If you had stopped by to visit us in our apartment this past Thursday afternoon, around 2pm,  you would have found Kara and I desperately trying to wrap our own saris – tangled up like bugs in a web of cloth. We were due to hop an auto in just twenty minutes to head to Railway for the school’s 79th Annual Day Celebrations. Luckily, we have very kind neighbors, and after two knocks on the nearest doors, Smt. Pandya rushed over to save us from a sea of sari fabric. Demanding some safety pins, she happily set to work wrapping us up like presents, enlisting the help of Srilatha, one of the hospital’s young housekeeping staff members. Vandana and Srilataha pleated and turned and tucked and pinned, until Kara and I both looked remarkably clean cut and formal – it was an incredible transformation that I certainly couldn’t have accomplished with my own two hands.

Dressed (and assured that the safety pins would keep us from unraveling half way to Lallaguda,) we said goodbye to our surrogate big sisters/mothers/wise women and headed to the Railway Girls School. When we arrived, the late afternoon sun was sinking quickly into the earth and the school was glowing with the excitement of the teachers and students inside. A big colorful tent had been erected for parents and aunties and uncles and cousins to sit under, and the stage at Railway was set up as on Teacher’s Day – a colorful spread of paper flowers on a table in front of chairs for the guests of honor, a podium, microphones, and a sound table to the side. Mr. Prabhaker greeted us with a huge smile – he beamed like a proud father – and told us that we were free to photograph and do as we like “you are one of us now! You shall be back here [backstage] with us if you like!” I couldn’t have asked for a more heartwarming declaration of acceptance and belonging from the school community.

Kara and I were quickly ushered inside and to the classrooms-turned-dressing rooms (one for the girls playing girls, and one for the girls playing boys!) and swarmed by students who wanted us to take pictures of them in their finery. The costumes were stunning – so colorful and extravagant – and the stage makeup the girls had applied with such expertise (and some help from Shailaja) made them look like little dolls.

Some of the girls had their hair down – a striking contrast to the crisp, neatly tied plaits and bows of the school day – and they all seemed freed and enthused by the change in costume. Some of them looked so stunningly mature and composed in their traditional dance attire – I had a hard time remembering that the little women in front of me, who looked so sure of themselves and their talent, were the same girls who’d been afraid to ask me “why?” four months ago. I am proud to report that every girl in our 8th class seems to have a bit of a performer inside of her, and it is brilliant to watch this small bit of extraordinary confidence assert itself in such a bold way on stage.

After a few hundred pictures in the dressing rooms (really, I’m not exaggerating,) Kara and I stepped into the teacher’s room to sip some tea and have samosas. Almost before we could finish our chai, we were once again set upon by a few teachers and students who kindly helped us adjust whatever odds and ends of our saris had become slightly loose.

Finally, it was time for the program to begin. Kara and I gathered in the computer lab with Preethi (one of our 8th class students,) and Navya, a 10th class former TMS student, to give a small presentation to the official guests of the evening: Sri T.P.V.S.Sekhara Rao (CPO/IR/SCR/SC), Smt. Sujatha J. Prasad (Vice President/SCRWWO/HYB), Sri. P. Srinivasulu (President/Sr.DPO/​HYB). At Mr. Prabhaker’s request, I had edited a small video compilation of the work we’ve been doing this year, as well as some of the work done by students last year. We screened the short film for our guests, and Preethi and Navya gave small, eloquent speeches about how much they love the digital storytelling classes, and the confidence and happiness they fill them with. Hopefully we will be able to post audio from Navya’s speech soon – she agreed to record it for us when classes resume in January.

[vimeo 17721297]

After TMS’ presentation, and a peek at the girls’ “handicrafts” display, the official guests took their seats on the stage, and Mme. Janaki proceeded with introductions, followed by speeches from the official guests, the distribution of awards for students who excelled in athletics and who scored high marks on their exams.

Then, at last, we arrived at the part of the evening that all in attendance had been waiting for (the lower standard students sat remarkably patiently in the fading light) – the cultural performances.

Telugu dances, comedy sketches, upbeat performances by the very youngest students with the most frilly costumes, and oddly enough, a little Christmas pageant – everything was absolutely wonderful. The poise, grace, skill, and professional attitude that some of the girls brought to the stage were really remarkable – whatever shyness or hesitancy they felt or exhibited in the classroom simply vanished when they were on stage. They worked the crowd, knew how to make them laugh, threw their entire bodies into every small step and spin, and I have never seen them look so happy.

Mr. Prabhaker, looking on proudly.

The crowd was enthralled and entirely supportive – cheering loudly when the smallest dancers shook their hips and pompoms, and chuckling at the jokes peppering the skits. Watching the faces of those in the audience was almost as fun as watching the performers on stage.

