The New Little Heroes of Shanti Bhavan

By Shilpa Raj

On the 3^rd of December, the whole school was treated to a pleasant surprise.

At the school assembly, the new kindergartners stepped on stage confidently and began their well rehearsed performance. Standing in a semi circle, they went around in pairs introducing themselves in clear English and then stating the names of their favorite animals.

Using lively expressions and actions they imitated their favorite animals. For instance Kishore, said, “My name is Kishore. My favorite animal is dog.” He barked like a dog and left the audience in fits of laughter. His peer, Angel said, “My name is Angel. My favorite animal is gorilla.” Everybody enjoyed watching her beat her chest with her little fists and growl.

As the audience rose in applause, the four year olds bowed and left the stage elegantly as their teachers and care takers looked proudly on. Just a few months ago when they arrived, none of them knew how to speak English, brush their teeth, use a bathroom and tell the difference between a fork and a spoon. But today they are bright, energetic children with amazing curiosities.

Their class teacher, Ms. Geetha says, “They are so lively. Every day the first period is spent listening to the children telling me all about what they did in the dorms.When we were learning the alphabets I would say ‘A’ and give examples of words starting with ‘A’ in English. But they would scream out examples of words in their own languages like ‘Amma’ in Tamil and Kannada which means mother.” Smiling, she adds, “I love the children very much. I enjoy teaching small ones. They are a great joy.”

Besides learning their alphabets, the children watch videos, color with crayons, listen to stories, recite rhymes, and take nature walks around the huge campus. Their day begins at 7:30 when they wake up to the sound of music. After a quick wash up and dressing-up they stand around the corridor in their dorm and exercise. After breakfast, their classes begin at 9 am and end at 1 pm and in between they have a snack break and assembly.

“Three years ago financial restraints made it hard to admit new children. We missed having the little ones join Shanti Bhavan. But this year the fifteen new kindergartners so far have brought great joy and happiness to us,” says Mrs. Rajeshwari, the Head of the Residential staff and first grade teacher. The children are very cheerful and confident at Shanti Bhavan.

Hardly three months ago, the four year old Jayanthi was sleeping on the floor of her tent among the thirty other tents clumped together in a squalid slum alongside a railway track in the middle of Bangalore. A small tap a little distance away from the tents is the only source of water and all the families share a common toilet.

To get to the slum one has to leave the tar road and take a narrow mud lane which is scattered with garbage. Inside the tent Jayanthi’s feeble grandmother slept on a wooden cot while her parents, her younger brother and she sleep on the mud floor. The cooking was done in one corner of the room, filling smoke. Their few belongings lie in another corner.

At Shanti Bhavan, Jayanthi no longer has to lie on the floor, eat just ragi once or twice a day, or shiver in the cold. A big smile shines upon her face as she goes about playing on the grounds, learning in class and shaking her hips to the sound of music.

“Jayanthi is very caring towards others. She will console other children when they cry. She is very bright. She loves to draw faces,” her class teacher Ms. Geetha says.

Her neighbor, Jamuna, who also comes from the same destitute slum, is just as happy as Jayanthi in Shanti Bhavan. Little Jamuna has finally brought smiles on her mother’s face. Ever since Jamuna joined Shanti Bhavan, her father tormented her mother and demanded that the child be returned home. He would ask her angrily, “What kind of a school have you put her in? Bring her back.”

Two months after Jamuna joined Shanti Bhavan, her parents visited her. Jamuna’s father was shown around the school building where the older children were having their prep. He smiled and kept silent. His silence spoke of his acceptance. His wife cried when she saw him return and kiss Jamuna affectionately. Both of them were very happy when Miss Geetha told them that Jamuna was a fast learner, loves meeting new people and is very talkative.

As for Jamuna’s peer, Samuel, Christmas is finally round the corner. When he arrived he asked his housemother with tears in his eyes, “When will I go home?”She answered, “When Christmas comes,” trying her best to simplify that the holidays will be starting in December. Ever since then he asks occasionally, “Has Christmas come? Has Christmas come?”

With only a week left for the holidays, the children are overjoyed and thrilled by the excitement of going back to their parents, grandparents, siblings and friends who they had left behind. Yet, they are simply happy spending their days with their friends in Shanti Bhavan.

Diwali Celebrations at Shanti Bhavan

"Boom! Bam." I thought I was going to turn deaf. Who cared? It was Diwali after all.

Everyone was so excited from morning. It was a holiday and we slept in. For breakfast we had idlis and hmmm well, I thought I'd rather skip the day’s events and head straight to the celebrations at night.

