REBECCA

                   REBECCA BY DAPHNE DU MAURIER-  A REVIEW

Rebecca, the classical novel written by Daphne du Maurier has been hailed as a brilliant novel of an unforgettable wife. Written before the second world war, Rebecca  has been in the best seller list  ever since it was published in September 1938 by Doubleday and Company Inc. The simple cover page depicting a red carpeted staircase and two characters does not give us an inkling of  the world of paranoia that opens up before us as we turn the pages.

     The Rebecca of the title is dead, presumably killed in a sailing accident . Her millionaire husband, Maxmillian de Winter , the debonair, courteous gentleman  with perfect manners makes a deep impression upon the naïve young girl who is the narrator of the tale. Everything is seen and reported from the point of view of  this girl, the diffident, nervous and unusually sensitive second wife of Maxim, whose name is not revealed till the end, much to the chagrin of the reader.

    After a hasty marriage, the de Winters return to Maxim’s country estate, Manderley. ‘We came to Manderley in early May’, says the narrator, ‘arriving ,so Maxim said, with the first swallows and  the bluebells’. The powerful language of Daphne de Maurier gives us an entrancing description of the wonders of the picturesque countryside villa with the valley of azaleas and the blood red rhododendrons in full bloom. Manderley is described as  a thing of grace and beauty, exquisite and faultless, built in its hollow of smooth grassland and mossy lawns, with its terraces sloping to the garden and the garden to the sea. Manderley is  flanked by a wall of blood red rhododendrons which  startles the narrator by their crimson faces, massed one upon the other in incredible profusion, showing no leaf, no twig, nothing but the slaughterous red, luscious and fantastic.

       The fabulous country and the palatial mansion leads  the young bride  to believe that she has married above her station. She is unnerved by the belief that she is no match to Maxim’s first wife, the seemingly perfect former mistress of the house. The spirit of the capricious, vivacious Rebecca seems to haunt the house. Soon we are plunged into the mystery of the mansion, ridden by intrigue. A gallery of characters opens before our eyes, the most prominent of them being Mrs. Danvers, the governess, tall and gaunt, dressed in deep black, with prominent cheek bones and  hollow eyes which gives her parchment white face, the look of a skull.  She keeps the house and the staff under her thumb with meticulous care. There is instant hostility between the governess and the new Mrs. De Winter. Gradually, through the frightful eyes of the narrator, who explores and unravels the mystery of Manderley, we come to know of Rebecca as she really was. We realize with horror the power she holds over Manderley even in death. As the diffident, shy second wife explores the new house and the surroundings, we discover, along with her, a tale of deceit, disloyalty, adultery and murder.

    Rebecca is not the tale of the eponymous first wife, it is the tale of Maxim’s second wife who gains courage and grace and rises in esteem and stature  before our eyes . It is the story of Manderley. It is an unforgettable experience set in a mysterious . palatial mansion which ultimately goes up in flames .

     Daphne de Maurier enchants us with the power of her language and holds us spell bound from the beginning to the end. Rebecca is a revelation, it is a shattering experience , it is a magical spell that binds us in mystery and suspense from the very first word. It is a must read for every book lover. Don’t miss it.

            

future ready schools

FUTURE READY SCHOOLS

Introduction

       Technology has brought about a quantum change in the way people think, perceive and live. In the twenty first century most of the activities of our everyday lives are centred on the computer. Technology has invaded every aspect of our lives. The computer or the lap top is a must in every house hold and every establishment and is considered to be a pre requisite to improve the quality of life of the modern man. The pace of life has also changed tremendously. We are grappling with the age of speed. Methods and techniques which are considered new today may be considered outdated tomorrow. Technology has eliminated distance so that we are all citizens of a global village now. ‘Narrow domestic walls’ may have relevance today but may not be the case in future. The younger generation may need skills and competence to adapt to world conditions  and should stay ahead of the changes taking place in the world if it does not want to be left behind. Under these circumstances, future ready schools which impart training and skills suitable for the twenty first century will help the students adapt themselves  to the modern situation.

