Continuing Cold Wave

When the sun finally shone through at 10:30 yesterday, I was quite convinced that it was the end of the cold spell that we had been experiencing. But once it set, the icy winds took over and it became much colder than before. In fact, so cold that Bhola lost two cows last night and some people had to be rushed to Godda for treatment. Fortunately, all is well on the project and warm enough. Amie, Dani and Tak spend most of their time indoors when the sun is not out. They're ok. Shanku and Suman spend their time in the kitchen and so they are warm. Bhola seems warm enough and even though I spend most of the time on the veranda on the swing Dani and Tak brought me, I am warmly clad. Yesterday Bhola showed me how to tie a muffler like a helmet! It's great. Only my nose gets cold now.

Attendance was poor yesterday and I am not blaming the kids for not showing up in this weather. But their absence had more to do with the ongoing Sohari festival rather than the cold. In fact, most tribals are dancing around in this cold with hardly any warm clothes on! I guess the tons of Mahua that they drink keeps them warm. And even if they are cold they are too drunk to notice! But I think yesterday was the last day of festivities in this area. The drums are silent today. Perhaps attendance will improve.

Tomorrow is Saraswati Puja. Bhola is excited. But I am not looking forward to fasting till 10:00 and also having a bath in this weather. Maybe I will "cheat"! I'll simply sprinkle some Ganga Jal (Ganges water) on my head to purify myself in order to perform that Puja. Bhola, who is not a brahmin seems to believe a lot more in all this! Shanku and I ( both supposed to be brahmins) don't believe in fasting or bathing when it's cold! However, with Shanku one never knows -- he was probably agreeing with me just to please me!

Let's see what the weather gods do today. If this weather persists, we will change the school timings. We could move everything back by an hour and start school at 9:30 instead of 8:30. Wonder if that is be much help. It's cold throughout the day.

Gray and Gloomy

Yet another gray and gloomy day. No sun for the third day. And icy winds continue to blow. I wonder when it's going to clear up. It's Basant Panchami day after. It's a day for rejoicing. But if such weather conditions prevail, we won't even be able to celebrate Saraswati Puja.

There's something seriously wrong with the thermometer we have on the veranda. On Saturday when it was showing 12 degrees, it was actually 6 degrees in Godda Town. Which means it must have been at least 4 degrees in Roldih. No wonder we were all freezing! I am sure the last two days have been colder still! My fingers are frozen!

We didn't expect too many children to show up. But they have all come to school. There are, of course, a few absentees. But that happens even on a normal day. So school is in progress at the moment. Today, instead of assembly (which is held indoors if the weather is bad), the Amie, Dani and Tak made them do some "warm up" exercises. It's an excellent idea.

Sunday was a lazy day as usual. Because of the lousy weather, no one engaged in the usual weekly chores -- clothes washing, bathing, etc. Everyone stayed indoors -- all because of the icy winds. The cold would be much more bearable without it. The wind chill factor is probably zero.

The cold got to me last evening. I feet felt like ice and I just couldn't keep my eyes open. So I decided to go to bed early and skipped dinner. I had eaten a lot of peanuts and so my stomach was full anyway. I'm glad I slept early because now I am feeling fine.

Shanku returned yesterday. He arrived in the afternoon and took over the kitchen duties almost immediately. Bhola had gone home Saturday evening and arrived in the evening after doing the marketing at Agiya Mor Haat.

The day is still young. But one look at the mist outside and one gives up any hope of seeing the sun today. It's really very depressing.

No sun, and hence no solar power. We haven't been able to recharge the batteries for the past three days. They are almost depleted. I hope we'll have light in the kitchen tonight. And of course we are unable to recharge our laptops. This is probably the last entry till the sun shines again. So if you are enjoying sunny weather, please ask the sun shed some of its rays here too!

Panchami Confusion

Apparently, the 5th day of Basant (Vasant) is actually the first day of spring! Confused? I am. But that's what I have been told -- Basant Panchami marks the start of spring. Makar Shankranti marks the sun's journey northward. But is the winter solstice supposed to mark that? Anyway, it doesn't matter. What really matters is that it's freezing cold today and it seems winter is here to stay a while longer.

