Teacheropeia - Shibumi Magazine 22-23

Abdul Kabeer Nandana Prakriti Paawan Rukmini Saanj Usha Yashwanth Srishti

Introduction Viju The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter, It isn't just one of your holiday games; You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES. T.S Eliot: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats I'm certain that most of you know the basic facts. baffling to spell. As a former colleague Vishwanath once remarked: 'By time I learn how to pronounce the Six teachers went away last November to attend the names of the groups and remember the students in KFI teachers' conference at the Rajghat Besant them, the year comes around and all the names School, Varanasi (Benaras). Shibumi, along with some change.' He had a particular problem with adults was left in the care of the senior students, the 'Malhar'—was it 'Mulhurr' or 'Malhaar'?! Cassiopeia. This group acquired the name: Teacheropeia. Now the present set of names have not changed for the last four years i.e they have been around since pre- Let's begin with 'Teacheropeia'. Sridhar has covid. They are the names of constellations. Now a attempted a lively and scholarly piece on the historical constellation is already a group of stars. On that basis of the word going back to the ancient Greeks and original list were: Ursa (the Bear), Taurus (the Bull), Alexander the Great It's a brave attempt, but the Orion (the Hunter), Octans (Bright Stars), Auriga (the mundane fact is that 'Teacheropeia' rhymed with Charioteer), Cassiopeia (the Queen) and Serpens (the 'Cassiopeia' and that sealed the matter. Snake held by the healer Asclepius). Sometime in that year a pre- Ursa group was formed because we had What's in a name, you ask? Plenty if you've been four younger siblings straining at the leash to get in. associated with Shibumi long time in any manner. We The person in charge named the new group Elohi work with vertical groups. At the end of a school year (meaning Earth, etymology unknown, the matter has the groups (by virtue of being vertical) do not move en to be 'verified' to quote Nachi!) masse but individual members do. To remove even the slightest feeling that the student—and the occasional Now. Elohi is not a constellation. However, our parent—is being 'promoted' (or not) we decide to ever-resourceful Tanu supported that choice and told change the names of the groups every year. Yes, that's us: 'Ah, the Elohi. How sweetly they will look up at right. these constellations in the Shibumi sky!' Meanwhile the Auriga and the Serpens evaporated when the So, in the fifteen years of Shibumi's existence about students moved out. When the Orion and the Octans a hundred names have emerged and disappeared into were combined to form a new group they took one various black holes. The names had, naturally, to be quick look, saw that they were seven in number and difficult to remember, impossible to pronounce and promptly called themselves the 007s! 1

(Do remember that this academic year has 'Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a ended, the curriculum meetings are round the corner word obviously lacks imagination.’ and the Shibumi Giver of Names will awake from a four-year slumber. Change is at hand!) In the pages that follow we will read how the Cassiopeia turned Teacheropeia put out a week to ***** remember, providing in ample measure froth, frolic and football! We used a draconian law to freeze the spelling of Teacheropeia for the magazine. One deliberate usage And speaking of which is there anything left to be of 'teacheropia' for teachers in 'utopia' has been said about the agony and ecstasy of the Shibumi allowed! It is clear however that the comfort and Football Tournament? togetherness of calling ourselves the Elohis (Elohies, Elohi's) the Ursas (Ursa's) the Cassiopeias (or the ***** Cassis) is not to be found in the Elohi, the Ursa or the Cassiopeia. As always, the writing and the sketches—especially of the younger children—have been dusted with the So, let's thumb our noses at grammar and spelling lightest of feathers. and remember what Mark Twain said: 2

Musing on Meaning Sridhar ‘Teacheropeia’ and refreshing rain while prior attempts by Persian soldiers had led to their end in the desert. This temple During the week of November 17th through to Ammon (king of the gods) was built by the November 24th, 2022, the senior teachers of Shibumi Egyptians (570 BC) and promptly Hellenized to Zeus- left for Benares to attend a conference at the Rajghat Ammon. Besant School. While it is not unusual for the greater KFI schools' teacher community to meet periodically, The conversation between Alexander and the high the most recent such event was noted in Shibumi by priest of the temple is recorded by many with varying the absence of the senior teachers soon after the levels of veracity, generally reporting the exchange as winter session of the Cambridge International witnessed by the Greek soldiers. It is said that Examinations. In charge were the recently promoted Alexander was pleased with the outcome. students and alumni. Plutarch (Greek philosopher) further states that ***** Alexander was greeted by the high priest in his faulty Greek with 'O Paidion' (THE son of Ammon-Zeus) In the ancient world the wars between the Greek rather than 'O Paidios' (A son of Ammon-Zeus). city states and the Persian empire lasted several decades. To the non-Hellenic world this is a good introduction to 'pais' (pais or paedion = child) a After defeating Darius III at Issus (333 BCE) and common word for both 'child' or 'young person' in erasing Tyre and Gaza, Alexander the Great stepped Greek. Hence pediatrics, pediatrician, pedagogue* into Egypt and established himself as a Pharaoh before taking up Darius again. The legend of the Is it pediatrician or paediatrician? Both are correct oracle of Zeus-Ammon (a combination of Greek and depending on whether you prefer the US or UK Egyptian gods) was too tempting for him to pass up spelling… or which style of English was used by your and led him to cross 250 km of the now Libyan desert teachers! to reach the Oasis of Siwa, previously described by Herodotus (the 'father of History'). This journey was Hence Teacheropeia or the 'Young Teachers'. blessed by directions from divine snakes and ravens * {The prefix ped- (usually in the combining forms peda-, pedi-, and pedo-) in English and various other Western languages has multiple Latin and Ancient Greek roots, and multiple meanings. One is 'relating to children', from Greek pais (παῖς), meaning 'child', which in turn is derived from the Proto-Indo- European stem peu-, meaning 'small', 'young', or 'few'}. Zeus-Ammon O Paidion! 3

