23rd January 2019

22nd January and 23rd January 2019
A chat with Sekar and lunch at Raghu's posh house, then a day at the Pachaikili centre really cheers me up ! 

On Tuesday I had arranged to meet Sekar to talk about the preschool and any issues. Sekar, it seems, has some concerns that the teachers may be doing too much formal teaching and not giving time to free play. We arranged to have a morning meeting/ training session with the teachers and ayah on Saturday. He also told me that the camera we funded is not being used because the charger is lost. This apparently happened after Dr Rita borrowed it, and because it was Dr Rita no one dared to ask her about it!! Hmmm! The CD player is broken and of course no one now repairs such things, so Sekar would like to replace it with a DVD player. We will plan to do this I think as the children get a lot from music and action songs. 

Onward then to lunch at Raghu's place, super food as always, made by Saranya, sister in law, and Mageshwari ( mum). Balaji also wondered in (a lot of wondering into neighbours' houses occurs here). It was great to natter with Raghu and be able to communicate really well now because of his good command of English. He also now has fluent Thai, which is no mean feat. He hopes that he will be able to get a visa for his new bride but it may be difficult for her to get work. Although she has a good job now in Chennai, she only has two years experience which may not be enough. He wants her to live with him in Thailand, but wouldn't expect her to move out unless she had a job. Raghu will next be home in July, for his wedding. 

Today, 23rd, I decided to cycle fairly early to the preschool, to see as much as possible of the children's day. When I arrived there were half a dozen or so children most of whom were playing in the home corner, where some nice imaginative role play was going in; cooking up bricks in a pot, for samba, tea making, fetching water ( the Boss Girl sent Gopi, a little boy, smartly to fetch it in a jug), washing up, hammering wood, etc. I was fairly quickly incorporated into the game and served many cups of 'coffee no sugar'. The children generally seemed confident to help themselves to play equipment when they wanted to use it, like the puzzles and matching games, and to put it back afterwards tidily. At one point two girls had obviously decided that they wanted to play musical chairs and so they just carted the plastic chairs into the next room and arranged them suitably. 

There were certain times when the teachers called them for milk/ snacks, or to go into two groups for a set activity, and the children seemed to do this without fuss. Halfway through the morning they had five minutes meditation. After a very short bit of noise they quickly settled down, crossed their legs and put their hands in the correct position. Then they closed their eyes and were silent for five full minutes.

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While this was going on the elderly people had arrived and four of them got on with playing a dice game on the floor. I asked about the adult colouring books we had previously bought and they were fetched from the cupboard and everyone had a good stab at it and seemed pleased with their results. We obviously need to remind this new batch of elderly about the activities on offer and to reinstate the time every day when they interact with the children, 

It was now lunchtime and today it had been provided by Vimula, a self-help group volunteer, to the elderly, because she was celebrating the ' baby in the cradle' for her daughter's baby boy. I was bidden along for the party so in the heat of the day ( why do I always venture out at midday??) Sarida walked me to the house. Here there was a houseful of visitors come to celebrate the child at three months. In a traditional family the mother and new baby will return to her mother's home for three months after the birth. Sekar explained that this had two purposes. One, it served as a good contraceptive measure, and two, the mother would be well looked after by her own mother. After this period there is a celebration and the baby is put in a cradle, traditionally made of the mother's wedding sari. So, I was
warmly greeted, selfied many times, given more food and a coffee, and then with many a cheery thank you and goodbye, off back to the playcentre. Before I left I was introduced to Vimula's daughters and to her mother and her grandmother. So in that house that day were five generations of her family- an amazing feat when one considers how the average age of death is very much lower than in the UK. 

Eventually after school my dear pal Balaji insisted that he take me home on his motorbike- me on the back and his young daughter on the front. This did turn out to be a blessing because the sun was still very hot and the cycle ride home is mostly uphill. I waited in the RUHSA office for my room mates who had gone on a shopping expedition- and who had the key to our flat. This gave me a chance to tackle Vinoth again on the tricky subject of the camera charger. He was clearly nervous of me and had brought a Cadbury's chocolate bar to appease me! Anyway, the end result is a replacement charger will have to be bought. There will not be any problem said he.....