It's misty and damp and clammy and cold. So we have a Sunday without the sun. The icy winds are blowing and the cold is really bone-chilling. When will we get some respite? What makes it worse is that it had started warming up on Makar Shankranti and then this cold wave simply descended out of nowhere and it looks as if it's here to stay.

I have enough warm clothes on. But my fingers are frozen. So I asked Bhola to get me some gloves. He said there are none available as they have all been sold out! People are buying up whatever warm clothes they can!

Yesterday the thermometer on the veranda showed 12 degrees. Today it is showing 11 degrees. So it's getting colder instead of getting warmer. Of course, one can't trust that thermometer as it showed 14 degrees when the newspapers reported that it was 8 degrees in Godda!

The volunteers stayed indoors yesterday. I don't blame them. Unfortunately my room is rather cold and so I found it more comfortable to sit out on the veranda. I was hoping to do some washing today. But I guess there's no chance of doing that in this weather. Looks like it's going to be a long and boring day.

The First Day of Basant

School has started, but attendance in quite thin. And I certainly don't blame the kids for not showing up for school. It's cold, misty and there's a freezing wind blowing. Some of the children have to walk long distances and so perhaps they found the weather daunting. I almost declared a holiday today. But then realized that a lot of the children would have to walk back in this freezing weather. They will be warmer in the classrooms.

Nursery in two shifts is working out well. But of course there was some confusion too. Yesterday, some children who belonged to the first session, showed up for the second session. Bhola sent some of them home. But a few burst into tears and so were allowed to sit in class. I guess it will take a while for the routine to set in.

Yesterday at about 11:30 some desperate and distraught parents from Burhikura came to me to ask for permission to take their kids home because of the solar eclipse! The Hindus don't eat during the eclipse and all sorts of superstition is woven around it. Some feel that the children would go blind if they are outdoors. Some others believe that girls would become infertile if they walk in the sun during this period. I tried to explain that they should not believe in such nonsense in this day and age, but finally decided to let some of the children go home. The Santhals, who should be more superstitious, don't believe in any ill effects! They stayed on for the last class. So did Radha and Kartik. At least I have been able to influence some people!

Yesterday was also Sohrai in Roldih and we heard the drums beat all day and all night. Mangal's mother and some other village women came to collect the two sacks of puffed rice and jaggery we had brought for the community. Since I'm here, no one will come to the project because they are drunk. I'm happy they have shown this respect to me and also the project.

Amie, Dani and Tak did some work in the afternoon yesterday. They moved sand and earth to the foundation of the new "building". They also watered some of the trees on the other side of the rock mound. This morning they were up early to wash the dishes. I felt bad for them because the weather is really lousy.

I can't understand this sudden change in the weather. Makar Shankaranti ususally marks the end of cold weather. It's not unusual for it to be bitterly cold on that day. But yesterday was sunny and yet today, which is the first day of Basant (spring) is so cold and clammy! The thermometer shows 12 degrees and yet it is colder than what it was when the thermometer read 8 degrees indoors! It's almost 9:00 and there's still a thick mist all round. I wonder if we'll get to see the sun at all today!

Makar Shankranti

It was a warmer day today. The sun was out early and the temperature in the morning was 12 degrees and went up to 18 degrees by noon. I had a nice little nap in the sun in the afternoon. But the wind has picked up again and who knows, it may be a cold night once again.

Yesterday more kids came for admission, so we finally took in 44 more kids -- all in nursery. Today we split them up in two groups of 22. The "older" kids will come to school from 8:30 till 10:00 and the younger bunch will come in at 10:00 and stay till 12:00. When it gets hot, we'll reverse the order so that the smaller kids come to school when it's cool and the older ones come in later. I hope it all works out well.

Radha and Kartik are doing a fairly good job of teaching classes 1 and 2. The volunteers are teaching English in all the classes except Nursery. I am taking a couple of classes in class 4 and I am also teaching the "teachers" (Radha, Raiman and Kartik) for 30 minutes after school is over.

