Spicy Rasam

Not a cooking or food blog! I just share what's cooking in my mind.

The girl with 10 hands……part 5

Gayathri

no comments

Aug 24, 2020

To read the part 4, click here

India, 1987

Parimala sat near the homam (sacred fire) as the Pandit performed ayush homam. The father was required to perform the ritual, but Parimala had requested that she do it. She missed Ashokan. It has been 6 months since his death. She adjusted Janani’s hair and her dress as she continued to do the ritual with the Pandit’s guidance.

Janani looked like Ashokan; his photocopy. Parimala’s eyes brimmed as she looked at her baby daughter who was trying to wriggle her way out of her mother’s grasp. “Amma! Play..” said Janani in a frustrated tone.

Parimala smiled and lifted her up to seat her comfortably on her lap. She took a banana and gave it to Janani. The child’s eyes sparkled. Janani took the banana and started to peel it. The assistant pandit looked at the child with amazement.

The pandit who was performing the pooja smiled. He was used to Janani’s differentness now. She was born on a very impossible star alignment. Her parents do not believe in astrology, so he kept the information to himself. He loved the chubby, quirky child. He asked Parimala to lift the child so he can place the small garland on her. Janani looked at the Pandit’s eyes and smiled as he did that. He secretly bowed a little and sat back.

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Ayush homam was finished and the guests had left. Parimala and Shetawari were cleaning up in the kitchen. Shetawari’s husband, Sunil, was cleaning the living room. Ambujam had taken Janani to the paly area.

Shetawari finished cleaning the vessels in the sink and sat down on the inverted water-storing container. She sighed heavily, “Pari! Well-done!” she said, “It was a good ceremony.”

Parimala stopped scrubbing the stove and looked at Shetawari, “Tai! Was it? Really?” she asked with distrust.

Shetawari smiled. “YES! It was a good ceremony. The guests loved the food. The homam went well. Janani did not cry and was a doll. If Ashokan would have been here, he would be proud of you,” said Shetawari.

Tears rolled down Parimala’s eyes. She leaned on the kitchen counter. “Yes! Yes, he would be,” she said. Shetawari went near her and hugged her friend. Parimala started to cry.

“Pari!,” said Shetawari, “Janu looks like him more and more.”

“Right?” said Parimala as she released herself from Shetawari’s embrace, “I felt so more today than other days. She has his eyes, his nose, same smile….” Parimala cried on her friend’s shoulders. Shetawari cried with her. Shetawari and Ashokan had been best of friends. They had connected well, and their common interest was cricket. She knew how much Ashokan loved Parimala. God is cruel, she thought.

India; 1998

Janani walked inside her home and threw her bag near the TV stand. She kicked one shoe inside the bedroom and the other one near the dining table. She walked to the bedroom and fell on the bed.

Ambujam kept working in the kitchen but knew something was wrong by the daad… tuddd.. tadaddd… sounds from the living room. Ambujam sighed. Teenage is coming, she thought.

“Paaatiiiiiii………….” She heard Janani yell.

“Your mom’s home!” said Ambujam in a calm voice. She heard Janani hastily coming to the living room. Clear sounds of her placing her school bag on the shelf and retrieving her shoes from wherever she threw them. After some seconds, “Mom’s not home. Is she?” asked Janani in a stern voice.

“Well! You better fall for it every time. What if I was telling the truth?” asked Ambujam as she placed freshly fried Bajji on a plate. She turned with a naughty smile to face her granddaughter. “Here!” she said, holding the plate of bajjis out.

Janani took the plate and started to eat. She sat on the low table in the kitchen. “Paati!” called Janani.

“Hmmmm”

“Do you believe in fate?” asked Janani.

“Hmmm… Not sure!”

“Do you believe that a person will die in a predetermined moment?” asked Janani as she absently played with the bajjis on the plate.

Ambujam startled momentarily and resumed to fry the bajjis. “Why the sudden deep discussion, sweetie?”

