giving doesn't actually mean searching for that person and then saying Thankyou, it is often internal). His wife Kiran Sethi (runs a school RIVERSIDE) told us that after the construction of their school building they hosted a party for the workers and each and every person involved in building that school. Think how many of us would do so. So, these little things inspire us and show us the right way of approaching the life.

            I would like to share my greatest inspiration after which I thought to give back to the society in whatever way I could. It was an incident that has changed me a lot. During my first year of college I was a very arrogant, over confident guy. People called me “NETA” and my friends gave me a title “SARKAR”.  I had some quality of inspiring people around me but never actually realized this before this incident.  One day I was sitting with my friends and then a guy came he was a bit irritating and showy and I was an arrogant guy, so,  suggested my friends to do something against him and came up with a horrible idea of stealing his mobile, just like that without thinking anything I suggested this to my friends. I was mature enough to think that this is not right but I don’t know what happened I suggested this. But I was not pretty serious about it that we will do it because we were talking in a funny atmosphere. After sometime I went to a friend’s room on another floor and slept there. After a couple of hours news broke in the hostel that a mobile has been stolen. As it came to my ears I was shocked and went to my friends and found that it was true, they did this. For a moment I felt as if what to do. But again I ignored it and without taking the responsibility of the act just passed it away.

            But that incident had left an impression in my mind that I was responsible for it because I was the one who suggested them, it doesn’t matter whether I was serious at that time or not but the truth was that I have suggested them to steal. I was not having the courage to take the responsibility of the act. But my mind was unstable for many days after that and I went under constant  internal reflection and finally realized that if I have good leadership skills and can motivate anyone around me then why not do something good for society or my college. And here began the change in me. In the coming years I tried to develop myself as a humble person and learnt humility, which I think is the most important value for a good leader. I tried to become a very good listener, observer and respect others feelings. By the end of college life I think I was a totally different person, there were people around who were with me and lastly I was pleased with whatever I did in the last couple of years of college. I had a way to convince even the toughest person and had patience to tolerate the most difficult situation.

Today on the occasion of my 25^th birthday, I am relieved sharing it openly with all because it has caused a lot of pain in my heart. I learnt a lesson from this act which has changed not only me but has affected many persons connected to me and I promise you all that it will change many more lives in coming years. So, this is a small story of “How Change Begins” or “How One Can Be Inspired” by small incidents. I don’t know what you all must be thinking after reading this. But in a way I am thankful to that guy and all my friends who did that and without them I would have not changed a bit. Thanks a lot, I owe you all. Thanks for supporting me for whatever I did and suggested.

                                 

                        “Be the Change you want to see in the world” --  Bapu

--
With Love 

Prakhar Bhartiya

"Service Before Self"

Letter to My Friends-7 " Don't be a leader, be a ladder"

Hello Friends,

How are you all? It’s long since I have written my last letter. There were two reasons for the delay, firstly I pretended to be very busy to myself and hence follows the second that I did so because currently  I am working on a project.

You all will feel very happy as you go down the page. To start with I would like to tell about the project I am working on (I am very eager to share with all my friends). Together with two TFI fellows, I am working on to establish a model school for low- income community. It would be a family school and will address all the problems of low income community. In the morning it would be a learning centre for kids and later in the afternoon it would be a Community Learning Centre where we would conduct various workshops and training such as Nutrition, health, sanitation, child abuse, alcoholism, ways to augment their income and literacy training for elders. During our recent exposure to slums we figured out few reasons of why kids lack behind despite of our tremendous efforts in the classroom. One of them is that they are with us for 6 hrs. and for remaining 18 hrs. they are either with their family or community which completes their whole world. So, we felt important to change their world outside the classroom and hence came up with the idea of model school. Our future plan is to replicate the model in other cities of country, if it is successful.

So, regarding our project we were meeting many educators, social workers and visiting best schools throughout the country to get an insight of what is learning. As a part of this process we reached Ahemdabad- The City of Gandhi. We met Kiran Sethi of Riverside School, Sunil Handa of Eklavya, Amitabh of Yuva, Madhusudan of Mammovies etc. and the most inspiring one Jayesh Bhai of Manav Sadhna & Anar Behen of Gramshree.

For me Jayesh Bhai is today’s Gandhi, he operates his NGO from Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati, keeping alive the principles of Truth and Ahimsa. It was Christmas Day and the best Christmas of my life. We worked with 70 leprosy patients.  We accompanied them to Akshardham in the morning and there took place an incredible incident which moved me from head to toe, the patients who were mostly beggars took out 10 -15 Rs. from their pocket and gave them as offering in the temple. I was startled seeing this and their belief in God, inspite of their sufferings. Then we served lunch to the patients, after the lunch we sat down to have a discussion. They were so happy and all were saying that it is their happiest moment of life. After that we went to Science City in Ahemdabad, saw a 3-D movie at IMAX with them, it was a great exp.  for me also . In a scene stone was falling down and it felt that it will fall on us, at that moment I have also closed my eyes. After movie we ate ice-cream, shared some happy and sad moments with them. They were so relieved and happiness was visible in their eyes.