Let’s Start at the Very Beginning…. Cassiopeia One day, last September, Tanu didi called us aside after complaining that further ate up our already limited quiet time. As we, the senior school, gathered in the time. lobby, wondering what heinous crime we had committed this time, Tanu didi broke the nervous So, for the next couple of days, each of us silence: individually lay around and fantasized about how we'd lovingly, excitedly teach the rest of the school and show ‘A KFI teachers' conference will be held in Benares them the right way in life; while in public, pretending to this November. Usually Shibumi only sends a few regard the task of teaching dismissively, as if it was teachers, but this year we thought all of us could go. something we were doing purely because the teachers This is the first time teachers are gathering together asked us ever so nicely. after Covid. However, we would like the school to continue in our absence.’ Then, during an assembly, Tanu didi brought out a piece of paper, and we began the planning. Since these statements didn't seem to be leading to a discussion about a drop in the quality of our ‘How should we do this: do you want to stick to the responsibility, we lowered our guards and relaxed. current timetable format, or make a new one?’ ‘We can use the same one, no? Let's just follow it.’ ‘Yeah, let's ‘Continue? How?’ follow the time slots but change the specific classes.’ ‘Well, only the full-time teachers are going, so Das Meanwhile, there were some people who had and others will still be here. . . We thought…would followed a completely different channel of thought all you all be able to, and want to, run the school while we the way downstream, and they began asking other are gone?’ questions: ‘How come all the teachers are going?’ ‘Do we have to cook all the dinners?’ ‘What if there is an Again, silence ensued, but a shocked one this time. accident?’ The first ones to defrost themselves from the surprise required a clarification: Tanu didi answered these patiently, and then explained that we were not going to be left alone, and ‘You want us to run the school?’ that Das anna, Smitha aunty and Aley would ‘Hanh? We need to teach?’ permanently be on the campus, and that we did not ‘Are you sure?’ have to worry about anything else once the day was done (or even during it, for that matter). As our doubts ‘You’re joking, aren’t you?!’ were cleared and confusions sorted, we came back to ‘How?’ the topic of the timetable. ‘What if something happens?’ ‘What do we teach?’ Over the course of two assemblies, we came upon the final schedule. Since some people wanted to play Tanu didi looked round at all of us, registering the football as much as possible, and we needed a physical open mouths, the hesitating glances and the activity in the morning, a tournament was planned, with beginnings of excitement. ‘Would you guys be up for four teams, where the two teams that were not playing it?’ on any given day, would dance, as part of ‘physical activity’ and not a party I must hasten to add. We have There was a pause. Then, as one, we nodded. only one sports field—adequate, but just one. Accordingly, the teams were planned (possibly the one All of a sudden, there was a lot of work to do with administrative task that was deliberated on for the rest no time to do it in, given the minor setback of our of the month). upcoming exams in October, which inevitably brought about incessant spates of whining and 4

Then came the clubs. The idea of having various Finally, there came the problem of the name. After clubs led by each of us came up when we wondered all, for such an unusual event, we could hardly address it how this experience could be a change from the as ‘The week when the teachers won't be there’ (as we normal school day for the younger kids. Since the had already begun to do). So, Tanu didi came up with senior school was supposed to teach, why not teach the idea that we could join the group name of most of something unique, something we were interested in the senior school, ‘Cassiopeia’ and ‘teacher’, since that teaching? Once we finalized this slot, some of us chose was what we were to become. Thus the word was various activities that we would like to lead, and those invented: ‘Teacheropeia’. of us who didn't have any particular idea, decided to assist some of the others. With that, we conclude our introduction to the week in question, the topic on which the following After lunch, since there hadn't been any academic pieces are based. activity planned we decided on Contact time (this is the slot in junior school for academics). So, the teachers gave us work that was prepared in advance and we were to assist the students as they toiled over their studies. 5

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Teachers in Utopia Sonali ‘Teacheropia’...I hope I have the name (and the spelling) right. Trippingly off the tongue it does not roll. Teacheropia, (Teacheropeia?), sounds a lot like…. let me see now, it’s teetering on the edge of my (rapidly seniorising) brain - sounds like, something, something … Utopia! Teacheropia, Utopia. So, a place where Teachers are in Utopia? What would such a place look like? Perhaps where the teachers are not roaming like the wild and dangerous beasts they are, but are instead luxuriantly caged, continually fed millet, jaggery and other vegan delicacies (if it’s a fantasy why not go the distance)? Where their green thoughts in green shades can be shared in the spaces they hold for each other? Where they are so mind-numbingly entertained in an endless loop of Deep Discussion (possibly about students), they never even notice they are caged? But wait...shouldn’t that be called Zootopia? And besides, teachers love their students. They wouldn’t want to ever be kept away from them. Ever. They wouldn’t ever want a holiday from them. Never. They never tire of proffering (unsolicited) sage advice, of providing (underappreciated) tender-loving-care, of projecting (unsubstantiated) visions of futures bright. Never ever. They wouldn’t take a holiday from students if it were offered up to them on a golden thali, brought them by a caparisoned elephant, ridden by a maharajah. Perish the thought. No, no, Teachers’ Utopia would have to involve students. But of course. Students who are cheerful and quick to learn, students who are never sulky, students who smilingly agree with the teacher when she calls attention to a ‘learning moment’, students who disdain the digital and the popular, students whose only desire is to be on the tree on which the Shibumi leopard lounges, students who want to ride on the backs of the crocodiles they bump into at their local pond, students who want to smash their egos, students who want to smash the conditioned impulses of a society which is brutalised industrialised globalised capitalised professionalised advertised militarised. Failing that, why teachers may settle for a Utopia in which students run classes, do the cleaning, the cooking, organise the curriculum and timetable…. 7

Tanushree 8

In Stillness Tanushree Poem for two voices We’ll be away You’re all away, At the teachers’ gathering, At the teachers’ gathering, For a week. For a week. During this time, Could you all anchor the learning at Shibumi? During this time, Us? Who is anchoring the learning at Shibumi? Eyes sparkle with… The older children? Questions Dream with possibilities Eyes sparkle with… Pause with the Questions Weight of responsibility Stir with fear You’ll trust Shibumi with us? Pause with the They ask Weight of responsibility But their hearts know they will be great! So do I You’ve trusted Shibumi with them? They have all it takes They ask Love Care But their hearts know they will be great! What else does one need to relate? So do I Teacheropeia They have all it takes Marvellous! Love Care What else does one need to relate? Teacheropeia Marvellous! 9

