JanPlan in India 2008

Still Reeling

2008-02-15T07:20:00.000-08:00

I sit here in Miller library at Colby and try, try really hard, to understand the fact that only two weeks ago I was on the other side of the globe. I sometimes can't grasp it. All the people I met and all of the places I visited, many of which I may never see again, are memories that seem more closely related to fantastical day dreams. Yet when I force myself to dredge something out of my head that feels more solid then the rest, I come up with a few events that were defining elements of my experience in India. The first of these is from our weekend excursion to Gangtok, a grand adventure composed of many smaller escapades. Subash, an ex-boarder from the Ashram who was attending college in Darjeeling, wanted to take myself and Jack to meet his roommate, who was from Gangtok. While the rest of the group took off to visit some temple somewhere, the three of us caught a cab into the center of the city, where we hung around outside of a movie theater waiting for a phone call. After a few minutes, a group of kids passed by, stopped and turned around, talked to Subash and then told us to follow them. So we did, wandering down some back streets and up some old paths in a hillside to an old and apparently abandoned government building. Outside were a number of kids of high school or college age, crouching or sitting around in a vague circle. One of them stood up with a shout and grabbed Subash, hugging him and speaking rapid-fire Nepali. Jack and I were introduced to him as Johnny, Subash's roommate. He was small and thin, but seemed bulky in the American-style "gangsta" clothing he was wearing, and had a number of tattoos and piercings, most notably the tattoo in the space between the thumb and forefinger that most of the kids there seemed to have. He sat us down, offered us cigarettes, and asked us, in broken English, where Jack and I were from. "America," we said, and all of the bystanders exchanged smiles and nods with each other, and Johnny began serving as interpreter for a question and answer session about American life and style. Most of these kids had elements of American style about them, particularly what would be considered "gansta" style, and yet seemed to have no idea about where these things came from, or how they factored into an American existence. Johnny took out his cellphone, which could play MP3 files, and played American songs that would be scoffed at as throw-away pop by most people in the States. They seemed to like it, and even thought it was popular music in America. They asked us about school, race relations within the States, American sexuality, drug use, our friends and family, what we did for fun, what music we listened to, and, what seemed most important, how we liked India and what we thought about the people and the culture. Not only were they very interested in learning about American culture firsthand, it seemed they also wanted our affirmation or approval of the elements of American culture that they had adopted. It was hard to tell them at times that the things they thought of as characteristic of America, and admired a lot, were in fact just the heavily commercialized things that industry decided to export and sell on the international market, and were actually minor cultural aspects in the States. Another thing that comes to my mind when I search for events central to my Indian experience is the evening I and several other Colby students spent talking with Jerome, the history and geography teacher at the Ashram. He invited us to his house for drinks and food, and we sat around discussing aspects of our trip and the experiences we had Ashram. Through his ability to see clearly through many of the veils of Indian society, particularly the ones that affected the Ashram, Jerome helped us to reach a more grounded view of the culture we were grappling with. He talked about the mixed feelings people have for Gandhi (was he really a uniter, if the India he helped construct is now so divided?), about the rumblings of the Gorkhas, about the poverty of his people, about the corruption of ideals at the Ashram, about the effect that our visit has on the students and the community, and about how his own dreams reflect the dreams of other Indians and the community as a whole. After listening to him, trying to understand this culture by way of academic papers and and analyses suddenly seemed less than useless - it was detrimental to the experience. You cannot generalize about a country and people so diverse, with so many different backgrounds and motivations and outlooks. This had been a thought that I had been brewing for a while, and thanks to Jerome it reached fruition. I appreciate the ideas of During and Chakrabarty, and it was good to know more about the life, thoughts, and contributions of Gandhi, but I learned much more about the daunting and magnificent country of India by listening to its people and following them through their world.

Western Education and Subalternity

2008-02-14T15:09:00.001-08:00

When I think of the first day and the frantic, frenetic energy that coursed through the campus and classrooms, I felt utterly lost when I stood in front of my first class. What was I supposed to teach them? I lacked a reference point. I did not know their culture, their language, their learning styles, or where they were in their studies. But I needed to teach them something, so I thought back to what I had learned in 6th grade and started writing examples on the board to see if they could follow it. Multiplication they knew by heart. Decimals they finished before I could. Division they chimed in quickly. Long division the room got quieter. Long division with decimals and there was dead silence and blank stares. I now had somewhere to start. I didn’t know how they had been taught before so I taught them the steps the way I had learned them, and we got through a problem together. By then, the class was over, but this would be the way I would teach during my time at the Gandhi Ashram: the western way I knew.

Chakrabarty's article identifies Indians as being subaltern because much of their history has been shaped and evaluated through the lens of western culture. Their measurements of success and failure have not been defined by their own experiences but the experience of western culture. Europe is viewed as the pinnacle of human society and India is constrained in its ability to evaluate itself outside this value structure. While many parts of Indian culture have begun to break free of these constrictions, the system of education is undeniably English. Although the topics have been molded to fit the needs and goals of the educators, the values intrinsic in the institution are undeniably western.

I am proud of how much I was able to teach the students, and how much they were able to learn during the two and a half weeks I spent at the Ashram. However, I still wrestle with whether I helped to lift the children out of their subaltern status or further entrenched them into thinking the only way is the western way.

On the one hand, Gandhi Ashram gives its students the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and pursue their dreams. All the students recognize this and want to succeed, not just for themselves, but for the sake of their families and their communities, whom they hope to help in the future. The more they learn, the better they will perform on exams and the better chance they have of getting a university education. The only other option for these children is to work the fields with their parents and eventually become subsistence farmers with high vulnerability to poor weather and crop failure and little possibility of social mobility.

On the other hand, the Ashram is suppressing the heritage that these children have and implicitly devaluing it in favor of western traditions. The children are taught every subject in English except for Nepali. They learn to play violins, and the pieces they play were written by Europeans for European audiences. Every morning they line up and say the Lords prayer and pray before each meal, in English. Very little of the curriculum seems to have any relation to the students own culture. Because of this absence, western culture is put on the pedestal as being intelligent, public, and rational while the heritage that the children have grown up in is meant to stay at home in the private sphere. It is implicitly made to back seen as backwards, holding them back.

I felt that our program only reinforced this preferentialism. We arrived at the school and were thrust into the classroom without a reference point to their culture or their language, let alone their learning styles or where they were in their studies. As a teacher, I couldn’t appreciate what they had to offer because I didn’t know. I couldn’t try to uplift and bring out the skills and specialties that the possessed because of their subalternity because I had no idea what they were or how to find them. All I could do was teach in the style that I knew with the values I had and do my best to reach the kids. I didn’t know what they needed to learn so I decided based on my own education what I thought was important. I was the embodiment of dominant culture directing the path of marginalized culture, even though there is nothing to say that the path I see for them is the right or best one.

I find myself answering my initial question about my effect on the students of Gandhi Ashram as yes for both sides. These children and their families want them to be at the Ashram so that they can learn and have the opportunity to fulfill any dream they have. In order to do that, they need to master the education system and that system is western in nature, both in structure and in values. Ashram strives to teach them so that they are prepared once they leave to take the next step in their education. The Colby JanPlan program helped and will continue to help with that goal. When I think of all that could be done with these kids, the possibilities are endless. They have a ton potential that could be better captured with a more rigorous and focused curriculums and improved resources. That I think Colby will provide that as the program builds in the coming years. However, I think it must build carefully. I feel that I went into the program completely blind and while it was an eye opening experience, my ignorance prevented me from recognizing the culture I was teaching in until it was pretty much too late. While the children need to better develop their critical thinking and English skills, it must be in a way that includes their own background and culture, not pushes it aside. Only in that way can they truly come to master their subalternity and use it to propel themselves forward.

Who Speaks for Yourself

2008-02-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

I now understand American society a lot better upon getting away from it. After going to India, I feel that I have arrived at new insights regarding Americans’ struggle for upward mobility and the way this effort differs from the endeavors of those living in third-world countries. I feel that Americans strive upwards and aim to enter the professional middle-class because this ambition is perceived as a necessity. However, for people in third-world countries, it is a want, a desire; it is more personal. And this realization came about in a conversation I had with one of the past boarders of the Gandhi Ashram School, Viraj, who now attends college in Darjeeling and came back to the School for winter vacation.

The conversation between Viraj and me took place one night, when I went to visit the room where the male boarders lived. Upon climbing the stairs up to their room, I saw one of the most spectacular views of India. I saw mountain ranges, decorated by the lights that originated from the other residents on the hills of Kalimpong. Standing together at the top of the stairs with the lights of Kalimpong reaching out to us, we began to discuss the divisions within my culture and the corresponding unity within his. Viraj and I first started to chat lightheartedly about how certain situations at Gandhi Ashram (GA) would rarely happen in American schools—like the brotherly and sisterly love that the older kids provide for their younger classmates. From this, we progressed on to question why this is the case. Why is this familial love between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen so rare in American elementary and junior high schools? This may be pessimistic of me, but I cannot imagine a school in America that would operate as efficiently as GA, if grades kindergarten through the eighth grade were all housed in one building. And Viraj interestingly suggested that, “They [students at GA] just want to learn,” and that, “…they lose nothing from it.”

From Viraj’s response, I began to see how all the students at GA were closely connected. They all held common aspirations, which became more apparent when the seventh and eight graders gave their “I Have a Dream” speeches during the closing assembly. Their common aspiration to educate themselves is obvious, but the commonality that truly bonds these students together is their need to improve their socio-economic status. But such efforts are driven by a more personal desire because, as Viraj said, “they lose nothing from it.” Their pressure to become future engineers, professors, or lawyers originates from their individual want to live a good life and to provide for their families. They improve themselves in order to improve their status, but in America, the situation is unfortunately reversed. Americans tend to care about the status and then concern themselves with how to get there. I see this a lot as a senior in college. Many of my friends are distraught over not knowing what they will do after graduation, and I cannot help but wonder why: why are they so hung up on the idea that they need to have plans? They all want to become a member of the professional middle-class without really knowing if this is something they personally want. They are not “speaking” for themselves, which is a problem that Dipesh Chakrabarty discusses in his essay. When detailing the education of women and the portrayal of women in Bengali literature, he exposes how much of this content revolves around a European context, which directly speaks to his thesis on Eurocentrism. Chakrabarty, however, does this not only to expose the way the European sense of modernity or standard is often imposed onto Indian or other cultures in a position of subalternity, but the way this practice happens unknowingly. Therefore, if Indian history is lost through this process of imposition from Europe, then are Americans subjected to the same fate as subaltern cultures?

My answer would be yes, unless Americans learn from the students at GA and start to speak for themselves.

Human Interdependence

2008-02-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

Mahatma Gandhi’s theory concerning human nature stresses three essential principles regarding humans. In my time in Kalimpong, I noticed that the second basic truth within this philosophy was both completely accurate and relevant; Gandhi claims that humans are “necessarily interdependent and [form] an organic whole” (Parekh 51). This interconnectivity is firmly based within the family – which is obviously a central component we Colby students noticed immediately upon arrival at the Gandhi Ashram School. Gandhi’s philosophy contends that “individuals [owe] their existence to their parents, [for] without [their] countless sacrifices they would neither survive nor grow into sane human beings. They realized their potential in a stable and peaceful society… they [then go on to become] rational, reflective, and moral beings” (Parekh 51). In other words, familial ties and support are the ultimate source of the sense of humanity I experienced and admired SO MUCH in nearly every student and family I encountered in Kalimpong. In the second week of classes, I was feeling exhausted after a full day of classes, but decided against my best judgment to walk down to Srijana’s house with a handful of other students. We took shortcuts through gardens, dirt paths, neighbor’s backyards, and immediately upon arrival at her house, we were given warm hugs and genuine smiles from at least fifteen complete strangers. After copious amounts of sugary tea and cookies, Srijana and her two sisters had a field day dressing Lane, Cassie and me in traditional saris (and even lipstick for eye shadow) – and then proceeded to match us up with ‘husbands’ for photos (and taught us seductive dance moves to Nepali pop songs for our new matches). Moreover, just witnessing this affectionate family interact made me miss my family at home. They were so affectionate, caring and happy. Three of Srijana’s family members (including both of her parents) are deaf, but I knew by their body language and steady smiles that they were delighted just to have us in their home. They didn’t want us to leave – and I didn’t want to either. On the drive back to school for dinner, all I could think about was how giving and loving her family was – Gandhi would perhaps respond to this with: “Every human being owe[s] his humanity to others… [and that the only thing] that human beings [can] do [is] to ‘recognize the conditions of their existence,’ and continue the ongoing universal system of interdependence by discharging their duties and contributing to collective well-being” (Parekh 52). Srijana’s family typified this notion on my visit, and some of my favorite students truly drove this idea home on the last day of classes. I hate admitting it, but I had favorite students; however, little did I know that they liked me nearly as much as I adored them. I was given a few family photos with personal notes written on the back – messages like: “Please don’t forget me,” and “I liked your funny violin games Emily.” I hadn’t met their families, but I was given such a precious, important piece of what really matters to these children. At the risk of sounding cliché, these students recognized the concrete importance of family, and such a simple gift revealed how deeply woven family really is into many aspects of their lives. I also thought I would include a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore (the same poet that Professor Roy read aloud at the candlelit reading on our last night in Kalimpong & a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913) that I found particularly appropriate and poignant: Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life. This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through it melodies eternally new. At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable. Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.

You jogging, Miss?

2008-02-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

Every morning in Kalimpong (except the days I was sick) I rose early before breakfast and made my way around the hairpin turns jogging to town and back. I enjoyed discovering new Gorkhaland banners painted along the road, observing the locals beginning their daily chores and catching the first glimpse of Kanchenjunga at eighth mile if the fog had lifted. Based on the response I got from the locals the first few mornings I went out I could tell it was a foreign concept seeing someone running for fun to expend extra energy. Many people I passed were already washing clothing, carrying a massive load of firewood on their back, shoveling piles of gravel, boiling drums of oil for road repairs or sometimes just brushing their teeth. In most cases it appeared that they neither possessed the time nor the energy to run twelve kilometers first thing in the morning. Nevertheless, I greeted everyone I passed with a cheerful “good morning” or “namaste” and continued on my way. In the article, “Popular Culture on a Global Scale: A Challenge for Cultural Studies?” the author, Simon During, identifies Arnold Schwarzenegger as a global popular or an element of the media that transcends and is popular in markets spanning cultural boundaries. The article was written ten years ago and is largely outdated considering many of the Gandhi Ashram boarders didn’t recognize the name Schwarzenegger when I asked them. However, the defined cuts and unparalleled mass of his body became popular via the blockbuster sensation Total Recall in the early nineties. According to During, the male built body has an element of appeal on various levels. Schwarzenegger’s figure is in many regards unnatural but suggests the rigorous routine of transforming the body. The male built body reflects a relentless work regimen and that particular aspect is relatable on a private and personal level. It is apparent that the sculpting of the body is not possible without conspicuous leisure time to do so, a privilege enjoyed mostly by the upper class, also the same group that is the most consumed by the concept of body image. During argues that the male built body attempts to achieve the classical Greek ideal but interestingly enough, “workouts mime and personalize labor, especially the kind of (Fordist) labor that is exported in the global economy” (818). Therefore it has its roots in the image of a working class laborer such as those found in “subaltern” communities in the hills of West Bengal (even if the Nepali villagers are not exact replicas of Schwarzenegger due to various other factors including heritage, a compromised diet or lack of steroids.) My morning experience in Kalimpong illuminated socioeconomic class differences quite apparently for me. But nothing spoke to me about the receptiveness of the culture like the second morning when I passed an older man lugging pails of water, who gave me the thumbs up and told me I was doing a great job or the random woman who leaned out of a passing taxi our final Friday to ask if that was in fact my final day in Kalimpong. Before the end of our first week the locals were greeting me first with a pleasant “morning” or “hello”. And the best part, of course, was my students. There was nothing like finding Prayash waiting for me at six and half mile to run down to Gandhi Ashram, Subash joining us and dropping his marbles or carrying Anil and Syrup’s bags as we flew down the hill doing airplanes all the way to school. Even the road repairmen operating their steamrollers got amusement out of that sight. As teachers we don’t always realize the immediate impact we’ve had on our students but I did my best this past month to make virtuosic violinists and track stars out of them.