Jayesh Bhai says, “Don’t be a leader, be a ladder”, which speaks a lot of his personality. His humility and passion to help poor’s works as an inspiration not only to me but to many. He works with more than 6000 kids and women and the best thing is that he knows most of them by name.

Once again I would urge all my friends to come forward and share their part of responsibilities. At the end I would leave a question, which I have read somewhere, “Why to wait for a Sunami or earthquake or flood to happen, when half the nation lives in disaster every day ???”

Will soon get my next letter... about “What inspired me to became a part of CHANGE?”  

My Journey TFI

If I think back on my decision to join Teach For India, I would say that it’s the wisest decision of my life. I think that I am at the right place at right time. I feel myself to be privileged to get an opportunity to feel such wonderful experience at a mere age of 24, working with such dedicated and highly professional group is a respect for me.

I feel a great change in my mindset, skills, personality etc. during past 5 months. Now I dare to think large and work on it to execute it. It  feels amazing when you can see measurable growth for what you have been working 24*7 i.e. the kids with whom you are working. Now my life revolves between the 50 kids of my class, my all lows & highs are part of my class. I would like to describe the two scenes of my class now and then:

15 June 2009 :  My first day in Class

I entered the class, a bit tensed, a bit excited, it was my first day in class. As the strength was low so, I shared my class with my fellow teacher Aniket, both of us were excited. It gave us a clear picture of what we are into. The kids were violent, abusing, fighting, playing here and there and not at all listening to us. So, the challenge was clear. The first thing that came to my mind was how to make them a better human being and make my class a group of civilized students. Academically they were years back of their grade level. For the first few days I tried to figure out the different groups in my class, like the violent kids, academically sound kids etc. then decided to focus on them. I tried to make a bond with them loved them, played with them tried to know them better, consulted about their background from different teachers and it helped. After a struggle of few weeks things were changing in the class.

Now, 31 October 2009

Today my kids consider me as a guide, as a elder brother, as a friend, as role model, as a mentor and I try to appear in front of them in the way they want me to. I am happy to switch my roles if they are comfortable with me in any of the roles at different times. My class, which I consider to be a class of gentlemen is a team of SUPERSTARS. They have changed drastically since June, now they remain quite and do their work even if I am not in class.

Keertana who has never spelled a word for months now tries to speak in English, she talks to me like a friend. Sandesh’s mother complains me about the fact that he writes diary at home for hours and has filled two copies writing dairy. Now he has the confidence to speak in front of anyone without hesitation. Saniya wants to come to school even if she is sick. Shahid who was considered to be mentally retarded by the school administration spells the longest word of English language before anyone in the class. There are many more such incidences. But the challenges are not over, we have to travel a long way. Imtiyaaz is still violent, Hitesh never opens the book at home, Sonali keeps smiling but never studies. So, challenges are still there but we will overcome all as the time passes.

I consider these small happiness’s as a landmark and enjoy them all. At times I get very upset and it becomes very difficult to bear the pressure and I am thankful to everyone around me for supporting me during these lows. It was not possible to come so far without the support of my principal, teachers at school,  Aniket( other fellow from TFI in my school), Sapan (my Program Manager) & staff from TFI, other fellows at TFI, my friend who always support me from outside, my family and always being with me my 50 kids.

I have to go a long way with my kids and want to see each of my kid at the top. Sometimes I feel that I am not teaching them but they are teaching me different ways of life and I feel that it’s true in a sense because they have seen a lot more than me, the struggle that they face in their daily life has made them stronger than me. The way I used to think about different issues has changed a lot. When I go to a kids house and see the conditions in which he is living, I feel as if its not his fault if he is scoring less or is abusing or is violent and its true. After seeing all this I have to change my way of talking to kids, now I treat them differently, I apply differentiation even in the way I talk to my kids during 1 -1 conversation and it is helpful.

It’s a incredible journey till now and hope so coming days.

Letter to My friends- 5

Dear Friends,

I miss you all a lot, I have learned a lot from all of you and now being so far away, I remember the time when we were connected in some way or other. Sorry for being late again, during the last week I was busy in Joy of Giving Week. I & my Superstars took part in it by running a Plantation Drive at our school which was a barren land before it and now there are more than 26 plants in our campus. On October 2, I took part in an event “Be the change- COME ALIVE”, in this I was the facilitator of the group  “Talk to People”. In my group I was with 6 other persons (Age Group 23- 47 years) and we all were stranger for each other, except one of my seniors from college Rahul Gupta. He came all the way from Baroda to take part in the event. It was a different experience; we shared experiences of different persons on road. Then I was a part of a Free Hug Campaign, which gave a unique feeling and it was rocking.

