January - 2012

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David BarunKumar Thomas: Crusader for Social Change

January 2012 Volume 2, Issue 26

Sponsored by:Free

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Editor

Dr. Nandini Murali

Media Relations Officer

Ezhil Elango

Journalism Supervisor

B. Pooja

Coordinator

J. Venkatesh

Technical Support

T. Jesuraja

Reporters and Designers

Matthew Penticost

Ariane Lecuyer

Julia McEnteer

Yutaro Nishimoto

Antony Cupitt

Kaito Ishizawa

Yuka Maruyama

Max Koedood

Cover Picture

Matthew Penticost

Sivakasi Projects Abroad Pvt. Ltd.,

Contact:

[email protected]

MADURAI MESSENGER

No. 17, T.P.K Road

Pasumalai

Madurai – 625004

Tamil Nadu

India

Tel. 0452-2370269

COnTEnTSJanuary 2012 | Issue no. 26

EDITOR’S CORNER

01 Soar like the EagleCOVER STORY

02 Social Entrepreneur: David Barun Kumar Thomas ART

06 A Dance of PassionFILM

09 ScroogedHIGH ACHIEVER

10 Creative Fountainhead EDUCATION

12 Making a DifferenceVILLAGE VOICES

16 Srivilliputhur: A Sweet place to Live CULTURE

26 A Cross cultural Christmas in IndiaCOMMUNITY

20 Hand loom Industry LANGUAGE

23 Bridging the Gap by way of LanguageCAREER

28 Earn while you PlayBOOKS

30 Invoking the spirit of ChristmasTRADITION

32 Sungudi Sarees - A mix of Tradition and Modernity

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

15 Madurai from a Foreigner’s Perspective19 Sensual Madurai25 No Second First Impression35 Embracing the Known and the Unknown

If life hands you a lemon, you either gripe about the bitterness of life or you make lemonade. This is a story of two sisters Veena Nijhawan, 63, and Sushma Nijhawan, 55, for whom life is all about making lemonade. A story of grit and

determination to live with self-respect and not with sympathy.

Their mother Dayawati Nijhawan, homemaker, who had passed her Intermediate, strongly believed in educating their daughter, despite the debilitating genetic disorder that Veena was diagnosed with. They later had a son, Virender who was perfectly normal but as luck would have it, their third child, a daughter was also born with Skeletal Myopathy that affects the skeletal muscles such as those in the upper arm and thigh. The rare disorder (although more common in males than females) is medically non treatable. While Veena’s symptoms were present even at birth, Sushma began to gradually manifest the symptoms from the age of seven. The Nijhawan family dealt with this unusual situation in an equally unusual way. With no concession to the disability, the sisters and the brother were expected to excel academically! Dayawati Nijhawan braved social ridicule and traditional attitudes that frowned on the education of girls with disabilities and instead viewed them as objects of pity or shame. She enrolled her daughters in a mainstream school where they studied with non-disabled children. Their parents placed a premium on education because the incurable nature of the disability implied that education was the only way to empower them.

A topper throughout school, Veena completed her Bachelor’s in humanities from DAV College, Karnal (where she once again topped), and went on to do her post graduation in English and Hindi. Veena taught English, Sanskrit and Hindi at a government school in Rohtak and later on for several years at a private school in the same city. Meanwhile, Sushma graduating in Humanities from Indra Chakravarthy College, Rohtak, completed her post graduation in Hindi and a Bachelor’s degree in Education, also taught at government schools in Rohtak.

Since the past 20 years, Veena and Sushma Nijhawan have been successfully running a coaching centre for students from nursery to the post graduate level. Initially, they personally taught the students. Since the last few years, however, they have a team of teachers to handle science and maths for the higher levels, while the sisters teach English and Hindi. At any given time, they have about 30-40 students. A moment of pride for the sisters was when one of their students recently secured a GPA (Grade Point Average) of 10 in the Class 10 CBSE exams, while another student was a school topper in Class 12. Besides, Veena has been an intergenerational family teacher who has taught English to her brother and later his daughters too. Sushma, the extrovert, is a people’s person who loves to cook (although these days her restricted mobility has meant that she pass on her culinary secrets to her cook) shop for clothes and jewelry and is an AMWAY consultant who revels in the joy of connecting with people because she says she “hungers for their love and I too have so much love to offer.”

Veena and Sushma Nijhawan are a gentle but powerful reminder that limitations are of the mind. When barriers and boundaries are transcended, a butterfly soars like the eagle.

Dr. nanDini murali Editor

Soar like the EagleEDITOR’S CORNER

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Madurai Messenger Cover Story January 2012

Social Entrepreneur DavID BaRuN KumaR ThOmaS

matthew Penticost and ariane Lecuyer profile David Barun Kumar Thomas, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, who quit his high profile job at IBm, Brussels, to set up the Kodaikanal-based India Nirman Sangh, an NGO which provides micro credit to rural women in and around the Palani hills—all because he wanted to create a more equitable society

By Matthew Penticost - UK Ariane Lecuyer - France

“The gift of the forest” Kodaikanal’s breathtaking landscape

Breath taking views, air filled with the scent of homemade chocolate and home brewed oils. The name,

translated from Tamil, means “the gift of the forest”. Two sentences that sum up Kodaikanal perfectly. A paradise 120 km from the hustle and bustle of Madurai’s chaotic streets. Here, the only sound is the birds singing.

Some come here to find inspiration and some come here for the peace and quiet. But to set up an NGO? That’s exactly what David Barun Kumar Thomas set out to do. Born in 1957, David was sent to school by his parents to, like most Indian school children, study to become an engineer or something similar. This was obviously a good move as after school and studying

how many of us are prepared to quit our jobs and invest all our savings in helping the underprivileged? If some decided to take this plunge, why not join a preformed NGO rather than starting from scratch? Another memorable quote from David: “There is a pleasure in setting up your own.” This way he can be the director and make sure the NGO fulfils his dreams. David doesn’t just want microfinance NGO. He just plans to use it as a base or a platform to start from. He wants to spread the word about how people can enrich their lives through other mediums.

Creating a Space for Women A Non Governmental Organization (NGO) is a sector totally or largely independent from the government. Thus, it includes many kind of institutions, associations, agencies or even groups which are mostly working to defend and improve humanitarian objectives. Here, the India Nirman Sangh, created in 2004, has decided to work in Kodaikanal and its surroundings in one specific sector: women. “If we want to help people who don’t have rights, it must be the women,” said David with conviction. Indeed, the weakest part of society in India is still women, in the South as well as the North - a lot of people think that the

Northern Part is modern enough but violence against women is still rife in little villages.

Agents of Social Change In South India, the problem doesn’t really come from violence but more from tradition and culture, which crush women; as he noted, many women can’t even think of paid employment outside home because their husband didn’t allow them. The second reason to choose women is also that it is easier to achieve social change with them.“If you want to bring about a change, I think women are good people to work to bring it,” says David.

Indeed he works with around 30 men groups, but he noticed that it is more difficult to manage and less productive than the other 300 women groups. Thus, for him, this big success was not possible if he didn’t choose to focus on women’s right; but now, after this successful start, the aim is to continue and find a good way for men.

Microcredit: A Springboard for Social Change What is exactly India Nirman Sangh? Some people will assume it is an NGO focusing on micro credit to help poor women in Kodaikanal, but I personally

think that such people don’t understand deeply David’s fight. India Nirman Sangh is just using micro credit as a first step to usher in social and economic change. To be fair, the first step is to go to a village and ask people if they are willing to create a group. Around 20 women are part of one group, at first their role is to choose a name, write a kind of contract, elect two or three leaders and only after this, the famous micro credit process can be used. At this step, the NGO’s role is to help them to make rules for saving money every week, or just to put it in the bank; maybe it may function well after six months so they can get loans from the bank. The first loan they ask is a small one, Rs. 60 000, but if they use it properly and succeed in dividing it among the members, it will be productive. Once he arrived at this step of the process, when David knows each member by name and already showed him or her that his idea is working, they listen to him. That is exactly the aim of his NGO, and it is also the reason he said that micro credit is just a platform: because social, economics and political change could start only after this stage.

Currently, India Nirman Sangh consists of a nine-women staff, who takes care of more than 3,500 women in the surrounding villages. Now, they don’t have to come to each village to promote

at IIT Kanpur, David got himself a job working for IBM in Bangalore. During his first five years, David quickly climbed the corporate ladder eventually reaching a level where he could fulfill a dream of exploring life outside of India to see what other countries had to offer in terms of culture and experiences.

A Strange Homecoming Staying with the same company and in a similar job role, he wound up in Brussels. With sights such as St Michael and Gudula Cathedral and the Anderlecht Béguinage, he stayed there for three and a half years. “ The joy to travel is also when you come back home,” admits David Barun Thomas, which is why he eventually returned to India and continued to work for IBM for

a further year and a half. Inspired by the scenic beauty of Kodaikanal, David decided to set up his home amidst the Palani Hills in 2003.