The Santhals are celebrating "Sohrai" in the surrounding villages. But it seems rather low-key this year. Perhaps it's too cold and people are spending most of their time indoors drinking. One doesn't get to hear too many drums. Which mean the women aren't coming out at night to dance. Roldih will apparently celebrate the festival on Monday. And here I was under the impression that the festival is usually over by Makar Shankranti, which is today. Some children brought us "prasad" and that's how I know.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! 2

Most of the kids showed up for school yesterday despite the cold. We had assembly indoors as it was too cold outside. School went fine. And we got some sun at 9:30 just as the kids were starting their "shram daan".

It seems there are still a lot of kids seeking admissions. So we've decided to take in 40 kids in nursery and have two classes instead of one. One batch will study during the first half of the school and the second batch during the second half. We spread the word that we are willing to take in 10 more kids for nursery and there's already a big queue outside and it's only 7:45 am! We had called them at 9:00!

Thank God the sun is out already. It was 8 degrees indoor all night and it's still only 9 degrees. It must be at least 6 or 7 outdoors. Of course, it's not as cold as Delhi perhaps. But the tin roofs somehow make the rooms colder.

Amie's tummy is still giving her trouble. I hope she gets completely cured before she starts travelling again! Dani and Tak seem to be fine though I suspect they are overdoing their yoga!

BRRRRRRRRRR!!!

6:45 am: Had this been summer, I'd be in class teaching. But it's winter and I'm glad school will not start for another hour and three quarters. It's very, very cold. It's 9 degrees on the veranda and 8 degrees out in the open. There's a very strong wind blowing that's icy cold and strong enough to rattle the roofing sheets. At times it sounds like a storm! I've got layers of thermals on and yet, I'm chilled to the bone. I'm wondering how the children are going to come to school in this weather. I know most of them will show up because they are new and it's the first day of school for them. Most don't wear warm clothes. I wish I had known it was going to be this cold today. I would have certainly declared it a holiday.

I've been up since 4:30 am monitoring Mitali's progress to Kolkata. Because of traffic jams on the Durgapur highway her bus did not reach Kolkata till 5:30 am. I'm pleased with the delay. Or else she would have reached Kolkata in the dark at 4:00 am I would have been rather concerned about her taxi ride home. Dawn was breaking when she arrived and she was home by 6:00 am. Thank God she did not have a relapse on the bus.

Shanku and Suman have been up since 5:45 am. Shanku is busy cooking breakfast. Suman is doing all the other things that he does -- filling up water, etc. etc. Now that Shanku does most if not all of the cooking, Suman seems to have a lot of spare time on his hands. But he does keep himself busy.

The volunteers are fast asleep it seems. They asked me to wake them up as soon as I woke up. I was kind to them and did not knock on their door till 6:15. It's almost 7:00 and there's still no sign of them. I don't blame them. It's bitterly cold outdoors and I'm sure they are quite snug in their beds under the quilt. They'll be up and about once breakfast is ready.

I'm worried about the children. I wish they do the sensible thing and not come to school....

Yoga and Apple Sauce

Mitali left a little while ago for Kolkata. She left early because Bhola, who is driving her to Godda to catch the bus, needs to run a few errands too. He also has to take her to see an ayurvedic doctor. She hasn't been well. Had a bad cold yesterday and was running a temperature. She's well enough to travel back to Kolkata, but we are all concerned.

It's bitterly cold here today. The newspapers say that it's below 8 degrees, but it feels like sub zero because of the chill winds that are blowing. Even though the sun rose late, it's impossible to sit out in the sun because of the wind. It's bone-chilling.

I'm glad I spent all morning indoors dealing with admissions. There was such a huge rush that Bhola and Shanku had to do a bit of crowd controlling! We had to turn away quite a few parents and their wards. We now have 30 children in Nursery, 20 in Class 1, 14 each in classes 2 and 3 and 11 in Class 4. Most of the new entrants are from Kaldo, a village beyond Burhikura.

While admissions were going on, the volunteers conducted classes as usual. Once the admissions were over, I taught in Class 4. Raiman did no show up today. But it did not matter because the Nursery kids did not have school today as their classroom was being used for admission interviews. We'll have to impress upon Raiman that he should take his jon as a Nursery school teacher a bit more seriously.