The schools of the past, the present and the future

            Most of the schools in India still have the traditional-model classroom with a black board and benches and desks arranged in front of it for the students to sit. The teacher stands in front of the class, lecturing and illustrating with the help of the black board and chalk. Traditional methods of teaching and learning cannot ensure the participation of every student. In a class of forty, if thirty are attentive, at least ten may be distracted, uninterested or bored. Besides, much depends upon the teacher. A lively, active teacher with a sense of humour may be able to capture the attention of most of the students but all teachers may not be equally good and competent. Lack of good communication skills, lack of knowledge, inadequate voice modulation and lack of resources may hamper teaching, rendering the class monotonous and boring. The student may feel disoriented and distracted, paving the way for poor performance in the exam and poor self esteem in life. Besides, the exam system of the day is  geared to test the student’s capacity to mug up lessons. In the absence of application type questions, the student who spends long hours to memorize lessons is found to fare well in exams while his counterpart who is adept at applying his knowledge to practical life situations may not score well. We know from the example of Albert Einstein that brain power cannot be measured by the way a person memorizes lessons.

        New times call for new methods. The current model of education was designed for an age that has passed by. What was good for the past may not be good enough for the future. Of course school life has much that is nostalgic and endearing for most of us. The pleasure  of learning ,enhanced by  the bonding with the teachers, the loyalty of friends and the  thrill of competitions are aspects of school life which every student cherishes for life. But apart from these positive characteristics, the student of the new age also needs education that prepares him to face the challenges of the modern age in terms of its working conditions, competitive nature, fulfilment of targets, time bound deadlines  etc. The thinking individuals of the world have understood the need to make the younger generation ready to face the challenges of the world. That is why we have future ready schools functioning in different parts of the world and growing in popularity rapidly as the days go by. That is why this topic has come up for discussion and debate today.

  The present age is fuelled by innovation and creativity. Everywhere technology is modifying our way of thinking. In railway stations and bus stands, we check the schedules and book tickets on line. We do e- banking and on line shopping.  Accordingly the education practices also should change to cater to the needs of the times. The modern school of the twenty first century should sport a new look with technology holding centre stage and techno savvy teachers and students transforming the teaching- learning process. Every classroom should have  a computer, projector and LCD screen,MP3 player and such other gadgets which can make teaching and learning easier and more interesting. There are new age schools which have gone to the extent of procuring i pads, i pods and e books for the students to work with. While in India, we have banned mobile phones in many schools, we should realize how much more advanced the students in other countries are bound to be when they get opportunities to use modern gadgets on a daily basis in their schools. It is imperative for us to create a new digital learning environment using new learning methods and  assessment methods  so as to bring about an organizational transformation in our schools.

       Such a sea change cannot take place over night. It should take place in a phased manner. Teachers should be trained to handle technology and also innovate new methods to incorporate technology into their teaching. Trainers and technology experts should be employed to assist the teachers in their work. Training sessions should be organized to keep the teachers up to date in technology use and in the methodology of disseminating knowledge.

       It should be kept in mind that there is bound to be resistance to the introduction of technology on a daily basis in the school environment at least from some quarters. Parents and teachers are bound to be apprehensive of the misuse and abuse of modern gadgets by the youngsters. The young mind looks for pleasure first. There is a chance for the explosion of technical know how to be misused. It was the misuse of electronic gadgets by a few students that forced some schools and the government to ban the use of mobiles and other electronic gadgets in schools. So there should be constant supervision and alertness on the part of the teacher to ensure that the exposure to sophisticated gadgets is not misused by the students.

Future Ready Schools of the world

v     A search for Future Ready Schools in the search engine Google brought some interesting news about the mind boggling transformation taking place in the schools in some parts of the world .Coppell New Tech High School, Texas, regarded as model school, is a case in point. In the words of Jeff Turner, the Superintendent from Coppell ISD, the brain behind this transformation, ‘Change takes courage. We must find that courage.’  This man with a vision spent money wisely to buy i pads, i pods, Mac books and Smart boards. In his school, children sit in pairs around i pads using free app discovered by the school’s own teacher. As Turner observes, ‘They take learning to a different level.. It all ties back to real life learning.’