Singing in a Sari

2008-02-13T20:04:00.000-08:00

In the odd half hour between finishing lunch and beginning the afternoon session with the kids one afternoon I decided to quickly check my email in the computer room. It had been almost two weeks and having some time, I thought I could get in a minute at the computer. As soon as I opened the door the room became crowded with kids who watched anxiously as I signed onto gmail, and they immediately began reading my emails aloud. I quickly sent off a message to my mom that I was alive but couldn’t write much more because there were a whole bunch of kids reading over my shoulder. In the midst of all this, one of my second graders, Prashansa, came in to invite me to her house that afternoon. Although I had other obligations that day, I agreed to go the next week. The following Tuesday, Prashansa and a few of her friends spent the entire afternoon with me anxiously awaiting the arrival of 3:30 when we could leave school and head for Prashansa’s house at 3rd mile. Walking out of the school and down alongside the gate, Ali and I trekked home with Prashansa, Anusa, and Subarna, and a flood of other kids who peeled off from the group as we passed their houses. We were chatting with the girls, as much as we could considering their second grade level of English. They were teaching us some Nepali and we were singing songs, some that they had learned in school and a couple Hindi and Nepali songs that I knew pieces of. Anusa loved to sing “Mayalou Le” with me because this was a Nepali song that I knew a little bit of. She was thrilled to discover that also knew part of "Hari Krishna," a Hindi song, and asked me to sing it repeatedly. Trying to keep my balance as we traversed rocky, uneven trails and crossed streams all the while moving steeply downhill and with each of my hands tied to a second grade girl holding tightly onto it, I was more than a little preoccupied so I was happy to sing it each time she asked. It wasn’t until we had been walking for almost 20 or so minutes that I realized Anusa would ask me to sing every time we passed someone along the way. She was content to merely talk with me as we were walking but as soon as we saw someone out in the fields or on the road, she would get me to start singing these songs. I began to understand that she was, in a sense, showing me off, her new, white friend who, by singing in Nepali or Hindi, demonstrated knowledge of these little glimmers of Anusa’s Indian culture. It was amusing for people along the way to see me, a white, American girl singing a Nepali song. The attraction only got better after stopping at Prashansa’s house where I was dressed in a Sari and paraded even further down the road, singing a few lines in Hindi or Nepali each time we passed anyone along the way. The sight of me was absurd. Here I was, a white girl with brown curly hair wearing a bright orange sari over my tee shirt and with my jeans sticking out at the bottom singing in my broken Nepali and being laughed at by everyone along the way as we walked along the side of the road. Although it became uncomfortable for me being shown off in this way, I couldn’t blame these girls for their excitement that I was outwardly embracing aspects of their culture. Chakrabarty, in his article, argues that Indian history “is in a position of subalternity” (1) and is constantly viewed through a Western lens. As a result of colonization he says that Indian history and culture has come to be defined by Western influences. Although there were numerous hints of Western culture apparent throughout Kalimpong and evident in the children we worked with--their clothing, their love for Akon and Avril, their English language skills--this experience with Anusa completely contradicted Chakrabarty’s ideas. Anusa, a small Indian girl, could not be happier that her older, American friend was embracing aspects of her Indian culture. She was so amused by it, in fact, that she wanted to show this off to everyone we passed. Surely I was a sight to see. Why would an American girl be dressed in a sari and singing Nepali songs? It almost seemed as if everyone laughing was doing so in disbelief. Contrary to Chakrabarty’s views, I, a Westerner was taking part in a unique aspect of Eastern culture. Throughout my time in Kalimpong, a most incredible and rewarding experience, I came to adore the people there and everything that I learned of their culture. To me, it was a joy to embrace their unique Indian culture and take part in a cultural exchange in which I was continually fascinated not only by some Western influence I observed but more often by numerous aspects of Indian culture that to me seemed uninfluenced by the West.

The sun is BIG

2008-02-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

My experience at the Ashram was beyond compare. As a senior I have a unique perspective on the potential JanPlan’s can offer and I have found this experience to be the most rewarding January I have experienced through Colby, as well as being one of the most rewarding abroad experiences I have ever had. This program is unique in the Colby curriculum due to its central emphasis on community service abroad. The most important experience we all had was teaching the students of the Ashram, our academic analysis or cultural immersion was secondary to the education of the students. That is why this analysis comes as an afterthought to the core of our course, but it is through the academic articles that we discussed that an alternative perspective of our experience can be offered. Since I feel the JanPlan should focus on the education of the students I will treat the following as a guide for the most effective teaching of the Ashram students. Prior to our departure we prepared a number of lesson plans with no specific description of what to expect from the students. We requested their textbooks, or even a curriculum their teachers wanted us to focus on, but none came. In the material’s absence I resorted to my memory of early science and math classes. Unfortunately a 7th grade class here and students in class 7 in India are not equivalents; the language barrier is significant. This trend runs through every class and I found myself teaching similar material to students in class 5 and class 8. The similarities between these two classes are a product of their rout memorization of the material rather than their understanding of the concepts. The multiplication tables are memorized, but the significance of multiplication, and its use as an accelerated form of addition is non-existent. Class 5 spent the majority of their time learning addition and subtraction of fractions, but it was clear that they did not even have a firm grasp of multiplication. Class 8 spent a majority of time learning multiplication of decimals, and the inexperience with multiplication persisted. Within both of these classes mistakes arose due to simple disorganization and rushed mistakes that I could only attribute to the students attempts to please the teacher and to be the first one to finish the assigned problem. Even if the student wrote every variable of an equation at the top of a sheet of paper and assigned every variable in problem appropriately they would not be able to get the right answer because they would omit essential pieces such as the entire denominator. These mistakes were due to their method of learning; memorization and regurgitation did not allow them to develop their own understanding of the concepts, and it in fact hindered their ability to understand new concepts that did not conform to their previously experienced material. This trend continued with the students that I tutored. The Oxford published ICSE books encouraged the memorization of bold terms rather than an understanding of the concepts, and the emphasis the national exams placed on this material was so great that even when I could positively identify mistakes in the university published material my student, Neema, insisted on reviewing the books definition rather than the correct one. I feel this, and the system of regurgitation is the most important thing for me to address in the context of the academic works that supplemented our time in India. The European published textbook, and the American students arrive at the Ashram and do not encourage the subalternaties of the students, but perpetuate the Eurocentrism that has so severely damaged India. The need to memorize and recite exactly what is taught is an attempt to improve their position in the world, to continue into university and beyond, but they are never learning the material they are just good at describing it. I think that this opinion is a product of the material that I taught. Math and science are not disciplines that encourage a variety of answers, it supports a multitude of paths to the correct answer, but there is always one. These are not supported by Chakrabarty or Gandhi since there is no other answer for what 2*2 is, there is not a subaltern perspective here, but there may be a subaltern method of reaching the answer. Unfortunately the students are not offered a freedom to experience or develop their own methods, they are taught that there is a single method and they must follow it. This is why I feel the music curriculum of the Ashram to be essential, and a continuing experience with math and science to be a future source of creative expression. There must be a freedom to develop one’s own path to knowledge, they must be able to figure out the best way that they understand the concepts, and instead of being told how to get to the answer they should discover a unique way they can get there. Music is easily understood as a creative endeavor that gives the students freedom of expression, but science and math is rarely viewed as creative. I feel that we illustrated how this is not true with our fun solar system song, but these subjects will never develop the conceptual or creative aspects of the students’ brains unless they are given continued freedom to explore the intricacies of numbers and scientific observation. These is not possible through the recite and repeat method employed at the Ashram, but would correspond directly with Chakrabarty’s praise for the knowledge stored in the well of the subaltern groups.

The Influence of US

2008-02-13T19:37:00.000-08:00

It all started with the first trip to 3^rd mile. Shrijana, Bipana, Sasha and I had just left the Ashram and were beginning the 35 minute walk down the steep paved road that winds in and out of the breathtaking hills that Kalimpong sits atop. There we were, hand in hand, talking about life in US, life in Kalimpong, teenage fashion, how and why I have locs, and of course the never ending subject of boys. We passed men and women working on damaged roads that suffered from constant erosion and small kiosks run by tiny Indian women who hesitated to smile but eventually returned the friendly gesture. Everything around us—the hilly expanse, the distant fog, the clean mountain air combined with burning shrubbery—was entirely unfamiliar. That is, everything I was looking at was entirely unfamiliar. I paid little to no attention to the jeeps, homes, English billboards, men in suits, and all the other obvious signs of a growing Western influence on this remote community. And then I did. It was startling to realize that the indispensable automobile and the business suit come from none other than Western society and there I was, moments before, staring at the trees and the mountain scenery. How could I have been so blind? Western culture was all around us. In fact, to these people, we were Western culture. The ways we spoke, walked, smiled, dressed, and ate were all Western in nature.

I expected the people in Kalimpong to be surprised and generally interested in locs, but I could never have imagined them to take to them like they did. It was like flies to a flame. Little children especially couldn’t help themselves from grabbing my hair and asking me how locs were formed. The older children automatically assumed I played soccer and many of the younger ones were convinced that I played for a national team. And who can blame them? Their appetite for understanding of life in the United States is satisfied with television channels like MTV, USA, Spike TV, HBO, TNT and many more. They are fed a Hollywood version of life in the States and that is exactly what they come to see it as.

On this same long walk down to 3^rd mile, I remember asking the girls why there was so much fuss about Avril Lavigne, the Canadian-born punk-pop musician. They looked at me like I had two heads. Through our talking I discovered that to Shrijana and Asha (Bipana isn’t a fan…thank goodness), Avril represents what a lot of what it meant for them to be an American girl. They view Avril as a girl who knows what she wants and goes for it. Whether she’s in a music video rebelling against the authorities or telling a boy that she should be his girlfriend, Avril represents independence and the freedom of choice—principles that supported the foundation of the United States.

After hearing them explain this in far fewer words, and arguing with them about whether or not Avril Lavigne is fashionable, the conversation inevitably shifted back to boys and my attention to our surroundings. I took in everything I could and yet I knew, even then, this trip was flying by. It wouldn’t be long before we returned to the US and all this would slowly fade from experience into a kind of dream. I thought about the girls and what they must be feeling. Kalimpong is the only home they’ve ever known.

It wasn’t until my return trip home that I thought about the dinner awaiting me when I returned to the Ashram. It was then, in the van on the way up the mountain, that I knew Kalimpong would not be the only home they would ever know. The more those girls discover, the bigger their world becomes.

Lucky Lips, Oh Yea!

2008-02-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

Indian Classical Music entered my life just over a year ago and ever since, I could not wait to set foot in India and learn much more about the people, the music and the culture. Overwhelmed with excitement to go to such an exotic and foreign country, I knew I was embarking upon a journey of a lifetime. Little could have prepared me, however, for what was in store. The ride from Bagdogra to Kalimpong, although one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, was not at all what I had expected. Our trusty driver played terrible European pop as we drove past billboards worshiping Avril Lavigne along with various other western pop-stars. The first few days, I could not help but take note of how prevalent western influence was on Nepali culture. From Akon playing in taxis to a jeep full of teenagers rocking out to Ricky Martin, from the majority of the people dressed in western clothes to the pizza restaurants in Kalimpong, I was disheartened. Could Chakrabarty’s philosophy of Western ideals and standards being imposed and embraced by Nepali culture really stand true? Did the people of Kalimpong truly aspire to be Western, were they really loosing their ancient history and with it, identity? As the month continued and as my relationships with a few of the students intensified, my experiences were contradictary to the arguments proposed by Chakrabarty. All of the students were eager to invite me into their lives and proud to share their culture with me. They proudly opened their hearts and their homes to me and taught me invaluable lessons about patience, hard-work, and determination.

My afternoons were spent teaching and learning various dances. In the beginning, the only CD we had was Nepali folk CD. Every single student knew the dance to one of the songs and they attempted to teach it to me. As they laughed aloud at my two left feet, I could see how excited they were to share their culture with me yet they really wanted to choreograph a dance in which I would actually be capable of doing. Whenever, I tried to teach them a dance to a western artist (namely Shikira), they would roll with it for a few minutes then beg me to turn on their Nepali CD. They loved their music and their way of expressing themselves through dance and suggested that I pick up a few different CD's the next time I went to the market. The CD’s they were asking for were not traditional folk songs, but the a version of the Remix discussed by Paul Greene. The music that they were asking for, was in fact western influenced yet maintained a unique Nepali rhythm and style. This music, as Greene alludes, not only characterizes musical preferences but more importantly it symbolizes an imagined contemporary Nepali society, and not a Westernized-Nepali society. For the final performance the girls chose to choreograph a dance to the popular tune, Lucky Lips, which encompassed many of the aspects of the music Paul Green discusses. Lucky Lips, for me, was a cultural experience that resulted in a long-lasting memory. Times will change and with it preferences, but that does not mean that all of Nepali culture is being lost in this rapidly globalizing world. This new mix of music is not attempting to create a Western society in Nepal but is a result of a more contemporary and adapting Nepali culture.

Who Speaks for “Teatime’s” Past?

2008-02-13T19:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, all joking aside and all comical references to the Chakrabarty article forgotten, it is important to consider that when we sat down to drink tea morning, afternoon, and night while in Kalimpong, we were all thinking to ourselves, ‘Jolly good chap, looks like a fine day for a cup o’ tea, eh?’ (or at least I was). It just seems so… British. But it’s not. Tea came around long before the East India Company brought it to Britain. Throughout my time in India there were these kind of customs that I saw as being clearly British and other things that were a perfect representation of traditional Indian culture. The best way I can describe this is in a story about one day I spent in Kalimpong. It’s a story that shows how Indian history has not been lost, but instead mixed with British culture.

The best experiences I had while at the Gandhi Ashram were those when I got the opportunity to go home with the students. It let me not only see the culture, but experience it. One day I was playing basketball with a bunch of the kids when Sanjeeb, a class four boy who I’d been playing with all afternoon asked me to go home with him after school. I agreed, and when the bell rang at 3:30 that afternoon he came and found me. We walked down the road to 5^th mile and off on a path that took us through the villages scattered through the hills. Along the way he would point at certain things: a rock, a tree, a bridge, water, and tell me the Nepali equivalent. In some sort of odd interpretation I’d say it back to him, he would correct me, and somehow I eventually managed to piece together the syllables. As we walked along the stone path, it eventually turned into a footpath through the trees in time coming to a large open area of terraced rice patties. Sanjeeb pointed towards a house in the distance and told me it was his grandmother’s. We made our way farther down the path and eventually came to a rice patty that was a bit larger than the rest. A group of eight or so boys were playing cricket. Sanjeeb told me they were his cousins, so we climbed up to the small field and watched for a while. Eventually, Sanjeeb’s older cousin invited me to play. With some hesitancy, having never played cricket before, I stepped up to the bowler position. We played for an hour or so, until the ball got lost down the hill or across the stream. With his cousins, Sanjeeb brought me to his grandmother’s house, slightly farther down the hill on a path that ran along the edges of the fields. There I was given tea and fresh bananas while I tried to talk to the family using my nine year-old friend as a translator. They would laugh at my bollixed attempts at speaking Nepali, but would always try to understand. After tea, we continued even farther down the path, again with Sanjeeb’s older cousins. Finally, we got to his house, a small stucco building with low ceilings behind a series of fields. I quickly his family before his cousins took me to a building near by where I went inside and sat down on a wooden stool. A woman in the back of the small room was kneeling over a fire oven. It was hard tell what she was doing as she poured boiling water into a pot and kneaded the contents with her hands. Eventually, I realized the pot was filled with millet and she was making millet wine. She poured a few glasses and gave them to us. Here I sat in a room with Sanjeeb’s non-English speaking cousins with a glass of millet wine in front of me. As we’ve always said: ‘When in India….’ It quickly became dark and Sanjeeb and his cousins led me back along the path to the Gandhi Ashram. The afternoon had been an incredible experience.

I bring up this story in such great detail because each part seems to show something about the Indian culture and British influence. With this said, I should also take into account the fact that the culture of the Kalimpong area is dominantly Nepali, not Indian. Even still, they have traditions and customs that speak for themselves. In his essay, Chakrabarty says that history has been written by Eurocentrist writers and philosophers using western ideals and western culture as a basis with which to compare the lifestyles and cultures of non-western societies. His idea may be correct, but does not account for the fact that India’s culture has become a mixture of both traditional and western beliefs and ideals. Chakrabarty might say that Indian and Nepali culture have been lost in history and predominated by English culture and Bourgeoisie. The reality, however, is that the cultures, just like languages and ethnicities, have intermingled to form one that has not lost native influence, but does represent some level of English impact. In my afternoon with Sanjeeb and his family, playing cricket and our conversations in English were the only things that were ‘western.’ The genuine hospitality, the conversations we had in Nepali, the buildings, the fields, the lifestyles, the clothing, and the millet wine were all very traditional. The people of Kalimpong were more welcoming, friendly, and kind than any I’ve ever met. There is something to be said for that and the fact that their hospitality is something that hasn’t been lost in history. They have kept their religion, their language, and lifestyles; things Chakrabarty might say have gotten lost in the eyes of history.