Here, the scene was set for David to make a difference in Tamil Nadu. He set up the India Nirman Sangh, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), in the process, giving up an incredibly well paid job to help his country. David’s unusual decision amazes a Westerner like me, who has grown up in a materialistic culture and a world where we would rather skype or text than write a letter or visit a friend, where consumerism is everything. We all have some desire to help out our fellow human beings. We have all popped a couple of coins in a collection tin, but

David Barun Kumar Thomas posing with his hero, Gandhi

“If we want to help people who don’t have

rights, it must be the women”

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A last picture of him and the Projects Abroad journalism team

Madurai Messenger Cover Story January 2012

it, people are approaching him directly because they heard about the impacts created by India Nirman Sangh on the lives of women. A major inspiration in David Barun Kumar Thomas’s life is Mahatma Gandhi. He often quotes his famous line, “You must be the change you want to create in another’s life.”

When we came to meet David, our first question was why Kodaikanal? Indeed, he just chose this place for its beauty. And of course, he wanted to go to Tamil Nadu because of his origin but the bigger decision for him was not even that of setting up this NGO but to quit IBM. As he explained, he always wanted to work in a social sector. Even when he was at school, he was the president of a student union. This idea to set up an NGO was not really clear before coming to Kodaikanal, which means that just one year before its creation, the only thing which was sure

when he came back in India was to do social, political and economic work. He spent one year, here, going to villages, learning Tamil and trying to understand the problems of people living here. Then, in 2004, he decided to create an NGO specializing in micro credit for social change. Among the first five years, the bigger difficulty was the money: “We had no money, and it can be a problem,” he said, when we asked about the challenges that he faced.

When we look at the work done by India Nirman Sangh since the last eight years, it is really impressive. He just came to Kodaikanal without any knowledge about social work, just “a kind of romantic idea” but also without any idea of people’s lives in the Plain Hills.

Avatar as an Author So does David have any other achievements to his credit? The quick David with his staff members

answer that comes is a ‘Yes!’. Working for IBM and simultaneously moving between countries and setting up an NGO, David somehow managed to find the time to write a book. Rear Entrance, a story set in Brussels. The book tells the story of four Indians who meet in Brussels as they try for a visa to the UK, each from a different background. I asked David to sum up the book for me. “Read the book,” said David with a smile on his face.

Great ExpectationsSo what does the future hold for David? While the usual route for any organization is surely to be number one or achieve international fame, it is not so for David. His views on the future are simple. He is aware that there are many other micro finance NGOs in operation in India, but India Nirman Sangh does not see them as competitors. Most concentrate on the act of micro finance

Employees posing near the Tea-leaf Crusher

“You must be the change you want to create in another’s life.”

and that’s it. They do an excellent job and help society the best they can but with David, he goes the extra mile and wants to continue to do this for the rest of his career. Of course, he would like to expand the NGO, but for now he is focusing on Tamil Nadu.

I asked the typical interview question of where David sees himself in five to ten years, to which David replied, “I think that the NGO should be the biggest in this district but we don’t want to expand it too much in this way, we prefer to go deeper with groups they already have.” Given the strength and determination in his voice, am certain that David Barun Kumar Thomas will make this already blossoming flower develop into a beautiful garden that all of society will be able to enjoy and appreciate. We just need every man, woman and child to wake up and smell the roses…

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Bharata Natyam is one of Tamil Nadu’s greatest treasures. For a dance that has been around since ancient times, its elegance and grace is still such a pleasure to watch. With striking costumes and swift movements, every aspect just draws you in. Julia mcEnteer wanted to find out more about this style of dance and what it takes to become a true Bharata Natyam performer...

A Dance of Passion

By Julia McEnteerNew Zealand

I met Dr Bala Nandakumar who was once a dancer and now a teacher, for almost 30 years. She has been studying dance her whole life and can’t think of anything else she’d rather do. She

feels you have to love something to able to teach it well.

“You need to have an interest and taste for the dance; you need to have the passion,” she says.

Layakshetra is the local dance and music institute Bala is in charge of. Originally founded in 1983 by Dr Prema Latha, the former Principal of Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Vidyalaya College of Music, Madurai the school has been running for many

Going through the different techniques

Madurai Messenger art January 2012

years. Laya meaning rhythm and Shetra meaning holy place; ‘The holy place of rhythm’ is the perfect way to sum it up. She also lectures at Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam, an evening school for the fine arts and teaches afternoon classes at her home in Madurai.

In both Layakshetra and Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam, Bala focuses on older students in their 20’s, but in her afternoon classes she teachers girls as young as six years old. She prefers to teach her students from a young age, so they can gradually build up their skill instead of everything being rushed in a short space of time. Both men and woman perform this style of dance, but Bala told us that nowadays, it is less common to have male dancers.

“The movements are so feminine and graceful that a lot of the dancer’s parents are scared they will lose their manliness” Dr Bala admits.

Through time, Bharata Natyam has been transformed. Well known Bharata Natyam exponent and guru Dr B Padma Subramanyam is one of Bala’s greatest role models. A dancer, composer, researcher and author, Dr Padma Subramanyam is famous not only in India but all around the world. While completing her Phd in dance, she visited a lot of temples in Tamil Nadu like Thanjavur Periya Kovil and made connections between the poses of the sculptures and the poses in Bharata Natyam. Her dedication and love for the dance has made it possible for her to make some of the greatest changes. Before Subramanyam came on the scene, the dance would only be performed by a solo dancer and there was no concept to the dance. Bala has taken this more modern approach to her teaching and thinks one of the most important aspects to the dance is to tell a story.

What she’s teaching her Students At the moment, she is teaching her students to take certain chapters from Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata and turning them into a dance. The style stands out from others because apart from serving as a dance, it also has a lot of theatrical aspects. ‘Natya’, meaning the dramatic art of story telling and Nritta meaning pure dance movements, the technique is known as Nritya, a combination of both. Bharata Natyam also usually uses the concept of fire.

Traditionally, it was known as a fire dance. Particularly through use of hand movements, the dancers are meant to resemble a burning flame. Fire is an element that has always had great importance to Hindu culture, right from birth till death. Along

with depicting these concepts, she is preparing her students for a Platinum Jubilee function.

Watching a performanceWhen at Bala’s home, I got the privilege to see an advanced solo dancer and a group of young girls perform. For both performances, the dancers would start by giving respect and praying to their teacher. I could tell this was very essential.

Bharata Natyam is always accompanied by traditional Carnatic music and Bala is trained in this. She told me, “The music is very important to learn to become a teacher. I encourage my students to also learn as it goes hand and hand with the dance”

So, for both of the performances she would be in charge to keep the beat and produce the music.

As I watched I couldn’t turn away, everything about it was so captivating. Their flexibility, their posture, I was so impressed. I couldn’t stop looking at their hands. They were so delicate when they moved and it helped to tell the story of the dance. Each hand movement symbolised great importance, from a Hindu god to a burning flame. Their feet were also so intriguing keeping the beat of the music and being perfectly flat on the ground and their facial expressions were what brought everything together. When doing a movement with their hands, their eyes followed. When stamping their feet on the ground, their eyes popped. The dance as a whole was dynamic, passionate and more than anything, entertaining.

After the dance, I asked Bala about the importance of facial expression. She replied: “Gestures and expression always go together and a lot is shown from the eyes. You must show through your facial expression that you are enjoying it”.

Group Performance

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CostumeAnother aspect that is highly important but one that I didn’t see while the dancers were rehearsing, is costume. The costumes that the dancers wear really complete the dance and make it so attractive to the eye. Although over the years it has changed, usually the dancers will wear something very bright and bold that symbolizes the story they are telling. It’s common for a performer to wear a long sleeved top with pants and so it’s easy to move in and over the pants, there is a skirt stitched across which looks very effective in particular poses. Of course it wouldn’t be an Indian dance without jewelry. Commonly covering their arms, ankles and face it looks beautiful along with creating a nice sound when moving.

Bala feels that to become a great Bharata Natyam dancer you need to have “the patience to learn, the respect for your teacher and a passion for the dance.”

After seeing the performances, I completely agree. This dance is not easy to perform; you have to be strong minded and willing to keep going. For years, it’s been around and has come a long way from being performed inside temples. Nowadays, you can even see competitions onscreen. There is such uniqueness to this dance; it is definitely something Tamil Nadu should be proud of.

“The music is very important to learn to become a teacher. I encourage my students to also learn as it goes hand and hand with the dance”

was very rude even to kids. Finally, he witnessed his own cremation where he could find only people grieving for him.After witnessing all this, he was determined to give all the support he could to poor people. He made a surprising speech through a live television program and it resulted in retrieving the good relationship he once had with Claire.

It is a humorous movie and the Director has conveyed a good message to the audience. It is one from which we can learn a lot of morals. In spite of these comedies, this movie ends up with giving us a deep impression with the scene in which Frank gives the memorable speech and the child with a speech impediment gets over his disability miraculously. I can guarantee that “Christmas Carol” would really be worth watching with your family, when you feel spending a quiet Christmas with them but also want to have some fun.

Yuta reviews ‘Scrooged’. he says it is one movie which is sure to move anyone emotionally and for a better experience, he also recommends reading the book.

