The brief break is over. The children have returned to their respective classrooms. I decided to use the  remaining battery on my laptop to write another blog. Tomorrow, this time I will be on a train headed towards Kolkata and then after a short wait, on another train going to Bolpur. My brief sojourn will be over. I don't know when I will be back. I am due to  leave for Delhi end of this month so I am hoping I will be able to make yet another motorcycle trip to the project before I leave. If the weather remains the way it is now, then that should not be a problem.

I has been raining every day since I arrived on the project. Bhola claims we brought the rain with us. I find the rain refreshing, but also rather inconvenient. The roof of my veranda leaks. So one is forced to stay in the room which gets rather stuffy. But rain is good for farming. And this year hopefully with Harish's (villager -- Parvati's father) help we will plant something. He came last evening and promised  to plough the field and plant some lentils, corn and vegetables. He will be entitled to half the produce. But that's ok with us. He will be doing most of the work, so I guess he deserves it. We only provide the land and the seeds.

Though I have been ill most of the time, I am glad I came. Even Shantiniketan does not have such wide open spaces and greenery. Now that I am feeling better, I am able to enjoy the overcast skies and cool breeze that is blowing. But I do wish I could also like the way the project is being  run.

Despite my presence here and the good weather, I have not seen anyone make any effort to visit the village. Those living here seem to be happy to wake up, eat breakfast, teach for a few hours, eat lunch, sleep, wake up and cook dinner and then eat and sleep. I dropped a few hints, but all I got were excuses -- it's too hot, we don't have umbrellas, etc. Yet, it's not too hot if they have to go to Dumka or for a drive. Sad. Very sad. I'm beyond caring. I'm just glad the school is regular. The kids seem happy and to me that's all that counts.

Bruni is Back

When the children were leaving school we asked them if they had spotted Bruni.  A few of them claimed they had seen her in Siayarkatia, close to Devadand. And an hour later she was at the gates demanding to be let in. She had obviously sprinted all the way from there to the project. So the question is: does she understand human language? How did she know we were back? Did other dogs inform her? It's one of nature's mysteries. But we are happy she is back and obviously she's happy to see us. But Bruni has changed.

She no longer jumps on you when she sees you. She no longer demands food or biscuits -- patiently waits to be given something to eat. She no longer bangs on the gates to be let in. And it's obvious that she prefers to spend off the project than on it. As soon as the gates are opened in the morning to let in the school children, she leaves and comes back only in the late afternoon. She, however, insists on sleeping under my bed and spend more time sticking to Mitali who never tires of petting her. But unlike before, she no longer demands to be petted.

School is doing fine. At least it is regular. Mitali is still teaching Class 2 and all those kids are doing these days is learn English, English and more English. Mitali is making up for lost time. Raju and Susanti are teaching in their respective classes. But seem to be doing little else. No village visits and apart of helping Shanku with cooking, nothing else on the project. I don't like their tendencies of asking the school kids to do personal chores. I've already warned them, but I don't think it has much effect.

Shanku is doing most of the project work -- cooking, cleaning and taking care of the guests -- Mitali and me. Mitali is at least teaching. I am doing nothing.

It has been raining since yesterday -- off and on. We had some heavy rains yesterday. The weather has become cooler. But I have not been able to enjoy any of it as I have been quite ill with flu since yesterday morning. I'm a bit better today, but still feeling under the weather. What a pity.

School timings have changed. Before we arrived, school was starting at 6:30 and finishing at 9:00. Now it starts at 7:30 and goes on till 11:00. This is possible because the weather has improved considerably. Perhaps that explains the near 100% attendance.

I can hear thunder. I can hear the children playing in the field. It's break time. Good sounds. I am somewhat at peace. Om shanti, shanti, shantih....

No Rain in Roldih

I'm sitting on the veranda in Roldih. Arrived here last night via Jasidih with Mitali. Bhola went to fetch us. He is no longer working with us, but is always there to help out with work on the project and off it -- shopping, repairs, bank work and of course fetching people from the station or bus stop.

School is on at the moment. Sushanti is teaching nursery so that Shanku, the usual teacher for that class can take care of chores. Mitali is teaching English in class 2, which is usually Sushanti's class. Raju is teaching in class 1 as usual. I'm not doing anything. So I decided to check the blog. What I discovered shocked me -- I haven't updated the blog for two months!

A lot has happened meanwhile. Shanku's mother died and he was away from the project for most of May and the early part of June. Bhola resigned. He is no longer on the payroll but helps out with work on the project and off it -- shopping, bank, fetching people from the station or bus stop. It's not a bad arrangement. And thought I used to complain about his absence from the project, I find that he is the ONLY person I can rely on. The others are simply happy to teach for 3 hours and goof off for the rest of the day. God knows what they do during the rest of the day. There have been no village visits. I can understand that. It's been terribly hot. But I do hope that once the weather improves there will be other activities on the project too. Otherwise, the expenses incurred in running this project can't be justified.