What? ‘The Grinch’, NO WAY! Five Days of Real Life Sharad Nachiket (14) Us jealous? Not at all! Disclaimer: The following piece has but the author’s But this one thing, I want to tell you all. impressions of the week and his education in general. In no way We were on a spiritual quest at the holiest city ever, does he maintain that there is a problem with the way Shibumi is Leaving Shibumi to students, thinking ourselves very being run right now. clever. Here’s how it all began. The senior school, seeing Finished were their exams and our escape was set, the way we middle-to-preschoolers were made to slog Leaving them to deal with all, were we excited? You away in the heat of the afternoon learning chemical equations and names of long-gone kings, to clear every bet! last bit of plastic off the campus and to eat ragi mudde for lunch, thought ‘Man, what a sad existence. Even we They were getting too popular; it was time for their could run the school better than these teachers! Hey, fall. wait a minute…maybe we can!’. So, Cassius - er… the Cassiopeias sent the teachers away to Rajghat (on the Facing the demands, they would tear out their hair pretext of a teachers’ conference they had to attend) and bawl. and our real education commenced. A week of this would be perfect, it’s no small ask. Veneration done and dusted; they wouldn’t survive the task. The plan was perfect, we would be popular again, The great day dawned. The authorities had boarded The stage was set. the trap had been lain. a train to Benares. The week had officially started. And Upon our return, glory would be ours what a week that was! Instead of friendly, no-score- This sweet victory would heal past scars. counting games, each day we played a high intensity football match at the end of which a winner was Alas, the reality was different, it broke our hearts. announced. Instead of having to drink plain old water, Instead of falling, their popularity topped the charts. at snack time we were treated to apple and ginger soda, and with it, a taste of what the future might hold. What had they done? it was all so strange: Instead of having to stare at boring, austere walls for Breaking a few tiles, flying a paper plane? the rest of our school years, we stood in front of them Some random bubbles, some paint on the wall with paint brushes in our hands and let them take over. ‘Cute’ puppet stories, and, oh yes! ‘FOOTBALL’. Instead of having to sing in assembly, we were allowed We’ve done all that and given piggyback rides too. to sit in silence and let the more melodious voices of Where had the plan failed? We really had no clue. those who led wash over our ears. Instead of remaining in the stifling atmosphere of our classrooms, we were Chat GPT is tomorrow, this threat is here today, able to go to the top of the tower and throw paper They’re making us redundant, all in fun and play. airplanes off it. What is this connection, we’ve got to figure it out, Love and gentleness? Blah! What are they on about? But all things, good or bad, must end when their On top of that they are happy, no question of burn time’s up. The teachers returned with the swiftness and inevitability of the British reinforcements in the Revolt out or fatigue, of 1857 and suppressed our rebellion as though it were We were all left gaping, each one looking at a nothing. Indeed, some even seemed to suggest that the entire thing had been their idea from the beginning. We colleague. have yet to verify the truth of these statements. Anyway, we hope that our ‘coup’ will inspire future Well, they might have won the battle, but the war is generations to stand up and seek the kind of education yet to start. that they think works the best for them. We’re ready and will show them that we’re equally smart! 10

Working a Little Too Hard Sachin Let me be honest. Teacheropeia at campus was something I found barely worrying myself about. Updates about how things were playing out were relayed to us by Tanu at appropriate intervals. By appropriate, I mean often enough to rest in the hope that the children hadn't brought the main building down; and I could allow myself to immerse myself completely in the hard work of learning how to be a teacher. Many of you reading this may be under the impression that we teachers were merely holidaying on the pretext of work. Nothing could be further from the truth. We were not strolling leisurely on the ghats, going on boat rides against fiery sunsets without a worry, or cycling dreamily to ancient ruins and what not. There was always the dread in the back of our minds of not returning in time for meals. Though the good folk at Rajghat served out some delectable North Indian delights, they waited for no one. Even if one was late by a barely noticeable fifty-sixty minutes. And let me add, on days when breakfast jalebis left us buzzing with energy, we even sat in on some of the discussions and talks (of course, if Viju aunty was already there, then it wasn't particularly necessary to represent Shibumi). The point being that if those of you doubtful readers are still unconvinced about our seriousness of being at the teachers’ conference (I think that was the name of the event), then there is little more I can do to make you see the truth. It's a sad fact that some people choose to look away from the cold and harsh landscape of existence and mindlessly spend their time in imagined sunny vistas of life. Now, after such a busy and exhausting week at Rajghat that I just described for you sensible people, wouldn't you agree that we teachers need a little break? 11

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They Did a Good Job! Arunima (10) When I found out that the Cassiopeias were going to run school, I was very shocked! But it turned out that the week was great fun. We had clubs where we made sauerkraut, Xmas essence, apple soda and much more! It was all so delicious that I kept secretly eating some of the things we made! We also had a football tournament where there were four teams. I was in Team 2. We played three matches and my team won one against Ziah’s team, Team 3, which got kicked out. Alas, I didn’t play a single match because I had a bad toe infection. That was very painful. Anyway, in the end Team 1 won the tournament. Contact was very different because Usha was taking it for Sharanya and I. And it was also much quieter. Maybe because all of us were spread around school. They did a good job! Thank you Teacheropeias! Fun With Teacheropeia Aman (11) When the Teacheropeia week started, it did not feel very soon, and to my astonishment, Nikith was caught very different except for the excitement of the football too. I gave up. After that, we were allowed to watch the tournament. The Teacheropeia group had shared that football match. two teams would play football and the other two would dance. I did not like the idea of dance at all. We had snacks and went for clubs, where I made soap. We also watched everybody else doing their club Since I did not know the timetable, I asked Saanj if I activities. I was cycling when I heard the news that Agni was going to play football that day. She said ‘No, your sat on his soap. I cycled back to where he was and saw team will play tomorrow.’ I was very disappointed. I that his pants were drenched with soap. He did not like went to Sora where all the people who were not going it when I teased him, but I still did it the whole week. to play football had gathered. There were a lot of people there who, like me, did not want to dance. The next morning my heart was beating fast. I was very excited and tense at the same time. I was not sure So, the Teacheropeia group decided to play games if I would play well. I got nervous each time the ball instead. I loved playing ‘Cops and Robbers’, and what I came to me. I was also scared that it would hit my face. used to do was to climb a tree, where no one could see Everyone said I played well, but I did not think so, me, but from where I could watch the football match! because I felt I could have helped my team more. The bad part was that I got caught as soon as I came down. I was soon freed by Om K. but was caught again I hope Teacheropeia week happens again soon! 15

