Me, Maths, CSA and more…

Hi all,

I had a truly out of the world experience yesterday. I had volunteered for the CSA, Center for Social Action, at Christ College, and I had joined the wing of CSA named Activity Center, which took classes for students from a slum area called Rajendranagar. The Activity Center head asked me if I wanted to join them yesterday, even before the official CSA inauguration on the 7th.

At Rajendranagar, we were greeted by eager kids shaking hands and  saying “hello”s is several dialects. They were a bit apprehensive about approaching me, maybe because I was new, but we got on ok… I went with 2 Activity Center members, the Activity Center head Swathi, and another member, Vandana.

I was assigned to take Maths for the 8th grade students…

And there the story starts.  Many students didnt even know the basic principles of multiplication and division. Everyone kept calling me “sir” :D And they were like so enthusiastic with my presence, though I should say that at the end of the one and half hour session, I didn’t have kids hanging onto my hands, unlike my co-activists’ experiences. I succeeded in teaching a few the principles, and making everyone very Mathusiastic :D The smiles on their faces when they got the solution to a problem, or when they did a few sums even faster than I did were sights I would never forget in my entire life. And when the time came for me to leave, a few of them did escort me down the stairs till the road. All of them said passionate “bye”s, though they didnt treat me to the traditional Rajendranagar hand shake.

And I left, walking through the broken streets with my counterparts, I had this unexplainable feeling… A mix of happiness, empathy, and enthusiasm. I was happy that they accepted me. I was happy that whatever little I did DID make a difference. I understood their situation and wanted to help in whatever way possible. And enthusiastic to be back and make more of that special difference!

Today, when I submitted my report, a CSA activist asked me about my experience. I told her that I had a “wonderful experience”. She asked me if I was being sarcastic. I gave her a quick smile, and my heart was grinning… Because little did she know how much my heart was willing to go to Rajendranagar every day; how much I would love to do this for the larger part of the day; how much I was looking forward to the next Thursday… the next Maths class… the next difference…

June 29, 2007 | Filed Under General World, Utopia, World Peace 

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