Scrooged

“A Christmas Carol”. I’m sure that most of you would have heard about this cute and popular

movie, even though you would not have seen it. It was created in 1951 based on a novel with the same title, which was written in the UK more than 150 years ago and has been read all over the world. Richard Donner, a talented American movie director, remade it in 1988. The movie is titled ‘Scrooge’. The stage has been changed to the present and to New York from London. Even though it has a touch of comedy to it, it is still quite a heartwarming story.

The story revolves around Frank Cross, the cruel president of the biggest television station in the world, played by Bill Murray, an American actor and comedian. While he was a person in the news as a young successful businessman, Frank was shunned in his firm for being heartless and greedy. The story starts with the scene in which on a day approaching Christmas, he fired a person working under him who did a proper advice to an advertisement made by Frank. He is driven out of the company.

On Christmas Eve, the ghost of the former president, who died of a heart attack 7 years ago, showed up to him. He told he was regretting having done nothing for others, and advised not

By Yutaro NishimotoJapan

to be like him. He informed him that three ghosts would appear to him and warned him to change himself.He meets Claire Phillips (Karen Allen), his ex-girlfriend, the next day. She was working as a volunteer in a facility for poor people. Although he was greatly delighted to see her, they got into a minor argument and decided not to meet again.

The first ghost, the ghost of Christmas past, comes driving a taxi. He took Frank to a Christmas that he had celebrated in his early childhood. The ghost took him to the time when he and his girl friend were happy together. He remembered that they broke up on a Christmas day, since he was working all day.The second, the ghost of his present Christmas, is a naughty fairy. She took Frank to two houses. The first house was his, where they were celebrating Christmas without him and the other was that of his secretary who could not purchase enough presents for her children due to the meager salary she was offered at work.He was surprised to know that she had a child who had speech impairment and her husband had expired some years ago. On seeing this, he was so heart broken and promised the fairy, that he would give her a good pay from then on.

The third was the ghost of the Christmas that he would celebrate in future. The ghost took him to see his ex-girlfriend. Frank was shocked to find out that she was completely different from what she was while working with the poor. She had become very rich and was leading a very luxurious life and she was not the same in her behaviour. She treated everyone badly and she had also developed a lot of road rage and she

Director: Richard Donner

Cast: Bill Murray, Karen Allen,

John Forsythe

Language: English

Year of Release: 1988

Madurai Messenger art January 2012

Such joy when explaining the dance

Solo Dancer

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Clever student Lakshmi Narasimhan has no doubt made everyone proud. With his innovative imagination and witty words, he went on to win one of the top prizes at a nationwide creative writing competition.

Creative Fountainhead


The 15-year-old from Vikaasa School here in Madurai, decided to forward his name after the

event was announced in assembly asking for volunteers. He had no idea of what would come out of it, but simply thought he would give it a go.

The school aims to give many different opportunities for the students by having a wide range of extra curricular activities; ranging from public speaking to gardening there is usually something for everyone. When this competition came up, they wanted to give people the option to apply instead of selecting the students themselves.

I spoke with Ruth Ashley, who is a French teacher at the school and also in charge of all the student quizzes. She has been more than supportive of Lakshmi.

“Lakshmi is a very bright student, always putting his name forward for things. I can imagine how pleased he is with his decision to enter.”

Ruth has been with him at every stage, right from the very beginning to the final competition. While sitting down with her, I could tell just how proud she was of her student, mentioning all his other achievements along with creative writing. From accounting to being a so-called “quiz master,” he definitely has a wide range of skills.

I then talked to Lakshmi and I could see he had such a kind nature; he was so sincere and humble about his achievement. Having not done much creative writing

before the competition, his inspirations have sprung from various books he’s read. Indian authors such as Chetan Bhagat and Ashwin Sanghi influenced his style of writing, along with world renowned J.K. Rowling who helped him open his mind to the world of fantasy.

The Event ItselfThe competition was organized by the Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate. The first stage was the regional level where a panel of judges decided on one winner who then proceeded onto nationals to represent their region. The theme given for the regional level was “If you were God for the day.” “I imagined I was God sitting in my office. My secretary comes in and

Madurai Messenger high achiever January 2012

hands me a lolly pop. I take it and start licking it, I like it, it makes me happy and since I like it, all positive and happy things start happening in the world. The lolly pop is then finished and I am sad. Hence, bad things start to happen in the world. I then take the stick of the lolly pop and throw it in the bin; it bounces off the rim onto the floor. I start to cry and nobody knows if I am crying because it fell or because of all the bad things happening in the world,” Lakshmi explained.

The piece gained him first place and the chance to represent Tamil Nadu in the national competition. He was completely over whelmed when being announced the winner and was looking forward to the next stage. Creative writing was something he thought he

would just try; he didn’t realize it would help him reveal such a hidden talent. Along with his parents, his teachers were also very pleased with the results and gave him their full support.

“When he told us what he wrote about, we thought it was very original. He took a different way of thinking and we really enjoyed it,” Ruth explained.

The National Competition was held in late October at Atul Vidyalaya School in Gujarat. It was split into junior and senior groups so the competitors were of the same age. This time, there were a range of resources such as books, newspapers and magazines the students could choose to use. Lakshmi decided not to use them though; he didn’t want to lose any time and really just wanted to keep to his own story. The students were given one hour to plan and one hour to write.The theme was a verse from Welsh poet William Henry Davies poem “Leisure”. It stated, “What is life if full of care and no time to stand and stare”.

His Final Piece With this Lakshmi focused his story about real life politics, something completely different from his piece in

the regional competition. His powerful story was about a defense minister who planned an assassination of the prime minister burning midnight oil. Roles reversed when in fact the defense minister himself was killed by terrorists.

After Lakshmi had finished writing, he sat down and waited anxiously as the winners would soon be announced. He turned to Ruth and quietly said;

“When I heard the judges say that they were looking for something innovative, creative and a piece that everyone can

understand, I had a feeling that that I would bag a prize”

His predictions came true and he earned a well deserved 3rd place. He was given a small trophy of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous spinning wheel.

Although Lakshmi clearly has a way with words, he also has a strong mind for numbers. Accounting has always been something he wants to do and take up as a career. Because of his success, however, he plans on entering the competition next year and will keep writing and reading in his spare time.

A proud winner

Mentor Ruth Ashley

Lakshmi explaining his winning story

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Making a Differenceantony Cupitt believes that good teachers can be instrumental in shaping the society and he also firmly asserts that with dedicated teachers, the education of children is well taken care of. Being a teacher himself, he finds it nostalgic to meet with up some of the good teachers in the city.

By Antony CupittLogan City, Australia

India is responsible for introducing the concept of ‘zero’ to mathematics, but it is also responsible for some truly

massive numbers. We all know about the population of 1.2 billion, but what does that mean for essential services like hospitals and schools? According to UNICEF figures, on any given day there should be 190 million boys and girls in elementary education in India. This population of elementary students out numbers the entire population of any country, except China, the United States, Indonesia or Brazil. Keep in mind that this figure only covers the first eight compulsory years of education and not the secondary and tertiary students. To teach these elementary students, India

requires more than six million teachers. These numbers are staggering, and led me to wonder about the individuals responsible for educating the next generation. How do teachers manage to go about their daily business of nurturing a child’s growth, amid the magnificent noise and chaos of modern India? In particular, I was interested in the differences between teaching here in Madurai, and in my own classrooms back in Australia.

To learn more about the day to day challenges of teaching in Madurai, I visited CSR Memorial Matriculation Higher Secondary School and spoke with two teachers. Mrs. Usha is

Madurai Messenger Education January 2012

a veteran of sixteen years in the classroom, all at the same school, while Mrs. Papitha has only been teaching for five years here, after having worked at another school for a year. Mrs. Usha, who has Montessori training, was initially employed as a kindergarten teacher, but is currently teaching English to Standard X and Standard XI students. Mrs. Papitha also began as a kindergarten teacher and now teaches English to Standard VI, after majoring in computer science at college.

Friendliness is the keyBoth teachers agree that building a good rapport with students is an essential ingredient to successful

teaching. “When they like the teacher, they like the subject,” Mrs. Usha tells me, explaining that boys, in particular, will not cooperate with a teacher they do not like. So how does a teacher build this rapport? Mrs. Usha says it is about finding a balance. “I will be strict whenever I have to; otherwise I maintain a good rapport with the children.”

Mrs. Papitha tells me about building a good relationship with her students while also reflecting on her own teaching. She asks her students to provide anonymous written feedback. This tells her that most of them enjoy her teaching. She does receive negative comments, but these are used to improve her relationship with the class and her own professional practice. “The next day, after I have gone through all the comments, I talk in front of the class. I have read all the comments, and I have found that there are certain negative comments about me, that I will be slowly rectifying. I give a promise to them and later I’ll try my level best to avoid such negative comments.” I smile, as I have had the same discussions about relationship building and reflective practice, with teachers in my own staff room in Australia.

