Tattva

Though this summer began with ambivalent uncertainty, it ends with contented fulfillment. Since I was given the extraordinary opportunity to dedicate the entirety of my summer volunteering in both India and Guyana, I was decidedly excited but a tad apprehensive about, well, everything: could I handle the doubtless myriad issues that daily life in foreign places would entail? As my project mostly involved teaching children English (in India) and Vedic Math (in Guyana), I was also anxious about how it would be—would there be communication issues? Would I be able to deal with them, to reach them? Would they like me?

I was extremely privileged to commence my sewa experience at the Maitreyi Gurukula in the village of Moorkaje (located in the south Indian state of Karnataka). The Maitreyi Gurukula is a free boarding school, funded by the Ajaya Trust, for exceptional girls between the ages of 8 and 16 of rural or impoverished background—brilliant and talented girls who would otherwise never receive the opportunity to realize their potential. Many of these girls would have been married off at a young age simply because their families could not afford to keep them, let alone give them the education their talents merit. The purpose of the school is to educate these girls so that they can go back and educate others in their villages, as well as properly educate and bring up their children with Satvic values—a sort of intellectual trickle-down. By giving these girls a holistic and well-rounded education, it is ensured that not only is an individual being helped but also the next generation has a greater chance of being raised with strong, positive morals and ethical values.

It is simultaneously heart-warming and wrenching to see them. Though a delight to watch them flourish in the wholesome and intellectual environment in which they clearly belong, it is beyond heartbreaking to imagine how many such children are languishing in surroundings undeserving of their ability. I am immeasurably lucky my project teaching English allowed me the opportunity to interact with these girls on a very familiar level.

The very first thing I noticed about everyone—not just the students—at the Gurukula was their profound contentment, unfaltering joie de vivre, and absolute graciousness. Despite being afforded but the barest minimum of luxuries, they are utterly satisfied with their lot. They are uprooted from their native villages and families at the age of 8, schooled in a wholly different language (the medium of instruction is Sanskrit; they are taught upon arrival and become fluent in usually a year or two), wake up at 4:30 in the morning, and—in addition to classes—daily clean the buildings, tend to the gardens and do all the required upkeep themselves. The Mathrushris (the teachers) are all absolutely wonderful women for whom my respect knows no bounds. As their title suggests, they are all extremely nurturing, caring and devoted; these brave ladies have literally dedicated their whole lives to improving the world by beginning at the foundation of society: caring for the wellbeing of less fortunate children. 

 
My weeks at the Gurukula were among the most fulfilling and inspiring of my life. Seeing the simplicity of these girls, how happy they were even though they woke up at the crack of dawn every morning, swept and mopped the whole school, had three pairs of clothing (two for everyday wear and one for special occasions), washed their clothes everyday by hand on a stone, slept on straw mats atop the concrete floors in their classrooms with all their possessions placed in one square foot’s space on a communal rack—this was indescribably inspirational to me! I experienced a complete paradigm shift.

It is commonly thought that people lacking material luxury are unhappy, but it seems to be the very opposite to me. Too often people look to material goods for fulfillment and validation. The means become the end, and people attach their identity to transient things; they become their statuses, their possessions. And since things are ephemeral, they find no fulfillment or joy in their lives. Those who do not have the crutch of material comfort find their value and happiness in the internal, the intangible, and that which can never be taken from them.

My experience in Guyana was markedly different. At the Gurukula, I was more of a friend to the girls, and treated as a respected peer rather than as an authority figure, but my role in Guyana was decidedly that of a teacher. Teaching math is far different from teaching English. At the Gurukula, my English classes were mostly teaching conversational English and improving pronunciation, resulting in an informal and casual atmosphere where I learned as much (if not more) from the students than they from me. I had no challenges teaching because the girls didn’t require any disciplining: there was nothing for me to control or to do besides presenting the coursework, which the girls dutifully followed.

In Guyana I taught at the Saraswati Vidya Niketan School, a Hindu school taking inspiration from Vidya Bharati in India. It is located in Cornelia Ida and serves to educate Guyanese Hindu children (who are fifth or sixth generation Indians) on Hindu values, and to experientially teach them their cultural heritage. Here, I did a lot more teaching and a lot less conversing. I learned to control a classroom of noisy adolescents who are but a few years younger than I (asking nicely, speaking sternly, yelling a bit, and issuing ultimatums of extra homework—in that order), and how to command authority. Whereas at the Gurukula, all my classes consisted of between twelve and twenty extremely respectful girls who viewed being educated as a high honor and privilege and firmly practiced acharya devo bava (treating the teacher as god), at SVN, I had classes of thirty normal kids. Of course, it was a mixed bag. Some classes were a real pleasure to teach: one of my classes asked me if I could come teach them every day (I taught five grades, each twice a week) and if I could keep teaching through the next period as well, and the youngest class was so unabashedly enthusiastic, sweet and eager that they would beg me for homework and further practice! Only one class (the eldest students) was unruly. The rest were more than manageable. In Guyana I learned to deal with the disciplining aspect and leadership that is part and parcel of teaching.

Both of my projects were deeply satisfying, albeit in completely different ways. I loved almost everything about both of the countries I had the honor to visit. Though I suppose my original trepidation was not baseless, I fortunately experienced no insurmountable difficulties. Sure there were cultural differences and quite a bit of miscommunication (the supreme irony that I had no problem communicating in my second language, Kannada, but I could not for the life of me discern what was being said to me in English-speaking Guyana), but even that which was originally unpleasant became wonderful. I would not change a single detail of my experiences during this internship.

Apurva is an undergraduate student at Case Western Reserve University, majoring in philosophy. This summer she volunteered in Bangalore and Guyana, through the Yuva for Sewa fellowship program. For more information about the program, please visit www.sewausa.org/yuva-for-sewa.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 7:07 pm and is filed under Editorials/Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.