Happy Birthday, Sir!

Serendipitously, Dr. Sharma and I were born on contiguous days - I on the 13th and he on the 14th of September. This has led to a cross-continental celebration of sorts in which my advisory at CHS emailed a video of a happy birthday song and Dr. Sharma's XIIA section sang a "happy birthday" to him.

Charminar & Mecca Masjid

"Char" means four and "minar" means minaret - so Hyderabad's most famous landmark, called the Charminar, is an ornamental structure of four minarets built by Muhammad Qutb Shah to commemorate the ending of the plague in 1591. It is in the heart of the old city and is surrounded by endless markets selling pearls (interestngly, Hyderabad, which is landlocked, is the center of the pearl trade in India) as well as bangles (glass, plastic, silver, gold, gems, you name it). We took a tour up spiral staircase within the cornet minarets and then spent some time in the observation deck above the arches before walking the short distance to the Mecca Masjid.

One of the eight US teachers, Erin McGraw from Rutland, VT who is staying in Hyderabad, joined us for the day trip to the old city. She is teaching English at another regional KV school.

The Mecca Masjid, which can hold up to 10,000 people at a time, is one of the largest mosques in India amd was completed in 1694 by the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb. It is said that some of the bricks used to construct the mosque were made from earth taken from Mecca - the holiest city in Islam and birthplace of the prophet Mohammed. One side of the mosque contains the marble graves of many of the rulers of Hyderabad, including many of the Nizam family who ruled in Hyderabad until Indian Independance in 1947 (even after which the region had to be forcefully taken from the Nizam rulers by the Indian army when they refused to relinquish their control).

SEE THE CHARMINAR / MECCA MASJID SLIDESHOW BY CLICKING HERE

Himachal Dance

Jessie was able to attend one of the dance competitions at a nearby Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) school. The theme was dance from the northern region of Himachal Pradesh - taking its name from the Himalayas. It is bordered by Kashmir in the north, Punjab in the west, and China in the east.

Students practiced their dance routines, helped create and fit the costumes, and performed in the competition. Of course, KV Tirumalagiri took first place.

SEE THE HIMACHAL DANCE SLIDESHOW BY CLICKING HERE!

Teacher's Day

Teacher's Day here is a big deal because in India the students, ahem, actually respect their teachers! OK, all kidding aside (I think most American students actually respect their teachers too, they're just a bit more subtle about it) the day was really a new experience for me.



In the US, Teacher's Day is celebrated near the end of the year and is usually marked with some cards from those students with whom you've developed a good rapport. I've received some small gifts from students (including my "ashes of teenagers" jar), as well as a card from Mr. McDonough's student government.


In India the tradition of Teacher's Day is a bit different, with the twelfth grade students replacing their uniforms with the dress of their teachers, which is important because they'll be doing the actual teaching that day throughout the school! I was greeted by teems students calling "Good morning, sir - Happy Teacher's Day, sir." Some students gave me flowers and many gave me cards including this gem from one of my ninth grade students:




"To Mr. Kaplo - I'm grateful that you taught me to realize the MASS of responsibilities, you increased the VELOCITY of my thinking, you taught me to RESIST negative FORCE. Finally, I learnt it."

To top it all off, some students got down on their knees to touch my feet and then touched their hearts and heads in blessing as they stood up. I think to fully understand this gesture in the US requires a bit of understanding, as the guru, or teacher, in India is held in the highest regards. I have noticed a more complex system of social value here in India than we have in the US that extends beyond our more simple criteria of salary level alone.

An example of this is the legacy of the caste system which still maintains some purpose here. The Brahman caste (priests, scholars) is the highest caste, followed by Chetriya (warriors, rulers), Vaishya (merchants), Shudra (artisans, farmers), and then Harijan (laborers). In this traditional Indian heirarchy, the Brahman were often very poor when compared to other caste levels, however they were extremely valued within this system because they were considered to be keepers of knowledge.

So after spending time drinking tea all day while the 12th grade students taught my classes, I retired under the large Bunyan tree for some musical and dance performances by the students. A student-faculty volleyball match completed the day - it was the most colorful match I had ever seen, with silk saris on both sides of the court.

Qutb Tombs - Hyderabad

The Royal Cemetery of the early kings of Hyderabad is located nearby the Golconda Fort, some 15 km outside of the present day city center. The tombs have mostly Persian-influenced architecture, since these rulers were all of Muslim origin from the northern borders of present day India. As in most Mughal era structures, there is an inclusion of Hindu styles and motifs as well.

Our visit to the tombs was a suprise hit - we were expecting it to be a fairly quick visit for a few snapshots. We were pleasantly suprised at the quiet setting, well-manicured landscaping, and the impressively large tombs built for these mideval era rulers (almost like a scaled version of the pyramids). Did I mention quiet? I can't stress enough what an arresting sensation India can be for a newcomer - the sheer magnitude of its population and incredible rate of growth and development make India the noisiest place I have ever been by far. It is never quiet here - so this respite from the street din was most welcome.

The boys made friends, as usual, so we meandered through the quiet gardens, views of the city below, fountains, and baths.

It was a great way to end the day.

SEE THE QUTB TOMBS SLIDESHOW BY CLICKING HERE.