PedagogyAnother familiar topic in our conversation is the changing nature

of teaching. Both Mrs. Usha and Mrs. Papitha make frequent references to the use of technology in the classroom. This includes E-Boards, audio-visual classrooms and laptop computers. Mrs. Usha admits, “I was totally illiterate in computers when I came to this school sixteen years ago, but the school has provided me with the opportunity to update my skills.” Mrs. Papitha, who is newer to the teaching profession, majored in computer science at college. She has a different perspective on the changing nature of teaching, noticing a trend in the habits of students. She says teaching, today, is ‘more interactive.’ “The students are used to asking questions, to clarify their doubts. In my childhood, if I had a doubt I would never ask. In the past, students would not ask the teacher a question, because they did not want to show disrespect. Instead, they used to clarify the doubts among ourselves. We would never approach the teacher.” Today, Mrs Usha says students are more willing to interrupt a teacher to ask a question, but it is a good interruption because “It shows their eagerness for learning.”

The critical importance of examination results to the Indian student is new to me. They need good examination results “to be an identity in India,” Mrs. Usha tells me matter-of-factly. There

is no exaggeration in either teacher’s tone as they explain the importance of these results, and the pressure they are under to prepare students. Their school follows the Matriculation curriculum, and students learn English, Tamil, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Computer Science. In Standards X and XI, they sit for their common exams that will be corrected by teachers at other schools in Tamil Nadu.

“We are training children to go for Board exams. This is very important” Mrs. Usha tells me. This training means there is considerable pressure on teachers to provide constructive feedback on practice examinations. Mrs. Usha describes this as her biggest daily

Student’s cycles- Neatly arranged

Mrs. Usha admits, “I was totally illiterate in computers when I came to this school sixteen years ago, but the school has provided me with the opportunity to update my skills.”

Mrs Usha has been teaching at the same school for sixteen years.

14 15

challenge. “I love to take classes. I could take them all day, but paper correction is a challenging task” she says, mirroring my own sentiments about teaching.

Mrs. Papitha does not teach Standards X and XI, who sit for the common exams, so when I asked about her biggest daily challenge, she surprised me by also describing the strain of correcting papers; “More and more bundles, will strain ourselves physically as well as mentally.” She is worried that the amount of time spent correcting bundles of papers will have a negative impact on teachers’ ability to prepare engaging and effective lessons. Mrs. Usha put it all in perspective for me though, explaining why education was so important to the children of Madurai. “We help them. We have to tell them, as a human being what is it you should know? How can you live independently? That is very important in life.”

Right to EducationThe evidence for the importance of a good education can be found in the teachers themselves. I am yet to meet a teacher with fewer than two college degrees. Mrs. Usha and Mrs. Papitha are no exception. As well as her Montessori Diploma, Mrs. Usha has her BEd, BSc (Chemistry) and MA (English). As per the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009), the minimum requirement to work as a teacher is a Bed Degree. Yet this minimum is often not enough, with some schools not employing teachers with anything less than a Masters degree. I find this extraordinary. In a country that requires more than six million teachers, I had expected schools to be desperate for teachers. Mrs. Papitha also exemplifies the attitude of Indian teachers towards learning. As well as her BEd and BSc, she is

“I will be strict whenever I have to; otherwise I maintain a good rapport with the children.”

Mrs Usha, the teacher at the school

Mrs Papitha, the English teacher

Madurai Messenger Education January 2012

currently studying for her Masters in Computer Applications (MCA), but even this will not satisfy her. She told me, “Even while I was pursuing MCA, my husband started asking about what I planned to do next. I am thinking of doing MPhil. I am going to end with a PhD. That’s my aim.”

Among the huge numbers associated with Indian education, it is too easy to lose sight of the individual. I do not know if the teachers I have interviewed

are representative of the profession across Tamil Nadu and India, but I hope they are. I have found them to be caring, passionate, intelligent and articulate. The Roman philosopher Cicero said, “What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation.” For as long as Madurai’s and India’s rising generations are being instructed by teachers such as Mrs. Usha and Mrs. Papitha, the future of the state is in good hands.

It is not everyday that we realize we have a connection with the people of a particular place. Kaito Ishizawa is indeed very glad that he has discovered the strange connection which he says existed between him and the natives of madurai. he also talks about the contrasting aspects with respect to madurai and his home country.

MaduraiFROm a FOREIGNER’S PERSPECTIvE

My journey to India started with being confined to the Chennai airport for 5 hours. I was really hungry and I didn’t have a penny to buy something to munch. So, I

decided to go to the ATM. God knows how many times I asked the security guard, “Can I go out? Only 5 minutes!” and I even tried to pretend to be a staff member so that he would allow me to slip out of the airport for a few minutes. But all my tactics were in vain. I was forced to wait till my flight took off and I had absolutely nothing to do. So, my first impression of India was that they are quite strict in their own way.

When I boarded the airplane, passengers were calling out loudly and the air was thick and carried with it a peculiar smell. I was anxious as soon as I reached Madurai, to know what kind of a place I would be in, for the next few months. I experienced the vast differences in terms of the culture, life style, climate and sense of value. Every thing was different from Japan and the other countries which I had visited earlier.

As days passed by, I grew fond of Madurai and its culture. I noticed that as I walked down the road, I would get a lot of stares and suddenly, someone would come up to me and ask my name. I felt that there was a strange connection between us, because I stare at Indian people with my eyes wide open and locals stare at me with their eyes wide open too! I came to know that it was because both of us were interested in knowing about each other.

Besides, the kindness and warmth of Indian people surpasses my expectations. I cannot count how many times someone said ‘Welcome to Madurai’, as I passed by. It is really nice for an outsider. In Tokyo, as far as my knowledge goes, no one will say ‘Welcome to Tokyo’, when someone new comes there. No where in the world, have I seen people welcoming guests as they do in India.

Lots of cars, motorbikes, cows and people are in Madurai. At times, I hear the sounds of prayers. It would take sometime for me to find out the exact place from which the sound is coming. There is something special about Madurai. I will really miss Madurai once I go back to Japan.

By Kaito IshizawaTokyo, Japan

Celebrating Christmas with children!

Candle of prayer

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man whose family has been working in this branch for a long time. Vimalsingh is the head of a Milk Sweet factory, a business that has been owned and operated by the same family for over forty years now. He, along with his wife and father welcome us and it felt as if we had known then for a long time. Vimalsingh,tells us a few things about the village, or city, as he prefers to call it and confirms that almost all people in the city live off tourism. Tourists come to look at the city’s pride, at its museums, schools and libraries and the family sells the milk sweets in little shops scattered around these many tourist destinations. Vimalsingh tells us that the tourists are the one constant phenomenon throughout the year in a city that suffers an unpredictable climate.

While speaking with Vimalsingh, I could see the pride in his eyes with respect to his hometown. His answer, when I asked

Madurai Messenger village voices January 2012

A worker getting fresh milk from the cow

volunteer max Koedood visits Srivilliputhur, the ‘sweet place’ as he describes it since it is famous for ‘Paalgova’. he is indeed very excited to know about the place, people and most importantly, observe the process of preparing this yummy sweet.

Srivilliputhur:a SWEET PLaCE TO LIvE

By Kaito IshizawaJapan

We arrived in Srivilliputhur when the sun was at its peak. No wonder! It was mid-day

and how else can one expect South Tamil Nadu to be. But I was excited to be doing this article, as this was a totally different experience for me. It felt nice to be in a village, surrounded by shops, temples, people and above all, cows and buffalos! I did have a fair idea of this place but one thing which came as a surprise to me was that, this place was famous for ‘ PaalGova’, the yummy milk sweet.

The City The beautiful village is 525 kilometres away from Chennai, and just a 70 kilometre drive from Madurai. I assumed that because these cities are so far away, most of the residents of Srivilliputhur make their living in the village. It is also one of the reasons for the city providing everything for itself.

Villu, the other son, did not know this and continued looking for his brother and eventually fell asleep in the woods. He had a dream in which God told him that his life was in great danger. On his command, Villu founded a new city, which is therefore named after him. Initially the village was called ‘Villuputhur’ and later transformed to ‘Srivilliputhur’, because it is believed to have been the birth place of Goddess Andal.

PeopleIn 2001, the population of the city was estimated to be 73,183. Men and woman are equally divided and 10 percent is under the age of 6 years. As their hometown is such a popular tourist destination, and people have to travel long distances if they need better paying jobs, almost everyone in Srivilliputhur works for the tourism department. We came here to interview Vimalsingh, a

It has five high schools, one of them a Hindu school which is two centuries old and a college. The five cinemas form the recreation centre and the city has its own police department, fire department, hospital and a famous old Pennington Public Library. Its thousand year old Diva Desam Temple is the face and the official symbol of the government of Tamil Nadu, and for a good reason.

Srivilliputhur has a long history, noticeable in Tamil literature and difficult not to notice while walking on the streets. The city is as old as Hindu saints and stories and therefore a holy place to many Indian people. I was told that more than hundred years ago, the land, now the ground for the city, was ruled by Queen Malli. She had two sons. One of her sons, Kandan, was killed by a tiger while he had gone to the forest for hunting.