Connection Abdul (21, former student) ‘So many children, and you can never run out of love ‘Both of you can’t add the sugar at the same time, will for them!’ This was the feeling I was sharing with Tanu you take turns?’ di after spending another day at a government school in Kodinar, my hometown in Gujarat. Having spent And we went on, cutting, squeezing, stirring. I could time with kids in Teacheropeia, roots of love had now only keep their attention till we got the sweet grown with them. uncarbonated drink ready. As soon as their tongues were sweetened with countless licks and tastes, they In Shibumi I would see the kids with teachers from were happy and ran away. I barely managed to hold far, unaware of the wonders they marvelled at them till we cleared up the mess we had created. I had together. Who would have thought fractions could be to catch them later to say I added curd whey to the fun all over again? Until Dhatu (11) and I were stuck lemonade. This received some disapproving looks, trying to add two fractions with different which too were quickly forgotten, after I explained that denominators. Fractions had been something I had it’s the culture in the curd that makes the drink fizzy taken for granted. What does it mean to add 1/8 and and pops the flip-top bottle. After a week or so, we 1/6? To me they were just numbers, waiting to be were sitting chomping on our lunch and then came a manipulated and added, but Ganga aunty came along question: ‘Abu, won’t chocolate milkshake soda taste and showed us how to picture the fractions as parts of amazing?!’ wholes, using any number of boxes from the grid of the math notebook to make a complete shape, then re- Months later, after going back to Kodinar, I arranging the sizes so both shapes have the same chanced upon a school while running an errand. number of boxes. So, when you have a ‘whole’ of 8 Where had these little eyes been, eyes that glistened boxes and a ‘whole’ of 6 boxes, you quadruple the size with such joy, I wondered. I felt a strong pull to relate of the 1/6 shape and triple the size of 1/8 shape, with with them. I could watch them all day, but to me that both now having 24 boxes. This gives you 3 boxes from was not enough. Tender voices calling out ‘Sir! Sir!’ one and 4 from the other. So, the sum is 7/24. One can Before I knew it, I was sitting, surrounded by 6–7-year- just go on and on about fractions! olds, explaining addition and subtraction to them. Seeing Arpan (8) fascinated by the turning on of an Reflecting on my times with children makes me LED bulb, transports me back to a small Abu, who wonder, were they always this interesting? Also, it feels would love watching the motor make whirring sounds clear that life with children is what I want. Exploring at the touch of a wire. Just like Arpan, he would have and learning about the world together. felt the pull towards the physics lab as soon as the words ‘free learning’ were uttered! Free learning is the time for children to explore the world without the bounds of academics. To revisit our learning is always a giant smile moment. One day they wanted to make lemonade soda, inspired by the pops of the glass bottles they heard during lunch. So, we got to it. ‘Abu, can I add the sugar?’ ‘Sure, you can.’ ‘Can I squeeze the lemon?’ ‘Yes, you can babu!’ 16

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Please, No More Football! Prakriti (18) When I first heard that the teachers weren’t going to be Another thing I really enjoyed during the there for a week, and that we (the Cassiopeias) had to Teacheropeia week was playing ‘tuppy’ (indoor) cricket take care of Shibumi, I immediately thought it would in the library, since we rarely play cricket in school, due be a failure, and that it would end up too chaotic and to the overwhelming majority of football lovers who tedious to manage. However, I was soon to be proved love shouting and being heard above everyone else’s wrong. The Teacheropeia week was lively and amusing voices (hmm... who could they be?). This particular and it didn’t feel like work at all! In fact, I didn’t even form of cricket is a very delicate sport that had a whole notice that the teachers were missing. bunch of extra precautionary rules, since the ‘field’ we played in was the library. Some of the rules were – ‘do We were all figuring out our schedules for the day, not hit the glass shelves’ and ‘do not scrape the floor’. making sure timings didn’t clash (especially when the The second rule was taken care of by spreading a yoga football tournament needed extra time), and work out mat in front of the batsman, so minimal scratches were what to do when some people didn’t want to stick to made on the floor by the bat. We still got a firm the original timetable (for example, when dance was to reprimand when the teachers got to know of this later, happen, but everyone seemed to hate dance, including but it was worth it (I hope no teacher is reading this). myself, and ‘cops and robbers’ was played instead). However, it didn’t feel like we were the ‘authoritative The week was a golden opportunity for football fans figures’ people had to ‘consult’ – it was more to take full advantage of the unstable situation, and conversational and deciding together. matches were played every day, all day (all right, not all day, but often). The football tournament was enjoyable I was part of the Bubbles club with Abdul and anyway, with high levels of competition and tension, Yashwanth, and although I had no clue about what we and my team was kicked out of the tournament first (I were going to be doing, as Abdul hadn’t told me what wonder why), which was a relief for me but certainly the plan was, I enjoyed it a lot! From soaps to pickles to not for Nikhil, who, being a football lover, was truly ginger beer, we made a variety of things and learnt heart broken, but what can I say? Well, I could say, ‘I about fermentation. I realized it requires large told you so’, but seeing his fragile state, I refrained from reservoirs of patience when we had to wait for the saying anything. ginger beer to ferment or if we had to cut vegetables to pickle, which I sometimes found lacking in myself and All in all, it was an unusual, yet unique experience. It others, but the result was always worth the effort! was a great opportunity to interact with other age groups as well, rather than spending time with just our On the first day, when we were making soap, Agni own age groups and known friends. sat on his soap by mistake, after which a new rule had to be added to the safety guide while making soaps- I hope we continue speaking with all kinds of namely, ‘Avoid sitting on your soap!’ people, because you never know what you’ll learn! 20