“I could have saved someone today. Bright eyes did not help me!” said Janani in a low voice.

Ambujam sighed. She had become accustomed to bright eyes. Janani had been talking about her for a long time now. Ambujam had initially thought it was an imaginary friend. She eventually understood that bright eyes was alike a guardian angel.

“Why? Why did bright eyes do that?” asked Ambujam, as she dipped an onion ring inside the bajji batter.

“Don’t know! She said it was their fate. Then, why is she saving me? Is it not my fate too? To suffer?” asked Janani, matter-of-factly.

Ambujam stopped mixing the batter and onion rings. She sometimes wondered if Janani was an adult in a kid’s form. Her questions were not simple.

“Hmmmm….” said Ambujam and slowly dropped the batter-coated inion rings inside the kadai. “So, you do not want bright eyes to save you?”

Janani sighed. “I don’t know! I do, but why only me? You’ve told me I’ve been seeing bright eyes from when I was a baby, right?” asked Janani.

“Mmmmmhmmmm” replied Ambujam as she fried the onion rings.

“So! Why can only I see her? What is she?” asked Janani.

“Chat later! Move out the kitchen and ask your grand mom to move too,” said bright eyes, suddenly, in a stern voice. She was standing near Janani.

Janani stood up without a word, pulled her grandmother and swiftly moved out the kitchen.

The burner promptly burnt with long flames and the oil kadai caught fire.

Ambujam turned to Janani with a calm expression. “Bright eyes?” she asked. Janani nodded. Ambujam sighed, took a huge lid, turned the burner off, turned the LPG gas off and placed the big lid on the kadai to cut off oxygen.

Janani turned to look for bright eyes. She was gone.

India, 1988

Parimala placed a bowl of raisins near Janani who was busy building a structure with her building blocks. Janani stopped, took the bowl and started to eat. She took a raisin and gave one to bright eyes, “Here!” said Janani, “You do not eat anything.”

Parimala saw this and sighed. She had gotten used to her daughter’s imaginary friend by now. This worried her. Janani frantically got up and ran towards Parimala. “What? What happened, baby?” asked Parimala and heard a loud thud. The ceiling fan had fallen where Janani had sat. “Bright eyes told me to run to you, mom. She said, ‘Run… get up and run to your mom. Fast.. fast…’. I thought she wanted to play,” said Janani as she hugged her mom. Parimala hugged her daughter and silently thanked bright eyes. It was a name her daughter had playfully given this friend who had very bright eyes. She looked at the space where Janani had looked when she talked to her friend.

“Bye baby!” said bright eyes who was now near Parimala now.

“Bye!” replied Janani.

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“So! She can see you?” asked bright eyes’s friend.

“Yup!” replied bright eyes with glee.

“WOW!” said the friend. They were sitting on one of the kopurams of Meenakshi amman temple in Madurai. “How come? She is just a baby. How can she see you?”

“I don’t know. She can. She could see me sitting on the Naga Linga tree in the hospital she was born in. Her friend creased her forehead.

“This is odd,” said her friend, “Mine does not see me even now. Wait! Could she be the one?”

Bright eyes smiled. She was sure Janani was the one. She just had to check if she had the third eye. She must wait. She must wait till she was over 10 years.

“Want some?” aske bright eyes’s friend as she held out a piece of coconut. Bright eyes got the coconut from her and both ate. There was a huge crowd of devotees in the temple. It was the month of Navratri.

To read the part 6, click here

Courageous fool?!!

Gayathri

1 comment

Aug 18, 2020

Road in the Forest 4K Wallpapers | HD Wallpapers | ID #28514

In a path that’s closed,

In a road that’s broken,

I see a sign that says, “STOP”

I go till the sign,

I peek a little,

There is a path further.

Should I go further?

Should I not stop?

 

The path does not scare me.

The road seems fine.

Because I see you.

