Day 1 - Rendezvous with the first dozen

 

The night before the first-day session, I was rolling in the bed trying to figure out what to "teach". But the die has been cast. 

One thing, I was clear about: children should enjoy the session. Not pedagogy. I stuffed a notebook, a few pencils, eraser. Then, I remembered to tuck in two toffee pouches.

After parking the car, as I walked towards the Tower under construction where I met Ram Narain, I noticed him walking a few yards ahead. He did not notice me till I "hello"ed him.

"You go to the first floor where we met yesterday, I will send children," he said.

I climbed the stairs and kept my belongings, including a sheaf of daily newspapers I carried from home (I have no idea why I carried that), and two bottles of chilled water on the sewing machine serving as the table. I sat on the wooden plank wondering how to begin the class.

Suddenly, a burst of laughter and a thud of running I heard. I looked out of the wall-less veranda to notice a clutch of children racing to where I sat. My heartbeat zoomed! 

Namaste, I said. They echoed.

I counted them: They were eleven. None of them wore footwear. They came empty-ended: no notebook or some book. I did not expect them to bring. 

The introduction began. The eldest was 14. Most of them could not specify age. What about your birthday, I asked. A benign smile was their response. 

Where to seat them? The newspaper bundle I carried from home came in handy. They picked up, spread on the floor, and sat. 

They would have happily sat on the floor if there was nothing to sit on. Not fussy. Not worried about their clothes getting dirty. 

I was still twiddling my thumb. 

I have to begin somewhere. Still clueless.

Children were talking in hushed tones among themselves. What they said, I have no clue.

One thing was clear and apparent: they were cheerful and eager to participate.

Will I live up to their expectation? Doubts kept hammering me. 

Picking courage I said: "This is no ordinary classroom. My name is Ramesh. I am your teacher. ... and you're also my teacher."

The second party they did not grasp. It doesn't matter. They will understand as the session progresses.

My idea is to learn Hindi words from these children from some remote village in Chattisgarh. And in return, I will teach them simple English. Not grammar. But simple English words.

It turned out to be a good idea.

"We will sing. We will dance. We will tell stories. We will play games. We will do some physical exercise. and.... we will laugh a lot."

All smiled as a sign of approval, I think. 

Winning their approval and confidence was of paramount importance to me. I won the first round.