Chakrabarty’s point, however, of history’s Eurocentrist misrepresentation of past is certainly exhibited in the afternoon tea I had at Sanjeeb’s grandmother’s house. For whatever reason, tea is viewed predominantly as a British convention. Chakrabarty might argue that history has written the story of the East India Company to be the beginning of the popularization of tea. For this reason, we tend to see ‘teatime’ as a British conception. However, well before the East India Company started importing tea to Britain, the people of India were growing and drinking tea. The ‘history’ of tea originates long before the British arrived in India, but that part of history has been lost in some way. As Chakrabarty points out in his article, western history predominates the writings of historians and thus written history has created tea and teatime to be a custom popularized by the western world during the 17^th century.

There’s a lot more to Chakrabarty’s point than tea, but I think this is a nice representation of the concept. The way people perceive history is a direct result of how historians and philosophers choose to write it. But there are things that can’t be written in history. The colorful kurtas, saris, and sarongs, the rice patties and farms, the millet wine, the Nepali language, the hospitality; these are the customs and traditions, the lifestyles that show India’s history, even if it’s not been written down in books. In response to Chakrabarty’s question: These are the things that speak for the silenced voices of Indian pasts. These are the things that truly show the history of the place we called home for the month of January.

Making the link

2008-02-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

I was nervous on the first night after the assembly. It was our time to officially begin mingling with the boarders, and other faculty of the Gandhi Ashram. I was not sure what I could possible talk about with the students, as I felt our life experiences would not be comparable. After I made it through the basic name exchange, questions about age and academic areas of interest, I was worried I would not have anything else to speak about. I then asked what seemed like the next logical question to any adolescent or young adult who was looking for conversation, “What type of music do you like?” I was relieved when he mentioned the names of Green Day, Linkin Park and Akon because I had often listened to them back in the United States. I would have never guessed that this simple question would spark the beginning of many conversations with the boarders and the link that often tied our experiences together. As Simon During explains, the global popular comes into being when a particular product or star is able to hit in multiple markets (810). Although During exemplifies Arnold Schwarzenegger as the global popular, I would argue that there are many other celebrities (both music and film) that have also achieved this level of fame and popularity in multiple markets. I believe this global popular is what helped bridge the gap between the Gandhi Ashram boarders and myself anytime we discussed Western music. I only knew music that had come from the United States, by way of Hollywood, which is a key ingredient of becoming distinguished as a representation a global popular. However, I do not think that the global popular is the only reason why we bonded over Western music. While I feel the global popular did play a part our bonding over Green Day, it is the case that English music is the only type of music we had in common. My mission when going to the Gandhi Ashram was to teach English to the students. Teaching English does not only happen in the classroom, however, it also happens (and I believe most effectively happens) when practicing speaking English in everyday conversation. It was stressed to all of the students that they should speak English at all times when within the Gandhi Ashram gates. Why was it so important for a school, like Gandhi Ashram, to teach English to its students? According to Chakrabarty, Indian history is viewed through the lens of the European experience. For India, the legacy that England left on the country is played out in a multitude of institutions, especially the education system. It is vital that English is taught because it allows a student to have a fair shot in the global world, that is increasingly being influenced by the Western world (not just Europe). Since we cannot seemingly change the way that the Western world is influencing the global society, we teach our children how to survive in the within it. However, it is easy to forget that English is not their first language. This becomes important when we ask our children to explain their history, their emotions or even simple concepts. Often times I knew they felt more comfortable talking, and explaining in Nepali, but it could not be acceptable because I had to enforce English. However, if they did not know the words, they had no choice but to be silent. I congratulated and praised the students who were the most articulate in their speaking and writing. I played into the Eurocentric legacy because while I was telling them to speak in English and praising them for their efforts, I was implicitly telling them “the better you get at English, the better you can be.” Although this was not my intention, and I am sure that it is not the intention of many teachers at schools like the Gandhi Ashram, the message is still there. Now that I reflect on this experience, the relationships I formed with many of my students and the boarders was twofold: at the same time we could bond and feel united through the lyrics of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, there is a fundamental barrier that I may not ever be able to pass.

Walks and Talks

2008-02-13T15:24:00.001-08:00

As we walked home that afternoon, conversation bounced back and forth between love for math, the future, and excerpts of Akon. Josana invited me to her home that day, because, and I quote, she thought I was a “brilliant mathematician.” This outrageous overstatement may have been her motive, but I think I learned a great deal more from her that day than any of the math I rattled off in class. In addition to singing Akon for her family, Josana and I took a long walk through her village. Along the way, I asked the eighth grader her thoughts on the recent “I Have a Dream” unit that she was learning in English class. She explained her speech to me. I was very impressed by her aspirations to study as much as she could so that she could be as smart as her father. She admired his discipline and love for learning. She added at the end of the conversation, however, that she and her family hate Gandhi. She seemed almost ashamed to tell me. I remember learning about Gandhi when I was in eighth grade. We read about his life, watched the long, long video outlining his autobiography, and were inspired by his discipline and passion for his cause. His innovative methods seemed so effective and ideal. It was hard to believe that anyone could not believe in him and be inspired by his non-violent ways. After spending time in India and hearing Josana’s side of the story, I gained a whole new perspective on his life. In Josana’s eyes and the eyes of her family, Gandhi allowed Britain to strip India of all its wealth. His lack of violent tactics was inefficient and useless according to them.

Although he doesn’t quite fit the role of a muscled-male body, I think that Gandhi is a good example of what During would call a global popular, an internationally known political star. At least in the United States and probably in Europe one would be hard-pressed to find a person over the age of twelve who had not heard of Gandhi before. His radical practices and devotion to his cause and religious views are things that students learn about in history classes around the world. It is interesting, though, that a global icon that we have learned about since the eighth grade has another history that we don’t learn about in our books. As Chakrabarty highlights in his article, the histories that we learn are not India’s own history, but it’s history seen through a European lens. A person who we saw as idealistic and powerful is not so to others across the globe. Additionally, we can see, as Chakrabarty would argue, that British rule has truly shaped India’s history and more importantly, the sentiments that its people feel toward the shape of their present, past and future lives. British influences and Gandhi’s intervention caused unease in at least part of the Indian population about their place in society. I could sense Josana’s family’s bitterness towards Britain and Gandhi for shaping their history in this way, as this family and many other families in the village blame Gandhi and Britain for India’s current economy and their social standing. Despite his efforts to appeal to the masses, Gandhi obviously missed some of the crowd.

The conversation quickly moved on to boys and national anthem. After a delicious home cooked meal, I walked back to the Gandhi Ashram with a new perspective on Indian history and on the reality of the lives of the students we were living among for the month of January.

The Mural Room

2008-02-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

As the coordinator of the infamous mural, many of my interactions with the students and teachers at the Gandhi Ashram took place in this mural room, as I like to call it. Even though the mural was intended to be a way in which students would remember their times and experiences with Colby students, the exercise of sketching and trying to express what the Gandhi Ashram and Kalimpong meant to them gave insight into what makes India distinct and separate from the Europeanism that has greatly influenced its history.

The vision for this mural was for the wall to be split up into boxes and for each class to have the ability to paint any images that relate to their school, their experiences at the winter camp, or their surroundings. The first two students, one boy and one girl, from class four were able to sketch and to paint a scene of Kalimpong together that developed into this playful mingling of color and shape that still is one of my favorite boxes of the mural. This box set the tone for the rest of the creation: the boarders developed a bold graphic image of integrating colors and textures, class seven students created their own unique symbols and imagery, and Jerome, the art teacher at the school, produced a wonderfully detailed collection of Buddhist symbols that brought all of the colors of the mural together in a simple yet sophisticated grid pattern.

Looking back at the final creation, there is something unique and almost indescribable among all of the different boxes and ages of Gandhi Ashram students and teachers that I was not expecting. This “thing” is not a result of Europeanism or westernization, but is the distinct identity of the Indians of this hill region. Even though there was an attempt to paint a symbol of Nirvana (the band), which consisted of a yellow smiley face with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead, the imagery of the mural is derived from the students and teachers’ private lives, a term that Chakrabarty coined to describe the part of the Indian self that has not been expressed in literature or corrupted by British colonial rule.

The current historical narrative places Indians in a subaltern position in which their history and identity has been dominated and overrun by westernization, but the expression captured in this mural project illustrates the existence and the depth of a distinct Indian identity; this observation suggests that a larger, independent narrative exists outside of the structure that Europeanism has created. An Indian history can exist outside of the western narrative; when given the opportunity to express themselves and their thoughts without any restrictions, students and teachers produced a magnificent work of art in which they were the creator and the subject of their own box and their own identity.

6th Mile and the Global Beckham Connection

2008-02-13T01:35:00.000-08:00

We were all gathered around the TV set, myself, Rich, Liza, Neema and his family, watching the latest soccer highlights. The atmosphere in Neema’s sister’s home wasn’t all that different from any informal social gathering back here; we had food, drinks, were talking with the TV on, having a good time in general. The setting, though, betrayed the fact that we were certainly far from home; the walls were made of mud and plaster, the room was not much bigger than a closet. Rich’s head came uncomfortably close to the ceiling and the couch, while functional, was not exactly comfortable. On the walls hung a collection of items, a clock, a portrait of Jesus, a poster of a famous Indian actress as well as one of David Beckham. It would be easy to write a paper just on these objects and their significance. We had chai tea and biscuits, a typical example of the hospitality we were always offered. While the people around Kalimpong were poor, they always offered their best to guests, were polite and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. I found that remarkable, a characteristic that seems beyond the capacity of our own society. We continued to Neema’s home, also small but as with most homes in the area, it was respectable, well-kempt, and had a simple beauty about it. As usual, it was painted a tropical blue and was surrounded by flowers which bloom even in the middle of winter. The inside was clean, comfortable and warm, but as compared to our own standards, sparse. Yet again, on the wall, David Beckham emerged in the form of a collage carefully put together by Neema, the highlight of the room if not the house. Football. Manchester United. David Beckham. The situation very much echoed a National Geographic I had brought along with me which highlighted soccer (football)’s global reach and popularity; I gave Neema the magazine, perhaps the start of a new collage. Today, I think it would be hard to find a celebrity more recognizable and worldwide than Beckham. As the embodiment in many respects of the global sport of soccer, it’s not hard to understand why. Just as During explained that Schwarzenegger’s global popularity was the result of Hollywood’s dominance and action movies’ universal appeal, Beckham’s fame has spread on the heals of the phenomenal growth of the game of soccer itself. Likewise, Manchester United was a popular team among the Ashram boarders; games between Egypt and Cameroon bring the same excitement for them as games between the Red Sox and Yankees do at Colby. David Beckham, Manchester United, and soccer itself exemplify globalization, allowing people of uncommon backgrounds around the world to participate and enjoy a universal sport. While European in origin, I don’t believe the growth in soccer comes at the cost of local culture and practices; rather, soccer at least adds to and is shaped by that culture to the point that today, soccer cannot be claimed by any one culture but is instead shared equally. On the way back from Neema’s house, we once again passed by the soccer field where he regularly plays. To have a soccer field on the side of a mountain presents unique challenges; this field was terraced just like the rice paddies in the surrounding farms, small with steep sides. A runaway ball would certainly fly down the mountainside, presenting an interesting obstacle to play. Other Kalimpong touches were visible; the goals were made of bamboo and prayer flags stood on either end. While still soccer, it was certainly a game played much differently than how I’ve played it here at home, a way that is uniquely Kalimpong. It was dark but we could still see the banner hanging over a road under construction, a project sponsored by one of the Gorkha parties. Earlier Neema had shown me his kukri, a traditional Gorkha knife and a symbol of the Gorkhaland movement. I wondered what his thoughts on the subject were, and I was surprised by the complexity of the situation. As a Sherpa, a clan sometimes the object of discrimination by the Gorkha population, he said that he and his family felt threatened by the movement which, after all, is in many ways a movement intended to promote the goals of a specific ethnic group. Sherpa, Rai, Lepcha, Gorkha, Nepali, Bengali; all groups vying to maintain, protect or extend their identity in the region, a dilemma certainly explored in Chakrabarty’s article. What is this concept of Gorkhaland? Who are the Gorkhas, where do they come from, do they have a history? How at all can this fit into a larger Indian identity? In many ways, Kalimpong felt separated from the rest of India, even from the rest of West Bengal, as if it were in fact another country. The people look different, speak Nepali, and have a totally different culture. Instead of Indian flags waving in the streets fly those of the Gorkhaland Parties; it would be hard to try to construct a larger Indian identity from such patchwork of peoples. Equally difficult, though, is to try to merge all these identities into a single Gorkha one. While the Gorkhaland movement presents a legitimate argument against the ineffective governing abilities of the far removed Kolcutta based government, I never really felt as though either of the Gorkhaland parties presented a realistic alternative or had any concrete plans; the potential racial divisions being drawn made me even more wary. I can only hope the violence and turmoil of the 1980’s movement doesn’t repeat. I sat in the pizza place in town one day with Harsh, the result of us both having a craving for the fatty, cheesy, doughy delight, something outside of the routine white-brown-green-yellow diet. In many ways, the restaurant resembled a pizza place back in the US; cheap tables equipped with parmesan cheese, high school kids hanging out after school, Journey playing in the background. The pizza was good, but different from the pizza back in the US, certainly adapted to the available ingredients and tastes of the people in Kalimpong. In no way did I feel the impending conquest of Westernization or Globalization as some fear; the restaurant was more of a curiosity as Pad Thai is in Waterville, not the start of a subversive shift to pizzas, burgers, and fries and even less the wider acceptance of a single global culture. While the presence of globalization and western culture could be easily found in Kalimpong, from cell phones, Cokes, KitKat bars, knock-off, cheaply made Yankees merchandise to second hand clothing, it never amounts to a real transformation in culture. These things are popular not so much because the people of Kalimpong prefer a western identity to their own, but more because they serve a purpose or fulfill a want; cell phones aid communication, KitKats taste good, and Western style clothing, be it new or second hand, is cheaper and more accessible than traditional clothing. Overall, it felt as though all these influences were simply mixed into the local culture, changing it to some degree, but often for the better. In the end, regardless of what happens in the world of Beckham, Metallica, Schwarzenegger or Kelly Clarkson, the world of Kalimpong – Gompu’s, millet wine, momo’s, kukris, and the “.com” healer – will largely remain as it is, at least for now.

Misunderstanding the musical language

2008-02-12T23:27:00.000-08:00

So, as the geek I am I must admit that one of the things I found most interesting, from a cultural anthropological view, about our stay with the Gandhi Ashram kids was the way in which the songs that were introduced to me as great examples of great Nepali/Gorkha culture sounded a lot like western pop music. I remember thinking to myself, before I was inserted on a plane with a funny guy, bowing with a turban on the door, how excited I was to go to this far-away land and to experience their music. As a music major at Colby I have a quite keen interest in music history and theory and I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to go and get a first hand impression on how "music" works in the foothills of the himalayas - moreover, in a school that provides all its students with a violin and a crash-course in western classical tradition. I have not been completely oblivious to the fact that in this region there exists a variety of western pop influences on "music"; the Global Popular is after all global by definition, I knew that Michael Learns To Rock are undeniable stars in the region, and through Greene's article I furthered my understanding of how an array of musical genres get a second life when introduced into Nepali culture. However, I still maintained a somewhat romantic idea of how the folk songs would be of another musical world. I thought that there would be a division between the western influences and the traditional music. In my head the western influences had surely permeated the culture, meaning to me that there would be a lot of new and old western pop music around and that the kids would likely put on Akon when the lights got dimmed Saturday night, but this influence would somehow stay distinct from the traditional musical culture. In other words, the western influence would unfold, and be explored and manipulated as Greene explains, side by side with the Nepali musical tradition and only crossover at a more abstract level. Therefore I imagined that when I was going to be exposed to great examples of Nepali/Gorkha songs, the musical language would be distinct from the western language. In my romantic ideal of "cultural purity and pride" I imagined that the peoples of the region would reject, more or less consciously, the western musical language when singing songs about the pride of their culture. But no... The first day we got to the Gandhi Ashram School we were put in the assembly hall, nicely seated in front of the stage and given a show by the border students. I must admit that I was so tired and spaced out and overwhelmed and mentally exhausted that I don't remember most of what happened on the stage that night. There was a dance and I remember that I was really impressed by the lack of shyness and "teenage-I-don't-want-to-do-that"-syndrome in the kids. They were proudly presenting themselves and who they were, culturally, on stage in front of 30 foreign, older, scary, people. And then there was the song Kha Timbro Mayalou Lei. One guitar and a group of adolescent boys, beautifully harmonizing and heartfeltly singing about a lost love in Nepali. But the sound, the musical language, sounded strangely western to me. Later I asked one of the students to show me another Nepali song, and though I don't remember the lyrics for this one it was the same - western musical language. And this went on and on. Every time I asked them to play a song for me that was a great example of Nepali/Gorkha culture they would play these songs that had beautiful nepali lyrics and to some extent non-western vocal phrasings, but they would all surprise me with their overwhelmingly western harmonic foundation. By western harmonic foundation and western musical language I mean the very basic ideas of western classical tradition from which we get the ideas of tonic and dominant, chords and the way they are used to communicate and direct action in the songs. However, just like I am quite sure of the fact that these kids do not really understand where this culture of wearing big t-shirts and flat baseball caps comes from and what this style of presenting oneself represents to people from the US, I am also sure that I do not really understand where the way in which the western musical language has been transformed to mean and represent something entirely different in the Gorkhaland context. And my romanticized ideal of how this "exotic and pure" culture should identify itself through its music was terribly wrong and left me embarrassed. But it was a very important lesson for me in understanding Chakrabarty's subalterns and understanding that things such as a musical language can gain new value and meaning as it crosses cultural borders.