      ( Ref: Student Centred Schools, Future Ready Schools- Amazon S3)

v     Cynthia Alaniz of Denton Creek Elementary School uses the blog to build a classroom community. She communicates with parents, promotes literacy, develops writing skills and enhances content knowledge. Here students compose songs, add tunes and even effects using various apps available in their I pod touch . Needless to say that learning is fun for the students of this school.( Ref: Student Centred Schools, Future Ready Schools- Amazon S3)

v     The guiding mission of North Carolina State Board of Education is that every Public School student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and post secondary education and prepared for life in the 21^st century.( Ref: Biennial Report, State Board of Education, North Carolina)

The right ground for learning

      It is clear that when children are given a chance to apply knowledge and use technology to create and innovate, interest is kindled and excitement is generated. This is the right ground for  learning to  take place. In such a context, learning will not be something thrust upon the student but something that he takes up because he finds it interesting and exciting. For such a transformation to take place, we need immense resources. We need good teachers who are willing to work hard , take up new challenges and learn new methods. Learning will be more personalized and the student has to take up the responsibility for his own learning.

The CBSE initiative

It is heartening to see that the CBSE has taken the initiative to bring about many reforms and improvement in the system of education. There is constant revision in the syllabus to ensure that the students are kept in touch with the latest issues and trends  prevailing  in the world. The CCE system,  work centred education, introduction of long reading text to inculcate reading habit, PSA, deletion of chapters which have no relevance to the modern context, competitions and exhibitions are some of the methods by which CBSE is keeping abreast of the times. The emphasis on gender sensitization goes to prove that the powers that be are aware of the key areas in society which lie steeped in dogma and bias. Accreditation is introduced to ensure quality in the schools affiliated to CBSE. The establishment of International schools will ensure international standards in education.

    Yet there is much more to be done. The Indian society has many grey areas which need complete renovation. The caste system that plagues our society is one of the major reasons for its backwardness. However much we progress and modernise our system, vast sections of our society lie submerged in age old practices that speak volumes for our ignorance, prejudices and narrow mindedness. It is the duty of the educationists to bring about reforms that can produce winds of change in society. While we boast of being a secular state how far do we practise secularism? Even though the reservation system had started for a good cause, it is high time to put an end to this evil practice that is splitting our society and people into different segments and compartments.  Our leaders and netas nurture separatist tendencies that divide society, merely for personal gains. It is the duty of the educational reformers to take bold strides and put an end to practices that are pulling the nation backwards. How can we envisage a global village when in our own country we are erecting walls rather than demolishing them? More than modern gadgets and sophisticated machinery, reforms to bring about a change in the vision of the people should be the priority of the future ready schools in our country.

Conclusion-  The dream of a perfect world.

       Just like Martin Luther King, I too have a dream. I have a dream in which every Indian will stand shoulder to shoulder with his/her counterparts in the world to find solutions to the problems that plague the world. I have a dream in which the Indian society , devoid of superstition, dogma and bias will be one of the finest work places in the world. I have a dream in which the application forms for admission and jobs do not contain columns that state community, caste or creed. In my dream, the leaders , educationists and scientists will work with ‘one aim and one business’ for the betterment of the society. In my dream, the world leaders will put their hearts and heads together to find solutions to pollution and global warming  rather than to devise ways to enlarge the weapon stockpiles of their nations.

    If all our dreams are to come true, we need intellectuals who can rise above silly dogma and stigma and work for the common good. We need future ready schools in the Indian context which can mould individuals with civic sense and social responsibility. Sophisticated gadgets and new age techniques alone cannot guarantee quality in the future generation. We need a mechanism which can weed out all these evil practices and modernise our society . Let our younger generation grow up without the bias of caste and creed. Let our future ready schools carve out youngsters who are willing to utilize their time and energy to renovate and reform society.  At present we have political parties that are waiting to organize rallies and hartals whether there is a cause or not. They strike work and force educational institutions to shut down, abusing the powerful tool  invented by our Mahatma to win freedom by non violent means. Apart from the havoc caused  by nature which force schools to close, we have such man made disasters preventing our younger generation from doing honest hard work and transforming them into a pack of holiday lovers willing to shirk work. A powerful educational body alone can extricate the present generation from the clutches of such harmful elements. Instead of rallies, bandhs and strikes, let our younger generation practise the ideals of hard work, commitment and dedication to make our country a better place to live in. Let our future ready schools mould not only scientists and engineers but also leaders and statesmen with vision who can lift the country up from the abyss of poverty , superstition and communalism and lead it forward to a bright future. Let us hope that the young Indians of tomorrow will have the pleasure of living  in a modern society  where they can  use modern equipment to imbibe knowledge the modern way. Into that modern heaven of learning, let my country awake..

