From a Teacher's Diary: January 2019

It was a cold winter morning with brisk wind blowing all around, undoing the sun’s efforts to keep the warmth. The day of Uttarayan also called Makar Sankranti which marks the change in the direction of sun. It was holiday for us and perfect morning to venture out. So, we quickly had our breakfast and grabbed our mufflers, scooted ourselves in the car and headed out for a short trip to city’s town park.

Town park, by its name, it seemed to be a sought after place in the past. Few cars were parked outside its gate, there were four to five peddlers selling snacks like bhujia, paavbhaji, bread pakoda etc. , at one corner there were bouquet of balloons, gleaming in the sun. All the peddlers were busy pepping their stalls for sales. The soap bubble stall was the center of attraction, its sales were highest, accessorised by the wind.

However, by observing intently one can infer that the upkeep of this park was in poor state , trees were lustureless, hedges were not maneuvered, there was stench in the water used for irrigating plants, rotting water standing in the kids play area.

A group of kids decked up in thick woolen clothes, of different age groups were busy playing on the swings, giggling, running jumping oblivious of their surroundings . Their mothers delightfully watching them play.

The liveliness of this park reminded me of my own childhood days in Allahabad. Our outing destinations in were mainly parks located in city. Of all the parks in the city ,we were specially fond of three of them - Bharadwaj park, situated in the middle of the city. This park enthralled with colourful stair fall right in front of entrance which was more appealing in the evenings, some elevated terrains to challenge our fitness, and lots of swings, Saraswati ghat, situated on the river side , shaped with giant mushroom shaped pillars ,there were large mezzanines where one can sit for hours and adore the vastness of the river, at its backside there was a small temple of lord Shiva , in the month of August that is ‘sawan’ during heavy rains when many devotees used to visit this temple, the river also grappled with them to touch the feet of diety.

The largest park located at the outskirts of the city was Nehru park. At the entry of this park there was a statue of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru mounted on a white platform, encircled by a small rose garden. This park used to attract many visitors especially in winters because of its major enticements like toy train, a small lake for sailing boats.

During winter vacations Nehru Park was our prime destination for outing with cousins and relatives who used to visit us. We loved spending time together playing , chatting, running, eating or just sitting and watching sunset , birds perching on the tree.Those were the days when obvious things of life were the important things . The sweet memories of these natural treats are still lucid in my mind , the panorama of Nehru Park, cheerful ,our jubliant faces ,sneaking out small goodies from Mother’s bag are some of the the priceless treasures of our childhood.

With the voice of my daughter calling me, the shimmer of the past melted into the presence and I regained my attentiveness. My 4 year old daughter have already joined the group of children playing on swings. Watching their innocence, purity of smile, I started contemplating about the relation between human and nature. I realised that children have a natural affinity towards nature.

The beauty of nature have a profound effect on their senses. Growing with regular contact with nature boosts healthy development, supports their physical and mental health. It instills abilities to assess risk as they grow. It even underpins their informal learning and academic excellence. The experience of the beautiful through the intellect may reinforce intrinsic values, grounded in its intelligible structure. The simple perception of natural forms is a source of contentment. These act as gateways from outer to the inner world.

Perhaps we are at nature deficit, we don’t have time to notice the birds calling, the bees buzzing and to enjoy the colours of the changing seasons in the local park, located right across our own street. Pressures of daily life make us increasingly detached from nature, even though nature in many forms is there for us, at our very doorstep. For instance we can grow certain vegetables and herbs at our home easily, but we rather purchase them , attributing time constraints.

It is very evident that our affinity towards nature tends to be knocked out as we grow. We come under the vicious circle of having more material by passing exams and getting a ‘proper job’.

In the era of mall culture , there is distorted presentation of reality. An impression comes out as if money is the only answer for seizing the true happines , which can be projected by clothes, cars, and so on, instead of personality and character. All these effects lead to an inevitable psychological concept of materialism which causes the majority of us to feel as if all other values are useless.

Its time - Lets take the ‘U’ turn :

Nature performs miracles everyday, gives us treat like great views , regulates weather provides fresh air and plentiful food. When running the tap or doing shopping its easy to forget that without healthy soils and diverse plant and animals species doing their things, our lives would be tougher and poorer.

Along with digital distractions and legitimate fears about playing outdoors, we are removing children from nature before our very eyes. ‘Who can blame them for thinking ‘Apple’ is a gadget first and a fruit second?.’

We are unknowingly removing the vital links in the safety chain of life, pulling away life’s building blocks in a risky global game of Jenga.

Many countries have now understood the importance of nature and have already started nurturing it. For example car-free villages of Switzerland, providing cycling paths, ample play area for kids , rich collection of fauna and flora like open flight aviary of Malaysia , biodiversity parks of South Africa etc. These places facilitate the children to have a closer connection with nature as they grow.

In the veil of development we are risking our own health and peace of mind. Its time to take the ‘U turn’ our before the sign board changes. Lets add some curiosity, a chunk of attention span, and a dollop of patience to savour the real taste of life.

Author : Shalini Tripathi

Email id: Shalinisharmacie@gmail.com

From a Teacher's Diary

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

From a Teacher's Diary: Why I don't read fairytales to my Daughter

From a Teacher's Diary: Why I don't read fairytales to my Daughter

Are ‘U’ ready to take the ‘U turn’ ?