WHEN EMPOWERMENT IS CHILD’S PLAY

In January this year, many Goans watched a video on social media and Whatsapp of a Swedish acapella group, Vocal Colors, rendering a beloved Goan song Tambdde Rosa. The Swedish acapella group were Goa to collaborate with Child’s Play India Foundation led by Dr. Luis Francisco Dias. The Foundation was set up about 10 years ago with the aim of training underprivileged kids in classical music and continues to do so today. The story of the Foundation’s inception and work provides important lessons for a deeply unequal society as that of India.

A former gynecologist and obstetrician, Dr. Dias moved back to Goa from the United Kingdom to set up the Foundation in 2009. So, why did he leave an established medical practice in the UK? As happens with so many who pursue careers in medicine or engineering or suchlike lucrative professions, Dr. Dias felt his calling to be elsewhere. His heart was not in medicine. When he encountered the opportunity to work in the UK, Dr. Dias thought that he could exploit the numerous musical opportunities available there while he worked as a doctor. And exploit them he did!

But there was also something greater than self-interest that was nagging Dr. Dias. He saw the great inequalities, especially amongst poor children, in India, and felt it was unfair that some should have opportunities and others not. Could something be done about it? Could classical music be the way to do something about it? The Foundation started gaining shape once Dr. Dias witnessed the performance of the El Sistema Orchestra and the Buskaid Soweto String Project Orchestra. The Foundation, while taking its inspiration from El Sistema, a movement founded in Venezuela by José Antonio Abreu in 1975, share something in common with it as far as an unequal society is concerned: the belief in the transformative power of music.

So, what is the vision of the Foundation? According to Dr. Dias’s public presentations, the Foundation is driven by the idea that, in an unequal society, deprived children need to be systematically given opportunities. At the core of this idea is also the belief that the inner potential of underprivileged children will only be developed if they are given a chance. And one can easily agree with this vision. Deprivation in India commences with the lack of opportunities at birth, especially in the case of the underprivileged. This starts right at the level of formative education and is more severe in the formal and institutional level with gross inequalities observed in schools, colleges, and universities. The Foundation, therefore, uses music to overcome the flawed educational system currently in place in India.

And it works! I had the privilege to attend one of the Foundation’s annual concerts back in 2015. A large part of the audience was composed of the parents of the Foundation’s trainees. These parents were easily distinguishable, mostly daily wage laborers and domestic helps, by their clothes. These are parents who can pay for expensive private schools and coaching classes. Neither could they afford expensive extracurricular activities. Yet, like any parents, they were brimming over with pride to see their children perform on stage. While this is not evidence for equality, one saw the transformative power of music in action. For a few heartbeats they could see their children excelling; their talents identified, honed, and channeled fruitfully. The purpose of education is precisely this, and the Foundation through its efforts gave us proof that their vision is potentially empowering.

More privileged parents, frustrated with the schooling system of today, talk about alternate ways and encourage their kids to also think out of the box. Rahul Alvares, a Goa-based environmentalist, is one such former kid, who wrote a delightful account of taking a break from school when he was 17. The book, Free from School (1999, 2nd edn. 2005), details how Alvares found his true calling of environmentalism by pursuing his interests. As important as Alvares’ book is, one always wondered how such a thing would be possible for underprivileged kids whose parents lack personal networks and money, especially since Alvares’s interests took him to various corners of the world? Child’s Play Foundation, as a charity organization, provides the vital institutional base for underprivileged kids to explore their extracurricular interests, indeed it fosters this.

One could very well ask if, in the ten years of its existence, the Foundation has produced a prodigy, a Mozart or a Beethoven for our times. But that is not exactly the job of the Foundation and it is also not what one should expect from such an organization as the Child’s Play. The idea, it seems, is not to create one genius but to allow as many children as possible access to music so that it fosters positive values that are useful as adult members of the society. For, if a society structured as ours is, to reward accidents of birth, and thereby takes away opportunities from most of the children, a radical act of correction would be to create those very opportunities to those who do not have any.

Therein lies the lesson. It is important to create opportunities for children so that they can work hard to develop their talents. As a society, it is important for us to recognize that opportunities need to be created both within and outside the schools. The educational system in India only rewards individual merit of those who are already equipped with systemic privilege and cutthroat competition. But as Dr. Dias recognizes, the solution lies in the privileged working at democratizing access to opportunities. Fortunately, we do not need time to tell us if such a vision will be successful on a wider level. The pride felt by the parents of Child’s Play children itself shows that, in their small way, the Foundation has already made a difference.