Expert hands preparing the yummy paalgova!

Vimalsingh with his father

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if there were any problems or difficulties in the town was, “No problems at all.” This, however, does not hold true for everyone. The city is very traditional, and not always the perfect place for young Indians. There isn’t an abundance of entertainment or job opportunities for young Indians to pursue. Many leave

Volunteer Max trying to make a new friend

“ The city is very traditional, and not always the perfect place for young Indians. There isn’t an abundance of entertainment or job opportunities for young Indians to pursue “

the city to live in larger, more populated areas where they hope to find better jobs and a brighter future. This may change as the population of the place grows and larger firms start setting up their offices here.

FarmersThe Government and the farmers work together to make sure that there is a supply of fresh Cow and Buffalo milk for the community. Farmers bring their milk to a place owned by the Government, the same day it is milked, (to assure fresh milk everyday) and from here, it is distributed to shops, markets and factories and the last stop, of course, is the consumer. A very good working system, indeed!

PaalgovaVimalsingh’s grandfather started the business 40 years ago, in the year 1970. Formerly, lots of buffalo milk was produced by the farmers in the lands surrounding Srivilliputhur and litres of it were of no use. Turning the overload of

milk into milk sweets was a very logical and smart idea. It turned out to be a huge success, especially among tourists, and he was able to make a business out of it. His house turned into a production place for Paalgova. Currently, ten people are employed there. In the morning, they heat up the milk gained from buffalo farms. Sugar is then added after ten minutes and in the next twenty minutes, the heat and the stirring turns the milk and sugar into this tasty sweet. It is dried on plates, put in small boxes and then taken to the small shops around the temple, were it is sold as Paalgova. For years it has been this way and because the taste of the Paalgova is so good and the amount of tourists are increasing every year, Vimalsingh expects his business to be twice as big in another twenty years. The city and its people are getting older, but the factory’s working methods are being improved. So, my advice to you, is that you should definitely visit Srivilliputhur and more than anything, taste the yummy milk sweets!

When I arrived in Madurai, my emotions were flying in all directions. This was my first

major trip overseas and to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. The only thing I could guarantee was that it was going to be different. I was nervous, excited and most of all, curious.

When stepping out of the airport and seeing all the signs written in Tamil, I had to keep reassuring myself that it was real. Women wearing saris, men in dhotis; I couldn’t get over the fact that I was really here.

It started to kick in when the waves of heat hit me as if I had just walked into a sauna. I checked my watch and couldn’t believe it was this hot at 5 p.m.! Wearing thick track pants and a long sleeved top may have not been the best decision. I knew India was a hot country, but the intensity of it immediately woke me up.

Sensual Madurai


after coming from the other side of the world, volunteer Julia mcEnteer is curious to see the country with a population almost 300 times her own. Culture and climate are just a couple of things that would be a far cry from home.

As I looked around, I couldn’t get over the sheer numbers of people. Crowds within centimetres of each other, airport trolleys charging at me; all I could do was stay in one place. When I saw the Projects Abroad sign, I was relieved I didn’t have to swim through this sea of madness.

After meeting my Indian host family and getting to know the area, I decided to take my first venture into the city. This led me to hop on board a rickshaw. Once haggling a good price and explaining where I wanted to go, I could already tell there was such a kind nature to the people here. Driving through the streets, I was so overwhelmed by the vehicles stopping and turning in all directions, I could see why the constant use of horns was highly necessary.

As I took a walk through the town, I could feel everyone looking at me, eyes piercing me everywhere I went. But I was just as inquisitive. I had to watch

every step. Being from New Zealand, I am so used to walking in places where it is more common to see no-one than someone. Here I don’t think you could find any corner where there weren’t at least ten people. There was such life and culture right in front of you. There was no need to go looking for it; it just came to you.

The variety of smells, the beautiful array of colours, everything about Madurai was so bold. Each block that I walked down had its own story; from people celebrating, to cows relaxing on the sidewalk. I just wanted to keep stopping.

There is such a unique vibe here. I thought I would feel more timid; more scared to immerse myself but I felt quite the opposite. So far my senses have been altered; my mind has been more than overwhelmed. But I am beginning to praise it.

Beautiful Meenakshi Temple The Busy streets of Madurai

Madurai Messenger village voices January 2012

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Hand Loom industrySaurashtra- the community which strives to keep up the tradition of weaving sarees by hand, instead of using modern equipments. Kaito Ishizawa visits Kaithari Nagar, the place in madurai where the handloom industry is kept alive and learns a lot about the people associated with this industry


I was really excited to know about a new industry, the handloom. It is one which I had never heard of. That was one of the reasons why I chose to do this article. I did do

my research. I did learn one thing: no amount of research helps than going and experiencing it yourself. I was told that the Saurashtras were the main people who still weaved by way of machines and that they still run it as their family business. I was happy to know this is the one community that is keeping the tradition of handloom alive. They have been successful in their business and have an experience of more than two hundred years, as they have been weaving sarees and dhotis from then.

I visited their village, which is named Kaithari Nagar, and I met a craftsman from the Hand Loom community. His name is Kumaran and has been making silk Sarees for three years now with his wife Rajeshwari. He has two young children.

Madurai Messenger Community January 2012

There are three processes to making silk Sarees. First, they mix the raw materials. Next they dye and dry the materials according to the order they have received. Then they make the Sarees with the help of automated equipments. Totally, they spend three days making a Saree. They usually try to make six Sarees every 20 days.

With a machine, you can make three Sarees in a day, in turn reducing cost. However, by Hand loom, you have to spend three days making one Saree. In addition, you can choose various designs with machine made Saris. By Hand loom it is hard to change the design. It is costlier than the ones that are machine made. However, Hand Loom products are stronger and thus, are of high quality. They can be used for more than five years.

The value of the jobI wanted to know what Kumaran enjoyed the most about his job, because the value of the job is a significant thing for a worker and we can find out the meaning of our existence from our job. In my case, if I discovered the Madurai Messenger is read by someone, I would be happy and honored to write the article. Similarly, I asked Kumaran his happiest moment while on his job. “Making sarees and what else can give me this amount of satisfaction,” he says, with a smile.

First of all, making Sarees greatly amuses him. Sometimes he is requested to make a hard design and he worries about that, but regardless of that, he likes making Sarees. Unfortunately, he has never had the chance of seeing people wearing the sarees they purchased from him. This is because most of his Sarees are transported from Kaithari Nagar to Chennai, Bangalore and other big cities. Let’s hope that his wish comes true someday!

The future of his village and the hand loom industryDuring my interview, I became anxious about the future of Kumaran’s village and his industry. I asked whether he wanted his children to continue this tradition. I was surprised that it was not as I had thought. “No, I want them to work for reputed companies, and therefore I encourage them to have a good education.”

When asked why he feels so, he explains: “Nowadays the cost of raw materials is on the increase. The profit percentage is slowly declining and above all, our cost of living is increasing.We cannot benefit well.” This is a serious problem. However, Kumaran believes there is still a reason to continue to work here. The first being, he enjoys what he is doing and most importantly, money is a factor. He also wants to keep the tradition going, because the Saurashtra community has been doing this for generations.I wish Kumaran a very bright future and there ends my interview. I am filled with so many thoughts and hopes for this community. I would love to visit them on my next trip to Madurai.

The village of the craftsmen,Kaithari nagarThere are two thousand households in this village. Most of these families have been making Sarees by hand since twenty five years. About one thousand nine hundred families make cotton Sarees and about one hundred families make silk Sarees, without automated machines. They also make Dhotis; eighty percent of all Dhotis are made by machine and twenty percent are made by hand. In this village, most Dhotis are made by machine.

The craftsmen have been employed by a person who acts as their Supervisor. In other words, they are salaried workers. The supervisor buys the materials and sells the products. He can control the flow from purchase of materials to shipment of products.

The Process of making sarees

The Weaving Machine

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

HAND LOOM

• Quality• Strenght

• Speed• Price• Design

MACHINE MADE

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

• Speed• Price• Design

• Identity

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

Structure of a Hand Loom machine

22 23

Bridging the GapBY WaY OF LaNGuaGE

Imagine the nostalgia Yuka maruyama would have experienced, when she met a person who talks Japanese in madurai, just as she does! Yuka maruyama was happy to interact with amudha and discover the factors that influenced her to learn the language.

By Yuka MaruyamaJapan

Today, the population of Japanese people in India is growing as the economic relationship between

Japan and India becomes stronger. However, the majority of Japanese people reside in the major Indian cities and the Japanese culture is relatively unknown throughout most of India, especially in places like Madurai. Nevertheless, there is one woman in Madurai who is passionate about Japanese culture and has been studying and teaching the language for three years. Her name is Amudha.

As a Japanese person who has lived in India for the last three months, I was excited to meet her and discover what she loved most about the Japanese language.