I saw you when I peeked a little!

The girl with 10 hands……part 4

Gayathri

no comments

Aug 14, 2020

To read the part 3, click here

India, 1986

Ashokan walked fast towards the apartment building from where he had got a call. “F block, No. 401,” he said to the security.

“OK! Pandit sahib, go straight and turn left. F block,” said the security.

Ashokan walked towards F block. His daughter was 5 months old now. The doctor had been amazed at the rate at which she was growing. He smiled to himself. He wished his parents were alive to see their granddaughter. He felt Janani that looked like his mother. But his neighbours, his friends and people around him were wary of the baby. “She says ‘ma and pa.. and ta…’ This is abnormal,” Shetawari tai, his neighbour of 14 years had said. Ashokan made Janani sit on his desk in his office and his friend, Mithun, had remarked, “That’s odd. She’s just 5 months old.”

Ashokan smiled as he climbed the staircase to reach door 401. He was proud of his daughter. He was proud that she was different and could do all these things. ‘My daughter will be great,’ he thought.

He rung the doorbell and waited. No one answered. He rung the bell again. Ashokan sighed and sat on the staircase. He looked at his watch. It was 11:12 AM. He was right on time. He took out the receipt and checked the address. It was 401. He stood up to ring the bell again. “I am the TV mechanic. Is anyone there?” asked Ashokan in a loud voice. He saw that the milk packet which would have been placed there in the morning was still there on a basket outside the door. It had defrosted and there was a trail of water running down the staircase. “Anyone there?” he asked once again before leaving. Ashokan sighed and turned to leave. He slipped on the trail of water, bent his knee and fell headfirst down the staircase.

India, 1998

“Stop following me!” said Janani with anger as she tried to run and lose bright eyes. “I have to,” said bright eyes as she kept pace with Janani.

“Why can’t anyone else see you?” asked Janani with anger. Bright eyes just smiled. “You could have saved the people in the autorickshaw!” said Janani bristling with anger.

“Look! I do not do anything that I am not supposed to do,” said bright eyes and walked away.

Janani ran to catch up with her, “Why do you always save me?” asked Janani. Bright eyes stopped, looked at Janani and asked, “Save you?”

“Yes! You always do. Recently from that bad man too,” said Janani.

Bright eyes smiled, “Are you sure I was saving you?” she asked and walked away. Janani stood there with tear-filled eyes, confused head and hungry stomach. She took the cream bun out of its packet and started to eat.

India, 1986

Janani ran towards the motor room with her small legs and slowly lifted herself up the small window shade and crouched. She could hear her mother, grandmother and Shetawari aunty call for her. Janani was wearing a pattu pavadai. Her mom wanted her to wear a top, dress her up and put jewellery on her. Janani wanted to wear just a nappy and play. Shetawari aunty spotted Janani sitting on the window shade.

“Janu…. Come down,” she said as she approached the window shade.

“Nu…I wunt,” said Janani in a baby voice and hid her head in an attempt to fool Shetawari aunty. Shetawari smiled and moved slowly towards the windows shade to pick Janani up. She caught the squirming child and picked her up. Janani laughed as Shetawari tickled her and showered her with kisses. Janani jumped and hugged Shetawari’s neck. “Aunty!” she said.

“Hmmmm” said Shetawari as she walked past the green bushes and plants.

“I don wunu des,” said Janani.

Shetawari smiled, “Sweetie! It is your birthday. Your first birthday,” She placed Janani on her hips and looked at her. Janani had a brown complexion and a chubby appearance. Shetawari called her gulabjamun. “Hey gulabjamun, dress up! I want to see my gulabjamun in the silk dress I got for her,” said Shetawari. Janani hugged her neck again and said in a muffled voice, “Na..” Shetawari kissed her head and walked fast towards Parimala. “Pari! Found your little princess,” she called out.