(First published in O Heraldo, dt: 6 March, 2019)

TAMING THE SNAKES

SNAKE! This monosyllabic word has the capacity to send terror and a bolt of electricity down our spines. I am sure all of us, one way or another, have encountered these creepy crawlers. We detest any type of snake – poisonous and non-poisonous – as much as we fear them. But despite our fear, it is said that in Goa everybody has a snake story – whether fictitious or real – to tell. (I remember Venita Coelho once remarking about the same in the Indian Express). As a boy, any news about a snake in the vicinity of where I lived would fill me with fear. (I don’t like to accept it, but they still terrify me…just a bit!).

Rahul Alvares, the author of Free From School, has come out with a collection of stories – or rather reminisces – about his various stories that involve catching and rescuing snakes called The Call of the Snake. “No two snake calls are alike. Some end up funny. Some even end up sad. Almost every call holds a surprise. This is a reason why I am always willing to drop whatever I am doing, get into my jeans and boots, grab the snake stick and the zippered bag – my tools of trade, as it were – and rush out to answer the call. If only people knew that the call of the snake is more irresistible than their anxiety-ridden phone calls, they really wouldn’t have to lie so often,” says Rahul in the Introduction, explaining why he gets so excited in receiving any distressed snake calls.

            Rahul’s stories are told in a humorous, tongue-in-cheek and relaxed manner. Surely he enjoys doing what he does and hence the narration flows very smoothly. It seems that Rahul was not only meant to catch snakes and rescue them but also write about his myriad adventures with the easy flourish of a mature writer. As much as Rahul can easily hop on and off roofs, climb down wells and rummage through heaps of rubble and junk to locate the snakes, he can also sit down and write about them.

            But in writing down his experiences and reminisces, Rahul is also trying to make a case for the protection of snakes and also to allay the unnecessary fears that the generic public have about snakes: “Thanks to the false portrayal of snakes by movie makers – intentionally done to add action and drama to a film – as well as the inexplicable willingness on the part of educated people to deliberately keep themselves in ignorance about these creatures, the public by and large continue to believe that snakes are waiting to attack them, that they are always revengeful and perpetually spoiling for a fight. Nothing is further from the truth. The simple fact is that snakes are cowards and would much rather run away than attack a person, any person, big or small.”

            One chapter is solely dedicated to bust the many myths about snakes that cloud and clutter our minds. In doing so, this book tries to create a discourse about how shabbily we misunderstand these reptiles. For instance, while talking about snake-charmers, Rahul enlightens, “Some snake charmers – to add excitement – have a mongoose at hand as well. The mongoose is the natural enemy of the snake. The animal is made to fight the same cobra at every show. The teeth of the mongoose are broken as well, but the cobra obviously does not know this. All the while it believes that it is about to be attacked by its mortal enemy and therefore remains in an agitated and alert state of self defence. But the cobra has no fangs either. Does this sound charming to anyone at all?”

            However, one of the most amazing and exciting story of all is found in Getting Bitten. Luke, a friend of Rahul, accidently gets bitten by a Russell’s viper (a very poisonous snake). How Rahul and another friend, Aaron run from pillar to post to get the antivenin that is required for healing their poisoned friend makes interesting reading. What is also worth marveling at is the manner in which Rahul, Aaron and even Luke handle the situation during such a time of crisis.

            Rahul’s experience in learning to catch the King cobra also makes interesting reading. King cobra is the largest venomous snake in the world and nowhere in India is the King cobra antivenin produced, so a bite could effectively prove to be fatal. Of course Rahul learnt to catch the King not in India but in Malaysia and Thailand. The thrill, exhilaration and fear that Rahul felt while handling the King for the first time, is beautifully brought out in recounting this memory.

            Mention also needs to be made of the illustrator who has designed the cover as well as provided the lively and colorful sketches to the book. So kudos to Nicky Thomas for a job well done!
           At the end of the book there are appendices of useful information regarding snakes and also some easy-to-take precautions. For instance: How to avoid getting bitten by snakes, how to prevent snakes from entering your house and how to deal with a snake bite. A list of public health centers which stock antivenin is also given along with the contact details of many snake-catchers and protectors across Goa.

            I would like to wrap up this review by reproducing a reassuring quote from Rahul, “Always remember that snake bites give you plenty of time to get to a hospital. And that antivenin can always save your life. More important, Goa’s hospitals and PHCs have enough stocks of the antidote.”

The Call of the Snake: Real life stories by a young snake catcher from Goa, 2^nd edn by Rahul Alvares (Mapusa: Other India Press), 2006; pp. xii + 153, Rs. 125 [ISBN: 81-85569-57-6]

Web:www.otherindiabookstore.com

(A version of this article appeared on Gomantak Times, dt: March 6, 2012)

FREEDOM AT 17!