   So due to planning and executing these events, I was bit busy during last couple of weeks. Once again I am with a piece of letter which is the continued part of the last one. Please recall that one before you go through it.

In the previous one I was sharing about what I saw on the eve of Ganesh Visarjan and then the sight of gambling.

     As I was crossing the lane and moving forward to take an auto, I was struck by a totally different scene, something that I have heard many times but never seen it. The sound of dhol’s  of Ganesh Visarjan could still be heard but the sight was not the normal one, I was in a Red Light area and shocked at the sight. Three different situations in a diameter of 200m. Hundreds of prostitutes standing in a line with a misery on their face, compelled into a job that is considered to be the most hated one. They seemed like a parrot in the cage, who wants to fly away but the owner has cut the wings. I keenly observed the sight from the auto and what I figured out was that it is not a profession by choice, they are forced in it. It seemed to me as a profession made by us but still abused by us. But the greatest misery was the Police Station at the end of that lane.

     When I tried to get more information about the situation over there, I came to know that most of the girls there are transported from Bangladesh, China and North- East India. There are more than 1000 of prostitute’s in that region and major portion of the customers are students. This means that our present generation is getting into such obsessions, which are bad not only for them but also for the nation. In my regard if not controlled then the situation can be similar to the one Britisher’s created by the growth and sale of opium at least for the city of Pune.

  I was quite disturbed by these thoughts and in fact I am still.....

We need an effort to change these conditions. It’s our nation and we have to take the charge. Our young blood is capable of making a new developed and prosperous India, the only thing we need is a push and that we have to generate in ourselves. Our culture ( Sanskriti) will protect us until we keep our culture in built in us.

At last I would urge:

                                       BE THE CHANGE – COME ALIVE

Letter to My friends- 4

Hello Friends,

I pray to God that this letter finds you in best of your health. It’s long since I have mailed the last letter. The days are hectic here but it is still full of joy, learning and happiness. My class is progressing at a good pace , kids are learning new things and teaching me more than what I teach them. It feels great to be with them, the day finishes as if a couple of hour have passed.

    Today I would talk about a different thing not about kids, nor about the leadership forums, nor about my experiences at Teach For India, but I will share something that many of us must have felt at different modes of our life.

It was the celebration of Ganesh Visarjan, which is celebrated with full enthusiasm in Maharashtra and my first year at Maharashtra. So, I was out on roads to watch the culture forgetting Swine Flu, without a mask I was with a crowd nearly 10,000 people. Roads were blocked for kms. everywhere just one sound “Ganapati Bappa Morya...” It was first time I have seen such a massive and dedicated crowd gathered not to see a politician or a celebrity but to sing and pray together. Everything was fine but all of a sudden I found that the sound of “Ganapati Bappa Morya...” was lowering down in my ears, though I was standing right there, my soul was there but my mind was somewhere else. There was all together a different thought going in my mind and the question was:  Why is the man mad in the rat race of money, when real happiness lies somewhere else?

I messaged the question to few of my friends but no one replied, it might be no one knew the answer or everyone is after money. I also don’t know why was I thinking so, but that question still annoys me a lot. Over there I was seeing people dancing, singing, enjoying forgetting all their sorrows and misery they were enjoying life, I too was very engaged until this question crept in my mind. All these thoughts were floating in my mind but then also the scene over there was mesmerizing and at last after a long time I decided to go back home. It was a wonderful evening.

     But there was a lot to see today. As I was leaving from there, in the very next lane there was a lottery shop, wide open and people drinking and gambling there. You can understand the adversity of the two tremendously different situations. Once again it portrayed the diversity of our society, how different the conditions are for people from different strata’s of our society, one side it is Lord Ganesha and the other side is the gambling corner. These conditions often disturbs my mind but trying to change the things around him man starts living in those conditions and becomes a part of it.

  It was not the end, I saw something and that sight was new to me, the scene was like a hammer on my mind. I realized that real scene and  something read in a book are quite different and they have different impact also.....

              Its long for now and I know that many of us avoid such long mails.... So, will continue in the next and this time very soon.

Till then reflect and suggest me the answers.... !!!