When the last note had left the speakers, and the curtain closed for good, the girls rushed back stage to change into their comfortable kurtas and leggings, transforming back into the thirteen year old girls we’ve come to know so well. It was an honor to meet some of the girls’ elder sisters (former Railway students themselves,) and wonderful to see so many former students greet their old teachers with affection. Railway is an incredible community – doing so much for their girls with whatever little they have – and it shows in the joy that everyone takes in being together to celebrate with dance and song. I feel incredibly lucky to be accepted as real part of this community, and grateful to have such wonderful students and teachers in my life.

For now, I give you a few of the many photos that I took Thursday evening. Soon, we shall have the video of the performances uploaded and edited to so that you too may enjoy them as well. Stay tuned!

Last week I introduced our new workshop at the Sultan Bazaar Government Girls School and promised to write more soon. Instead, I decided to make a video post this week!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/17187109]

On Sunday, November 14th, India celebrated Children’s Day with festivities, games and an extra serving of sweets. Like Teacher’s Day at Railway, Children’s Day naturally calls for a “program” (a performance by the students), some speeches, a colorful tent, and lots of candy – all things that our students are crazy about. However, because Children’s Day officially fell on a Sunday this year, the administration at Railway waited until yesterday to hold their celebration. Kara and I were unfortunately unable to attend the program, as we were conducting interviews for a friend in the morning. However, we arrived just in time to see the glittery, sugary aftermath of the Children’s Day hullaballoo.

Knowing that the girls would be very excited about Children’s Day (“m’am! wish me a happen children’s day! shake my hand m’am!”) Kara and I decided to use their energy as a springboard for a related, but much different topic: motherhood. “Children’s Day is all about children,” I told our students, “but we we wouldn’t have any children if we didn’t have mothers!” Building on last week’s lessons about interviewing and journalism, Kara and I thought that motherhood would be a good subject for the girls to think about – something that they could consider both on a personal, and a more general level.

We opened the class with a writing exercise, using this photo, which I took near the APRS boys school in Nalgonda:

The only thing that we told the girls before we began was that this photo was of a mother and child. The students wrote silently in their notebooks for five minutes, and then two volunteers shared their stories. Akshatha’s story was particularly interesting, as she described in it how the young mother was feeling very nervous because her son was going to get a polio vaccination. Akshatha told us that the mother was was afraid that her son would be upset by the polio vaccination. I found this response to be a sign of great progress in Akshatha’s ability to think beyond the confines of an image – she read into the expression on the woman’s face, and then thought creatively about all the things that a mother could be feeling about her teary-eyed son. We will post Akshatha’s full response soon!

After we got the ball rolling with our mother-related writing warm up, Kara and I screened a short film that we’d found on India Unheard, a website devoted to sharing videos made by people from around India. The mini-report is called “Motherhood: Who is Deciding?” and was produced by a woman named Aleya, from Meghalaya. The girls seemed very surprised by some of the interviews in the video, particularly the initial one with a young woman who has given birth to 10 children, 3 of whom have died . The girls were also good about giving small critiques of the film regarding interview style, questions that weren’t asked, etc. and they were eager to do some question asking of their own. The girls’ discussion of the film naturally came to focus around questions they had about how old a girl/woman should be when she marries, whether or not a girl should get an education before she has children, and how it is important to make sure that you can support all of the children you have.

Which brought us to the culminating activity of the day: a mock press conference on “Motherhood” and other related subjects such as marriage and education. Over the course of the past week, we’ve really been focusing on the importance of questions like “how,” and “why” in our interviewing tool bag. The girls seem to have caught the “Why?” fever as a result, and it is incredibly exciting to see them pushing both their peers, and their teachers, for more detailed answers. Last week, during an interview exercise, one of the girls asked Neha “why are you in class?” to which Neha responded, “to teach you.” The girls all simultaneously shouted, “Why?” to which Neha replied, “because I love you!” It was a beautiful moment, and I think that it really helped drive home the idea that  questions like “why?” are a means of getting at important, deeper answers. It is especially encouraging for Kara and I to see the girls asking questions so freely, and building up such energy while doing so, knowing how far they’ve come from our first class. Timid, quiet observers no more! We have some active, curious, and engaged young women in our classroom now.

You too can see the power of this evolution in the video below. Filmed by Ramya Krishna (with some guidance from Neha,) our press conference on Motherhood was held to give the girls a chance to practice both asking and answering some harder questions. With only a little prompting from their teachers at the start, they proved themselves to be excellent journalists (and, in the case of Sandhya at the end, excellent debaters too!) By the end of our time in class that energy in the room was palpable, and the girls begged us to continue the discussion for “just five minutes longer, m’am!” While I was sad to cut things short, I was thrilled with the girls’ level of engagement and enthusiasm.

[vimeo 16995279]

Feel free to leave feedback about the press conference for the girls, or for us, in the comments section! We will be continuing our discussion about Motherhood in upcoming classes, and I can’t wait to share more of the girls’ thoughts and digital documentation with you!

