20th January

20th January, in which I discover that our two teachers still remember all my words of wisdom from 2009!

I was detained from going early with Jude to the pre school by a call from friends from Seetaramanpet who were in the RUHSA hospital and had been there overnight. I arrived to find that they had been waiting hours to be seen for a blood test and pretty soon discovered the unfortunate fact that my appearance as their friend made things happen very quickly. They shrugged and laughed ruefully when they pointed this out to me and as I tried to tell them that I thought the terrific difference in treatment of locals and of 'foreigners' was shocking. In the end I just had to be glad that I could help them in this small way. The ward sister introduced herself to me and asked why I was there, then said that my friends must ask her if they had any problems. Hmmmm. Once again deep breath and face the fact that this is their 'culture' and it's not about to change any day soon. 

Jude meanwhile had cycled valiantly ahead in order to be at the playcentre early as the children arrived in the morning and to see what happens then. She discovered all manner of lovely play. 

I arrived more than half way through the morning when the children were working in small groups with Rani and Padmini.Rani's group were exploring clay and Padmini's were playing with balloons, blowing them up and then flying them. 

This last photo gives you an idea of the level of excitement that the bunch of blown up balloons generated in the children! 

Whilst the children had their rest after lunch I had an opportunity to talk again to the teachers about their work and how they feel about it. Sekar acted as a very effective interpreter. It is apparent that they love the work and are proud of what the school does. They said that their reputation for how well the children progress is gradually spreading over the years and parents generally seem to value their work. They are sometimes greeted in the street and always given great respect. I asked if they remembered some of the things we had talked about when they were initially trained and during the subsequent refresher a year or so later, citing as an example how important it is to give children first hand experiences, so for example to cut fruits and taste and smell them rather than to just show a picture. Back smartly came the answer that of course they remember that, that I taught them (back in 2009) and of course they have not forgotten! I find this quite astonishing and moving  and so very different from what one experiences in normal life back home.

 The teachers had noticed that I had a very red eye and were fretting about it. They do take a very caring interest in our well-being and always worry for us. I was given advice by Padmini that to cure the blood-shot eye I needed to get up at seven o clock and look at the sun for half an hour. This was her firm belief. Do not worry, reader, I am not following her advice. Then there was a discussion about the health-giving properties of coconut water. This led on to them sending for the night-watchman to come and wield a very long pole they have in the centre with a metal hook on the end. I watched as he did more dangerous balancing on chairs (this happens a lot in not very health and safety conscious India) and was grabbed back just as a potentially lethal coconut fell and hit the ground. It was a very refreshing drink and below you will see the photo of Andy and I drinking out of the same coconut, which they were keen to take.