All the Best

Letters to My Friends 3

Dear Friends,
                       How are you all ? I am enjoying here and learning a new lesson each day. Each day brings a new message, full of life, it gives a new way to see through opaque sides of life. Day by day I am getting younger , more patient, more creative, more responsible, more hard working, more ….. . Its great to be with 51 odd kids who don’t know what the life is outside their slums, they have heard about pizza’s, burger etc. , but don’t know its shape. Some times my heart cries when they come to class with a mark of wound on their face, when they tell about their family (one kid told me that his father is living with other women and has left his mother and him behind to live in rags, other says, my father comes home drunk and beat my mother and me), such instances can shake anyone that a kid of 9- 10 years has to face all these things at his house, girls have to prepare food for all the family member.
                     I would request all my readers to come forward and look around may be a child needs your helping hand to stand on his feet to see the different colors of life. Its never late in life, like popular hindi saying, “Jab jagoo tabhi savera.”  It never costs you something rather in return you will get a thing which you can never buy-- INNER SATISFACTION.
                     Life is a long race and we have the capacity to win it. I would like to quote a conversation of one of my fellows and a kid:
Fellow- Why did you come late for school?
Kid- Bahiya, the auto had a puncture and we had to stop to get the puncture repaired.
Fellow- You should have been put in another auto. Tomorrow I am going to scold your autowala.
Kid- Bhaiya, the autowala is my father.

                 THINK…
Think about our roles in society, what difference can we make……                     
I have attached a letter that is one of the best gift for me....!!!

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Letters to My Friends 2 "A Leader is one who can convert Private dreams, into Public reality"

Dear All,
             Hi, once again I am here with one more letter. I hope you all liked the previous one and think the same for this also.
I would like to share few effects of TFI at my school. At my school other teachers have started teaching kids as they were seeing me highly invested in my class. I move inside my class at 7:30 and come out at 12:15 only not before that and this thing has moved the teachers there a lot.
          The tactics that I use, my investment in my class, posters, the praises of parents and my Principle and other stuff had brought change in them also and finally they have started teaching in their class. Today I saw a few posters in other class also which had the same quote as in my class, I was happy with the change. As I was coming out of the office I heard a teacher saying 1,2,3...  which I  use in my class to grab the attention, I was so pleased by these effects. My class was changed this week so, I have to decorate my class again with all that stuff, for this reason I went to my old class to take out my posters and all. As i went in the class I saw the teacher sitting quietly and kids having fun among selves, as I was taking out my charts the teacher stood up and  asked the kids to open certain page of a book, a smile was on my face and I was so pleased at that moment. I hope you all can imagine and share my happiness. These are the small things but they give you great confidence.
    Going through different Leadership forums I met a speaker and one of his quotes made space in my heart, "A Leader is one who can convert Private dreams, into Public reality" and I think it is true.
Its great to see the changes in just two weeks, and hope can bring great changes in coming yr.

This Sunday I m having a party with 4 of my kids who did well in last two weeks, we will see a movie and have a lunch, its a reward for their hardwork . I will talk in detail about my class in one of the coming letter, its different from a conventional class.


Please give me some responses if you like these letters and can get something out of them.
    

Prakhar Bhartiya

Letters to My friend 1

Dear friends,
How are you. I m fine here and hope the same for u. I just wanted to share a few things with you which I have have learnt in my last few days with Teach For India.
The days here were really hectic during training we have to work for 15- 16 hrs. a day and then I have to come back to Ghaziabad to give my exam for my final semester( I have cleared my exams with 72%). So, it was really hectic but yes thats life, its not only me.
I met here with many personalities of diverse field, they were a great source for inspiration for all of us there.I would talk about Fellows first, we are 87 in no. but they are all uncountable in thoughts, each of them has something special to share. Apart from them we were introduced to leaders from different fields like Education, Corporate, NGO, Bollywood etc. They all came had sumthing good to give us.
To start with I would like to share a few thoughts with all of you, Aditya Natraj of Ghandhi Fellowship, he selects 12- 20 fellows each year from best college of our country mainly IIT and IIM and they are given proper training who further give training to Principals of Primary School. The fellows here have to live in villages and during the last month of their fellowship they have to live without mobile phones, laptop or any electronic gadget and live life like the other people in that village and I think it would be challenging and life changing experience.
One of them gave the idea of being a lightening conductor in other word take the sorrow of other and convert it into pleasure and return them, its very rare but we can try to do it.He told us to have a positive ego and just be strong enough to change the life of as many people as you can around you.Mostly all had the same thing in different word but the stories they shared had a great impact and I would share those with all of you because you all have great potential and you have the calibre to change tihs world. I am in a net cafe and have bad speed at keys so will continue next time.....

Sry frinds I would continue my series of letter with you but just now its time to go.


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Prakhar Mishra
Class Teacher Grade 3 (Superstars)
82G, Sant Gadge Maharaj School,
Kondhwa,
Pune.