Amudha and her love for the Japanese languageAmudha, 27, told me her own history first; one day she found an article about

Amudha, sharing her future dreams

recruiting students for Japanese class in American College, Madurai, on a Newspaper. She had already finished her Bachelors in Science, but still desired to learn Japanese since she was young. She used to be told that her face is similar to Japanese by a lot of people, and told me with a bashful smile that it was one of the reasons she started to be interested in Japan and the Japanese language. She applied for the class, and learned the basics for two years.She finished the course as her teacher left the College and has been studying by herself for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). Shortly after completing the JLPT, Amudha began teaching Japanese to children of all ages at the Sahana Institute in Vilangudi, but now operates her own Japanese classes from home.

“I was so happy when I came across the advertisement about the Japanese

class at American college,” Amutha says. Nowadays, a lot of Indian people are learning Japanese to get jobs as translators or interpreters at multinational companies in major cities. She is one of them. There are a lot of Japanese classes in the larger cities, but here in Madurai, it is still difficult to find these opportunities. It was, therefore, the great chance to turn her dream into a reality. ‘Japanese is very different from other languages, including Tamil. “Learning Kanji (One

“I was so happy when I came across the advertisement about the Japanese class at American college”

type of Japanese character) was very difficult at first, but now I think they’re beautiful and interesting,” she adds. She also told me that she loves Sakura (Cherry blossoms) and Kimono, the Japanese traditional clothing . She has never been to Japan yet, but does have a strong desire to go there someday.

Teaching Japanese The Japanese Language Proficiency Test was started in 1984 as a test for people who are learning Japanese as a second language. It has five levels: N1, N2, N3, N4 and N5. N5 is for beginners, and N1 is the advanced. The test is mainly composed of grammar, vocabulary,

Text books for her classes

“I also want to go to Japan and work there as a translator, and eventually want to have my own business that sells my handmade accessories”

Madurai Messenger Language January 2012

Handmade accessories!

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reading, and listening sections. Amudha has just taken the test of N3 in Chennai in December 2011, and expects her results early in 2012. Amudha says that people who have completed the higher JLPT levels find it easier to get jobs in cosmopolitan and metropolitan cities and her eight students are mostly studying Japanese for this reason.

One of Amudha’s students, M. Mohana Shanmuga Priya, (20), is now a university student and started studying Japanese to increase her

M. Mohana Shanmuga Priya, Amudha’s student

Madurai Messenger Language January 2012

employment opportunities in the major cities. She will be moving to Chennai in August 2012 to work for a reputed firm and is now studying for N4 of JLPT and says that Kanji characters are hard to learn for her as well, but she feels they are beautiful and interesting to learn.

Most of Amudha’s students are taught via a combination of sources from the Internet and textbooks purchased from Bangalore. However, she also teaches a 6 year old student and uses picture cards and Japanese songs to make it interesting and enjoyable.

FutureAmudha desires to live in Japan and work for NOKIA, the famous multinational company. “I want to keep improving my Japanese through by doing different jobs there,” she says. Her dream, however, is not limited to this and she showed me some beautiful accessories she had made by hand, as proof! “I also want to go to Japan and work there as a translator,

and eventually want to have my own business that sells my handmade accessories,” she says. Amudha makes every piece of Jewellery from sand, cotton, metal and other materials, and, while just a dream at the moment, her face beams with the thought and possibility of living and working in Japan one day. Amudha also hopes for a stronger relationship between India and Japan in the future. ‘These days, a lot of Indian companies are trying to have a relationship with the Japanese ones which is a sign of a stronger and better economic relationship,” she asserts. “Japanese people are so hard working and creative. I think Indian people can learn this attitude from the Japanese, through these economic relationships and exchanges,” opines Amudha.

Amudha also wants more Japanese people to experience India, especially Madurai. She wants them to visit Madurai too and especially the most popular Meenakshi Amman Temple.

Amudha desires to live in Japan and work for NOKIA, the famous multinational company. “I want to keep improving my Japanese through by doing different jobs there,” she says.

Taking the train from Chennai, max Koedood from holland finds himself plunging into the South Indian ambience of madurai. The people in the train knew where he had to get out. as they shouted “madurai, madurai,” he packed his bags and followed some Indians through the exit. and then….

no Second First Impression

By Max KoedoodHolland

Immediately, the big differences between my home country and the country of my arrival became clear: Heat. And after the heat, smell was the first thing I noticed— warm

and lush. In the few minutes I needed to get used to the two things mentioned above, I noticed that I was already walking on a Madurai road. A Madurai road is a busy, messy, colourful and beautiful road. There were hundreds of Indians on sandals or bare foot. There were cows and dogs, many different birds, and there were palm trees and plants that I had never seen before. Three types of crowd which, back home, I could never imagine together.

Instant Celebrity hood You almost feel like a celebrity just walking on the road. At first, everyone stares at you and then, when you smile at them, they smile back and wave at you. Some even come to you, ask questions and introduce themselves. They are as friendly as they are curious, but are not always speaking out of curiosity. Telling the difference between curiosity and commercial interest is, very difficult, especially when you don’t want to be rude. Saying ‘no’ is also not as easy as it seems, because you shake your head when you want to give positive response, exactly what I do, in Holland, when I mean the opposite. Besides meeting people, experiencing the traffic in Madurai is an adventure by itself. In just a few seconds, I discovered that they drive on the left side here, but I keep looking to the wrong side when I’m crossing the road. The brutal rickshaws and overloaded buses do not make that more peaceful, also because it’s acceptable in Indian traffic to blow your horn when, well, whenever you like to. After a few hours, it didn’t bother me anymore. Therefore, I could enjoy the music that is continuously played by shops and restaurants, a magical sound and another welcome difference from my home country.

There is one thing about this city that I did understand immediately: Getting to know Madurai is just not possible by reading this article, by visiting the city and not even by living in it for months, years or a whole lifetime.

The Grand Entrance to the Meenakshi Amman Temple

Young Lads of Madurai

26 27

We are now several volunteers coming from all around the world, here in Madurai, for

Christmas. At first, everybody was a little sad to not spending this family celebration at home but then we realized that we are a family here in India, an international family without any blood ties, but in some ways we are much closer than some of our own relatives. This is why we decided that we all would spend Christmas together.

One of the most fascinating things in our international celebration was when

I realized that Christmas doesn’t have the same meaning in every country. I discovered the different ways to celebrate it, but also realized that significance and importance vary with nationality.

The most different one is the Japanese celebration. For them, Christmas is more like a Valentine’s Day. It is a day on which bachelors party with their friends. Of course, still Santa Claus, illuminations, Christmas tree, presents etc. are a part, but December is more the New Year eve month than Christmas month.

At the other extreme, when I asked Matt Pentecost, a British national, as to what Christmas means to him, he replied without any hesitation, “This is the most important celebration of the year.” Therefore it seems totally logical that Christmas is cultural. But when you always spend it in your own country you never really think about it, as you don’t think that it could also depend on some geographical factors such as the seasons.

For example, fellow volunteer Tony is from Australia in the southern hemisphere and I, Ariane, from France.

A Cross Cultural Christmas IN INDIa

Madurai Messenger Culture January 2012

Contrary to popular perception, there is no just one way to celebrate this international festival of joy, peace and giving. Rather, culture, tradition, and geography colour the mood and spirit of Christmas across the world, writes ariane Lecuyer as she captures how her Japanese, British, and australian volunteer friends celebrate Christmas, as well as her French experience!

By Ariane LecuyerFrance

Our amazing Christmas dinner table!

For him, the barbecue is inseparable from a good Christmas, and because it is in the middle of the summer, he always goes down to the beach with his family. As for me, when it is only 2 degrees outside, the best place—and maybe the only one where you can stay—is the fireplace, with a hot drink and a big meal to feel warmer.

When I ask volunteers about their tradition, the common answer I get is, “In my family, we are doing it like this, but it’s maybe just in my family.” Indeed, not only has every country its own way of celebrating Christmas, but every family has its own specific traditions. Although none of us really know where it comes from and why we keep doing it every year, even when it is a little stupid, we still we want to follow tradition. For example, in my own family, the tradition is to go together to the cinema the day after Christmas. This has been so since my birth and even when there is no interesting movie, we go to the cinema. In Max’s family, who come from Holland, they also have a special custom of not giving presents, but here there is a reason. It is because they already gave some during the Saint Nicolas celebration, which is on December 6 and quite similar to Christmas (Saint Nicolas also comes to every house to give presents for kids).

Thus, the aim here was to find out the common factor for each of us in order to make our own Christmas celebration. The first thing was, of course, a big meal to be together for as much time as possible and this is why we decided to book a table in a restaurant on December 24. However, for us, we didn’t want it to be the normal dinner we do every week to meet other volunteers; this is why we booked the Gateway Hotel with the condition to be dressed in smart clothes.

And what is Christmas without a Christmas tree? We spent an afternoon decorating the office with some Christmas music playing in the background, without forgetting an important tradition for Julia (from

New Zealand) and Matt: to finish with the star on top of the tree. Finally, we now had decorations and the meal, so just one piece was missing: presents! Of course, it would have not been possible if each of us had to buy a gift for everybody and hence, we decided to plan a Secret Santa. Secret Santa is when people wrote everybody’s name on papers, put it in a hat and then everybody had to pick one, looked at the name and offer a gift to this person. Nobody knows who has to buy for whom; for us, the secret was a little bit hard to keep because we wanted some advice, but still, nobody knew who will be his or her own Santa Claus. The aim, here, was not to buy a big gift but just a little thought which could make this Christmas warmer for each of us.

