…or “1,2,3, START!” seems to be the phrase that works with the kids here, to let them know that the camera is rolling and they need to get their game faces on.

We are well underway into our third (and sadly, our final) videos at both schools.  It is exciting to see both projects develop because unlike the second video, which had the same format for both schools, each school has developed their own subject and format for the third video.  The boys at Nalgonda are becoming historians and actors, as they explore Indian Independence, while the students at Vijaynagar Colony are becoming activists and artists, as they create a “taking action” video on air pollution in their community.

The week started out quite entertainingly, in Nalgonda.  The boys were eager to act out some scenes from the days of Independence.  After waiting far too long for the boys to change into costumes (some were very shy, some were very indecisive..they were after all, making their acting debuts, this is serious stuff!), they emerged from their dorms, some looking transformed, others looking the same, but now wearing a hat.  Some boys wore their school NCC uniforms to look like Indian soliders, others wore all white uniforms to look like British soldiers, and other boys dressed in lungis and traditional Indian attire to be freedom fighters such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Bhagath Singh.  My favorite costume was of course Gandhi, played by Ibrahim, one of our most enthusiastic students.  Along with the dramatic re-enactments, the boys will give some background information on the event, and will conduct some interviews, hopefully with elders who were alive during 1947, and can share what life was like during that time.

Meanwhile, the crew at Vijaynagar has been working on a few different elements for their project.  They have written up and decorated small cards that explain their project, and ask for a donation, and in return, the donor will receive flower and vegetable seeds.  The profits from the fundraising will then go towards one or two trees that the students will plant at their own school, as an effort to promote clean air in their community.  In addition to this, and some interviews, the project will also include some animations that explain some causes and effects of air pollution.  Since most of them are familiar with the paint computer program, we were able to create some nice simple animations on Flash on my computer.  These will be accompanied by voiceovers.

It is getting harder and harder to think that there are only about 2 weeks left with both schools! The students have grown so much more comfortable with us, evident by frequent phone calls, divulging intimate secrets to us such as “who thinks who is cute”, as well as their concerns about issues such as the way their teachers and other elders treat boys and girls differently.  There seems to be so much more that we all could learn from each other and so much more that we could create together.  Some good news however, is that at first, we were hard pressed to find any teachers at Vijaynagar Colony interested in learning about video, until recently.  Glory, a young and assertive woman, has popped her head in from time to time, but never had permission from the Headmistress to attend our classes, but the school has just appointed a new Headmaster who has given Glory permission to come to our classes.  While it is frustrating that there are only two weeks left, she has been learning quickly.  It is a great experience to bring two US fellows to India, but another part of The Modern Story’s mission is to leave the schools sustainable in the subject by getting teachers there to learn the materials as well.  It has been a challenge this term, getting teachers interested enough to come to all of the classes and actively try to learn the material, and though we can continue to request from the school that we have teachers present in our classes, it is quite difficult to get other adults to be interested in your class if they don’t want to be.  It will be great to have Glory, who is so hands-on and enthusiastic at Vijaynagar Colony, and hopefully she can help this program to continue and grow.