Hot Nepali Pop

2008-02-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

One night, after our nightly routine of doing dishes, some girls (who will remain anonymous for confidentiality) and I went down to the music hall to listen to some “Hot Nepali Pop” CDs we had bought earlier in the afternoon. The boarders came along to inform us what was actually “hot” and what we had simply been conned into purchasing. However, after a couple minutes of listening to terribly recorded and bootlegged Nepali tunes, the boarders broke off into their own Nepali singing and dance routine. Impressed by their performance but in no way willing to let them steal the show, the girls and I quickly gathered our forces and countered their act with a stunning show of Spice Girls’s classic, “Stop.” All of a sudden we found ourselves in a sort of sing-off/dance-off, where the boys would start singing a Nepali classic and we would try to overpower them with an American one. Being a Colby student, I of course pointed out the symbolism in our activity- we were having a cultural face-off. It didn’t take us long to realize that they knew many more songs and dances than we did, and sang them with more fervor and passion. When they saw us huddling in a desperate attempt to come up with another song we all knew the lyrics to, they just began to sing louder and dance in a circle around us. As you can imagine, we were surrounded and had no choice but to surrender. I remember one girl looking at me and saying, “Wow, their culture just owned our culture.” But wait, their culture is the one that Chakrabarty claims bases itself on Western standards and ideals. Weren’t we the West in this situation? Didn’t they just blow us away by being non- Western? Certainly this couldn’t be what Chakrabarty was referring to when he claims in his Subaltern Studies that India is a “historic failure of a nation to come to its own” (5)! If this cultural showcase, which literally “owned” our Western customs, is the result of a “historic failure,” then I’m not sure where that puts the US. And that night of rich cultural exhibition wasn’t just an outlier in a mainly subdued and ambiguous society- it happened again a couple nights later at a bonfire attended by both Colby students and Gandhi boarders. The boarders once again dominated the entertainment (other than Menya jumping over the fire, clearly), while our one attempt to start, “Girls just want to have fun,” was terribly unsuccessful. No, these kids weren’t trying to imitate our culture at all; they were caught up in the music, the dance, and the traditions of their own culture. My campfires at home are usually relaxing moments of quiet singing, reflection and marshmallow roasting, while here I was amidst a rowdy group of Indian teenagers clapping my hands, singing to the point of losing my voice and skipping. At a time when they could have easily joined us in an acoustic ballad of “Stairway to Heaven,” the boarders took pride in their independence from the West and embraced the cultural glue that holds Kalimpong together. So what’s the difference between globalization and Westernization? I don’t think that by wearing a Yankees sweatshirt a boy is giving up his Indian culture, and I don’t think that by listening to Avril Lavigne an Indian girl is losing her identity. I think that with the Internet, TV and overall better networking around the world today, there just happen to be more external similarities between cultures that are internally very different. That boy will still go home (where three generations probably live together) and take off his shoes before entering the door, and that girl will still know every move in traditional Nepali dance by the time she’s ten. The similarities we saw between our culture and the Nepali culture aren’t a result of British Imperialism; they are inevitable consequences of globalization. That girl isn’t listening to Western music because she thinks its superior to Nepali music; she’s listening to it because it’s now available to her (not to mention Avril Lavigne has really catchy tunes).

The Hands that Help

2008-02-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

On this January’s stay in Kalimpong, I got to know some of the boarders at the Gandhi Ashram really well. You’d find all they were all pretty genuine people just chewing the fat with them for a while. After one the first few days of school I was sitting on the ledge out in front of the meal room, still a little exhausted from a full day of singing the moose song with class two, competitively playing four-square, and teaching Beatles song after song on guitar, you know, pretty rough stuff. So there I was, still trying to fathom that these hills around me, which seemed to cup and fold the light so elegantly over the endless rice paddies and orange trees, with the random toots of the colorful goods carriers whipping around like insects busy at work off on another hill, were actually as real as the familiar warmth of the sun I had not felt in months. So at peace and at ease I was that I probably wouldn’t have moved all afternoon had Karendra not approached me and asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I was pretty faded by that point but figured a walk wouldn’t do any harm. Off we went, through the big intimidating blue gate, and we began to walk down the road. We were going to a village called Boshir (I’m not sure how to spell it) where he was born and raised and every relative and everyone he ever knew in his whole life was from. There’s nothing like walking down from 6^th mile after school and seeing the hustle and the bustle of a place that is so seemingly imperturbable. We passed men huddled together around fires heating enormous drums of dark, bubbling nigrescent oil, their steam powered road machines noisily at work. We passed house after house, vivaciously colored some blue or green hue, with the older men out front on their haunches smoking and dogs running back and forth as I gave my best attempt to greet them all in Nepali. All the while I’m trying to avoid getting hit by any of the jeeps carrying as many people inside and outside as they possibly can, while the jeeps themselves are trying to avoid each other as they play chicken around blind turns that drop off into cliffs of certain demise. Karendra and I finally get off the road and begin walking through the forest. I began to ask him about all the Ghorkaland signs and flags that seemed to decorate the road and every back alley wall in town. Thinking about Pankaj Mishra’s article Exit Wounds, I wondered how Karendra identified himself as an Indian. I know we can all talk about how India is such a culturally diverse place but does that have any real meaning except just talking about it? As he was telling me about the different political parties, the Ghorka people, and their dream for their own state, some children of the Gandhi Ashram began to walk along side us on their way home. They were pretty little, too shy to talk, but content enough to have our company as we walked along to the village. I wondered too about their future. These children are given so much more opportunity than their parents were. How would they shape the land they were from? The Kalimpong/Darjeeling area is a prime example of the heedlessness the British government took in the formation of states after independence. Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, is twelve hours from Kalimpong. It is too far a distance physically and in the conscious of those to the south. Sadly, I would only come to realize the situation had much more complex ethnic implications and that in reality, in a country of 1 billion people it is very difficult to make your voice heard or garner any importance. But that would be in weeks to come. At the moment, I was crossing over bamboo bridges and walking through race paddies. Karendra was going from house to house asking if they had drink while I stood out in front with old women washing clothes giving me apprehensive glances and chickens that ran freely across my feet. I went in to a sparsely decorated room, with a small TV in the corner playing Nepali pop videos, except for one cabinet which featured some sort of Christian shrine. The raw wood floor was worn down, the room was dimly lit, and as Karendra went out to get something, I found myself drinking distilled millet grain moonshine with some older gentlemen who had no idea what I was saying, watching a beautiful Nepali woman on the television. If only I could have talked to them as well! I had so many questions by that point, but at last I had experienced just the tip of the Indian cultural iceberg. The Ghorka story is just a miniscule part of the Indian identity, yet even that story would become much more complicated. Another day Karendra and I went to the home of Jerome, the teacher of class five. He rented a couple rooms in a large house with his wife (who was also a teacher) and his small 9 month old child named Garrett (named after a Nepali singer). He began to tell how he and his wife both work very hard, sometimes he can’t afford to put food on the table, or he can’t afford medicine for his wife when she is sick, but as a family they get along and he can at least find peace in God. The Gandhi Ashram did not provide contracts for its teacher; hence he did not have job security. But Jerome managed to pray everyday, even if that meant missing church on Sunday to care for his family, and found solace in teaching and drawing, as well as providing a paternal role for the older boarders, especially Karendra. Jerome began telling me about the ethnic makeup of the Ghorka people. I had previously thought that the term was just reserved for the Nepali people who inhabited the area. But in reality, they consisted of several Nepali tribes, which are still very much part of the social structure and hierarchy in Nepal. In fact, Jerome was part of the Tamang tribe whereas Karendra’s family was Nepali royalty, his grandfather a famous Nepali poet. In Kalimpong they were equals, but in Nepal it was quite a different story. However, if either of them went to the South, they would be ridiculed or looked down upon for the way they looked. It was becoming more apparent to me that Gandhi’s dream of unified India was much more difficult and complex than the British partitioning of India seem to reflect. But hold on, things got more complicated.

I went to Chogin’s house with Gordon and Rich one day, and we talked a lot about the Lepcha culture. I learned Lepcha was not the same as Ghorka, in fact, they were the first aboriginals (before Jerome’s tribe and others) to inhabit the area. So it leaves one to wonder, with this mix of religion, language, tribal ethnicity, and competing political parties, how the Kalimpongese coexist so well. One thing that somehow was failed to be mentioned to us was the uprising that occurred between such political parties and cultural contexts in 1986, in which 1,000 people were killed. One of Jerome’s friends back then was particularly connected with one party until one day he was chased down by a mob of a different party’s persuasion through a field of rice paddies. He managed to get away, but not before they chopped off both of his arms. The situation is much more peaceful these days, and from the people I spoke with it seems like the people of Kalimpong are much more unified in their effort for Ghorkaland. However, they also will never forget what happened twenty two years ago, as no one wants something like that to ever reoccur.

So I found myself talking to the hotel staff in Delhi at a questionable hour about the American political process, the American dream, about my ancestors who were immigrants, and they loved it so much they ate it all up. Then I brought up Ghorkaland. There I was trying to defend Ghorkaland to a bunch of guys who never mind the fact they thought the Ghorkas were a bunch of lazy hicks, but were trying to explain to me Aryan races in India and who at the table was superior over who. When I told them “race didn’t exist in America”, they lost it. I got up, raised my fist, let out a defiant “Ghorkaland!”, and marched right out of there. I wasn’t going to let them talk like that about some of the most caring and hardworking people I have ever met. I’m sure that’s how the rest of India thought about it. “Who gives a damn about those hilly’s? I sure as hell don’t” was the impression I mostly got. Their whole situation seemed helpless to me. This feeling was only reinforced one afternoon as I sat atop a grassy hill overlooking the busy streets of Gangtok that seemed to disappear effortlessly into the mountain fog. Around me were Karendra and Subash, both boarders at the school, Johnny (Subash’s roommate who lived in Gangtok), and all of Johnny’s friends who were circled around in the familiar squat position. As we watched the sun slip behind another hill far off in the distance, Johnny’s gang of characters (oh man, were they characters, and most likely a gang too) began describing a little bit of their lives in Gangtok. For example, all eighteen of them lost their virginity to the same prostitute when they were fourteen, or the week before they took a little too much amphetamines and just got a little too rowdy at the club when Johnny happened to get into to a fight with twenty other guys. In the background, on one of those mobiles everyone seems to have was playing a certain Bon Jovi song with the lyrics:

It's my life

It's now or never

I ain't gonna live forever

I just want to live while I'm alive

It's my life

There it was: their doctrine of life. Who was going look after them if no one else would? That’s why places like the Gandhi Ashram need to exist. Someday these children will heal the wounds of partition. Maybe it begins with Ghorkaland, but I hope it begins somewhere in the hearts of the students we were so blessed to have taught.

Community and the Subaltern

2008-02-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

During our second week at 6th Mile, one of the boarders, James, invited me to go to his house in a nearby village. Now, I assumed that the term village was being used loosely, and that he was simply referring to a small cluster of houses alongside the same road that brings you to the Gandhi Ashram. As you all must know, I was quite wrong. As we trekked through the woods, I realized that we were actually walking along a road that was in the middle of being constructed. James tapped my shoulder (I had not glanced up in a while, for fear I might trip and tumble down the mountain) and pointed out some of the men and women working on the construction of the road. “That is my uncle, this one is my aunt,” it seemed that James was related in some way or another to the entire crew. He then informed me that each laborer receives 60 rupees a day for their backbreaking work. I was stunned. How was it possible to sustain oneself, let alone a family on such a wage? James, still smiling, simply dragged me along to the next precarious bamboo bridge so that we would make it back to school before sundown. My time with James made me think a lot about Chakrabarty’s article. What does it mean to belong to the subaltern? If a social group is completely ignored by greater society, what are the methods it must employ in order to cope with their neglect? One strategy quickly became obvious to me—the communities to which our students belonged were cohesive units. More specifically, they were kinship-based villages where nearly every member could be traced as a relative to someone else. What a wonderful way to empower a social group! Because the villages operated, in many ways, independent of the mainstream economy of the area, it had to find its own ways to ensure that every individual has a role. As a result, the outsider notices a certain form of communalism in the villages. If houses concentrate on the production of a certain crop, they can produce more. So, houses specialize, and when the time comes to enjoy the products of their labors, they share between households. I saw this as a way that communities can take what Chakrabarty shed such a negative light on and transform it into a way to create solidarity within a community. If the villagers in the area were discouraged about their exclusion from Indian history and society, it didn’t show on their faces. What did show was that the Nepali villagers were empowered—their identities strengthened—by their need to work together to self-sustain in the face of social, political and economic neglect. Humor also played a role in providing our students with motivation and excitement. I found that some students even joked about things that made me extremely uncomfortable—perhaps in doing so, it made them feel more at ease with difficult issues. One example of this is when two second grade girls came up to me and started inspecting my hands. After a good look, they turned to me and yelled, “You clean, me dirty!” Now, I don’t really know the way race is perceived in the Himalayas, but I felt like I was entering dangerous waters. I told them that I didn’t think they were right, that I thought that all of our hands were probably pretty dirty. But did I miss the point in trying to correct them? They hadn’t even asked me a question. Chakrabarty might say that their rather blunt comment was simply a strategy that they used to devalue the prejudiced views of the elite class. Perhaps he is correct. Or, maybe they were just having fun.

A Mixing of Culture

2008-02-12T15:39:00.001-08:00

We who grew up with the Internet as a source of entertainment and communication barely acknowledge its outstanding achievements. If, by chance we do, it is only with an air of indifference. Yet, placed in the context of a small room designated the computer room at the Gandhi Ashram School, it becomes a completely different story. If any person were to walk into that room at any given moment during the afternoon they would witness a dozen or so kids glued to laptop screens. Some played an arcade game called Demos Arising, while others scenically flashed from yahoo email inboxes to the Windows media player application, which blasted out the sounds of 50 cent, Avril Lavigne, Rihanna, Enrique Inglesias and Shakira. What appeared most striking about this scene was all the kids’ energy was directly focused on westernized creations, even though they were located in a small region on the other side of the world. It is truly amazing to travel half way across the globe to hear and see images we commonly associate with here back in the States. The increasing access to the Internet is only speeding up the process on both sides. Some argue that this is an onslaught of western cultural imperialism; whish is single handedly stripping away the small but equally as diverse local cultures. Or as Chakrabarty would argue, make the study of their culture all the more difficult. Others would argue that, in fact, it is allowing those with the ability, motivation and more importantly the resources to broadcast their images and culture. I, myself, fall into the latter group. The Internet as a tool has given people around the world the ability and the means to communicate with any one else willing to listen. What is most important, while the barriers to entry are still relatively high they are systematically being broken down. When I say barriers to entry, I am referring to the cost of connecting to the Internet and/or buying a computer. While Colby donated the computers, among them was a new breed, which cost only $400. What is even more impressive was that the Internet connection at the school was through a cheap mobile phone with a Bluetooth adapter. Moreover, it appeared that every boarder and teacher had an email address. Even though restricted by a lack of computer availability and Internet access, each one still had an email address. This circumstance only proves that advances in technology are allowing those with lesser means to achieve just as much. I am sure, if given the chance to study and observe, Chakrabarty and Durning would have a field day. The situation, not only, exemplifies the perceived Eurocentric lens of history preached by Chakrabarty but also applies During’s example of what he considers the global popular. His examples include the popular names listed previously. Chakrabarty’s point can be applied even further to encompass the entire school, which is: 1) run by a Jesuit priest and 2) firmly structures its teaching schedules in a British fashion. If the study of subaltern cultures is truly structured under the umbrella of westernization, the Gandhi Ashram School is no doubt a scene of its practice. Yet, the cultural mix went both ways. The boarders played western music, and the Colby students played Nepali music. As if looking into a reflective mirror, we both enjoyed the other’s sounds but knew very little of its cultural context. It is only in the ideals of the Gandhi tradition that this transmission can be fully understood. It is when all doors and windows are open that we accept the breeze of different cultures and identities. As with the Internet, the Gandhi Ashram, true to its name embodies this.