The weather has been really bad. It has rained only once in 3 months! That's bad. People are anxiously waiting for it to rain so that they can till their fields. People, especially children, are falling ill. And though the single rainfall has turned the leaves of trees green, it is simply not adequate.

Right now, there are clouds in the sky, but it doesn't look like rain. But fortunately, the day is not unbearably hot. We will change the school timings from tomorrow. Today school started at 6:30 and will end at 9:00. From tomorrow it will start at 7:30 and go on till 11:00. Attendance is very poor -- about 50%. I am told this is not normal. On other days, it seems, the attendance is close to 90%. So why poor attendance when I am around? Mitali and I will be here till the end of this week. So let's see.

I'm sad that Bruni is not here. Whatever happened to her? Shanku claims she stays away from the project these days? Why? Why would a dog stay away from a place where she gets fed twice a day? She's been living on the project ever since she was born! And has continued to live here even when there was no one living here. So why would  she abandon the project? Could it be that she is no longer alive and no one is willing to tell me so? Anyway, I've asked the kids to find her for me.

Though I haven't updated the blog since April. I have been visiting the project quite regularly all of April and May. I did  not come in June as it was simply too hot for the long drive from Prantik (Shantiniketan) to Roldih on the motorbike. At my age (a few months short of 60) it would be taking chances. Heat-stroke among mobike riders is quite common in India during summer. The air is dry and hot. Riding is similar to standing in front of a blast furnace and it's a 5-hour drive to Roldih.

The nights are not unpleasant thought it's not cool after sundown. We slept on the veranda and I dreamt of snakes! There are no mosquitoes. That's really strange. Perhaps because it hasn't  rained. I guess once it rains, they will emerge from wherever they are hiding at the moment.

It's drizzling now. School is over. I'm waiting for Bhola to  come so that we can settle the accounts. I have to  send him to the bank to fetch money to  pay the salaries and other expenses. I'm looking forward to his visit. He's the only person (besides Mitali) whom I can communicate with and get news from! Perhaps,  while I am here, I will keep updating the blog with news if there's any.

House of Cards

Sometimes I get the impression that I spend all my time arranging and re-arranging a house of cards that keeps collapsing every few minutes!

Raju and Sushanti seemed to have settled down on the ashram. They say they like it on the campus and seem to be getting involved in the daily chores. It's obvious that Sushanti wears the pants and Raju just can't function without her. But that's ok with me as long as they stay on and get the work done.

Right now they are mostly teaching early in the mornings and helping with the daily chores. It's too hot for anything else. Once the weather improves, I hope they will start visiting the villages and come up with some ideas for work. Otherwise, having four people to teach 60 kids will be an expensive proposition.

Bhola is still spending more time away from the project than on it. And Shanku has been away all of last week because he had gone to attend a wedding. Last night he got news of his mother's death and is right now probably on his way to his village. I don't expect him to return for another 20 days. it's understandable.

But my worry is -- who will show these new people the ropes or tell them about the way the project functions? I did talk to them but I think they will understand better if Bhola or Shanku explain to them what we are doing in that area. Well, one can only plan and put systems in place. But if it doesn't work.... nothing much can be done.

Right now I am in Prantik. I came back on Wednesday because I didn't have much to do on the project and the heat was killing me. Since there are 4 teachers, I had hoped to visit once a month instead of once every alternate week. Now, it seems I will have to go back sooner than expected.

There isn't much to report since my last blog but I thought I'd stay in touch by writing a few lines.

The Conspiracy

It's been a while since I wrote my last blog entry. Blogger seems to have undergone a makeover meanwhile, so it's taken me a while to figure out how things work now. The new system seems slower than the earlier one. Hopefully I will now be able to upload this entry before I leave for Roldih tomorrow.

Believe me, I've been wanting to write and inform all of you of the many changes that have been taking place in my life and also at the project. But somehow I just did not get around to it. Perhaps it's because I'm riding to Roldih every alternate week and so need time off to rest and recuperate. Perhaps it's because the internet connection is so damn slow that I fall asleep waiting for connectivity. Perhaps I simply don't know where to begin. Perhaps it's because I am plain lazy.

Ok, now that I am here and actually writing, let me start by telling you that even though the Cheo Centre no longer belongs to Dakshinayan, the school hasn't closed down. The villagers have handed it over to a Hindu religious organization that I do not care to mention. I'm disappointed. I had hoped that Ramnath and Chandrama would run the project independently and persuade the villagers to contribute towards their salaries and the upkeep of the project. That has not happened.

What actually happened was quite shocking. One of our staff members, it seems, has been quite involved with the above organization. In fact, it was he who convinced me that Cheo was a drain on our resources. That it was not possible to monitor what was going on there, etc. etc. But no sooner had I taken the decision to close down the school at Cheo, the same staff member made several trips to Cheo and convinced the villagers that they should hand over the property to this particular organization. Now I realize that it was a well thought out conspiracy.

