Hi! My name is Srilekha and I am extremely excited to be one of this year’s three new fellows with The Modern Story. Although I grew up entirely in the US, mainly around the DC area, I spent a lot of time in Hyderabad as my family is actually originally from the state of Andhra Pradesh. So I have always really loved the place, but I never really got to know it. And so here I am, looking to get to know the place through the stories of the children growing up in it…and hoping to to lend guidance and support as they find and tell those stories.

To tell you a little bit about myself, I recently graduated from Columbia University, where I studied History, Math, and Economics and also cultivated a deep interest in the fields of health and education. As college came to a close, I was looking for an opportunity to learn something about these fields while hopefully contributing something important to someone somewhere. And that is when I discovered The Modern Story. As Piya, the director, said, the goal of the organization is to teach people to use technology to convey a message. For those of us that have been making powerpoints since middle school and have been blogging since college, this is something we routinely take for granted and yet it is something we do consistently with pride and confidence that our ideas are being ushered into the world. This is a feeling that is sweeter when it is shared, so these kids, who have new stories to take from and new messages to share with the world, they just have to know how to find those stories and to use the technology! I know I have found something important to do, and it’s a cool feeling.

The TMS experience actually began today, as the three of us fellows, along with Piya, the director, and Asma and Neha, the teaching assistants, made our way to the school where we will be teaching. The trip there was actually quite the ordeal. I began the day by fiercely haggling with auto drivers, only to choose the one that would ram into a motorbike and throw off its two occupants and would later get the auto stuck between two giant buses, freezing us a mere stone’s throw from when I would be able to thankfully get out. And upon my exciting removal from this mad vehicle, I promptly got run over by another auto. The crowds and traffic in Secunderabad were utterly overwhelming, and yet the moment we could even see the school, all of the chaos and stress completely evaporated. The kids gave us the warmest of welcomes, and were followed by the greeting of a very friendly and supportive administrative team. I hadn’t really thought about what to expect, but I will never forget our first day with the kids that will consume our minds for the next sixth months…and I couldn’t be more eager to get started!

Srilekha’s Story from The Modern Story on Vimeo.