Gandhi and Gorkhaland

2008-02-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

Not unlike the realization that we all had that the Nepali pop article was dead on when we learned our first night in Kalimpong that popular “sentimental music” included bands like Metallica, I was surprised how many Arnold Schwarzenegger movies I caught without meaning to. Although we didn’t reach a unanimous decision about whether or not During’s formulaic approach to creating a global popular was valid or not, seeing Commando at the border station between West Bengal and Sikkim was again writing on the wall that the articles were leading us in the right direction. It’s not that I didn't like Metallica or Schwarzenegger movies at one point in my life and it’s not like I don’t like them now—I was just surprised to see them so far away from home. In the context of the other readings that we did, they both seem very contrary to traditional Indian ideals, most specifically Gandhi’s. Gandhi’s satyagrahas, the nonviolent protests that we read so much about, don’t fit with Arnie’s muscled body, nor do they fit with our understanding of the emotions reflected in all of the noise of Metallica’s music. I really see a contradiction of the two, and it made me wonder what triggered such a radical take-off for the ever-evolving Indian culture. And while many of the Ashram students weren’t familiar with who Arnold Schwarzenegger was, arguably his film career is a little dated at this point, it was clear that they did know Akon, Eminem and G-Unit, who clearly have not taken Gandhi’s passivity into their own lives. Arguably, popular music isn’t just about the lyrics, violent or otherwise, but it’s certainly a big part of the equation. I don’t know exactly what sort of music Gandhi would condone for modern day society, but rap music likely isn’t it. Similarly, he probably wouldn’t be a big fan of violent action blockbusters, yet they seem to be the archetype of During’s explanation of a global popular, with or without Arnie in the lead role. The most applicable parallel I saw to this was the whole Gorkhaland snafu as it is playing out now and as it played out in the past. From what I got talking to Ashram students and staff, Kalimpong and other northern towns want to split off from West Bengal because of the way their tax dollars seem to be benefitting the southern parts of the state, most specifically Calcutta, instead of their own infrastructure. The political movement in the eighties that they described to me gave way to extreme and horrific violence, much like the penultimate scene of a Schwarzenegger movie. Countless innocent civilians were killed for the cause, but no new state appeared, only a new party that twenty years later is again stirring up a potential schism. Now it seems that the same thing could happen again with a new party, along with the existing one, trying to guide the people, albeit by different means, toward a better tomorrow. We saw the flags and the graffiti and experienced the strike, and in talking to students and staff, it sounds like everyone is hopeful that this time the negotiations will happen in a more Gandhi-way, non-violently through diplomacy. But there were almost unanimous predictions that like in the past, violence will become a prominent part of what is to come. It’s an unfortunate reality, especially considering the respect that Gandhi receives in his country as a freedom fighter focused on participating only in non-violent forms of protest. But it makes me wonder if perhaps the violence often glorified in the global popular, be it music or film, is an example all too often followed. Schwarzenegger movies, like Commando and Total Recall were in their heyday at the time of the last revolution, but perhaps because they are not today, negotiations could go more smoothly. However in seeing that music has replaced film in some respects, perhaps this won’t be the case at all considering the connotation of much of popular Western music’s lyrics. Reflecting on it now, it was uncanny to see how often the examples offered in the articles were reflected in what we saw during our month in Kalimpong. Like another guide book to supplement the ones that some of us brought, they paved the way for just a little more understanding of Indian culture as it evolves away from much of what we considered it would be. I just hope that our Western influence, whatever it may ultimately be, doesn’t get in the way of a peaceful split for the Gorkhaland supporters.

Modernity and the Subaltern

2008-02-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

I went into town a couple of times a week during my stay at the Gandhi Ashram and the most interesting times in town were when I would go out to a restaurant (King Thai), sit back and relax. I was in a different world in there, a world that reminded me a lot of New York City. There was a dance floor in King Thai’s, the set up looked just like a high class restaurant in my neighborhood so every time I stepped into King Thai’s it was as if I was still in New York City just enjoying my night. The people in King Thai’s did not look like the people that I usually see around 6^th mile, no these people were a lot more modern, a lot more British/American in their behavior, they had their cigarette, their meal and would dance the night away. These people reminded me a lot of the New Yorkers I meet and know so seeing them there did not make me think “Hey, I’m in India” I just thought I was in New York City all a long. The manager, the waiters, majority of the people there all spoke English, the music played was only American, and the drinks of course were not Indian but once you stepped out of King Thai and walked to get that cab back to the Gandhi Ashram, it hits you that you are in India.

I remember one day I was in King Thai’s, there was a family there sitting eating dinner I noticed the clothing they were wearing, they weren’t the typical Kalimpong family that I saw in 6^th mile these people were obviously more modern. The woman there was wearing American/ Western clothing there was no glimpse of Indian culture with her clothing, the husband was busy smoking his cigarette and having his gin while the sons were busy dancing on the dance floor to techno and singing a long to some other Western music. Such experiences like these were prominent in restaurants like King Thai’s, the fact that I saw the modernizing elite described in Chakrabartys’ article. However, once I got back to campus and the Gandhi Ashram students surrounded me the next day, I noticed how they were not modern in the sense that they were Western but rather they had their own unique culture and traditions that were passed on from their parents. The children were not much influenced by the global popular but rather displayed the influences of the local popular, while the people I met and saw at King Thai’s represented the influences of the global popular. The global popular did reach the children of the Gandhi Ashram but I felt as if the local popular was displayed more.

What I don’t understand is why the elite are eager to modernize themselves to become more “Western,” why their own culture is swept aside and they appropriate to a Western culture because it is the fashionable thing to do. I would love to see a Kalimpong in which the town is rich of only its own culture, which is not influenced by British colonialism ranging from influences on relationships, education, and clothing. I would like to see the bazaars in Kalimpong filled with people who are just trying to be themselves and not trying to be something else, in essence a town that resembles the culture and traditions that I was exposed to by some of the children at Gandhi Ashram, which is unique to that region and not a rip off of American/Western culture.

Billboards, pop and Christianity

2008-02-10T18:37:00.000-08:00

I hesitated a bit the second week at the Ashram when Rebecca invited me over to her house for the next afternoon. She was quiet and with only a few precious afternoons to go over to students’ houses I wanted an experience where she could answer my questions, and hold a conversation. Despite my second guessing, I agreed to accompany her home. Yes, the afternoon we spent together was very quiet. But what I found most rewarding was not what she said but what she was able to show me. I found this to be true in all of my home visits. We headed down hill, her family house was maybe a 20 minute walk down, 5 minutes on the road. We passed the smoking, smoldering tar waiting to be hand spread by the workmen. We passed more workers sharing shovels, in that crafty way we all saw them work in tandem. I noted the types of billboards that we, as Americans, were used to back at home. Advertisements for computers and cell phones. One incongruous billboard with the happy white western faces of college-students smiling down at Rebecca and I promoting education. I had seen it before, but the faces looked especially mocking this time as we walked by. Who was that billboard aimed toward? How could Indian’s find commonality with white faces, the indulged looking group of friends smiling without cares? I was brought back to Stephanie Kang’s newspaper article concerning Indian advertisements. She argues, “Today you have to create an ad which is tailor-made and designed for the audience in this country [India], otherwise they will reject it.” I completely disagree. While I was in India, Indians were hungry to accept American culture. The students strove to be like us, they were willing to accept many aspects of the dissimilar culture we represented. Kang continues her argument that this new feeling of Indian independence and identity is a clear sign of their growing, “confidence in their own identity, in their own language and their own food.” How can this be so is many of the children sing the pop songs we know? When I got to Rebecca’s house she fondly showed me a decrepit tape player that her family cherished. It was covered in stickers and half of the front protection was gone. She showed me their minimal tape collection – all modern western tunes. We couldn’t get any of the tapes to play. She informed me that the player didn’t always work. I was upset that so many of the Indian children were proud to accept our culture so readily. From my experiences in Delhi, visiting homes, and getting to know the kids and the community I found that, contrary to Kang’s argument, their was a lack of confidence in their Indian culture. When I went over to Sita’s house (a driven 17 year old border studying English and literature), she explained to me her reasoning to convert to Christianity. She wanted to be different from her parents – taking an active step towards becoming more western. I wonder, was her decision as informed as it could be? Was she fully aware of the richness of her history that she had decided to leave behind? I think that the tendency to so readily accept and believe in Western “superiority” and “preeminence” in the mind of Indians is thanks to, in large part, the legacy of British colonization. Can Indian’s truly represent themselves and their complex cultural society when they are so influenced by their past and drawn toward other highly advertised cultures and convictions?

Reflections on the Month

2008-02-06T07:26:00.000-08:00

During our last week at Gandhi Ashram, Megan and I had the privilege of walking 2 of my class 2 girls and one of her class 3 girls home. The walk took about 45 minutes, going down through fields and people’s backyards to take a “shorter” way to their village which was around 3rd or 4th mile. The girls chattered away in somewhat broken English, throwing different Nepali terms at us for everything we were seeing. For awhile the girls were content tugging on our hands and chatting away, but soon they wanted us all to sing an English song that the music department boys had taught all the kids. The song is a silly camp song about a moose, which I don’t think they have any idea what a moose is, but they really love the song, that’s for sure. It was amazing to me how the girls kind of slurred the words together, probably not really thinking about what they were saying or what it meant to be singing about a moose drinking juice. I wonder if they just love the tune of the song, or love that it is an English song, or what the appeal is. There could, I’m sure, be some intellectual commentary on how they gravitate towards an English-language song due to its connotations of Western modernity and some kind of superiority (Chakrabarty would probably agree here). But isn’t it true that across the world, kids are just kids who like to be silly and sing funny songs? The tune implies a frivolity that even if you don’t understand the words makes the kids laugh. Though I definitely agree that many of my encounters in India can be looked out from an academic standpoint and studied as examples of different historical and globalizing movements, one thing that I really saw from the kids at Gandhi Ashram is that people across the globe are a lot more similar that we tend to think. The kids we taught may have completely different backgrounds, lifestyles, and perspectives from anything I have ever encountered before, but there are some attitudes and ideas that are absolutely basic to humanity. Laughing at a silly song, in whatever language it may be, seems quite universal to me. Continuing on our walk, almost as we got to Prashanta’s house, Megan and I ran into Allie and Cassie who were walking home with Bipana, Srishana, Asha, and Neema. They invited us to come with them down the hill to a small Buddhist temple. We all jumped in the back of a goods carrier truck and headed down. The temple was hidden back through paths of beautiful greenery, a place of wonderful peace and tranquility. The temple was more of a shrine, with a small cave connected to it. We all explored the inside of the cave, finding offerings of bangles, candles, food, and fabric. The girls led us all around for about an hour before we realized that it was getting dark and time to try and hail a taxi for 6th Mile. Two things struck me about the visit. First of all, though the girls (and Neema) took us to the site and showed us everything, they didn’t seem to have much more knowledge or understanding of the significance of the site, offerings, and shrines than we did. Srishana attends Gandhi Ashram and Bipana attended there and now is a boarder, so they have grown up with Christian influence from the school. Is that why they were so surprisingly ignorant of the customs and beliefs of such a prevalently Indian religion? Perhaps, as Chakrabarty would argue, they see the kind of Western Christianity that is taught at the Jesuit Gandhi Ashram as more appealing. He might argue that with British imperialism’s emphasis that anything Western is synonymous with modernity and is therefore superior, these children have come so far as to, consciously or subconsciously, subtly identify even Western religion as superior. On the other hand, During would no doubt argue that this encounter is not necessarily an example of lingering British imperial influence, but instead it is an example of just how far globalization or transnationalization has gone in creating a global popular that somewhat alienates people from their own, traditional cultures. Christianity is a much more widely popular religion than Buddhism and it has been a large part of globalization, as I would argue that most globalization stems from if not the United States, the West in general, and the West is heavily influenced by Christianity. The second thing that jumped out at me was that as we were leaving the site to get a taxi, the group starting singing Avril Lavigne. We all joined in, singing an awful American pop song as we left that ancient place. The juxtaposition of modern American culture and ancient traditional culture was a bit jarring. Some people would perhaps be alarmed at this, saying that we should work to preserve ancient culture and traditions with no outside influences or attempts to mesh old culture with new. During would probably say that that is not possible, that a new global popular that meshes old and new is inevitable. Globalization, especially through technology, has created a common global culture that is unlike anything seen before. If we don’t go too far and only latch on to what is new and popular, but instead try to integrate the old with the new, then perhaps we can take the best of both old and new cultures. From what I understand of Gandhi, this is precisely what he advocated when he borrowed ideas from ancient wisdoms but played those ideas out in new forms. Going to one extreme or the other means giving up quite a deal, so finding a medium of acceptance and understanding of both old and new, whether the old or new is Western or not, is what seems to be the inevitably best way.

Check the Archives---->

2008-01-30T05:30:00.000-08:00

For blog novices, please check the archive entries you see over on the right highlighted in blue. Entries are archived weekly. Note that individual entries may have comments embedded in them. Click the "comments" link below the entry to see them.

On the launch pad!

2007-12-31T15:02:00.000-08:00

Class ideas, risk form, visas... We're all being inundated with all the preparatory details at the moment (and for a least another month or so). But I know that our India trip is going to be an extraordinary adventure for all of us. This blog will be a big part of the Jan Plan. We will ask you to log about your experiences and certain assigned topics. It will be "homework"sometimes and just somewhere to get your thoughts out of your head and into ours at other times. It will also be a place where family and friends can keep up with us. Use it while you're still at Colby to get to know your fellow classmates. I'll post here from time to time to enter an ongoing debate,to muse, or to communicate necessary info. Two months before we leave from JFK!

Etre et Avoir

2007-11-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

After watching "Etre et Avoir" please write comments for this entry that talk about the things I mentioned in my earlier email.

Laptop Donation Deadline Extended

2007-11-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

Today's Wall Street Journal is reporting that the One Laptop Per Child "Give One Get One" program has been extended until December 31 so there's still time to go to www.laptopgiving.org and gets yours to take to India to donate to the Ashram!

"Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-27T19:32:00.000-08:00

I took a lot away from our film showing last week. I know that our teaching situation and atmosphere will be quite different than a French one room school house with students of mixed ages but what Lopez did with his students is still applicable to our teaching experience. I was impressed by his role as mediator, instructor and mentor. Seeing all of the different aspects of his job as a teacher, made me thankful for the fact that there will be a few of us teaching each class. I was also impressed by the respect Lopez demanded in the classroom and the response of his students. One thing that really struck me was how he could keep all of the students engaged or at least occupied in the classroom at one time. One way in which he did this was having the older students tutor the younger students. I know we won't have a dramatic age difference among students in our classes but there may be some range of ability and it is important to remember that instructing others is one of the best ways to become really secure with material. The other great point that the film made was that there is a time for work and play. When Jojo didn't complete his drawing he wasn't allowed outside for recess. Lopez was brilliant at including other activities that benefitted the students besides studying such as cooking. And the sledding trip was also a great opportunity for physical activity.

Does anyone need a room?

2007-11-26T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hello all, I hope everyone had a nice break. If anyone needs, I will be able to host someone overnight comfortably or maybe two not so comfortably. I live in Staten Island, so there is still some travel time required to get to Penn, but it isn't very long. Let me know, so we can make arrangements. Thanks!! Pamela Colon

A Response to "Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

There is a clear difference that exists between the students seen in the film ‘Etre et Avoir’ and the young students we are all used to working with. Their quiet manner and reserved personalities reflect a difference in character that should not be overlooked. We are going to a place where the children we are going to be teaching will have entirely different backgrounds from ourselves. They have the same quirks and same desires to deviate from the rules at times, but they come from dramatically different roots and respond differently to authority. With that said, the film also depicts a teaching style worth noting. M. Lopez’s rigorous style of teaching is also fun; he requires a great deal of his students, but teaches in such a way that he has gained their respect and trust. He challenges them with questions and never gives a direct answer. Because of this, it is requisite for his students to be engaged. This is an important philosophy, and one that we should keep in mind when we become teachers ourselves. M. Lopez became a mentor to his students, not just a teacher. He has made himself available to them both on an educational level as well as a personal level. This is where the film relates to us and our endeavors. It is important to keep in mind that despite differences inherent in people of different backgrounds there is a personal connection that can be formed between any two individuals. The relationships we should seek to form with the students at the Gandhi Ashram should be based on confidence and trust.