India, 1998

“What do you mean?” asked Janani as she tried to keep pace with bright eyes, who was effortlessly hopping and walking on wild grass path that led to Janani’s home. “Look! What do you mean by that? STOP!” said Janani and sat down on the wild grass.

Bright eyes turned to look at Janani. Janani sat cross-legged with a frustrated expression. Bright eyes smiled. She loved Janani. She was bright, courageous, generous and bold. She never had to direct Janani towards the right path. She never had to advise her. Janani was able to see bright eyes from when she was a baby. This was not the case usually. Janani was different.

“What?” asked bright eyes as she sat near Janani, cross-legged in a meditation pose.

“What? What…. Tell me! You were not protecting me? Who were you protecting? Why are you helping me?” asked Janani.

“Ask the right questions! You will get the right answer,” said bright eyes, stood up and walked away. Janani got up and dusted sand off her uniform. She searched for bright eyes. She was nowhere to be seen. Janani sighed and said aloud, “if you were not saving me, then who were you saving?”

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Tivini, the rat snake (dhaman), moved fast in the grass. The hunt was very productive. The snake lived in a small ant hill near the pond. The growing human population was a big hassle at first for Tivini. He was frustrated because he lost his home and many of his friends. Humans cleared his habitat and made it their home, but Tivini saw that they attracted a lot of rodents.

The rice shop was Tivini’s favourite hunting place. He did not have to invest a lot of time and was never hungry. The humans, for some reason, were afraid of snakes. They killed snakes. The huge cobra, Maali, was taken away in a van. Maali was the king of the wild lands. Once what happened to Maali spread, other beings became cautious.

The squirrels in the neem tree were no longer afraid of Tivini. They were afraid of Humans now. The leopards were not spotted for a very long time, now. Maybe even they were afraid of the humans.

Tivini had made the mistake of napping behind the big rice storage drum yesterday. It had become morning and he was afraid to go out in the light. There were humans. So, Tivini waited will sundown and is now hurrying to his home. As Tivini raced towards his home, he suddenly climbed on a very black, small rock. This rock was not very hard. Tivini was suddenly lifted off the ground.

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Janani saw the small snake slither its way out of the grass and climb on her shoes. It was having a hard time moving past her shoes. Janani took the snake and looked at its eyes.

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Tivini was staring at the eyes of a human. This human had 3 eyes. The eye on her forehead opened wide. Tivini bowed to the sheer power she sensed. He was not afraid, for some reason.

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The snake put its head down. It did not want to look at Janani. This was not the first time an animal had avoided eye contact with her. Janani sighed, took the snake away from the walking path, and threw it far off in the grass.

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Tivini saw the glowing figure walk away. This human did not want to kill Tivini. This human was glowing. Tivini had once seen a dog that had 3 eyes and glowed. A human? Never. Tivini turned and moved towards his home, preoccupied with what just happened.

To read the part 5, click here

 

The girl with 10 hands……part 3

Gayathri

no comments

Jul 31, 2020

To read the part 2, click here

India, 1998

Janani walked towards bakery and stood near the juice shop outside the bakery. She searched for Shobana. She was no where to be found. She looked at her Casio watch. It was 3:00 pm. Janani sighed and sat on the big rock near the juice shop. It was Friday. Shobana and Janani always had cream bun in the bakery near their school every Friday. Where is Shobana? Janani thought. She dug inside her pocket and took the 5 rupees she had saved to buy cream bun. She badly wanted to taste the delicacy, but she wanted to enjoy the sweet bun with her friend. So, she waited.

Janani waited till 3:45 pm, got a cream bun and started to push her cycle home. As she turned towards the 2nd junction, from where she and Shobana usually started to cycle. She had finished her bun and wiped her mouth on her sleeves and realised after a second that she will be bashed for this by her mother. ‘The cream is white, maybe it won’t show,’ she thought. As she got on her cycle, she could feel that one of the tyres were punctured. She got down to check. It was the back tyre. Janani pushed her cycle to nearest repair shop. “Anna! Cycle puncture,” she said. The repairperson walked towards Janani and checker the cycle’s tyres. “Yeah!” he said and started to mend it. Janani walked to the small plastic stool outside the shop and sat down. She absently stared at the Hanuman picture on the wall of the shop, when she heard a “Hi!”. Janani turned to see who it was.