At the moment Dani and Tak are getting ready to do their yoga practise. Ever since their stay at Shivananda Ashram in Kerala, they have been doing yoga rather seriously. I wish I had continued with my yoga so that I could join them. A little while ago they were helping Amie make apple sauce. I've never had any before and so am looking forward to tasting some.

Happy New Year: 2010

So, here it is: the first blog of 2010 on the 10th day of the month. I apologize to regular readers (if there are any) for not writing more often. But you can expect more frequent updates this year. And that's a promise I hope to keep.

Life has been rather hectic for the past few weeks. I had gone to Kolkata on the 23rd to celebrate Christmas with Amie, Mitali and Raj. We had a great time. We attended a party, had lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant and saw a movie - Avatar. Time just flew by and soon it was time for Amie to return to the project. She left Kolkata on the 26th. I stayed on and returned to the project with Neera on the 30th.

Neera Kapoor is one of Dakshinayan's trustees. And this was her first visit to the project and Jharkhand. We travelled via Bolpur by train and taxi and so were here on the same day a little after lunch. Too late to see the school (a few kids were attending school even after the exams), but since she was staying for such a short while, she got a few more hours to enjoy the peace and quiet of the project. Neera did get to meet the children on the 31st -- the last day of the year.

On the 31st we had a bonfire in the evening. We drank Pepsi Cola and stuffed our faces with very tasty pakoras that Bhola had made. It was cold and so it was good to sit near the fire and chat. We went to bed at 10:00 and greeted the new year the following morning which was chilly and windy. No school that day, but the children showed up to celebrate the new year by having a picnic on the campus. They brought their own rice and dal and vegetables and cooked themselves khichri. Amie, Neera and I spent the whole day catching the sun.

Neera and I went back to Kolkata on the 2nd via the same route -- Bhola's taxi to Bolpur and then a train to Kolkata. We parted ways at the station. Neera went to the airport to catch her flight to Delhi and I went home to Mitali's. Neera's flight, however, did not take off till dawn the next morning! There was too much fog in Delhi and most flights had been delayed or cancelled.

I stayed on in Kolkata and waited for Dani and Tak who were expected to arrive on the 4th evening by train from Goa. As it turned out, they flew into Kolkata on the evening of the 5th. So on the 6th Dani and Tak, Mitali and I took a train to Bolpur and drove to the project and arrived soon after nightfall.

We took it easy on the 7th. On the 8th we had re-admissions and that kept me busy all morning. Out of the 86 children who were with us last year, 58 children got re-admitted for this academic year. Since we won't have class 5 this year, there should have been at least 80 children seeking re-admission. I wonder what happened to the rest. Perhaps they will show up tomorrow when we are going to admit new chidren. As things stand, we now have 8 children in Nursery (we'll take in 12 more), 18 children in Class 1 (we can admit two more), 9 children in Class 2, 13 in class 3 and 10 in Class 4. Since we have now switched to Hindi medium, we may be able to take in a few children in Classes 2 and 3.

So that's how things have been so far. It's a Sunday today. A lazy day. Everyone woke up late. But became active soon after. Dani, Tak and Amie have gone with Bhola to Roldih and other villages to inform parents about tomorrows admission. Mitali is trying out the new travel pillow she has acquired while sitting on the swing chair that Dani and Tak brought for me. I'm writing this blog and wondering when I'll get another cup of tea. Perhaps I should yell out to Shanku to make me some tea. He came back to the the project on the 8th. Some of you may remember that he used to work in Roldih when Chandan was the coordinator. Bhola had him recalled because Suman has become a little "unreliable" of late. Bhola feels there needs to be a "back-up" just in case Suman decides to go AWOL again like he did in the days following Christmas!

Kartik, who is now a "teacher" along with Radha and Raiman, spend a lot of time on the project too. It's nice to have him around. Unfortunately, none of the other kids from last year's Class 4 come around. I'd be happy to give them English lessons every day and I've already told them.

Anyway, that's all from me for today. Hope the 2010 has started off on a good note for all of you.

Children receiving their report cards.