Etre et Avoir

2007-11-23T09:18:00.001-08:00

Much can be learned through observing Mr. Lopez interact with all of his students. His calm, always in control presence is the first thing that I noticed. At times I am sure he feels annoyed by their questions or behavior but he is able to maintain his positive attitude and never ceases to speak to them, on their level, in a calm and encouraging tone. Mr. Lopez was seemingly always in control, however the children still tried to pull tricks on him and convince him that they did not have to do their work. This made me realize that no matter how much control you think you have over a situation, children will be children and are always testing their limits and trying your patience. Another message I took away from observing Mr. Lopez is the importance of allowing mistakes to happen. The child will learn best if you let them figure something out on their own and then take a step back and see what went wrong. You can compare what a child knows versus what you think they know by allowing them to make this mistake and through questioning them allow the correct answer to come out. Echoing what a lot of other people have already said, the fact the Mr. Lopez never gives a direct answer but guides the children along so that they can answer their own questions is another great technique.

Response: "Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

The most profound message that I took away from the video was the importance of body language and presence while in the classroom. Mr. Lopez did more teaching his students with his actions than his voice. He got down to their level. He helped them hold the marker and write the word. He looked them in the eye. He was always calm, always confident, never showing any frustration or fatigue, which I am sure he must have felt at many points during the day. This paid dividends in how his class functioned. It was controlled and productive not because he ruled with an iron fist and shouted commands but because he knew how to engage them, the students understood the expectations, and he was ready. This was all reflected in how he carried himself. Nonverbal communication is extremely important, especially around children because they are very sensitive to it. The success of any activity is as much based on how it is run as its actual content. I think the way we carry ourselves inside and outside the classroom will have a big impact on how effective we are at Gandhi Ashram.

Transcending the Academic Lifestyle and into the Student’s Social Lifestyle—A response to a scene in "Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Like many of my fellow peers, I really admire the way Mr. Lopez helped the students arrive at the answers themselves. I was extremely captivated by the initial interaction between Mr. Lopez and Jojo, who was one of his students, and wanted to know if it was the morning or the afternoon. Given the student’s age, I did not expect Mr. Lopez to confront Jojo the way he did. He throws the question back, makes Jojo consider the typical activities performed in past mornings and afternoons, and ultimately has Jojo arrive at the final answer himself. Echoing the sentiments of Aristotle, Allison, and Lauren, this scene definitely deconstructs, to a certain extent, the notion of the teacher as the “authority figure,” by having the student figure out the answer himself. However, this scene also points out that this strategy must be utilized even with the simplest questions and with questions that are seemingly detached of academic value. Mr. Lopez could have easily given Jojo the answer, but this only disables Jojo from realizing that he can figure the answer out on his own—an answer to a question beyond academics. By watching this scene, I discovered that a teacher must not only destroy the students’ perceived hierarchy in the classroom within the academic realm, but the social realm as well. While teaching students that they can arrive at answers to problems like one plus one by themselves, we should concomitantly teach students that they can figure out problems in their lives on their own as well.

"Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

Monsieur Lopez, in "Etre et Avoir", demonstrated several effective methods for teaching kids. Above all else, the strategy that seemed to stand out most was the way in which he continuously asked his students question after question, forcing them to create answers for themselves rather than just telling them how they should think. What's more, he did not only apply this method to classroom related issues. When there was a fight or when a student was wondering about life in general (ghosts, for example), he would ask the students to explain in detail the way the understood their situations. In doing this, Lopez was able to teach his students far more than just mathematics or writing--he taught them to think critically and he challenged them to understand their own thought processes. He never allowed his students to accept an abstract idea without having them demonstrate why that idea was important. This strategy is extremely applicable to the work we will be doing at the Gandhi Ashram. While it would be possible to simply convey the various theories we wish to teach, Lopez's approach illustrates the great value in forcing students to find ways to make those theories personal. Without a means to relate to concepts taught in classes, our students will not have the ability to use and apply the knowledge we will give them. For this reason, it is important that we learn to place our lessons within contexts that make sense to our students. By engaging our students in this way, we will be able to both maintain their attention and pass on knowledge that the students will be able to remember and apply.

Monsieur Lopez: Firm Yet Gentle

2007-11-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

One thing that left an impression on me was the manner in which Monsieur Lopez regarded his children. Though some of them may only have come up to his knee in height, he still did his best to regard them as equal and capable individuals. Doing his best to engage the children in serious conversation he was able to discuss relevant concepts and goals, for his class, without utilizing any elements of authoritarianism. As a good teacher I think it is important to be able balance the levels of nurture and discipline that one’s students may need. I can admit that I myself have such problems with this ratio. For example it’s not unlikely for me to baby younger children by regarding them as perhaps extremely small or cute. Though they often may be these things it’s also important to realize that through my role as a teacher I have to regard them in the same manner as I would students of any age. Thus by this principle I feel that Monsieur Lopez was best able to connect with all age groups. By presenting himself as a concerned and accessible leader Monsieur Lopez was able to yield the type of approval that any teacher would hope to receive. Thus like any other leadership role we, as teachers, need to realize that it’s most important to act in a manner that best facilitates our students. Having had my share of power lusting leaders, in the past, I can easily say that one should never promote their one feelings of insecurity by marginalizing the needs of their adherents. Perhaps in a different environment Monsieur Lopez could have declared himself as an expert in the field of education; publishing articles on the disciple and maybe even perusing a P.H.D. Such a fate may even be “ideal” for a man who has spent 30+ years in the classroom, yet for the sake of this rural French community; Lopez has found a niche for himself in providing educational foundations for children at the elementary level.

Avoir et Etre

2007-11-21T17:12:00.001-08:00

Monsieur Lopez was very impressive in the way he managed his classroom. He had complete control and I think this was due to the children's obvious respect for him. This respect is key in building a good classroom atmosphere, especially when classes are large as they will be in India. Monsieur Lopez built this respect up by respecting the children as well. It's easy for kids to dislike someone who is simply there to be an authority figure and lay down rules. However, Mr. Lopez made it clear through individual time spent with the kids that he appreciated them and was looking out for their well-being. This way the kids grew to understand that everything he did was on their behalf and they were willing to be on their best behavior for him. He knew what was happening in the kids lives, for example when he asked about the one boy's sick dad, and the children knew that he cared about them. I think it will be important to really get to know the kids in India so that they understand that respect is a two-way street just as M. Lopez's kids learned. He was also able to hold the attention of all the students. He always got down to their level when he spoke to them so he could make eye-contact and make it more clear that he was on the same level as them. He also asked a lot of questions to the children, instead of him just having all the answers. This allowed the children to come up with the answers themselves which made them think more, but also gave them a feeling of pride for their work. It's important for the kids to feel good about themselves to they are inspired to continue working. He was also very flexible with his lesson plans. If one child asked a question in the middle of oe of his activities, he would allow them to talk about it for a while. By doing this they learned more about each other, and he learned more about them, which further strengthened their relationship. They also felt comfortable participating in discussion because he never shut them down. He made them feel as though their opinions were all very meaningful. I learned a lot from this movie about what it takes to earn the respect of a classroom filled with kids from different ages. It basically requires having an open ear to the everything that is said, and allowing the children to play a role in their own education. Also, simple things like calling someone directly by name, and eye-contact can really help demand attention. Mainly, I would like to get the message across that I respect the kids, and I expect the same from them, not that I consider myself a superior.

Response to "Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

Responding to the movie “Etre et Avoir” we just recently watched, I found some of the concepts employed by Monsieur Lopez to be transferable to our classrooms at the Gandhi Ashram School. Throughout the film I noticed the extent to which Monsieur Lopez used a series of questions to bump the student to the correct conclusion. On numerous occasions the camera observed Monsieur Lopez patiently inquiring students with a number of additional questions. It was evident early on that his questions were aimed not at the correct answer per se but rather towards the process of correct deduction itself. This is particularly interesting because it taught the student not only the information at hand but also the logical approach required. For January, we can utilize this in our classrooms to make the experience more about learning and less about memorizing. I also found the use of other students as a teaching instrument to be equally as interesting. Monsieur Lopez would actively engage the entire class in a single students work. If a student was hesitant or lacked an answer other students were there to help through peer education. This concept can also be directly translated into our classrooms at the Gandhi Ashram. Our knowledge of the local atmosphere and environment of the students is very limited; the language barrier only complicates the situation further. It will be fundamental for us to employ the aid of students. Peer responses and competition if used and focused properly can be a valuable resource. Monsieur Lopez displayed masterfully the implementation of these concepts and he enjoyed the fruits of his labor. The classroom dynamic became far simpler and extremely more enjoyable and interesting. I only hope to use these with the same effect at the Gandhi Ashram.

2007-11-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

I thought the film "Etre et Avoir" did an excellent job in showing a classroom atmosphere that many of us are probably not too familiar with. It was interesting to see the dynamics among the children who were forced to learn in such close proximity. I was surprised to see children as young as four and a half learning right along children who were more than twice their age. I felt that the scene where the young boy was crying for his mother and the older boy consoled him exemplified the sense of cohesiveness in the educational experience. I also thought Monsieur Lopez was a quite the character. I especially liked the way he would talk to students. It reminded me a lot of my own father who, whenever I would ask him questions when I was young, would always reply with more questions until I actually figured it out myself. The scene where Monsieur Lopez gets the young boy to comprehend the concept of infinity was particularly significant. He was also very good at listening to the students, especially to the ones who had obvious social problems. I think this movie helped me realize that the Ghandi Ashram is going to be unlike any teaching or learning environment I have yet to encounter. I will definitely need to listen to the students more closely, not only because of the language barrier, but also because of the cultural differences I am sure to face.

Response to "Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-20T10:44:00.000-08:00

I was very impressed with the way Lopez (is that his name?) conducted himself and controlled his classroom. He spoke to the students like adults and because he respected them, they trusted and respected him. He displayed an incredible amount patience when dealing with the children by being clear, concise, and always remaining calm. I liked that he made the students stand by their seats until he told them to sit down (obviously this would only be applicable for certain age groups) because it affirmed his position as instructor, every morning, and signaled the students that the class was beginning. There were two situations that I specifically appreciated: 1) When the two 5th grade students had a conflict, and Lopez mediated the discussion between the two students. Communication is the key to resolving all conflicts. 2) When the two younger students, Jojo and another, had a conflict near the gate and Lopez resolved the situation calmly. The two words I use to characterize Lopez are 'passive assertive' (NOT passive aggressive), a trait that we should all try to emulate.

Response to "Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

Reflecting on the movie we watched on Sunday, there are many ideas and practices demonstrated by the teacher, Monsieur Lopez, that we will be able to take with us to the Gandhi Ashram School in January. I think that the M. Lopez did a remarkable job of maintaining order in a classroom with such varied ages. He was able to do so by remaining clam and composed throughout the entire day. I don't recall him raising his voice once when he did not approve of one of his students' actions. I also thought that he did a great job of allowing his students to figure things out on their own. He would rarely just give them the answer to a question they had. Instead, he would ask them more questions until they came up with the answer on their own, or he would ask another student to explain the concept to them. I think this is something that will be very useful when we are teaching at the Gandhi Ashram School. If there are students in the classroom who speak English better or understand the concepts of the lesson more than others, it might be beneficial for us to let them explain the lesson to their classmates who don't understand in a language or wording that might be more clear than the way we explain and understand things. As demonstrated by the movie, math concepts can be understood and taught in a variety of ways, so this will be something for me to keep in mind during my math classes this January.

Response to "Etre et Avoir"

2007-11-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

In watching “Etre et Avoir” this past Sunday, I found myself noticing how much patience teaching really requires. From his tenure, it would seem that Monsieur Lopez has mastered this, and it my hope that in my weeks teaching this January, I will be able to grasp this skill as well. Lopez, it seems from what I saw in the movie, never lost his temper, even with the more difficult children, but instead helped them to figure out their problems calmly and patiently. I saw also that Lopez wasn’t teaching to hear the sound of his own voice as some teachers do, but instead was constantly asking questions of his students and taking the time to listen and reflect on their answers. He also wasn’t too tough on any one student, but was stern enough to show them all that he was indeed their teacher, and they would have to follow his instructions and keep their promises to him. The overall sense I got by the end of the movie then was that Lopez balanced all the right “ingredients” in his teaching method and it is my hope that in doing the same this January, I too will be adored in a similar manner by at least a few of the students at the Gandhi Ashram.

Seeing Lopez work with the younger children on their penmanship also got me thinking about whether or not this might be something we need to work on with the younger students at the Ashram during our English classes. His idea of writing a word and then having the children copy it seems like it would be applicable if necessary. I also thought that having students critique each other’s penmanship was a good idea too, if only to mix things up a little bit.

Take a laptop with you to India to donate!

2007-11-12T08:34:00.000-08:00

I'm a parent of one of the students going with you all to India this year and have a creative idea for you: Go to www.laptopgiving.org and you'll see that TODAY is the first day of a very short term (15 day) opportunity for people in North America only to buy two of the revolutionary, very low wattage and indestructible laptops designed specifically for use in developing nations - all for $400! The particularly creative part of this is that one of the computers purchased is automatically sent to a child in need overseas, but the other one will be sent to your home in the US before the upcoming holidays and you can then hand carry it to Kalimpong to donate to the Ashram - what a great outcome, and all for $400 :-) Please get in touch with me at tanya.randall@gte.net if you or your parents are interested and have any questions.

Biographies of Gandhi Ashram Boarders

2007-10-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Professor Roy received the following biographies of Gandhi Ashram boarders: students who have graduated from the Gandhi Ashram but continue to live and learn at the school while attending good high schools in the area. They are a determined and inspiring bunch and their bios make great reading. We will be meeting and teaching all of them, so get reading!

1. DEEPA DARJEE DOB: 8 Oct 1992
I am Deepa Darjee. I was born in a peaceful small village on 4th Mile, not very far from Gandhi Ashram. I am from a poor family. I was given an education through Gandhi Ashram School which was founded by our late Fr. Mc Guire. I am 15 years old and presently studying in Class 9 in Dr. Graham’s Homes. I have taken commerce and humanities. My parents are illiterate. I am the only daughter in my family. My father works as a driver, and so do my two older brothers. My mother is a simple housewife who also looks after our little garden. I am the only child in the family who is getting an education. My brothers dropped out of school when they were in class 3.
My interest: to read storybooks, and novels.
My strength: my family. Although poor, they support me
My weakness: mathematics
My aim in life: to become a nurse.

2. NIKITA PRADHAN DOB: 10 Aug 1991
I was born in a family of seven consisting of my parents, three sisters and myself. My mother takes care of a small farm and my father is a laborer who is unemployed most of the time. Three of my sisters are in school but it is very difficult of my parents to support them. I was very lucky to get an opportunity to be at the Gandhi Ashram School. And t is all because of late Fr. McGuire who brought me to this school. Although he has passed away, he’s still in my heart. I am in class 10 at dr. Graham’s Homes. I love playing the violin. It is my favorite instrument. My main hobbies are reading story books and collecting stickers. From a young age, I dreamed of being a doctor and a nurse to help the sick who cannot afford medical care. However, I have to improve a lot in science since I am weak in subjects like Chemistry and Physics.

3. CELINA TAMANG DOB 5 July 1990
I am in Celina and first cried on this earth on July 5. Kalimpong is my home town. The name of the village where I live is Poshyor Busty. I speak three different languages—English, Hindi, and Nepali. Nepali is my mother tongue—a language spoken by a majority of the people in the hills. I can also speak a little bit of Bengali. Gandhi Ashram School, founded by Fr. Mc Guire, was a school built for poor children who could not afford to get a proper education. Since my family was very poor, they admitted me and my brother to the Gandhi Ashram School when we were only five years of age.
I play the violin and enjoy the experience of playing with others. I am thankful to Fr. McGuire. Through him I have achieved a lot—a chance to study and play music. My father is a small farmer who grows maize and chilies, and my mother assists him in the fields. But we do not own the land but only work for a rich farmer who owns nearly 10 acres of land. I have a big family—six brothers and sisters. I am now in Rockvale Academy school in Kalimpong, in standard 12th, studying humanities—geography, sociology, English, and Nepali. I am a helpful and kind person, but I am shy by nature and cannot easily speak to boys or strangers. I love playing badminton. My hobbies include collecting pictures of famous people. In my spare time, I listen to music—classical, pop, and Hindi music, and chatting with my friends. For further studies, I am thinking of taking sociology and science in order to become a nurse. Gandhi Ashram School has given me a new life; otherwise, my life would have been dark and full of despair.