We were all ready for the evening's show. Unfortunately it started drizzling so we had the cultural program, organized by the children, in the assembly hall instead of having it outside in the dining hall like last year. There was so much fun watching children of different age groups dancing to music varying from Tamil folk dance to Chris Brown's 'Kiss Kiss.'

After the programme was over, we had a quick dinner of vegetable pulav and got ready for the most awaited part of the day. Everyone gathered on the lawn outside the dining hall and waited for the grown-ups to equally distribute the different kinds of sparklers and crackers.

Screams of excitement filled the air. The smaller kids lighted their sparklers, and the older ones preferred the crackers and missiles. The night turned into day, as darkness was replaced by the light from all the lighting. It was such a joy to watch the kindergartners who are new to the school light their first Diwali sparklers and scream with joy as they whirled it before them. Seeing their excitement reminded me of my first Diwali night long ago in Shanti Bhavan when the loud sounds and lights scared me.

As I stood next to my friends, turning a sparkler, I realized that this was going to be my last Diwali at school before graduation, and my classmates and I were ready to make the most of it.

Unlike me, those who were adventurous lit crackers and sent rockets into the sky. I stepped back to see them fly into the distance and burst into different colors. We were having so much fun.

I wished Diwali night would last forever. It was a very special day for me because this festival of lights had brought teachers, aunties, children, some of the graduates, volunteers, and the support staff together. It was a day I will always cherish in my heart.

-Jancy

One Happiness is Not Enough

In a town named Xian in China in the year 1914, darkness crept upon the evening light. A scream splattered the stillness, as a 3-year-old girl was having her feet bound. Distress and agony showed on her face as she struggled against the clutches of her mother. Her grandmother, who was doing the binding, looked up for a brief moment, but put her head quickly down as she felt her heart melt for her little angel, her granddaughter Chang. She knew that she had to follow her son-in-law’s order. He had already planned to join his daughter’s hand with the General’s son who lived in the lavish house next door. He had said firmly: “Bind her feet as small as you can. The smaller they are, the more impressed will the General be,” and he replied softly, “the faster she gets married, the quicker we shall get the store.”

A new scream brought her back to the present. Tears flooded Chang’s face, and her eyes were red and swollen. She would always remember this day.
Through a small crack in the window, the small body, the General’s son, stood in a trance-like-state, viewing the scene before him. He saw a little girl screaming, and his heart went out to her. He quietly decided that he would make her happy one day.

In 1917, the binding of feet was banned by the Chinese government, and some of those who had bound feet just started removing their bindings, but it was not possible for Chang. The General’s son, Que, had proposed marriage to Chang to her father, and according to her father’s wishes Chang had to get married with her feet bound. As for the tradition, she was carried on a royal chair to visit all the four gates of the town and was then taken to her husband Zue’s house.
At the age of 13, both understood each other very well, and both understood what each other wanted. One night as Chang lay on her bed with the moonlight illuminating her face, her breathing soft and even, Zue entered the room carrying a bowl of warm water. He kneeled quietly in front of her feet and slowly started unbinding her bound feet. As the last fold was removed, he gasped with shock. Dry skin was peeling from her feet, and they were in an odd shape which clearly showed that they were broken. He had promised to make her happy, and the only way he could do that was to get married to her because he knew that other men would have considered her small feet fashionable.

As he quietly bathed her feet in the warm water, she woke with a start, and her eyes fell on him. She tried to pull back her feet, but he just held them tightly, not allowing her to pull them back. He looked up to her and asked, “Chang, do you want your feet bound?” She shook her head vigorously, and her loose black hair felt straight along her shoulder.
He replied, “In that case, I’m going to help you with your feet.” Gently, he kept her feet straight and bound them such that her feet would look normal and grow again. Chang, who watched him intently silently and quietly fell back to sleep. Zue kissed her gently on her forehead and left her alone in her world of fantasy.

“Zue!” The General’s voice basked in the morning.”Chang hasn’t yet come to the store. Her father and I made a deal that the store’s profit would be shared between us, but if she doesn’t work, her father will not get the profit,” his voice snarled at Zue. “Go find her. Our shop is not profiting, and we need her to influence people to come to our store.”
Zue went to her room and saw Chang struggling to stand and walk. He helped her, and she smiled at him and his heart soared.

Four years later, the General passed away, and his magnificent and profitable store went to Chang and Zue. Due to the absence of the General, many people started coming to the store. Chang walked normally with only a slight limp. The store’s two wellwishers, Chang and Zue, looked at each other as a smile escaped both their lips. They held a secret, which would become the world’s knowledge in a few months.

By: Amrutha
10th Grade