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Week Without Teachers COMPE-TENSE Kshitij (14) Yashwanth (19, former student) The week wasn't a total disaster like I thought it I love playing football. It's an incredibly dynamic would be. It went well because the way it was game with very simple rules: you have your teams, structured was not completely new to us. That made it there's a ball, and you have to help your team put the easier to follow. ball into the other team's goal in any way you can. That's pretty much it, and you don’t need any high-level People were looking forward to playing football, so skill to be useful to the team. You can be a passing they were voluntarily going on time. People were option to a teammate in trouble, you can move into an excited to miss regular classes since there were no area and prevent a play from taking place, you can just teachers. Instead, we had fun activities such as drift sideways and draw away some defenders, clearing participating in a club or doing carpentry instead. Since the path for someone else. Every single movement they were excited, people were being spontaneous and matters, every little decision you take can either help going with the flow. your team or weaken it. If you are someone with even basic football skills, have keen awareness and have the I saw this reflected in the assembly, which was will to play for the team, you are a dangerous player. louder than usual. Snack was as usual. I had joined the The best football matches happen when there are no Bubbles club. We fermented cabbages, ginger, chillies passengers on the pitch, when you can depend on your and apples. We also made soap, and everyone got to entire team to work with you. choose the scents they wanted—rosewood, lavender, ylang-ylang, blossom, green apple and lemon grass. One of the things I love most about school football Everyone was looking forward to tasting the things we is how casual it is, how peaceful it is and what fun it can fermented. Getting to taste them was like a reward. be. People play here for the fun of the game, not just to win. Most of the time we don't even count goals! I have After lunch, Om K and I started working on a the chance to try different things, get more of my geodesic project in the dialogue space. Soon we got teammates involved in the game and it's a different distracted and ended up using the whole area to test a kind of joy seeing them actively participate in and enjoy magnetic braking system. a game that I know can be wonderful and exhilarating. In a competitive, fierce environment, this wouldn't be We had a lot of freedom to do what we wanted to possible. The strong players would be determined to do rather than being told what to do. This made us make something happen by themselves and would rely work harder. on the weak only because they cannot be everywhere at the same time! This doesn't help anyone improve and, most importantly, doesn't make for very good football. And that was exactly what I was worried about for our tournament. What it ended up being was better than I could have ever hoped for. I saw determination, energy, a certain passion that was lacking in our previous games. I saw every single player in every single team stepping up and pushing themselves to help their team. Scoring a goal was vital, losing a goal was heartbreaking, every moment mattered to them personally. Whether they were good at football or not, whether they even liked football or not, everybody played hard for the sake of their team, and it was beautiful to watch. That passion and energy even carried on to our future sports classes! I think that one week was remarkable for school football. 23

A Change in Perspective Anoushka (15) ‘Let’s go for sport!’ A phrase I didn’t enjoy hearing. I wasn’t keen as we would play football in almost every sports class. Football was the one sport I found despicable. ‘The teachers are going to Benares for a whole week?!’ The seniors were going to take charge of the school. When we heard this, we were excited and were looking forward to seeing how it would go. They planned to have clubs (alas, a study-for-exams timetable prevented my participation) and a football tournament throughout the week. This was the last thing I wanted. I was tired of playing football. I was as sad as a sailor who’s lost at sea. It felt like a million years to make up my mind to play. The number of times I would complain to my parents was unimaginable. All I would do was whine about it at home. If you heard me talking about football, it would be about how boring a sport it is. The school was divided into four teams, and I was a part of the fourth team. The first match was played between the first two teams on Monday and our match with the third team was on Tuesday. I remember walking onto the field feeling so… yes, bored. It was as though I was watching paint dry up. However, I dragged myself through it and managed to play throughout the game. We won this game! Our next match was supposed to be on Thursday but it rained. We played indoor cricket instead. I was over the moon as cricket is a sport I thoroughly enjoy. This was the most pleasurable hour and a half of the day! I hadn’t had this much fun in a while. I felt as cheerful as a lark. The football match was played on Friday. I went in with an open mind and tried to get more involved in the game than I usually did. I felt much better. I started to realise that football wasn’t as dreadful as I thought it was. We won the match and were in the finals! I was on cloud nine! There was a match the following Monday to determine who we would play with in the finals. We waited eagerly to find out. We had to play against Team 1. I was looking forward to this match. This was what I call unbelievable. I never knew that there would come a time when I would be thrilled to play a football match. On Tuesday everybody was tremendously excited. The match was extremely entertaining. Both teams scored two goals each. With no time remaining, we went straight to the penalty shootouts. After a nail-biting finish, they won 1-0 in the shootout. We were disheartened, but the game was exhilarating! Since then, I have been going for sport classes with a different mindset. I am quite happy to play football now. I think that trying to involve yourself is a must in anything before you make a conclusion about whether you like it or not. I also watched some matches from the World Cup. I give all credit to the tournament during Teacheropeia for the change in my perspective on football. 24

Hema Akka 25

Goalkeeping Against Goal Scorers Advaith (13) Nobody ever formally announced that the teachers Hey, I am not a good keeper. I know it. were going to Rajghat. It was like sifting through fine sand, picking out the facts amid the storm of rumours. Every time the ball moved into our half, my heart This is what I gleaned: would start thumping wildly and my breathing would • The teachers are going for a conference in Rajghat become quick and shallow. But every time, Yashwanth • School will be managed by the Cassiopeia. would come sprinting back for defence, and we would • There will be a football tournament. tackle the ball away from the opponents. In one such • There will be different ‘clubs’ organised. joyous moment, I zoned out of the game, wondering But the gossip was all about the upcoming football which was the birdcall I had just heard. tournament. A sudden shout brought me back to reality, and I Teams were made, and the first match was well frantically looked around the field for the ball. Nachi underway. We were playing against Abdul’s team. was striking up the pitch, brushing past the defence Skilful Nachi and his teammates were much feared by with ease. A knife of cold fear stabbed my heart as me. I was feeling anxious as I thought of what a strong Nachi came closer. I started trembling violently, my side they had, whether we would be able to cope… heart hammering. My mind was brought back to Earth with a thud as I Time stood still. saw Nachi dribble past me, the lone defender, and take a shot. Angie didi was our goalkeeper. The ball He took the shot. I flung my arms in the complete smashed into her left eye, and an angry bruise rose opposite direction. The crowd of onlookers roared upon her cheek. After shouts of ‘Are you okay?’ and with delight with moans from our team. I was shaking the ice pack being sent for, play was resumed. We lost with nerves, disbelief, and sheer stress. this match in the extra time by one goal. Angie didi pulled off a spectacular save, even with her face Yash came up to me. hurting, helping us through the first half. But alas we ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘it’s not your fault.’ conceded many goals in the second half. I breathe. ‘It’s not your fault.’ We played another match, and won this one, Such simple words. Yet truly spoken. This is the bringing us to the semis. quality of a true captain: to forgive. We were playing Abdul and Co again. I was made goalkeeper, as all good players were needed up front. 26

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Chikkanna Our Origami Club Preksha (12) For the Origami club, Kabeer had planned modular origami which involves pieces that would fit together to make interesting things. We needed square pieces of paper to make them. Though the sheets we got were not square, Advaith still managed to make something out of them. Later, we started on the Yodas, which required three hundred difficult steps and a lot of patience. For the rest of the week, we were either working on that or the paper planes. Paper planes started because Nikith experimented with them after seeing all of us struggling with our Yodas. The planes became an instant hit, so we would save the last twenty-thirty minutes for the planes and work on the Yodas the rest of the time. No wonder we took so long to finish our Yodas! If you ask me, most of us waited for the last half hour of the class where we enjoyed flying our planes from the tower and collecting them from the landing zones. Now my folds are neater, my creases are sharper, and I can tear easily. Overall, my origami skills have improved a great deal. I hope a week like this comes again so that I can improve another skill of mine! 28