“Hi!” repeated Rishi.

“Hi!” said Janani and turned back.

“I am Rishi!” he said.

Janani turned to look at the pestering boy. “Ok!” she said and turned way.

“Aaa…. My cycle’s chain broke,” he said.

“Mmmmm…hmmm” said Janani with a frustrated voice.

“Hmmm…” said Rishi and turned away. “She does not want to talk to me, Angel!” he said, and Janani turned to look at him to see to who he was talking to. “I know! I know! What can I do?” he continued.

Janani looked at the space he was looking at. She could not see anyone. ‘Who is he talking to?’ she thought. Rishi turned toward Janani, “She says to tell you to be careful when crossing the road. I am sorry! But she’s keeps asking me to tell you this,” said Rishi.

“Who?” asked Janani.

“Aaammmm… I call her Angel. You cannot see her, but she is very nice. Look! Just be careful, OK?” said Rishi and got up to leave. He walked towards his cycle and rode away.

‘Wasn’t his cycle’s chain broke?’ thought Janani.

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Janani waited in the junction to cross the road. Her cycle’s tyre was completely ruined. She had to come with her father to pay and collect her cycle. She was preoccupied. Why did Shobana not show up? How will she go to school tomorrow? Who was that boy? The signal went green and the person beside her started to walk; so did Janani.

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Parvindher stepped on the brake, but his lorry kept moving with the same pace. He frantically pressed more in vain. He looked up and saw an auto parked near the signal. He pressed more. His brakes worked fine just a few minutes back. What happened?

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‘Did he tell me his name?’ thought Janani as she crossed the road. She suddenly remembered that he asked her to be careful while crossing the road. She turned to look at the parked vehicles and saw a lorry coming fast at her in her peripheral. It was coming straight at the parked Autorickshaw wherein a mother and a daughter were seated. She looked at the lorry again. It was moving very fast. Janani, habitually searched for bright eyes. She stopped and looked around. She was nowhere to be found. Janani was scared now. What can she do? She started to move towards the autorickshaw. Rishi caught her hand and pulled her back. Just a few seconds later, the lorry dashed the autorickshaw and their screams were deafening. Janani stood there perplexed, shocked and angry. She turned to Rishi, who looked calm, and asked, “Why? How did you know?”

“This is their fate. Don’t interfere,” he said, let go of her hand and walked away. Janani stood there in shock. “Hey!” she heard bright eyes call. She turned to look at her with anger-filled eyes. Janani crossed the rest of the road and walked fast. She could not stop the over-flowing tears. Bright Eyes follower her in silence.

India, 1986

Parimala cooked as she kept an eye on Janani. Her mother was making idli batter in the huge wet grinder on the kitchen floor. Ambujam looked at the baby who was on her stomach and was taking turns biting all her toys. The baby looked up at Ambujam. Ambujam made funny faces and the baby laughed. “Mom!” called Parimala.

“Yeah!” said Ambujam in between making funny faces.

“She’s just 2-months old. She’s on her stomach, laughs, bites stuff. Are these normal?” asked Parimala.

Ambujam stopped what she did and looked at her daughter. She looked worried. She could understand why. This was not normal. Nothing about Janani was normal. The birth, the baby’s development, her daughter’s recovery. Nothing was normal. She was not going to tell her daughter that. “No dear! Look. Today’s kids are very forward. Maybe it is a generation thing. She is good. All this is normal. Just enjoy her growth,” said Ambujam and did a balloon face as she looked at the baby and got a baby giggle in return. Parimala smiled and sighed. Just then, Janani pushed her palms on the floor and moved. Her mom and Parimala looked at the small human with joyful surprise. “It is going to be hard to explain all this to the doctor, right?” said Parimala, not taking her eyes off the baby. “Hmmm” said Ambujam, “Swaddle Janani, maybe she won’t notice.”