After spending a week to prepare my Secret Santa gift and a day to prepare myself, a last check on my hair, and it was time to go to the Gateway Hotel! What was surprising was that everybody tried to keep the game to be smart, even if everyone had always a little detail on our clothes that gave away the countries of our births. Then came the meal… incredible! A big buffet with a mix of Indian, Asian

and Continental food with one unique theme: Christmas. We found the traditional turkey, which made English people very happy, but also the Yule log, which appealed more to the French.

However, what was most memorable apart from the food and even the ambience was the atmosphere between all volunteers. This is what we call the Christmas spirit; we were maybe 15 people together to spend this familial celebration with all the warmth and camaraderie possible.

Then, our Secret Santa was a success! Everybody bought a little gift for the person they had to, but what was really nice was the fact that we all tried to buy something quite personal for this person. Harumi, for example, made a collage with all pictures that really meant a lot to Matt about things during his trip in India. It was amazing to watch Matt’s expression as he opened his gift like a kid who still believes in Santa Claus. If I have to describe this Christmas Celebration in a word, I would say it was ‘Magical.’ The atmosphere, the frame, and the food… everything was just perfect.

Cyril and Matt thanking Santa Claus

28 29Physical trainer and his students

Projects abroad volunteer Kaito Ishzawa attempts to find out the aspirations of the school students with regard to choosing sports as a career. he is curious to know the reasons behind choosing and not choosing the same

Earn while you play

When I went to school, I have hardly anyone say that they wanted to be a

sports player. It came as a surprise to me as I was surfing the net looking for various information with regard to the aspirations of students. From then on, there was a burning question on my mind. “What idea do the students of Madurai have about sports and do they have an idea of choosing it as a career?”

I decided to learn more about this and hence, starting off with doing a survey. My sample size was 50 and I asked them each, two sets of questions: “What is your dream? In which field do you want to excel?”

As we know, each country differs in its taste and preferences with regard to everything. Being an Engineer is considered trendier in the current scenario. Teacher and doctor have long been popular as a career option. Sports player and entertainer are popular jobs in most countries except Madurai. This is a one of the particular differences between Madurai children

and children overseas. Compare the Madurai children with children from other countries, jobs which relate with sports are very popular in most countries, but there are very few people in Madurai who would prefer to be a sports player. They prefer to be an engineer, doctor, police, or a teacher. I really wanted to find out why. After intensive study and also


Madurai Messenger Career January 2012

after interviewing a lot of students, I got the answer.Everything boils down to salary. Dreams of Indian children are pointed towards high-paying jobs. Although you cannot find the people who want to be a driver and carpenter in this graph, those jobs are popular among children in other countries, even though they may not be paid much.

players to aim to be a professional player when they start playing sports. It is a goal and motivation for many players. For some, it becomes a part of life. They put in a lot of time and effort in order to become good sportsmen. They do not consider that sport is the most important thing in life. I think this is a remarkable difference in thinking between the students of Madurai and those from other places. Kudos to these children for following their dreams in spite of pressing factors such as studies and other distractions. May all their dreams come true!

Interview with the Physical TrainerHaving learnt so much, I visited the St.Michael Matriculation Higher Secondary School, where the students regularly attend sports classes.He is a physical trainer of this school. When he was a student, he played Volley ball. Even now, he often plays volley ball as a hobby. I asked him about his ideas about the sports system in Madurai.

He says it is very hard to earn money from sports. Players are not allowed to spend money, because there are few sponsors for sports in India and hence, there are a few professional teams in India. It means they can have only a few opportunities to be a professional sports player. Most young players have to abandon the idea of becoming a professional sports player even if they want to continue sports as an athlete. In this school, only 30 percent of students in sports class go to a sports collegewhereas 70 percent of them go to a general course. They are forced to study professional courses.

If you could be a state level player, the government gives an opportunity for you to be a police. And if you could be a national player, you can get placed as a bank employee or a police office or in Oil exporting companies. In his case, his coach guides him to be a teacher. Anyway most students have to study hard as well as concentrate on their physical activities during their school days.

Sport is a part of life!Interview with talented students: Mr.Govind Chakkaravathi swimmerMr.Marjthupandi shot-putterMs.Subashini long jumper

Having heard so much about choosing sporta as a career option, from the physical trainer, I went on to interview the students. I interviewed three of them namely Govind Chakkravarthy, who is a swimmer, Marudhupandi who is talented in the shot-put activity and Subhashini, a girl who is well-known

Enthusiastic Team Members

for her talent in the long jump activity. They are high school students who attend sports classes regularly. They have playing now more than four years. They usually practice hard, but they have to be studious students. Especially during the examination period, they have to stop playing sports to concentrate on studies for getting a good job.

They like their sports very much, but surprisingly, their do not dream to be just another sports player. In Japan and other countries, it is common for

Playing Soccer with full concentration

70%

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ENGINEER SPORTS TEACHER DOCTOR ENTERTAINER ETC

MADURAI

LONDON

TOKYO

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antony Cupitt reviews Christmas Carol, the novel which he describes as the ‘ghostly little book.’ he recommends it to all you oracious readers out there and those of you who feel a book reading session more interesting than an evening party.

Invoking the SpiritOF ChRISTmaS

This ‘ghostly little book’, A Christmas Carol, as it was described by Dickens, was first

published in December 1843 and met with immediate critical acclaim. It has never been out of print, and has become as much a part of the Christmas tradition as Christmas trees and plum pudding. From Ebenezer Scrooge’s dismissal of all things Christmas as mere “humbug” to the crutch-wielding Tiny Tim’s eternally positive outlook, A Christmas Carol has left an enduring imprint on literary history. This has been accomplished through Dickens’ finely crafted portraits of humanity, which have become enduring stereotypes. They have become part of popular culture in the West, reinterpreted countless times; The Flintstones, The Muppets, Barbie, Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse and The Smurfs have all offered their own versions of this literary classic to their audiences.

The novella begins with a thorough accounting for the fact that Jacob Marley is dead, the purpose of which becomes clear when the self-same Marley confronts his former business partner Scrooge with the consequences of his covetous, greedy, black-hearted and selfish life. Like Marley, Scrooge will be cursed to spend the afterlife

in chains of his own making – the ledgers, locks and other essentials of his chosen life. However, Marley offers Scrooge “a chance and hope of escaping my fate. Scrooge is visited by three Spirits; the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come. These Spirits take Scrooge on an existential journey, where the power of Dickens’ writing is revealed in his ability to make the reader feel sympathy for this “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” Scenes of Scrooge’s lonely childhood and joyful apprenticeship to the lively and generous Mr Fezziwig, a perfect counterpoint to Scrooge, bring a tear to the eye.

Viewing vignettes of his own past Christmases, the present Christmas in which even the poor and isolated are able to wish each other good tidings, and his own bleak demise if he should fail to change his ways, Scrooge emerges from the cocoon of his misery and melancholy to become “as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew.”

Considering the context in which Dickens was writing, this novella is a remarkable achievement. In England, the celebration of Christmas was abolished by Oliver Cromwell

By Antony CupittLogan City, Australia

Madurai Messenger Books January 2012

and a Protestant Parliament in the Seventeenth Century. In 1843 the tradition of celebrating Christmas was beginning a spirited comeback; it was the same year that the first Christmas card was printed, and only two years after Prince Albert popularized the Christmas tree (a tradition he brought from his homeland, Germany). Yet in spite of the carolers, trees and cards, it could be argued that Dickens’ “ghostly little book” was the greatest factor in reviving the spirit of Christmas. When Scrooge remembers, with moist eyes, the scenes of his innocent childhood Christmases, we all nod our heads and share his sentimentality. When the novella was published, all of England shared Scrooge’s journey into the past, to a more innocent time.

Dickens is one of the true masters of the English language, and he succeeds in drawing readers into the world of his novels through the construction of a wonderfully complex and charming cast of characters. A Christmas Carol is no exception. Ebenezer Scrooge is introduced as “a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone” who takes “his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern” and lives in “a gloomy suite of rooms.” It is a literary miracle that readers hope for, and rejoice in, his redemption,

yet this in only achieved through the superb and eclectic mixture of minor characters. Another favorite has to be the Cratchit family; Scrooge’s clerk Bob, his wife Belinda, and their horde of little Cratchits. Watching the unfettered joy of this family celebrating Christmas, in spite of their poverty and the unspoken burden of their youngest son Tiny Tim’s poor health, causes Scrooge to hang his head in shame. Then there are the three Spirits; the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come. Together with the ghost of Jacob Marley, these frightening apparitions break down the stony walls of reason and logic that Scrooge has built around his heart and his imagination. His early protestation that Marley’s ghost is a mere side-effect of food poisoning – “There’s more of gravy than that of grave about you, whatever you are!” is soon revealed as a way of keeping his terror in check.