Origami Paper Planes Club Kabeer (17) Origami (Japanese)- from ‘ori ‘meaning ‘folding’ frustrated. Zaid had believed that he would never be and ‘kami’ meaning ‘paper’. able to complete it even before we began. Throughout the sessions, he would suddenly quit and start doing I had decided to host the Origami club well before something else. It took a lot of convincing to get him Teacheropeia began, but there was a problem even to complete his Yoda. before the week started. I had exams, hence I was hardly able to give any time or attention to the club. Over the next two days we continued to work on Fast forward to the week, I had neither skill nor much our Yodas, and before we knew it, the teachers were experience and zero preparation. All I knew was that I back, and it was Presentation Day. We all felt we had a wanted to do Origami with whoever was interested. rather unimpressive-looking display, Yoda being our only stand-out creation. Some of us decided to quickly The Origami club ended up with a great mix of make some simple origami structures, to fill up our people with and without much experience. Advaith’s display table. And that is how our club ended. basic skills were good. Since he had some ‘experience’ in the field of origami, I asked him to take over and Non-origami takeaways: taking care of Shibumi teach us whatever he knew. My role was to keep during Contact time: everyone else under control, and the room civil. This happened to be a much bigger task than I had Teaching different groups had its own different imagined. I had expected a few of the students to mess challenges and rewarding experiences. While teaching around, but eventually, I had expected them to stop by Ishitha, Aatmi and Eksha during Contact, it became themselves after a point. I had also hoped that Nikhil apparent that the way I could help them would be would help me manage the club, or at least not make drastically different for each one of them. my job harder. But I was proven wrong almost immediately. Nikhil’s attention was easily swayed by Ishitha (8) was very concerned with the appearance Nikith’s impressive paper airplanes. Bringing attention of the work she did and would only solve the back to the task at hand was quite a challenge, similar to worksheet if she was presented with a different getting a child to eat vegetables instead of junk food. coloured sketch pen for each problem. She would not compromise and use the same sketch pen twice! After Earlier, Nikith had come into the room and asked if a while, as you can expect the different colours ran out, he could join our club. We told him we were in the and I had to try and fool Ishitha into reusing a sketch middle of making the Yodas (the wise companion and pen, which did not go down well. My other attempt popular character from Star Wars), but he could wait was to convince her that if a specific sketch pen hadn't and do some origami by himself. He was welcome. been used in a while it could be used again. This This may have been the worst decision that I made. I strategy fared much better. On the other hand, Aatmi hadn't realised that Nikith could be the catalyst for a (8) had no such odd requests. She simply needed help noisy, inattentive and chaotic environment. Instead of with the fundamentals of math, and the place value making origami by himself, he decided to make and fly counters were great to help her visualise the problem hundreds of paper planes. As soon as we came to a and understand it better. difficult fold, many would give up and engage in paper plane-making instead! This, as you can expect, upset If you have spent any time teaching Eksha (8) you Advaith and myself, and tested our patience. However, would know that she does not enjoy any kind of we soon came to terms with it and decided to join in on studying and would much rather play with sand. My the fun! We all threw several paper planes off the entire time was spent convincing her to complete one tower, underestimating how difficult it would be to more problem and to actually try to answer the clean up afterwards. worksheet and not just guess. This was a big problem to tackle as it had become a habit with her by now. She We had been working on our origami Yodas for would even try to guess the next word while reading a three days, and I think a few of us became bored and storybook, which was extremely funny and delightful. 29

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School Without Teachers Nikith (14) In November last year, our school had an unusual experience as all the teachers had to leave for a school related gathering. This meant that we, the students, were left to manage classes on our own. For me it was an interesting experience, to say the least. On the first day I was excited about the amount of freedom I had, but I soon realized that without the teachers I would not be able to concentrate properly. Even though I was still able to study a little, it was helpful that the older students were there to remind me. One of the highlights of the week was the football tournament that was organised by the students. It was a very fun experience, and everyone enjoyed themselves, but that enjoyment meant there was a lot of competition on my side and the opposite teams as well. One more thing that I looked forward to was the time I had to myself. This feeling was nice. It was like a break, but in school and with schoolwork getting done. There were also clubs, and I joined the Origami club. When I went there, I thought that we would be doing some simple and not complicated folds. Since I was a few classes behind I soon got distracted and ended up making paper planes in the class. This distracted everybody else. Soon everyone was making paper planes and we had a competition. We chucked them off the tower and saw whose went the farthest. There was a great urge to go and play because there were no teachers. I managed to have a wonderful week and it was a great session in independence and responsibility, despite the paper planes! 31