It's not too late. I can still go to Cheo and convince the villagers to let Dakshinayan to re-start the school. But I don't wish to do that. I'm just sad that instead of choosing self-reliance, they have chosen dependence. Also, I'm not convinced that this new organization will actually do anything for the people. This organization produces herbal ayurvedic medicine and the hills are rich in resources. So that's why they want a centre there. To build a new one would now cost a fortune. But now they have got a well maintained property for free. That's really heartbreaking as I would have preferred to hand over the property to a new organization that is short of resources or funds. The yoga oriented organization that has "usurped" the property (in a way) is rolling in money.

And what about the "Judas"? He's still "working"  at Roldih though I have made it very plain to him that I know exactly what kind of game he is playing and that if he has any designs on Roldih, he should forget it as the ashram will go to this above organization over my dead body. So why is he still there? He's  there because I have no solid proof against him and also because he is a local there is no way I can remove him suddenly without creating problems for Shanku who has been practically living alone on the project.

But there's good news now -- we have been joined by a Santhali couple from Dumka, who have been working in a grassroots organization known to me. If they stay on, it would be prefect for the project. Shanku will no longer be alone on the project and both husband and wife could help up organize and expand the work of the ashram. Right now, they are both teaching and living on the project. Shanku and Bhola teach two sections of nursery class. Raju, the husband, teaches class One and Susanti teaches class Two. Yes, these are the only classes we have. So what happened to the kids in other classes? It seems they were "encouraged" to go to other schools.

In fact, when we started admissions this year, I was shocked to see the lack of children wanting to join our school! Up until now, there used to be a mad scramble for kids to join Baba Gyan Mandir. But this year there were hardly any children to begin with! I later discovered that the villagers had not been informed about admissions and some were even told that the school would close down!

The conspiracy was that if there aren't enough children, I would close down the project and of course guess what would have happened to it? That's when I decided that I would spend every alternate week on the project to ensure that the faith of the villagers would be restored in us. I've already started doing that. One Sunday I ride my bike to Roldih and the following Sunday, I ride back to Prantik, where I now live. I cover the 180+ kilometres in roughly 5 hours. Had the roads been good, I may have been able to do it in less. Not a bad feat for a an almost 60-year-old?

The week that I am on the project, I teach English to the kids. Now that every class has a designated teacher, there's very little else I can do. I'm also keeping and eye on expenses and my presence is, I think, helping people to realize that Dakshinayan isn't dead as yet. But I do wonder how long I will be able to keep this up. Even though I leave at day-break, by the time I reach my destination on either side, the sun turns into a scorching oven. But surprisingly, though my back  and bum hurt for a while, I'm ok.

As for what else is happening on the project? Not much really. It's too hot. Those of you who have visited us during summer know that it's not possible to do anything between 10 am and 4 pm except lie about in a stupor. Despite the heat, however, we were able to celebrate foundation day on the 15th of April -- a day after Bengali new year. The 60 odd children and their parents were invited to come and participate in the feast that was entirely organized and run by the school kids. It was great fun. At least 500 people came and ate "khichri" (mixed rice, lentils and vegetables) cooked by the children with some help from the staff.

The beginning of 2012

There has been three trips to Roldih, Jharkhand already this year. In the first week of January Siddharth and me, we took Ingrid Barcelos, the Brazilian volunteer with us to the project to settle her down there. For me it was hectic because all through the mornings I took English classes alternating between classIII and IV trying to finish their syllabus and also partly revise the old chapters. Ingrid took to the project like fish to water and settled down quickly. 26^th January, our Republic Day was celebrated by hoisting the flag and distributing sweets to the children. Saraswati Puja was celebrated also and children were given sweets and savouries. There was an idol this year and the village women came and prayed in front of the goddess with new rice in the Lokenath Baba temple. The goddess was immersed in the Haripur river with much enthusiasm by the children.

The next trip Siddharth, Sreyash, a budding lawyer and me went in the first week of February. This time also there was a flurry of activity as far as English classes went. Last time I had explained to Ingrid how to go about the preparation process for the final exam and she did a good job of it over the month she stayed. On Saturdays, Ingrid had a free hand and she played with the kids and played them music which she had brought with her. Some of our ex students came to visit us before giving their board exams. It is a strange thing but it seems they passed out of class IV from our school(Baba Gyan Mandir) and studied in private, taking tuitions for one year and were appearing for the Class X board exams this year. This shows the quality of education in our school is far above the standard of the surrounding areas. One day Ingrid,Sreyash,Bhola and me made a trip to the Cheo project up on the hills. We passed Paharpur also an old Dakshinayan centre. In Cheo the kids there were having their class outdoors as it was very cold and the sun was quite welcome. The sad news is that Dakshinayan is closing Cheo due to financial restraints but the good news is that, they(Ramnath and Chandrama) are managing to keep the school running from village contribution.

The third trip was in the last week of February and it was mainly for the final exams. The whole week was taken up by the exams and correcting the papers afterwards. On 2^nd February we gave out the results. Some passed and some failed which is the rule of life. There was a lot of clapping for the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd students. It was a happy day as, in those areas, there is not much of a stigma attached to failure in class and most of the failed students repeat another year and come out on top the next year.