Christmas Past is presented as a figure like a child, but amorphous, shifting between the faces and forms of those people in Scrooge’s past who it shines its light on. Christmas Present is a delightfully tragic figure, a jolly and glorious Giant sitting atop a throne of Christmas dinners. He takes Scrooge

on a whirlwind tour of Christmas celebrations, visiting the Cratchits and Scrooge’s nephew, as well as miners, lighthouse keepers and ships at sea. Unlike Scrooge, who has spent his long life sucking all the joy out of those around him, Christmas Present spends the solitary day of his life rejoicing in the happiness and revelry of others. Finally, Christmas Yet To Come appears, looming menacingly and silently out of the darkness to reveal Scrooge’s fate. Tall and stately, silent and immobile, and shrouded in a deep black garment that conceals his features, the appearance of this Spirit prompts a reversal of the earlier statement that “Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.” The other Spirits had begun Scrooge’s metamorphosis, but this hammers home the point that Scrooge will not be missed, and will die alone and unloved, should he continue his current course.

It may have been written more than 150 years ago, but the message of A Christmas Carol is as relevant today as it was in 1843. Christmas is not about materialistic pursuits. It is about spending time with the people you love, and being thankful for all that you have, rather than whining about what you do not have.

Charles Dickens - The Author ofA Christmas Carol

Christmas Yet To Come appears, looming menacingly and silently out of the darkness to reveal Scrooge’s fate. Tall and stately, silent and immobile, and shrouded in a deep black garment that conceals his features

Title: A Christmas Carol

Author: Charles Dickens

Publisher: Chapman and Hall

Year of Publishing: 1843

32 33

Sungudi sarees –a mIx OF TRaDITION aND mODERNITYYuka maruyama talks about her experiences of visiting one of the very oldest and established textile showrooms in madurai. She discovers the aesthetic aspects of a Sungudi saree!

By Yuka MaruyamaJapan

Sarees – the traditional clothing of Indians. You cannot travel around India without being attracted to

this amazing outfit. The sarees carry beautiful designs on them and it is very beautiful to see Indian ladies dressed in this attire in cities as well as villages. These vivid colours impress ladies contrary to long black hair and the beautiful dusky completion and it feels as if they are a complete piece of art. Ladies express their own styles, interests and feelings too by wearing their favourite saree. Sarees are a part of the culture, custom and tradition of India.

Having spent almost three months in Madurai, I wanted to know more about the one word that I have been coming across when I visited any readymade shop and that is ‘Sungudi sarees.’ I was told that Madurai was famous for these. It is designed with many tiny dots in the main body, and detailed embroideries at the bottom, which they call the ‘border’ of the saree. The colour of the border is contrast to that of the body. They are thinner and lighter than the others and it is best to wear them during summer, as it is made of pure cotton and has the ability to absord the heat.

I was happy to visit Rangachari Cloth Store, which is famous for Sungudi sarees in the Temple City. It is located at South Masi Street in the city centre of Madurai. It is one of the local branches, and the head office is in Chennai. It was founded in1963. Kannan, (48), has

Madurai Messenger Tradition January 2012

been running the show in Madurai, for the past ten years. It felt really nice to talk to such an experienced person, as he provided a lot of insights into this, as it was new to me.

Sungudi Sarees- A Brief DescriptionSungudi is a type of Indian saree which is 100% cotton, dyed by way of extracting natural colours from leaves. It does not cause any allergy. It is a normal characteristic that there are many dots and different colours in the border and it is longer than the other sarees. Sungudi sarees measure 48 inches, whereas the normal sarees measure 44 inches. These type of sarees have been around for more than a hundred years now. The creative minds behind this type of saree are the people belonging to the Sourashtra community. They wanted to find a new niche in the market for a new modern type of sari, and came up with this unique design.

Sungudi is a type of Indian saree which is 100% cotton, dyed by way of extracting natural colours from leaves.

Rangachari Cloth Store, Madurai

Kannan, the Manager

From left to right, Bandini, Sungudi and Bathik

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It is loved by a lot of people not just in Madurai but also all over India. It is being exported to other cities and it is so nowadays it is one of the biggest industries down South.

The processAll Sungudi saris used to be weaved by hand in olden days, but today most of them are made by way of equipments that serve the purpose. At Rangachari Cloth Store, first they get in stock these plain sarees from Tirupur, the city in the northwest part of Tamil Nadu, and then they take these sarees to the dyeing centre to dye them with the beautiful vivid colours. Thanks of them, I visited the dyeing centre as well. I was surprised to see that it was being done in a single room. It carried with it a pungent smell of dye. It comprised of seven labourers. Some of them were putting the plain

The Dyeing Unit

Madurai Messenger Tradition January 2012

sarees into yellow dye while some others were folding and arranging them. The other workers were busy putting dye onto the borders of the sarees..

More about Sungudi sareesIn the past, women used to wear Sungudi sarees on festival days like Pongal or Diwali, but nowadays you can see them wearing it almost everyday. Especially summer is the best time for wearing Sungudi sarees. As it is made out of pure cotton, it absorbs the heat. Its popularity is getting increased with the years, so the prices are also becoming more expensive. Initially, the starting price used to be Rs.120 and now, one needs to pay Rs.250 to get a good one.

Variety of cotton sareesThere are some other types of cotton

sarees in India. Bandini, mainly designed with different type of tiny dots from Sungudi sarees, are popular in North India. These dots are made by using a wooden device with which they hold that part of the cloth in which they want the colours to be applied.. Bathik is also one type of them, designed with wax on dyed cloths. These are also loved by a lot of Indian ladies.

As I told you at the beginning, Sarees serve as ones that define the culture of India.. As we know, tradition changes with time, culture and people, as new ideas emerge almost everyday. Sungudi sarees are obviously one of the changing traditions of India. I leave the store very happily, as I was able to know a lot about this type of sarees.I would really love to own one. I will get one before I leave Madurai!

volunteer Tony is very excited to be in the temple city and shares his thoughts and experiences about this beautiful place. he defines madurai as ‘an old friend’ and is more than happy to come across his most favourite sport being played here: ‘Cricket’.

Embracing the KnownaND ThE uNKNOWN

By Tony CupittLogan City, Australia

Heat, humidity, mosquitoes and cricket: these few words describe the comforting blanket

I thought I had left at home, and would have to cope without during my brief stay here. When I stepped out of the stony edifice that is the Madurai Airport, it was like being embraced by an old friend. The hot, heavy atmosphere immediately flooded my mind with memories of home, but it also carried something more. There

The ubiquitous rickshaw

was an aroma, full of vitality and the raw essence of humanity. Like the air that carried it, this aroma clung to everything it touched.

After being greeted by the Projects Abroad staff, we drove out of the airport. I was exhausted after almost twenty-four hours of airports and the coffin-like confines of airplane cabins. My spirits lifted as we turned a corner and drove past a game of street cricket.

A group of shirtless youths scrambled on a muddy surface with mismatched sticks for stumps and a bat that may have pre-dated Indian Independence. My spirits soared as I observed a well-flighted spinner glanced off the legs for easy runs. I have seen the same scene countless times at home, except there the youths were paying homage to Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting, rather than Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar. We drove on.

36 37

I always knew it was a pale imitation of the real thing. The sweet Tamil coffee that I start my days with has brought an abrupt end to my vow to give up coffee.

The vast variety of rice and vegetable dishes, all with different combinations of spices to tantalize the taste buds, have put an end to my false belief that vegetarian dishes are ‘boring’. Finally, how can I explain the joy of parotta? Eaten with a simple but delicious curry, these starchy pillows of goodness are going to drive me to distraction when I return home, for I will only be able to find insipid replicas.

I am sure the many differences will make my time in Madurai a challenge, but I am just as certain there are enough comforting similarities to help me overcome any challenge. Now, can someone tell me where I can watch the Australia-India test series?

Madurai became a feast for my airport-dulled senses, but exhaustion had drained me. Soon after arriving at the guest house and meeting my host parents, I retired to bed. When I finally awoke, free of jetlag, I was greeted by a chorus of what I assumed was birdsong. It reminded me of the finches and rosellas that regularly sing outside my Australian home. My room-mate Matt informed me of my error, and

pointed to one of the chipmunks who were the true vocal talent.

Travelling to and from the office exposed me to the traffic chaos, which was completely foreign to me. While I had seen similar laissez-faire approaches to road safety in Nepal and Vietnam, the protocols for road use in Madurai took some getting used to. The sight of passengers embarking and disembarking from moving buses (sans doors), vehicles of every description crossing the centre line while remaining seemingly oblivious to oncoming traffic, and of course, the incessant symphony of horns, are fast becoming my constant companions.

While this total disregard for road safety threatened to tarnish my first impressions of Madurai, the taste of Indian food made it all worthwhile. I had eaten plain and pedestrian interpretations of this fare at home but

The juxtaposition of old and new in Madurai

Madurai Messenger First Impresion January 2012

While this total disregard for road safety threatened to tarnish my first impressions of Madurai, the taste of Indian food made it all worthwhile.

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