Golconda Fort - Hyderabad

So they have a lot of forts in India - it's pretty clear that any established society required the protection of a well located military position in mideval India, and Hyderabad is no exception. We have visited quite a few already in Delhi and Jaipur, so I wan't expecting anything too different from what I had already seen, but Hyderabad's Golconda Fort rises above the city on an interesting hill. The original structure was built in 1143 during the reign of Ibrihim Qutb Shah. The entry gate contains an interesting accoustical feature - the "clapping portico", which is an area in which a guard who claps his hands can be heard a few hundred feet away. There are various structures along the climb to explore - foundary, magazine, Royal Quarters, barracks, and finally at the top there is a mosque and a fantastic temple that is protrudes from the rocks. Hindu temples often have an exceptional flare for finding some sort of balance with the natural environment - some sort of intrinsic architectural zen or feng shui. The structure is juxtaposed against the landscape in a purposeful way that also creates visual balance and harmony. I find this to be a really unique feature.

This temple is perched high on a mountaintop and the color and prayer flags gave it an almost Nepalese feel.

The Fort is close to the old city of Hyderabad and we found it to be predominately Muslim. The married Muslim women will wear the Burka - a complete covering of the body from head to toe in black - sometimes even the hands. Unmarried Muslim girls dress no differently than all other Indian girls - mostly long, colorful dresses, salwar kameez, or saris. Men will sometimes wear a small cylindrical cap, or kufie, on the tops of their heads. When we arrived near the gate we were approached by a large group of women in burkas who were curious about Evan and Eli. They wanted to touch their cheeks and speak with them - it was a nice exchange and they soon removed their face coverings and agreed to a photo with Jessie and Eli.

One of the interesting things I have noted about the general culture in India is the separation of genders in public spaces. Boys and girls sit apart from each other in classrooms, and I have noted that Indian women will keep a large physical distance from me during any type of interaction - even with colleagues from the school. The distance is usually at least 3 steps away, and the conversations are usually short and to-the-point. On the contrary, relationships with men are warm and close, with men openly choosing to shake hands, pat backs, and the like. I don't think I've shaken hands with an Indian woman since I arrived here - only folded hands and a "Namaste" or "Namaskar" greeting. There is no "bubble" space with men.

SEE THE GOLCONDA FORT SLIDESHOW BY CLICKING HERE

KV Tirumalagiri

Kendriya Vidyalaya is the central government school system which has been put into place in order to educate the children of government employees throughout India as they are transfered from one assignment to the next. The Indian Government is absolutely HUGE - so the demands placed on the KV system are relatively large in comparison to school systems in the US. In order to manage the transfer of children between regions throughout the school year, the KV system mandates a tight curricular schedule so that a student's academic experience will not change radically from one school to the next.

KV Tirumalagiri, or KVT, is about 4 or 5 km from where I am staying in Secunderabad and is my temporary home for the next four months. Each school day starts off with a morning assembly in which students form incredibly straight lines by gender and grade level on the large parade field. A student captain calls all 2200 students to order and they begin with the sound of "ohm" which is drawn out to about 10 seconds in order to clear the mind. The next 5 minutes or so is a recitation of a beautiful prayer - one in which students are asking god to open their minds and remove their obstacles to learning for the day. It finishes with "chanti, chanti, chanti" or "peace, peace, peace". I will ask one of my students to translate it for this blog for posting (it is sung in Hindi).

Then students will recite the pledge (it is recited in English on Mondays and Tuesdays, Hindi on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Sanskrit - the mother language of all 18 national languages of India, on Fridays and Saturdays) which is followed by announcements and then the national anthem which is sung with an accompanying band.

Indian Pledge

India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters.
I Love my country. I am proud of its rich and varied culture. I shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall love and respect my parents, teachers and elders.
To my country and my people I pledge my devotion.

Indian National Anthem - Jana Gana Mana

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he,

Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha,

Dravida-Utkala-Banga,

Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga

Uchchala-Jaladhi-Taranga.

Tava shubha name jage,

Tava shubha asisa mange,

Gahe tava jaya gatha,

Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he, Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!

English Translation

Thou are the ruler of the minds of all people, dispenser of India's destiny.
The name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujurat and Maratha. Of the Dravid and Orissa and Bengal.
It Echoes in the hills of Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for your blessing and sing thy praise. The salvation of all people is thy hand, thou dispenser of India's destiny. Victory, Victory, Victory to thee.

I am teaching two sections of grade 11 Physics and two sections of grade 9 integrated science. I will often have more than one meeting with the grade 11 students each day (there are nine periods) however I will only meet the ninth grade students three times per week since I only teach the physics section of that course (the Biology and Chemistry teachers will do the other portions of the grade nine integrated course).

One of the things I really like about the school that is different from the US is that the primary school and middle school is all present on the same campus - although there is little interaction between students during the day, it is nice to see the continuum of social and academic progress in the morning for assembly.

The children must wear uniforms while on the grounds of the school - boys will wear blue shorts and a white short-sleeved dress shirt up to grade 8, after which they will replace the shorts with pants. Girls wear long blue skirts with white blouses and must wear their hear in braids or tied up in red bows. After grade 8, girls will wear the traditional Indian salwar kameez - or long top with cotton "pyjama" pants and a white scarf. On Wednesdays students participate in mass physical training in which they will wear white on white in order to keep cool in the sun.

I think things are off to a good start.