4. BIPANA RAI DOB 10 OCT 1989
Everyone has their own unique identity and so do i. I am Bipana studying in one of the listed ICSE schools in Kalimpong named Saptashri Gyanpeeth. Since I was a child I have been jolly and jovial. I am a bit overweight and short. But I love playing pranks on my friends. I get my strength from my old granny who is no more with us. My granny will always be in my heart and I treasure her memory. I hate no one, despise no one. My weakest point is my fear: I am scared of being alone or getting on the stage to speak in front of an audience. I feel that I don’t have enough self-confidence.
I have a small family of 4 members, including my parents. I am the eldest daughter and I have a smaller sister who studies in class 7 in Gandhi Ashram school. My father is a daily laborer and my mother works at home. We are a peaceful family. I am one of the boarders at the Gandhi Ashram School. I am interested in studying History, Economics, Political Science and Sociology. I feel I can do much better in Economics if I receive some additional help in the subject. I am thinking of doing a B.A. in social work after I pass out of school, focusing on environmental education. I wish to see myself as a successful woman after about 5 years. My role models are Sunita Williams (the astronaut), Sania Mirza (the tennis player), Mother Teresa, and Indira Gandhi. India is also very lucky to have a woman president, Pratibha Patil. There’s nothing we cannot achieve if we try. There’s nothing impossible since the word impossible itself says “I am possible.” After I get a job, I would look after my family and help Gandhi Ashram School in whatever way possible. I will leave no stone unturned to make the school successful in the future.

5. DEAUKI BISWAKARMA DOB 7 AUG 1991
My name is Deuaki Biswakarma. My name means a goddess. I acome from a poor farming family in 5th mile. There are five members in my family. My father ia farmer of maize and vegetables and my mother is a housewife. My elder brother lives near Mumbai working as an office assistant. My elder sister just joined economics honors at Viswa Bharati in Santiniketan, a university near Calcutta. I am the youngest in the family and go to Saptarshi Gyanpeeth in Kalimpong.
At present I am in class 10, and my favorite subjects are English and Biology. My favorite hobby is reading books like science fiction and romances, and I love to chat with my friends. My aim in life is to a flight attendant. I will try my level best to achieve this goal, because this is a profession that allows a person to travel and meet new people in foreign lands. I respect my parents, elders, teachers, and friends. I am not a very good student—just below average, but I am trying my best to do well in my ICSE board exams. I am very serious about my future because if I do well I can help my own family, my village, and Gandhi Ashram School.

6. KINGJAM SHERPA DOB 4 APRIL 1992
I am Kingjam Sherpa and I was born in 1992 in a small village called Tanek. I was given a good education at Gandhi Ashram, and when I finished class 8 I was sent to St. Joseph’s Convent in Kalimpong. There are 5 members in my family—my father, mother, one sister and a brother, and myself. My father used to work in the fields but now he is disabled and cannot work anymore. My mother is the sole breadwinner. She is a hard working woman who spends nearly 10 hours toiling in the fields every day. During the monsoon rains, she stays at home and occasionally goes out to do some weeding. My sister also helps my mother in the fields and does all of the household chores. My brother studies in dr. Graham’s Homes in class 10. he is also helped by Gandhi Ashram School.
I wish to be an airline attendant. But more importantly, I wish to be a good and responsible citizen. I would like to help other poor children get an education in a school like Gandhi Ashram.

7. SITA CHETTRI DOB 25 DECMEBER 1991
My name is Sita and I was born on December 25, 1991 in Nussey Bustee above Gandhi ashram. But after my father died in 2004, my family has shifted to a place called east Main Road. There are 5 members in my family including myself. My mother looks after my brothers who stay at home. After the sudden death of my father, we were left without a home and any money, so my mother now works in the fields to earn something.
I have taken up humanities in school—History, Geography, Sociology, Political Science, English, Nepali, and Environmental Education. Among all the subjects I like English and Sociology the most. I wish I could get some help in English to enable me to improve my writing. My hobbies include playing and reading novels. I feel that the more I read the better I will be in writing and speaking in English. But I cannot afford to buy books, so I read whatever I can from the library at Gandhi Ashram which is rather small. I would like to pursue a degree in English in order to be a high school teacher. I am also thinking of doing a B.A in Social Work in order to be a community worker with a NGO in Kalimpong. Although I am not very talkative, I do not hesitate to ask a question if needed. My greatest strength is belief in God—a higher power-- and in Gandhi Ashram School. Whatever I am today is all because of the school. In the future, I would like to set up a school like Gandhi Ashram that would provide free education and music for poor children. I play the violin, and love to meet people from outside who come to Gandhi ashram school. I have traveled a little outside Kalimpong to play in the orchestra.

8. KALPANA JUDITH RAI DOB 10 May, 1992
I am Kalpana and I am studying in class 9 in Saptarshi Gyanpeeth. I have the honor of studying in such a well-known school in Kalimpong. I am from a simple family fully dependent of the wages earned by my father who works as a street barber and a small-time farmer who owns a tiny plot of land near 6th mile. He does not make enough from his wages to support the family, so I am glad that I got a chance to receive such good education at Gandhi Ashram School. Although poor we are a happy and contended family, and I love my parents very much. My family means everything to me and also the benefactors of Gandhi Ashram as well as fr. Paul who is our current director. I have heartful gratitude towards their work in supporting a school that offers education and a home for those who cannot afford even food. Fr. Mc Guire is my idol and I remember him every day of my life—his smile, his kindness, and his concern for others.
I am very serious about my life and what I want to achieve in the future. However I fear about my future because my skills in English are limited. I have a great deal of interest in studying English and continuing my training in music. I would love to be a journalist who plays music and writes about music. I often lose hope because I feel that I do not have va solid background to fulfill my ambition. Although I have taken classes in poetry and am greatly influenced by it, I need help in understanding it and writing about it. I sometimes write poetry, and am looking forward for more help and new ideas about poetry because I want to excel in it. I love Indian and Nepali poets as well as British and American poets like Emily Dickinson. I also like maths, but I need a lot of assistance in the subject. Although English is my favorite subject, I find all subjects in the humanities—history, sociology, and economics very interesting. I enjoy playing the violin because it helps me forget my sorrows. I would also like to be a music teacher but I need a lot of special training in music to be help achieve this goal.

9. KAILASH RAI DOB 1994 24 Oct
My name is Kailash Rai and I am 13 years old. I live in Balapan Bustee, Upper Tashiding, Kalimpong. From my village you can see the Kanchenjunga range. I am studying in Gandhi Ashram School in class 7. In my family there are 5 members and I am the youngest son of my parents. My grandmother lives with my parents and one brother and sister. My father works as a barber and my mother works at home. My favorite hobby is playing different kinds of musical instruments—violin, viola, keyboard. I am not interested in sports like football, cricket, etc, that are very popular with the kids. My best subject is English but I hate maths because in spite of all my efforts to do well I am still weak in maths. I practice maths often and do sums over and over again, but cannot do well in my exams. Despite this, I put a lot of effort in doing well in other subjects. My aim is to become a good music conductor when I grow up. I am also ready to work hard to fulfill my parent’s dreams because very parent dreams that their children will one day grow up to a successful individual and look after them in their old age. I am thinking of studying music after I finish school, but I am not sure how to aooly to schools that offer music—especially the violin. After studying music, I want to return to Gandhi Ashram School and share my talents with others by teaching them and playing for them.

10. PASANG BHUTIA DOB 26 Oct 1993
My name is Pasang Bhutia and people think I am very mischievous. I come from a simple family. My parents are farmers who cultivate paddy and vegetables. My family owns a small piece of land in a small village called Pourbong Bustee where we grow vegetables for our own use. I have two sisters and a brother. My sisters and I go to Gandhi Ashram School. We were all brought to the school by Fr. Mc Guire. In 2006, I was admitted to St. Augustine’s School in class 8. It was a dream come true since I had never imagined that I would go to such a good school. St. Augustine has very good teachers and I can play sports like football and basketball.
In Octover 2006, I went for a trip to Germany with 14 other students. It was a really wonderful time for me. We visited a lot of wonderful places, and got a chance to play in big halls. I really thank Fr. Mc Guire for taking me in. I firmly believe that without him and without the Gandhi Ashram I would have been working as hired farmer without any future prospects. I am very happy at the Gandhi Ashram. I love when Roy Sir comes visiting—we chat, play, take walks, and he always has funny stories to tell. My ambition is to be a good person. I would like to study computers or education. I want to keep my family happy and also support the poor and Gandhi Ashram School.

11. SUNITA KHAWAS DOB 6 JUNE 1993
I am Sunita: when I was about 5 I was brought to the Gandhi Ashram School which was founded by Fr. McGuire in 1993. I studied at the school till class 7 and then moved to SHP in class 8. My father works as carpenter. I am the oldest daughter in the family that consists of my parents and two brothers aged 12 and 15. my two brothers go to a public, government-run school near 8th mile. My favorite hobbies are playing the violin, playing badminton, and dancing. My best subjects are science and history, but I am weak in maths. I am trying my level best to do better in maths but I think I need some additional help in the form of tutoring. I count myself lucky that I learned to play the violin. How many children from my background can go to a good school, let alone learn the violin. My strength is my family and the other students at Gandhi Ashram. I would like to take science—biology—for my further studies, and be a teacher, a scientist, or a community worker. I the future I would like to support Gandhi Ashram School in whatever way possible.

12. DOMINIC TAMANG DOB 27 JULY 1992
My name is Dominic and I come from a small village called Poshyor Bustee situated near a bamboo forest. It is quite far from Kalimpong and takes about one and a half hour’s walk through the mountains to reach my village from Gandhi Ashram School. In my family there are ten members—four brothers and three sisters. I am the seventh child. We have a small plot of land, about 4 decimals, where we grow vegetables and raise pigs. My father is a small framer who spends all day working in the fields. We also have a cow, six goats, and about 11 hens. My elder brother looks after the cow and the goats. He also cuts grass from the forest and brings it home for the animals. My parents did not have any money to send all of us to school, and so some of them are illiterate. But they are very intelligent and love to tell stories. My mother is a vegetable seller. She collects vegetables from the village and sells them in the town. She works very hard to look after our needs. She is also a very religious and strict lady. Both my parents are not educated. They could not get an education because of poverty. My grandfather was a stone breaker and a farmer. Although they are not educated, they are kind hearted and caring. My sister Celina and I are the luckiest children in the village because we were admitted to Gandhi Ashram School. Fr. McGuire came to our village when Celina was only 5 and took her to the school. After completing class 8 in Gandhi Ashram, I joined St. Augustine’s School in 2005. That year Fr. McGuire passed away and we were all overcome by sorrow. It was as if we had lost a parent. Now fr. Paul is helping me. I am in class 9. I know that in today’s world we have to study and be educated. Otherwise we will become like a mat outside the room. People will clean their feet on the mat and walk on it. I want to educated not just to support my family but also to help my community. Already we have many people from the community who are working to improve the condition of poor farmers.
Nepali is my mother tongue. Nepali people are a very honest and sincere. I am also a tribal boy. The name Tamang belongs to a tribal group. Tamangs are usually very talented, but are shy by nature. We can do a lot better if we are given a chance, like Prashant Tamang who is a star in Indian Idol.
My hobbies are to read story books and books on science, astronomy, anything . I also love to play the violin and play basketball during my free time. I love to read mythological stories—Indian and Greek mythologies, stories with moral values and religious books. I am a bit weak in Englsih since it is not my mother tongue, but I am trying to improve my English by reading more books. I like to play the violin because it makes me happy, and when I am sad it makes me forget my troubles. I am fond of Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, and Vanesae Mae. I also like computers and would love to learn more about computer application, programming, and graphic design. However, I haven’t done very well in computers at school: we don’t have a computer in school for me to practice programming. All six of them that are lying in the computer room at Gandhi Ashram do not work.
Of all the science subjects, I love Biology very much. My aim is to be a doctor and help the poor. I want to make the world a better place by stopping killing of animals, felling trees, and protecting animals from poachers and disease. We live in a beautiful world and it is our responsibility to take care of it.

13. ANITA DHAMALA DOB April 29, 1992
I am Anita. I am eighteen years old and studying in class 10 at Dr. Graham’s Homes in Kalimpong. Like the others, I am a boarder at the Gandhi Ashram School which is the greatest support for me. The boarders have a true home in the school. We can go to Fr. Paul for help anytime of the day and in times of trouble. I love music very much. In fact, I cannot imagine life without my music.
I just have a mother in my family since my father died when I was just a toddler. My mother is a very hard working woman. She was the one who led me to the right path, taught me to value life and education, and has given me happiness beyond all expectations. I have taken up science for my ISCE Board exams, and am particularly interested in biology. My aim in life is to become a successful woman and look after my mother. I will always help Gandhi Ashram because I is the greatest strength of my life, more than my family. I am told that I lack courage and self-confidence, qualities that are necessary for success in life. I would like to be more self-confident and learn about asserting myself. I also need some extra help in chemistry and physics.

14. BIRMIT LEPCHA DOB 12 Feb, 1993
I am Birmit Lepcha (Simickmo). I come from a simple lepcha family. lepchas are considered to be the original inhabitants of the hills around Kalimpong but now not many children learn or speak the language. I am a girl from a very simple family. my father is a small farmer and my mother keeps herself busy doing the housework and tending to the goats and pigs. There are eight members in my family—3 brothers and two sisters. I was about four when my aunt brought me to Kalimpong. Unable to take care of me, she admitted me to the Gandhi Ashram School. I remained in the school for eight years under the care of Fr. Mc Guire. I also learned to play the violin which made me happy and forget my worries. One years back I went to Saptarshi. I am currently in class p.
My favourite subject is Science, but I am weak in mathematics and physics. After I complete my ISCE Boards, I would like to go to the university to study science. My aim in life is to be either a nurse or a teacher of biology in school.

15. MILAN LEPCHA DOB 8 November 1990
I am Milan, and I was born in a poor family near Poshyor Bustee. I was six when Fr. Mc Guire brought me to the Gandhi Ashram School. My parents are both farmers and my brother who is two years younger to me is illiterate. He stopped going to school after class 2. both my parents work hard in the fields in order to support the family. They take care of the plants, water them, do weeding, fetch wood for fire, and carry water from the spring. I am really thankful that I got the opportunity to attend Gandhi Ashram. I have taken Science in class 10. I decided to do science because my science teacher at Gandhi Ashram in class 8 inspired me. She taught me new ways to understand and appreciate science.
After taking my board examinations, I am interested in joining merchant navy. I would also like to go to college before that and study biology. I love heavy metal and alternate metal and hard rock. I am weak in maths, and people say that I am not serious about life and like to take things easy. It is true that I love to joke and play pranks on my friends, but I am definite plans for my future.

16. JENNIFER KHAWAS DOB 11 Oct, 1991
I am Jennifer and I go to st. Joseph’s Convent in Kalimpong (class 9). I am fun loving person, kind hearted, and sometimes irritating. I love to make others laught. I come from a large family of eight. My father is a mason, and my other brother is training to be a car mechanic (because he dropped out of school last year). My mother takes acre of each and everyone’s needs. My favorite subject is chemistry. Right now I am taking science and want to continue with it. But others tell me that science is very hard and that I have to be very good at it in order to study it in college. I believe that nothing is easy unless and until we try it and put in our best. I love to play basketball and I like to listen to and sing sentimental songs. I love the violin. I am going for a trip to Germany, Italy, France, and Switzerland in Oct 2007 to play violin in 4 cities. The chance to play violin and to travel all over the world—how many poor children from our world can be as lucky as I am?

17. JOHN LEPCHA DOB 22 May 1991
I am John from Lower Chibbo Bustee located in 5th Mile, Kalimpong. My parents are poor, and therefore could not give me a good education in the local schools. So they admitted me to Gandhi Ashram School where only underprivileged children study. After finishing class 8 at Gandhi Ashram I joined Dr. Graham’s Homes School which is one of the best known schools in Kalimpong. I am now in class 10 getting ready to take my ICSE Board exams in march 2008. after finishing school I would like to go to college.
As I am the only child in my family going to school, my parents expect something from me in the future. They want me to study hard and aspire to be somebody. We are four brothers in the family, and I am the only one among the four who has remained in school. Another—the youngest—is in a government school nearby. The other brothers dropped out of school and work as casual laborers. But they tell me to study hard and achieve something in life. I am very fond of commerce and my ambition is t go to college and then get an MBA. All I can say is that I am capable of it. I am quite good instudies, but need some extra help in mathematics and English.

