Missing the School

It's been almost a month since I was at HPS Breswana. Miss these imps.
Here they are, demonstrating the hilarity of the word 'Akimbo'. :)

'Three Cups of Tea' is...

...before anything else, a New York Times Bestseller. So. Taking our cue from there...

Three Cups of Tea is Greg Mortenson's story (Greg Mortenson being the man behind Central Asia Institute- CAI) told badly with the help of David Oliver Relin.

It could have been a great book, because the story behind it is incredible. But it isn't.
And here, to tell you in her own hilarious words, is Lisa M and her review of 'Three Cups of Tea'.
I agree with everything Lisa said in her review (from 2008), and had a few more grouses with the proofing and glaringly inaccurate facts in parts of the book (for instance: In one anecdote, Relin repeatedly uses the word 'shalwar' when he is clearly talking about Mortenson's kameez. Very annoying as a reader. Makes you think is this book researched enough? Do the writers know what they are talking about?). Overall disturbing to read such a high profile title with simple mistakes. Makes one feel like we're being fed lines....
Anyway.
Some of my comments on the book:
I’m working with setting up schools in remote villages in Jammu & Kashmir myself, so I thought this book would be helpful in sorting out actual on-the-ground problems I come across (like how to go about proper documentation, registration with notoriously corrupt govt officials and bureaucratic departments, how to get good teachers to work and STAY in remote areas, duh, then supervise them, check the quality of teaching intermittently etc.) but nothing of the sort. The way Relin tells the story it was pretty smooth sailing for Greg like “I’m American so I can get airlifts from the Army” and instead of the actual schools and what went on in there, it was more about constructing buildings. I have set up three schools in remote villages, and believe me, getting rooms or a building is the least of one’s worries.
I was gifted ‘Three Cups’ by a dear friend and was pretty keen on it until I reached about one-third and was like, “Errr. Wait a minute. We have been had.” :)


(If you want to buy the book online in India, I'd recommend Flipkart any day. Here's where you can get it.)

Allama Iqbal's 'Lab Pa Aati Hai Dua'

This most famous nazm of the great poet Allama Iqbal is a very common prayer in many Indian and Pakistani schools. Haji Public School, Breswana, is no exception. Unlike most of Iqbal's poetry, this is in really simple, beautiful Urdu, easy for everyone to understand.

Here's a preferred rendition by some kid called Siza Roy. Lyrics with translation provided in the YouTube video.


PS: Must make special mention of my kids who absolutely do not follow this tune. They have their own take on the music that should accompany this prayer.:)

Coming Soon...

Many pics. Many, many pics from recently concluded travels and visit to the school. Sample above.

Introducing... The HAJI PUBLIC SCHOOL

HAJI PUBLIC SCHOOL???!!! Shut up!!!

*Cheers!*Fanfare!*The crowd goes wild!!!*
Then, suddenly feeling silly, the crowd asks, "Err. What is it?"
Answer:
I am proud as all dammit to announce the launch of the very first school under the Amina Trust Foundation. This would be the HAJI PUBLIC SCHOOL, Breswana (tadaaa!!!), and if you don't know already, Breswana is our tiny little village way up in the mountains, on the 'other' side of the River Chenab.


Said Trust is a family-run charity organisation ('cosa nostra' and all that) set up to help widows, orphans and poor people, to improve education and civic facilities in Doda District, then move further out and insha'Allah cover the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

(Next obvious step: WORLD DOMINATION....)

The new joint in Breswana starts out as an elementary school this year with lower and upper kindergartens, and we will slowly increment grades as we get more staff and resources.
Ma and I have been busy the last couple of months, training teachers, building the syllabus, procuring books, stationery and other paraphernalia that go into starting and running a school, buying assorted toys for the shrimps in Breswana.... and it has all come down to this: Academic year 2009-2010 declared open. Classes will kickstart in the coming week on Monday, May 4, 2009.
Huzzzzaaaaahh!

We're heading to the village this weekend for the grand inauguration party, having such celebrated guests as No One Really, WhatsHerFace and The Other Guy. Media presence is uncertain for reasons unknown. Also in attendance will be the peeps of Breswana and one hears they are quite glad their kids will finally have a real school to go to. Well, good for them. *thumps table*
Will put up pics of affair on return.