Parimala turned to look at her mother with a are-you-kidding-me look.

 

To read the part 4, click here

NEP (2020): a good change in a weird year

Gayathri

2 comments

Jul 30, 2020

Sanskrit to be offered at all levels of school, higher education; Check ...

New Education policy 2020 (NEP 2020) has paved the way to make drastic changes in India’s educational system. These changes will be implemented in a slow and steady phase, giving people enough time to get used to the introductions.

I am going to talk about a few things that loved and did not love in the policies (Did not love, does not mean, hate guys! I just don’t think these will work). The new policy, no doubt, is a breath of fresh air for many people who longed to have a working educational system that cultivates thinking habit and does not foster mindless following. And honestly, there are many things I loved.

However, this is a huge change. Many people who have trained themselves to follow the age-old educational system will have a hard time accepting the new changes. For example, “This will help you in your boards,” is a phrase kids hear from a lot of people around them. I have heard my kid’s teachers, my friends, myself say this phrase (Come on! It is a common card to make the kid study! Of course, I used it!). Many parents concentrate on academics and text-learning, not caring if the child enjoys the subject.

My friend would say, “I am developing reading habit in my daughter. She reads one page every day.” When I asked her why just one page? She promptly said, “One page is a great deal yaar! Slowly she will read two pages, three pages and so on…” My friend has quantified reading. The child hated reading but performed the task so that her mom will get off her back. This broke my heart. Because, reading should be fun. The child should enjoy it. If the child hates it, stop forcing! Find out what the child is interested in, let the child explore, and be there to guide them when they need you. They are not your project; they are mini humans.

Now that I am done with my rant! (Hehe! See how sure I am that my friend in question won’t read this!)

10 NGOs rejuvenating education in India - GiveIndia's Blog

Stuff I loved about NEP (2020):

  • Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools ; Vocational Education to start  from Class 6 with Internships

  • Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes

  • National Research Foundation to be established to foster a strong research culture

This is a welcome change. Now people! Search the meaning of Numeracy. If you have already done it! Well done! (I googled too!! 😊) I love that our government is segregating Literacy and Numeracy. Because they are not the same.

In the current curriculum, students who do all the homework, submit all the projects, do well in exams, have good handwriting (for the love of god! My hand writing has been Calibri for the past 8 years.. it was Time new Roman before!), and are good verbally are good students. If they do not do all these, they are “other” kids (ones who could not care for authority-pleasing). See where I am going with this? The non-“other kids” are literate.

I know of a kid who was extremely bad in studies. When I say studies, I mean science, math, and social studies, but he was an exceptional artist who can draw, paint, sketch and his bag was always full of color pencils and drawing sheets (The kid’s bag got mixed up with my son’s! So, go to know about his talent!). And my own son who loves science and Math. He is not very artsy. He does not like to read. But can research, read, and watch videos on otters’ habitat, Hydrogen atom, and Jupiter’s atmosphere. These kids are put in the “other” kids bucket. Because the school is not equipped to deal with them.

I really hope this new approach will enable children to grow in the right direction.

  • Ensuring Universal Access at all levels of school education NEP 2020 advocates increased use of technology with equity; National Educational Technology Forum to be created

  • NEP 2020 emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups

This is essential. All children have the right to be educated and to have a fair opportunity. By denying education, we are denying choice, opportunity, growth and inclusion. I hope this change will ensure rural parts of India get technology access and in-turn education (since, both seem interrelated now).

Quotas and benefits in the employment front will change nothing when the foundation, which is education, is lacking. They kids will not feel included (this may seem small, but it affects a young mind) unless they are exposed to information and knowledge from a young age. Without the feeling of being included, they will face psychological pressure. I am sure when the right foundation is given, kids will not even use quotas and the caste column will have an “NA.”