Caught in the Middle Nikhil (16) My first response to the idea of a week without that the team we were playing against was arguably the teachers was great, simply because a football strongest, making their team with their superior skill tournament was planned. The teachers’ absence and (along with some luck, I should mention) too much for club activities paled in comparison, although they were us to handle. admittedly a bonus too. Our next match was on Thursday against the loser The follow up to the Teacheropeia news came with of the teams that played on Monday. We lost this a whole lot of bad news for me personally. First was match too at 1-2 due to our ‘teamwork’ deciding it had the announcement that I, a regular hostel resident, worked overtime in the previous match and so could not continue to reside there during the weekdays deserved a break. We made some clownish plays, of the Teacheropeia. The various reasons which I did passing the ball to the opponents, leaving the goalie not agree with were enough justification to boot me stranded and without defence, while we made a half- out, but which I could not contest either. (The kind of hearted counterattack and many more, too horrible to reasons which, when being stated by teachers seem to mention. Luck, on the other hand, came back to make perfect sense, but when actually thought about apologise, along with a promise to work hard and so it later, are not understandable at all). Then came the did. Our only goal came from a throw in by me towards finishing blow, the team lists were put up and there was my teammate who was in line with the goal post, and the unarguable fact that my team was the weakest. with a slight graze and a befuddled goalie somehow the ball rolled into the goal. And so, my most looked The people taking care of the school and the forward to event came to an abrupt and disappointing activities therein during the week were the Cassiopeia end. (17-year-olds) and above. The rest were taken care of or invigilated. I was not really part of the ones that Clubs! needed to be invigilated, (watched over) nor was I part of the ones that took care and managed the school. I Clubs were headed by two or three of the older was, like a few others, an in-betweener, caught in the students. There were five options: ‘Mural art’, middle. So, while the Cassis and above were the 'Drawing’, ‘Bubbles’,’ Puppetry' and ‘Origami'. I was replacement for the actual teachers, I was more of a interested in Bubbles where they fermented food, replacement for the Cassis. I would help them out in drinks and made soaps. But Origami was taken by just managing the activities but did not participate in any one senior while Bubbles already had three. So, a sense discussions that took place during the week. of responsibility drove me to join the Origami club. This sense of responsibility further deepened when I My time at school was split into three distinct realised that the entire Taurus group (12- and 13-year- periods: The Football Tournament first thing in the olds) had opted for that activity. It was a bad decision as morning (either watching or playing), followed by I had no ‘presence’ among them and was absolutely clubs, and then in the afternoon, helping the Cassis useless at the art itself! The Origami club tilted wildly with Contact time (where we taught/ had activities between steady progress and chaos. I was a piece of with the two youngest groups). paper in a storm, blowing hither and thither with no control nor will of my own. The group's main project The Football Tournament was to make a Yoda (the green dwarf from Star Wars), which had only a couple of billion steps all The football tournament for me started on Tuesday haphazardly explained by Advaith, a Taurus, who (there was a match on Monday as well) when we faced ended up taking the classes (this was because the Cassi off against the strongest team (debatable). There, with in charge, to whose rescue I had sacrificed my Bubbles some nice plays and good teamwork we managed to club for, turned out to know only how to make paper lose 2-3. This was due to the above-mentioned fact planes which even my six year old cousin can produce). 32

Making ninja blades and paper planes (which were Aatmi do the homework she ‘did not have enough time flown off the tower) were welcome respites from to do.’ I mean, seriously, when do 8-year-olds have time making the Yodas but ended up occupying most of our on their hands for anything that even vaguely time and made us deviate from any actual learning. I resembles work? On Thursday, Aatmi did not come as now, personally, no longer have any recollection of any her family had gone off on a family matter somewhere of the steps in making either the Yoda or the modulus in Karnataka, and so I wandered around like a lost (another project that was serious but boring) but recall puppy wondering what to do next and asking the all too well the steps to make the 5 or so new kinds of Cassis if they required assistance, only to be politely paper planes and ninja blades. refused. At last, I chanced upon Matthew, a 5-year-old who comes to school though he is not a student yet. I Contact read him some books and played a board game with him (of which neither of us knew the rules) to end the Contact was the time during which the seniors had a day and the last of my Contact time. touch-base session with the two youngest groups, the Elohis and Ursas. During the first day, I helped out a On Friday, there was a presentation of what we had couple of seniors with the activities they had planned done over the week in clubs, for our parents and the for the Elohi (ages 6 to 8), followed by helping Paawan teachers who had returned from their Rajghat (another senior) who was teaching maths to a deadly conference. ‘Bubbles’ had an impressive display of Ursa duo (age 11) called Aman and Agni. It turned out soap, pickles, something called the essence of Xmas, she did not need much help and had them both under and ginger beer. ‘Mural’ had re-worked an entire fairly good control, but I hung around anyway for the cement bench to show some neat little designs made remainder of the touch-base. On Tuesday, I was asked from cut tile pieces pasted to the cement alongside to take care of the above-mentioned duo by Paawan as painting the walls of a workspace. ‘Puppetry’ put on a she needed to do something else and so would be funny little shadow puppet show, and all that ‘Origami’ running late for class. I ran late for the class as well, had to show were a few mashed looking Yodas since touch-base came after lunch, which has been the (thankfully mine was not there to further worsen the worst and most time consuming part of the day for me image), a ball or trophy looking thing that we made by from the first day I joined Shibumi (as my friends and I attaching a few modulus together, and, of course, can tell you in great detail if ever asked)*. I had barely more paper planes and shurikens. I naturally tried to gotten them to do any work before Paawan came back distance myself from the ‘Origami’ display area and and took charge. moved to the ‘Bubbles’ or ‘Mural’ so that visiting parents would see a tall, bespectacled, and potential Seeing that I was absolutely useless to all three, I senior student hanging around there, and hopefully struck out to see if any of the others needed help. I assume I had been part of that creative venture. ended up helping Kabeer with one of his two charges, a girl called Aatmi. Now, Aatmi was very eager to learn With that impressive display of character from me, maths at a slightly higher level than what she was at, so I Teacheropeia came to an end. taught her carry over and subtraction and gave her homework which dealt with 3 digit numbers. I did this (except for those football finalists, who got to rub it into the losers for the remainder of Tuesday and Wednesday. My the fact that the losers were, well, losers, by continuing to play the respect for teachers grew, as did the amount of sleep I following week for a grand finale that took over my sports class). needed during that time (on average, I went to bed 2 hours early and struggled twice as much to wake up the next day). Wednesday was the same, with me helping *The teachers can also give a graphic description if they are ever asked! - Ed 33

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Taught in Teacheropeia Advaith (13) When the teachers were in Rajghat, They served a dainty feast of Someone said ‘Ye kya kiya?! Dishes, they wanted to teach. You left Shibumi in the hands While we as students had to pick of the Teacheropeia!’ Oh, they are: Out of them one each! Nannu, Pakku, Rukku, Paawan, Usha and Kabbu! Eggy, Yashwanth, Saanj and Srishti, Followed by Abbu! Oh, we did: Painting, sketching, origami, Bubbles, Art and mural too, Mosaics, football tournament, We played the whole week through! I chose origami out of All the other rest ‘Cause I thought: out of all of them, It's gonna be the best! We made teams for the tournament, The results of the matches are: And we played many a game, Nachi’s team won! While the rest of us While we were running up and down, We looked quite un-tame! Had a good load of fun! Oh, they are: Thanks to Sheetal Aunty (Nannu, Pakku, Rukku…) We had many a tasty lunch (Painting, sketching, origami…) Thanks to Das we got the goalposts, Thank you, a bunch! 35