Public speaking is not a skill that comes naturally to me. Therefore, as a teacher I put a lot of work into lesson planning and feeling prepared to explain concepts and instructions. Plans always change, though (especially in India!) and it’s exciting when I’m able to navigate the unexpected to achieve a productive, engaging class.

When Ilana and I began teaching at APRS in August we had a roster of 15 boys. That number dropped to around 9 after Ramzan, so we admitted a few more students and, over the course of three overnight stays in Nalgonda, we proceeded rapidly with the new crew. Two weeks ago all of the post-Ramzan absentees re-appeared at school, and the size of our class began to swell toward 25. A very rowdy 25. After one rough class with regard to attention spans and technical difficulties, Ilana and I decided to switch tacks. We planned to pause on tech skills the next day by introducing our photo writing exercises and possibly some interviewing skills.

When we arrived and the usual pre-class crowd of boys began to cluster around Ilana at the computer, I watched Kaisar saunter coolly into the room sporting movie-star sunglasses. A light bulb flashed on in my mind. Kaisar’s apparel presented a perfect access point for introducing interviewing: a mock press conference with a Tollywood celebrity!

After a few successful rounds of photo writing (we’ll share examples another day!) we asked the boys what they knew about interviews. I wrote the words, “who, what, where, when, why, how” on the board and asked for examples of questions beginning with those words. Then we explained the way press conferences work, set the stage for Kaisar’s appearance, and took action. Kaisar maneuvered the spotlight like a pro, puffing his chest up and adopting the persona of his favorite actor, “Prabhas.”

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/16998958]

Seeing all of the boys focused on the same activity and jumping up to participate made me feel successful not only at charting unplanned classroom waters, but also in my overall purpose for teaching. I work with youth with the goal of stimulating critical thinking. Breaking that down into less adult-ish language: I want to help kids ask questions—about themselves, about others, and about the world. The press conference with Prabhas felt like our students’ first recognition of the excitement and power of asking questions. To double the excitement, we’ve also broken ground on asking questions with the Railway girls, which Ilana will tell you about in another post very shortly!

Can you see a resemblance?

On Friday Ilana and I held the first session in a new workshop at the Sultan Bazaar Government Girls’ High School. The exciting aspect of this pilot workshop, which is in partnership with the American India Foundation, is that four teachers are participating in addition to twelve students. During eight sessions we will teach them the camera, video, and editing skills necessary to create a multimedia project that enhances a subject from the government curricula.

In our first session, after introducing ourselves and watching a few scientific and cultural slideshows, the students and teachers shared what topics they are learning/teaching in current or upcoming classes. We broke them into three groups to brainstorm what sorts of photos and videos they might be able to take for multimedia projects on the subjects of geometry (with a focus on triangles), natural resources, and the importance of plant life. We asked the groups to do further development of these ideas before the next session Check back after Saturday to see what they come up with!

Rangoli that Kara and I helped to make, along with beautiful little Diwali diya (lamps).

Last evening, Kara and I put on our most colorful clothing, purchased a box of sweets at the corner bakery, and hopped in an auto for a five minute ride to our friend Chandrakala’s apartment building. The sun hadn’t yet set, but like us, Hyderabad was decked out in festive wear and preparing for a loud, exciting evening. Diwali lanterns were hanging, firecrackers exploding, and families were adding the finishing touches to beautiful rangoli (hindi; “kolam”, tamil) designs outside their front doors. Women were placing Diwali diyas (tiny clay lamps filled with oil and lit with cotton wicks) amongst the swirling patterns of rice flour, and small girls in long skirts and boys with hair freshly washed clutched their mother’s hands as they rushed about gathering last minute items for the night’s celebrations.

Kara and I (right and left, respectively) dressed for Diwali celebrations.

Diwali sweets

I feel so lucky to have been able to celebrate the holiday with Chandrakala and her family – they were incredibly welcoming and made us feel perfectly at home (sometimes I forget how what it’s like to not feel as foreign as I usually do). Kara and I both greatly enjoyed the chance to ask a million questions, eat wonderful home-cooked curry and biriyani (a mother’s touch always adds a bit of priceless spice), and relax with Chandrakala and a small group of her friends who all hailed from outside India (Malaysia, Spain, England, and the US to be precise). We spent much of the night setting off patakhe (firecrackers!) on the roof of Chandrakala’s apartment building – which is to say, Kara was brave and lit a few herself, while I enjoyed gazing across the rooftops watching all the other families around the city doing the same.

Patakhe explosion!

a little light grafitti with sparklers

Despite the fact that Diwali is now officially over, everyone seems to have hordes of extra firecrackers to set off. The sun has once again retired for the night and it already sounds a bit like a war zone outside as a hundred different variants of kaleidoscopic explosions light up the sky. I used to think that the fourth of July was a spectacle, but I can assure you that that it’s merely a flickering match in comparison to the roaring, dancing, flashing chaos that is Diwali. Knowing that President Obama and the First Lady are currently in Mumbai I can only imagine what they think of things! Diwali is certainly a great introduction to the colorful, noisy beauty of India.