Few mentionable features that support the above statements:

Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1642049

Financial support for students

Efforts will be made to incentivize the merit of students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and other SEDGs. The National Scholarship Portal will be expanded to support, foster, and track the progress of students receiving scholarships. Private HEIs will be encouraged to offer larger numbers of free ships and scholarships to their students.

Open and Distance Learning

This will be expanded to play a significant role in increasing GER. Measures such as online courses and digital repositories, funding for research, improved student services, credit-based recognition of MOOCs, etc., will be taken to ensure it is at par with the highest quality in-class programmes.

Online Education and Digital Education:

A comprehensive set of recommendations for promoting online education consequent to the recent rise in epidemics and pandemics in order to ensure preparedness with alternative modes of quality education whenever and wherever traditional and in-person modes of education are not possible, has been covered. A dedicated unit for the purpose of orchestrating the building of digital infrastructure, digital content and capacity building will be created in the MHRD to look after the e-education needs of both school and higher education.

Technology in education

An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration. Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education will be done to improve classroom processes, support teacher professional development, enhance educational access for disadvantaged groups and streamline educational planning, administration and management

  • Robust Teacher Recruitment and Career Path

This is my favorite (I am not kidding! I literally had a smile ear-to-ear when I read this. My family kept peeking to check what mom(ster) is reading). High time! I would say. Teachers are the architects of a country. They build the next generation. And how much do we pay them? How are they selected? Majority of the workforce in teaching is women. Why? I am going to be honest here. A woman’s income is considered a secondary income in most households. Their career, therefore, is secondary. Majority workforce are people who earn the secondary income in their families? That’s not right. (I am not demeaning women people! Just stating facts. Women have children. We have nature-given responsibilities.)

Where are people who love to teach and are exceptionally good in their related field? Where did they all go? They are all in jobs that pay more. Increase the quality of a teacher’s career path and we lay the foundation of a strong country. After all, it is Matha, Pitha, Guru, Dheivam. A teacher is more than a god. They can make a child’s future.

Few mentionable features that support the above statements:

Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1642049

Teacher Education

A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, NCFTE 2021, will be formulated by the NCTE in consultation with NCERT. By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree. Stringent action will be taken against substandard stand-alone Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs).

  • Increase GER to 50 % by 2035

NEP 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035. 3.5 Crore new seats will be added to Higher education institutions.

This was music to my ears. GER is a component that direly needed the government’s attention. Because if this is low, then the quotas that they so “generously” allocate in graduations courses remain unfulfilled and are used by rich caste-holders who just use it to reduce spending. This is what I meant by opportunity.

 

Stuff I did not love so much about NEP (2020):

  • Teaching upto at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language

How are they going to implement this when the internal migration is all-time high in India? Indian states have varying mother tongues. A huge population lives away from their mother-state. We speak Tamil at home, and Hindi and Marathi away form home. A friend of mine speaks Telugu at home and Malayalam away from home. Another friend speaks Marathi at home and Hindi away form home. And another friend is a Gujarati, married to a Punjabi, who lives in Chennai.

Don’t even get me started on the blue-collar workforce who are migrating to big cities for work. Their mother tongue is not the same as the local language. Standardizing education with respect to a person’s mother tongue is a way of saying stay at your own place. Do not leave. This will create new problems.

I understand that a kid’s foundation is strong in mother tongue. This can be implemented in Pre-school level, with options in talking-language for the kids, by recruiting teachers with multi-lingual talent.

  • No talk about free education

Education, till high school, should be freely available. That’s it!

I hope all this is implemented and works. I hope the middlemen do not hamper this wonderful policy’s implementation. I hope the government looks more into the policy and include and exclude few details by keeping an open mind. Let’s say, a growing policy? A dynamic one. To suit the information age!

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