When we are in a classroom, particularly that of a school, the world outside seems so much fun. One can’t wait for the last bell to ring and dash out of the classroom with howling urgency. I particularly never liked the air-tight regimen and unnecessary memorizing of information, which all students had to undergo in schools. So, when a copy of Free From School landed in my hands, I started to read it immediately. Here was one book which suggested an alternative to learning in school. What more could anyone who had a difficult experience in school, ask for?

            A few months ago I had read the slim book titled Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich. This book when published in 1971 had caused quite a controversy. What Ivan Illich quite simply suggested was to do away with schools to have a better society. The ideas that Ivan Illich suggested instead of formal schooling way back in the ’70s, I feel, had little practical use but with the rise of internet his ideas can be looked into afresh. Schools are not necessarily the temples of learning; they are also used by the ruling elite to propagate ideologies that justify their power. The French philosopher Louis Althusser in his Lenin and Philosophy and other Essays says, “…the school (but also other State institutions like the Church, or other apparatuses like the Army) teaches ‘know-how’, but in forms which ensure subjection to the ruling ideology.”

Ivan Illich’s book is firmly rooted in academia. Rahul Alvares’ Free From School, on the other hand, is an honest and delightful account told by a 17 year old, who took a break after his SSC (scoring a whopping 87% marks!) examinations to find his ‘true calling’. Since Rahul was finding school becoming “quite a chore”, his parents Claude and Norma, decided to offer him a year’s break after completing the SSC examination to do anything of his choice. Both the parents observe that schools, “…often does not encourage learning. In fact there is good evidence that learning stops once schooling begins.” There was only one condition imposed on young Rahul: that he would maintain a regular diary and produce monthly accounts of special events and experiences.

When we read this book it is not important to consider how well Rahul wrote this book. What is more crucial to note is what Rahul and his parents dared to do. Since Rahul was interested in wildlife, his parents left no stone unturned to see to it that their son got the maximum exposure in an area of his liking. The result: Rahul ended up travelling far and wide all by himself to various zoos and wildlife sanctuaries to gain some experience and learn about the various types of animals. Snakes seem to have a special place in Rahul’s heart. “In fact, as mum tells it, I seem to have gone out of my way to befriend snakes as a child. I would be afraid of dogs…they had teeth and could bite, but snakes didn’t appear to have any…,” he explains.

Rahul gives an account of the various places he travelled and the institutions in which he apprenticed during the one year sabbatical. Along with his memoir, Rahul gives some tips to breed and take care of fishes, measures to be taken in case of snake bites, garbage disposal, etc. Since he travelled on his own, managing money and preventing theft was also Rahul’s main concern while on the go.

If our interest propels us to learn any facts or information our chances of retaining them and actually using them in our daily and practical lives is greater. Rahul too, had such an experience in a crocodile research facility near Chennai, “Apart from my practical studies, there was a huge library at the Croc Bank where I would browse through several books on crocs, snakes, monitors, turtles, the works. It was always with great pleasure that I would search for information about something that I had learnt or seen that day. And the best part is that although I didn’t have to memorize the facts for any examination, nothing of what I’ve read has gone out of my head.”

The experiences of the Alvares family indicate that we can look beyond school. If the grind of mugging up the whole textbook(s) leads to the destruction of creativity in a child, is there a difference between a student and a factory worker working at the assembly line? This book is in no way a guide for parents who feel that the present education system does more harm than good and who would like their children to try some other things. This book, in fact, serves more as an inspiration for parents wanting to take the plunge in cold water. This book says, dive in, the water is very refreshing!

Since the choice of Rahul to take a sabbatical and pursue a career that was other than that of the clichéd doctor and engineer, he surely must have faced a lot of questions. The nosy neighbours, the annoying relatives or even passers by must have set up an inquisition table right in front of him. Rahul dwells on the topic for a fleeting second. For a young reader of the book who decides to take a sabbatical, dealing with such unsolicited interlocutors can be very taxing. Knowing how to deal with them surely, then, would be considered as a survival skill!
            With SSC results in Goa round the corner, I recommend this book, with illustrations by Alexyz, to students and parents alike. I shall allow Rahul to say the last words, as he will surely echo the sentiments of whoever reads his book, “I certainly look forward to another sabbatical! And so, by now, should you!”

 

(A version of this article appeared on Gomantak Times, dt: May 20, 2011)

Name: Free From School

Author: Rahul Alvares

Published by: Other India Press

Year: 1999 (1^st ed), 2005 (2^nd ed)

Price: Rs. 100/-

ISBN: 81-85569-44-4

Phone: 832-2263305