Quick-guide route to Breswana:
Nearest airports: Jammu, Srinagar
Thereafter: By road, on foot, or on four feet (horse's/mule's)
Things to Know and Ponder About: Breswana accessible only on foot / horseback after a point. Difficult, steep mountain slopes, but great scenery along the way. :-)
1. From Jammu or Srinagar, take the National Highway 1B to Kishtwar.
2. Stop at tiny roadside town called Premnagar (about 6 hours by road from Jammu). Yes, that is its real name.
3. Cross footbridge over the Chenab, take a deep breath and start upwards.
4. On horseback, it takes us a good 3-4 hours. Walking (for the unfit) will take longer. MUCH longer. For the local bumpkins, who do this uphill-downhill routine daily, they reach in 2 hours flat. Won't say they hardly break a sweat, but what I'm trying to suggest here is that they're really quite something.
I want to BE them...

Pit Stop 1, about an hour up from Premnagar.

And, 4 hours later we're there. Welcome to Breswana.

So. Until next week.

PS: Cartoons filched from cartoonstock and Family Guy.

Please be informed...

... that:

1. I think the winter is already over. Who would've thunk it? Spring in Kashmir, and not even March yet. At least it looks like it's spring time here in Doda. My lawn has started sprouting grass and some buds are rearing their heads. We've had bright sunlight for the past few days. I am now comfortable in only three layers of woollens. Have also cut down night-time bed-rations from four blankets to two.

2. Due to the sudden collapse of AN ENTIRE MOUNTAINSIDE nearby (I kid you not), three major districts: Doda (where I live), Kishtwar and Bhaderwah have been unceremoniously cut off from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir*. This fascinating turn of events took place a couple of weeks ago when the lone highway route that connects us to anywhere (NH-1B) went crashing into the Chenab. Read here.
CAUSE: The destructive and very ugly Baghliar Dam which has been constructed on the Chenab, leading to unnatural rise of water levels for a certain length of this gorgeous river. EFFECT: The water rose to such a level that it seeped into the moutain on either side of the river (one of which sides was host to that hapless victim, the national highway). The more the water seeped in, the more the mountain soil turned loose and eventually just caved in, taking along with it some houses, a few vehicles and some folks.There is a six-kilometre stretch of road that is now unsafe for vehicles near a town called Assar, and folks who want to travel from here to Jammu or Srinagar have to disembark from their vehicles, walk/trek/climb up and down the mountainside for about an hour and a half on foot to get to the other side of this stretch and then board another vehicle and carry on.
As you can imagine, food and other supplies have been hit and the bare minimum is airlifted to the main townships every once in a while. In Doda, the helipad is right outside my house, so we have dust storms and noise all day when the helicopters come in bringing gas, food and other rations. Headache only, ma. See my view of the proceedings.Just the other day there was a serious road accident here and some folks had to be airlifted sud-suddenly. We had ambulances and stretchers and crowds and the whole jamboree unfolding in front of our eyes.

*Please note: Kashmir is pronounced as Kush(as in 'rush)-meer, and not 'Cash'-meer. To pronounce it as the latter only shows how ignorant you are, and also, it does not make you look cool. Okay? Okay.

3. With reference to my previous post and movies, have watched Slumdog, and will soon have Benjamin Button ready for viewing. I do love Cate Blanchett (Galadriel etc.). I shall not state the obvious about a certain Brad Pitt. Am waiting for the Oscars and Hugh Jackman. Really hope it's funny and not silly with awkward silences in place of spontaneous laughter. Also, I don't think Slumdog ought to win 'Best Movie'. Seriously. It's very good but, you know, not heart-wrenchingly great.
Other movies that now go on my wishlist are all the usual suspects:
-Vicky Cristina Barcelona
-Doubt
-The Reader
-Milk
-Frost/Nixon
And..... closer to home:
-DELHI-6 (singing Masakalli, Masakalli with fun sing-along-Sonam-Kapoor-actions)
-Dev D.

4. Plan to show the kids Kill Bill at school. Showed the young boys a few of the good scenes ['The Bride v. The Crazy 88' and 'The Bride v. O-Ren Ishii']. Oh, how they squealed in delight at the blood spurting and the awesome soundtrack. Made me smile warmly to my insides. These kids are creatures after my own heart, I say. *wink*

5. Have been doing a fun exercise with all my classes and they're responding beautifully. I play them a song, and they have to figure out the lyrics line-by-line. I find this really helpful in teaching them figures of speech, slang, -isms, and similes, metaphors, puns and whatnot. (Plus, I make them listen to MY kind of music and my self-interest is satisfied for a while. Moooahahahaha.)

6. Nice pun I came across yesterday, while looking for funny examples for my class: "The cross-eyed teacher had no control over his pupils." Tee hee. Titter titter. So now you know.

Okay. That's that.