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Overheard Balance Sharad Ashish Competition is fun when you have won. Upon our There was quite a lot of excitement and energy- return from Benares we were greeted by this frenzied gathering for the finale of the football tournament. I air in Shibumi. It was the day of the football finals. The chose a team to support and wholeheartedly energy, the excitement and the activity matched that of supported them! They also won! You could call it a a big international tournament. Supporters were loud, home crowd advantage from a fan. A bit of a maniac players were nervous. Sides had been picked and the for my team. They won! stage was set. What does it take to enjoy a sport where you give it No one knew why these matches had hit such all your heart and sweat? To play your best and while dizzying levels of emotional intensity, but it was now you do it go for the win? Yet not to get swallowed by impossible to bring it back to what it was—a friendly the disappointment of the result. To involve all the school game. All the conversation was about winning participants of the game. To enjoy it for the energy and or having lost out on this opportunity or that. Support work that you put into it, but not for the results. was loud and biased. Obviously, everyone wanted to win, but some murmurs of unconvinced and equally Is it possible not to get swallowed by competition unconvincing, ‘It’s ok if you lose’ were also heard. and the need to win? How can one push hard and challenge the other without competition taking over? Well, the game began, and it ended. And not so unexpectedly, without a win or a loss. That was a result too. But still, the ‘result’ was sought, and penalties were shot. That was it. There was then the highest of clouds and deepest of pits on the same field. It felt like the emotion had gone beyond the capacity of most. The high and the low and the divide that came with it were most uncomfortable and beyond what one had imagined. While walking back to the main building I overheard a student tell another: ‘Maybe this is why we don’t have competition at Shibumi!’ 37

The Last Penalty (kind of) Om K. (13) One penalty. That was all that was between us (Team 4) and winning the Teacheropeia Football Tournament. Let me start from the beginning. The teachers informed us that they would be going to the teachers’ conference at Benaras for a week. They also said that the senior students (the Cassiopeias) would take our classes. I was excited about what we were going to do in the week. Then I heard about the football tournament the Cassiopeias had planned, and I just couldn't wait for the week to come. I had been practising goalkeeping for a while and this could be the perfect opportunity to show how much I’d improved. Then a few days into the week, the football tournament started. My team was strong, so we won all the matches we played, and we reached the finals. It was us versus Abdul’s team. The match started. The first goal was scored by Nachi from the opposing team. I was standing quite far from the goalpost because I found my team keeping the ball quite easily. Then, the ball was passed to my teammate, Aman. So, I asked him to pass the ball to me. But he got disoriented and passed it to Nachi! I was furious with him. Nevertheless, I held myself back from saying anything lest I hurt him. The second goal was scored by me. Someone from the opposing team took a weak shot at me and I caught it. Then I kicked it to the other side of the pitch to someone from my team and it went straight into the other goal! No one scored, so we decided to do a shootout to decide the winner. The first few shots went by swiftly for me and nobody scored. Then it got to a penalty where if I saved it, we would have another chance to win and if I didn't save it, we would lose. Tensions were high. I could hear my heart thumping in my chest. Sidharth R took the penalty and shot it straight at me. I was with my arms in front of me. It hit my arm and went through my legs into the goal. I was devastated. How could I have let such an easy shot in? I sat down on the side of the pitch, sobbing. But after a while, my friends convinced me that it was just a game. So I got up and went on with my day. Thinking about the tournament now, I can’t even remember most of my teammates' names! All I remember is the loss and it doesn’t affect me. This shows how small a part of my life that match was. 38

Gathering the Broken Pieces Mosaic Paawan (17) and Saanj (17) Lia (15) ‘…but beautiful mosaics are made of broken pieces.’ -- During the Teacheropeia week I was a part of the Lori Jenessa Nelson Art club. We spent the first three days working on a mosaic. None of us had tried making a mosaic before Ever since we moved to the campuses, (finally!) each and we soon realised it was not as easy as we thought. new wall and structure was filled with mural ideas. Toning down the brownness of the space was a The first step was to break the tiles. All of us were mountain we were willing to climb. thrilled when we heard that we were going to smash tiles with hammers. But nothing beat the Elohis' In the beginning we were very motivated. However, excitement. They kept jumping up and down, endless hours of brainstorming, Pinterest scrolling and screaming ‘Me first!’ with the biggest smiles on their shooting across ideas didn't get any paint on the wall. faces. The grins soon disappeared when they realised Slowly, this ambitious project took a back seat and that each of those pieces had to be stuck on chagadi took up most of our free time. individually! None of us was sure how the last step of securing all the pieces was to be done and we messed Then, when Tanu di brought up Teacheropeia and up a little in the beginning. But with all the energy the idea of taking clubs, the excitement to create murals Saanj and Paawan had put into planning and a little bit returned. Taking a mural club for the junior school of figuring it out as we went along, we were soon on served as a perfect opportunity for us to resume our the right track. endeavour. So, we went back to Pinterest scrolling and this time came up with something. While planning, the Our club had a mix of many age groups. It was idea of also doing a mosaic came about. After deciding funny as well as interesting to watch how each of us our designs and colours, we ordered some paint and contributed to the mosaic. Each of us had a different waited for the teachers to leave! attention span. Most of the senior school was extremely patient and motivated to keep working. ‘Can I break this tile? You got to break the last blue This wasn’t the case with the younger ones. They one!’ wanted to try out their own ideas and got a little restless when given instructions. Some parts of the ‘No, I have been waiting for the past zillion mosaic were a bit tricky and needed someone older to minutes!’ do it. We tried keeping everyone involved as much as possible, but the younger ones would slowly sneak And this was how the Elohis inaugurated our club. away and start doing their own thing as soon as they Breaking tiles for the mosaic was the star of the show, realised that none of the older students were looking. after which the pool of excitement dried out. Keeping I remember Mauliki coming up to me and saying them entertained and engaged was a big task. They ‘Dude, it feels like I’m babysitting!’ after spending would slowly tiptoe away from the mural painting and some time with the Elohis. tile work, and start their own activities, such as playing ‘Simon says’ and hide-and-seek. In between these very I really enjoyed mingling with everyone and packed schedules of theirs, they would have sudden learning things about them that I probably wouldn’t sparks of energy to paint a leaf or sandpaper cement have if not for the Teacheropeia week. off the tiles. The week seemed to fly past. Halfway through, we were doubtful about finishing the whole space before the teachers got back, having had some major issues with the cement and tiles and a few other technical (mosaic related) problems. But stealing hours of Das’s free time and doing endless jugaad (just to keep the Shibumi spirit alive), we were able to cut the red ribbon on time. And with that we welcomed the teachers back! 39

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