18. KISHAN SANKI DOB May 10, 1991
I am Kishen. My parents are farmers, and we are together seven in the family. I am the youngest member of the family. I am very grateful to Gandhi Ashram School for giving me a chance to study and learn music. I learned my first alphabet here at Gandhi Ashram. At present, I am studying at Dr. Graham’s Homes in class 10. I have taken up commerce. Besides commerce, I also like economics. But I need to work more on improving my mathematics. I aim to go to college to do an B Com and then study for a M Com. I like playing football, reading music, and playing the violin. I am also very interested in music and computers. Playing Vivaldi gives me a lot of pleasure, and I also love Bach and Mozart. I can speak four languages—Nepali, English, Hindi, and a little bit of Bengali, the language of the state of West Bengal where Kalimpong is situated. My favorite subject in Commerce is Accounting. I was also made perfect of my class this summer. I wish I could receive some help studying business mathematics. I know that I have a big responsibility to achive something in life so that I can support my poor parents. Gandhi Ashram has given me full support—I am a boarder and I get along very well with the other boarders. It has become my second home. I miss it when I am away. If I become a successful person, I will do my best to help the school.

19. JOKHIM LEPCHA DOB 5 July, 1990
My name is Jokhim and I was born in Poshyor Bustee in Kalimpong. There are five members in my family. My mother grows vegetables in a small plot of land that she owns. She also has cattle—one cow, two pigs, and four goats. My father is a cook at Gandhi Ashram School, and this is the place I call home.
I was admitted to this school when I was six, and since then I have been living here. I learned to play the violin when I was six, which has been one of the greatest achievements in life. I love playing in the school orchestra where there are about 40 students playing first violin, second violin, cello and viola. I enjoy playing Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, and Mozart, and hill songs. I love to share my musical skills with others, and I do so by teaching some of the smaller children from my village. I have also been trained to play trios, which I enjoy a great deal. I will be traveling with Ajoy and Jennifer to Europe in mid Oct to play at concerts. Although I am excited, I worry that I will miss too many classes during the three weeks abroad.
I study at Dr. Graham’s Homes in Kalimpong. I am in class 12 and will appear for my ISCE Board Exams in March 2008. I have a great interest in subjects such as economics, mathematics, and environmental education. I want to pursue higher education in commerce and then go for an MBA. At times I have doubts as to whether I will achieve my dreams. My family cannot afford the money required to finance higher education or pursue an MBA. But I still have hope, someone will be there to help me as God himself has said that ask and you will be given, seek and you will find.
The other reason that I have to go for further studies is that I will be the first one passing my class 12 from my entire village. Most students have stopped studying after class 9 or 10. Most do not full understand the value of a good education. I have seen people learning to drive at 13 to be a driver. I have seen my own parents encouraging their children to work in the fields rather than study. Most of my villagers believe in the old way of life and it’s often very difficult to explain to them that the world is changing and that education has a very important place in this world. Those who want to continue working in the fields should also get some kind of education so that they can take better care of their crops and their lands.

20. TIKA KUMARI BISWAKARMA DOB 30 March, 1993
I live in Tashiding Bustee located near 5th mile in Kalimpong. I am from a poor family, and there are eight members in my family. My father is a carpenter and my mother a housewife. My father loves to make small furniture, like stools and benches, and also wooden toys. I often paint these toys and give them to my friends in the village. Two of my sisters are married and my one brother and sister stay at home and help my parents. I and my elder brother got a chance to study in Gandhi Ashram School. Presently I am at Dr. Graham’s Homes in class 9, and my brother is in college in Darjeeling. Both my brother and I are trying hard to make a life for ourselves so that we can help our family. My main interests include practicing maths, reading comics and adventure stories, and playing the violin. I also want to learn to play the keyboard. My weakness is business maths. My strength is the desire to move forward and keep trying no matter how hard the tasks are. I wish to study in order to be a manager at a bank.

21. SACHIN TAMANG DOB 22nd Jan 1992
I am Sachin and people usually joke that I remind them of Sachin Tendulkar, the famous Indian batsman. I was born in Poshyour near Kalimpong and was lucky enough to be admitted to Gandhi Ashram School. It has been quite a long time since I came here—meanwhile lots of things have changed. Fr. Mc Guire passed away in August 2005, on India’s independence day. When we arrived at the school we were all given a violin each and given lessons everyday. At first I used to run away from school since I was not very interested in playing the violin. The first few months were not easy because all we could do was make noises on the violin. Now how realize how important music is to my life. I practise regularly and wish to learn the piano and the organ.
I am in class 10, and have two younger sisters. Both of my parents are illiterate but they value education. I often have a tough time because I have to continue my studies and also help my sisters. I am the only son and being the oldest, I bear a lot of responsibility, looking after my sisters and managing everything. I have taken commerce but I am not sure what I want to do after passing my class 12 board exams. My ambition is to become an army officer. The army offers total security for the family. At one point I was thinking of studying music after school but I have to earn enough to be able to support my family. I was also thinking of doing honors in economics or commerce, but since I don’t have much financial support I am not sure what I’ll do when I leave school. All of my friends have sponsors but I don’t have one—and this makes me a bit depressed. But Gandhi Ashram school continues to support me and encourage me to do my best. This is the best gift I have ever received. I love indoor games such as volleyball and have won several prizes.

22. SUBARNA PRADHAN DOB March 10, 1992
I am Subarna born in a family of poor farmers. I have three sisters and my old uncle lives at our home. He often tells me stories about my family and about Kalimpong 50 years back. I am in class 10 and my aim in life is to be a successful career woman. The one and only person who has helped me and set me on my path of dreams is late fr. McGuire. I think of him everyday—when I am sitting alone and staring at the stars, or watching the arin wash down the hills. Also my parents are a precious gift to me. When they are happy, I feel relaxed and happy. Whenthey feel lonely and sad I feel bad. I am always there to console them and to give them hope. My mother is a guiding source of life—like a lighthouse in the dark ocean. She gives light to others even though she leads a life of great hardship. She has always taught me to aim high and to move forward in life. My father says; “You have all the answers inside you. The more you trust yourself the easier your life will be. Look inside and care for others.’
I have three sisters. We always fight over small things but cannot live without each other. We have always been reminded that your dreams will continue to call out to you either softly in whispers or loudly until you acknowledge them and express them in your everyday life. After completing class 8, I was admitted to Saptarshi Gyanpeeth School where I am taking commerce and business maths in addition to subjects like social sciences, English, and Nepali. I wish to take up commerce in college. My belief is that people are happiest and most successful when their work is aligned with what is meaningful to them and what they are passionate about.

23. INDU SARKI DOB AUG 5, 1991
I am Indu, a name that means the moon. At present I am in class 10 in Saptashree Gyanpeeth, one of the well known private schools in Kalimpong. My strength is my family without whom I would be nothing. I have a big family consisting of eight members. My father is a small farmer who tends his little field near our cottage on the slopes of a hill. You can often see the Kanchenjunga from my home. I am also grateful to Gandhi Ashram School; without it, I would be nothing. My weakness is my short temper, although I am a trustworthy friend. I love chatting and joking with my friends, and watching TV whenever father allows us to, and most of all listening to music—pop, Hindi songs, and classical instrumental music.
I love Economics followed by English literature. After class 10, I am planning to opt for commerce. Though I am weak in math, I believe that I can excel in it if I receive some additional help in solving math sums. I love playing the violin, and my dream is to see Gandhi Ashram orchestra as a world famous orchestra.

24. LUCY LEPCHA DOB OCT 10, 1990
I am Lucy and presently in class 11 at Dr. Graham’s Homes School, a school established more than 100 years back during the British colonial rule. I love reading storybooks and my favorite authors are Meg Cabot and Erich Segal. I have opted for science and I intend to study business in college and become a good accountant. My best subjects are maths and English. I had a hard and difficult life, and at times I was filled with total despair but now I am better and back at school hoping to do my best to get a good standing in class 12. I respect my parents a lot and I believe that without them I wouldn’t be what I am today. I have my father, mother, uncle, grandmother, two brothers and a sister living in the same hut. My father works in the farm and my mother looks after the family and the cattle. I love my elder brother very much. He is a taxi driver and his name is Robin. He loves to tell me stories about his travels. My biggest strength is God, my parents, and my sponsors at Gandhi Ashram. Without their support, I would not have the ability to stand here or even write this biography. I love reading books, watching TV, listening to music and chatting with my friends. I also love munching of junk food, which Fr. Paul does not approve of at all.

25. AJAY DOB April 10, 1991
I am Ajay and my family comes from Chibo Bustee, not far from Gandhi Ashram. I am an orphan and live with my grandparents. I am presently in Dr. Graham’s Homes in Class 9. I am weak in mathematics and physics but no matter how complicated they are, I enjoy these subjects. I have a keen interest in environmental education. I like designing things—everything from houses, jewelry, furniture. I often draw new designs and would love to learn graphics. I would like to get some counseling on ways to pursue a caeer in design, which I am told is very much in demand in India. But design is a big field and I’ll have to wait and see which kind of design I can study after completing high school.
Years ago, my father , mother, and sister died in an accident and I came to live with my grandparents. They own a small field in which they grow vegetables and keep cattle. If you walk up the road from Gandhi Ashram and take the first path up the hill, you’ll reach their house in less than 20 minutes. I was sven when I came to Gandhi Ashram. This school helped me a lot to build my self-confidence and my knowledge. I am a boarder in the school. We are like a happy family here, although we occasionally have problems. I work very hard in the evenings after returning from school to help the people who work at the school. During weekends, I go to my grandparent’s house and help my grandfather in the field. I return to Gandhi Ashram on Sunday evening. I play the cello and people tell me that I am good it, although I would love to get more intensive training in the cello. I will be traveling to Europe later in Oct to play cello with some of my other friends from the school.

26. SABITRI BHUJEL DOB AUG 1, 1991
I am Sabitri studying at Dr. Graham’s Homes in class 10. I am 17 years old. My family lives in Bagrakote in Jalpaiguri in North Bengal, not far from the Bangladesh border. I came to kalimpong at the age of six and joined Gandhi Ashram School. I have five members in my family—father, mother, and two sisters. My father and mother work in the tea gardens as tea pickers. My two sisters study in a Nepali-medium school in Bagrakote. I consider myself lucky to be staying at the Gandhi Ashram hostel. I studied at the school till class 8 and then joined Dr. Graham’s Homes. This was a great opportunity for me—to be admitted to one of the best schools in Kalimpong where I receive the best education. I thank Fr. McGuire for everything he did for me and for helping me at a time when I needed the most help. He was like God who helped poor people like us to make something out of our miserable lives. My hobbies are reading books, dancing, watching movies, and of course, playing the violin. I am devoted to the violin and every time I play it I get lost in another world. I have taken arts in class 10—history, geography, Economics, and English. My favorite subjects are economics, geography, and home science. I want to join a course in hotel management and hospitality after I pass out of high school. I often wonder what I where I would have been without Fr. Mc Guire—probably picking tea in some garden.

27. PRAKASH RAI DOB 13 December 1989
I am Prakash from upper Tanek Bustee. My parents make their living by working in a farm. They are poor and uneducated and cannot afford to send me to regular schools. I was very lucky to be part of the Gandhi Ashram School where I have lived since 1995 since I was six. In 2005 I passed out of class 8 and was admitted to Dr. Graham’s Homes, and I am in class 10 getting ready to take my ICSE Board exams in March 2008.
At home we are seven members, including my parents. The eldest sister is married and has three children. I have two older brothers who stay at home working in the fields with my parents. Whatever they earn by selling vegetables is pent on food and clothes and there is very little left over from their earnings to buy books or shoes. I am very keen on going for further studies after I pass out of school. My favorite subject is mathematics, although I do not excel in it. I think I can do much better if I receive some kind of tutoring. I am thinking of studying mathematics after school. I am also passionately fond of music—the violin and the guitar.
Since I am the only person in my family to complete the 10th Board, my parents expect me to become a successful professional. My dream is to be a math teacher in higher secondary or in college. I would also like to pursue music and learn new instruments.

28. NEEMA SHERPA DOB 10 JULY 1990
I am from a farmer’s family and was born in a place called Tanek in Kalimpong. Tanek is well known in India for its many varieties of orchids and gladioli flowers. The flowers grown in Tanek are sent to other parts of India and also to Europe. My family owns a piece of land where they cultivate these flowers as a cash crop, but they hardly earn enough since the flower dealers from the cities take all the profits. My younger sister and I study in Gandhi Ashram, and the remaining two sisters and parents work in the fields to earn a living for the rest of us. We are the only Sherpa family and often discriminated against by other non-Sherpa, Gorkha population. I feel it is my responsibility as the only son to take care of my family when I grow up and to ensure that they have enough to lead a happy and contented life. At times I feel like we are an injured bird caught in a nest of snakes.
I am now studying in class 10 at Dr. Graham’s Homes in Kalimpong. My favorite subjects are Physics and Biology, but I have some problems in mathematics, chemistry, and biology. Apart from academics I play the violin and interested in learning to play the drums well. I like games like football, cricket, and basketball. I am told that I am good at football but it is hard to make a career in the game since it is so competitive. I love acting in plays as well. My mind is filled with different possibilities and dreams of a career, and it is hard to focus on any one. Merchant navy attracts me, so do fields like engineering and medical science, biomedical sciences. But one has to be very good in studies to be a doctor or an engineer. Another problem is: even if I get in, who will pay for my expenses?
If I become a successful professional, I will return to my community and work for its upliftment. I would like to see Gandhi Ashram School become the best school in Kalimpong—a school that offers free and quality education to the poor. Gandhi Ashram gave me a perfect platform to make a difference and say: “See what a poor person can do if given a chance.”

29. SASHI RAI DOB 5 SEPT 1993
I am Sashi and my name also means “the moon.” Living in 7th Mile in Kalimpong, I am from a family of six. My father is a farmer and my mother assists him in the fields. I have two sisters, one is studying in class 7 and the other is in college. My only brother studies in class 5. I go to Saptashri Gyanpeeth (class 9). Fr. McGuire brought me to Gandhi Ashram. Since his death in 2005, I have found a lot of support in fr. Paul who now serves as its director. Dr. Roy, who is a good friend of the school, also visits us often and we spend a lot of time talking about ourselves, our dreams and ambitions and interests. I am usually very shy, but do not hesitate in talking to Dr. Roy.
I want to go for science for my class 12 Boards, but I am weak in mathematics and physics. I love music, and my other great interest is in dance. I often wonder if I can be a professional Indian classical dancer! I love to sing as well. I am generally a very contended person and take one day at a time.

30. ANUPA RAI DOB 1 SEPT 1992
I am Anupa and come from a fairly large family. My father is the sole wage earner. My brothers and sisters go to two different government-run schools in Kalimpong. I go to Dr. Graham’s Homes 9class 10) and have taken science. However, I am quite weak in chemistry and mathematics and may opt for humanities if I go to college. I am good in geography and nepali and want to be a school teacher. I am particularly interested in music and education of small children, and would like to receive training in the Montessori method after I get my B.A. in college.

31. DEEPA DARJEE DOB 8 OCT, 1992
I am Deepa and I was born in a peaceful small place called 4th mile. The village has a mountain stream and filled with bamboo and sal forests. I am from a poor family. presently I am in dr. Graham’s Homes in class 9 Commerce. I have two brothers and I am the only daughter in the family. my parents do not have formal education. My father, as well as my two brothers, are taxi drivers. I am the only one in the family to continue my studies up to class 9. my interests are reading books and playing the violin. My real strength are my parents, who although poor, love and nurture me. My weakness: mathematics. My ambition in life is to become a nurse.

32. JAMES LEPCHA DOB 27 MAY 1991
I am James studying in Rockvale Academy in class 9. I am sixteen years old and the youngest in the family which consists of two brothers, my parents, and myself. . I am from Poshyor Bustee in the eastern Himalayas of India. Along with my two brothers I am part of the Gandhi Ashram family. I am a bit weak in Economics and English Literature and would like to receive some kind of help in order to improve my language and writing skills. My ambition in life is to be a schoolteacher, and I hope to follow the model path set up by Fr. Mc Guire.