-Shailaja Chandran, Vice Principal, St. Thomas Central School, Mukkolakkal, Trivandrum

Work Centred Education- a feather in the CBSE's cap

 

 

                                          WORK- CENTRED EDUCATION

 

            The modern world is full of contradictions-continuity and change co-exist and success lies in our ability to balance the opposites.New times call for new methods, new concepts and ideas. The educational transactions of today should cater to the demands of the changing times and perceptions of the people. The idea of vocationalised education or work- centred education mooted by CBSE hinges upon placing productive manual work at the centre of the school curriculum. As  the education system in India progressed and evolved many erudite scholars and educationists started discerning a marked defect in the system in which the student  learns innumerable concepts which he cannot apply in real life. He mugs up whole chapters and reproduces  all the imbibed knowledge on paper during the exam. But in due course, memory fades and the wealth of accumulated  knowledge slowly dissipates and becomes worthless. Meanwhile, in practical life, he may be ignorant of basic concepts which can make life meaningful and satisfying. There are many youngsters in our midst who have no idea of how to change a punctured tyre, how to administer first aid in an emergency, how to fix a blown fuse or even to change a light bulb.

     To a great extent, the onus for this situation rests with the parents. Each parent wants his child to study all the time, and not get distracted by any kind of work. In the process they don’t allow the child to learn how to perform simple tasks which can make life meaningful . It is said that in India, the child is not allowed to grow up. Children, especially from affluent families totally lack the inclination or the aptitude to do any kind of work. They shun manual labour and make studies an excuse to abstain from doing even simple duties at home. Most of these students score well in exams but they score poorly in the tests given by life. Today’s child is veering away from nature . He lives in a virtual world and within the realm of this world his capabilities and aptitudes are developed and evolved to the maximum. But the same child may have no idea how to plant and nurture a tree or to fix a leaking tap.       Engaging students in work may help them relate to life needs and grow into mature, well balanced individuals. This was what was proposed by the Father of the Nation when he propounded the theory of Nai Talim. It was felt that the brain may get weary of mere bookish knowledge and so, the brain should be educated through the hand.

          Vocational education, though introduced way back, has not gained much momentum and has been more or less denigrated to the second place after mainstream academics. But vocationalised education is an entirely different concept. It  seeks to introduce work centred pedagogy in a graded manner, giving exercise to the brain and the brawn and bridging the gap between work and education. In many institutes of higher learning, internships, workshops and other projects are a part of the curriculum where the student has to use the hand as well as the brain.  If this kind of education is introduced at the school level, it will become a part and parcel of the education system of India and can produce well balanced individuals who can deal with any kind of life situation.

      Quite a number of schools have introduced summer courses wherein children are enrolled in different courses in tune with their aptitudes . They are given opportunities to do gardening, cooking, dyeing, pottery making or even to make simple electrical gadgets. These activities may keep the children occupied during their holidays. But since the school syllabus is so vast, there is not much scope for such activities to be included in the curriculum. Including such skills and activities will certainly make the school work more interesting and productive. The boredom of listening to lecture after lecture can also be alleviated to a certain extent by means of these activities. The proposal includes engaging local farmers, artisans, mechanics, technicians etc as resource persons or as invited faculty so as to provide expertise and professional guidance. Accordingly, the evaluation system also has to be restructured and modified. The CCE system introduced by CBSE can be thought of as an initiative in this regard. With social and political support for this venture, it is surely going to be a feather  in the cap for the educational system.

 

Shailaja Chandran,Vice Principal, St. Thomas Central School, Trivandrum.  

(This article has been published in ‘CENBOSEC’, the quarterly magazine of CBSE, April-June edition)

Gender sensitization in schools

                                 Gender Sensitization in Schools

 

    In the changing scenario of the modern world where men and women  work together and interact in the professional, the social and the domestic front, gender equality is an essential criterion to be observed by responsible human beings. Gender sensitization is about making people aware of the need to bring about a quantum change in our mindset which sees man as the bread winner and woman as the house keeper. The home- bound woman of yester- years has metamorphosed into the smart, dynamic modern woman who is adept at balancing her professional and domestic lives. She has successfully carved a niche for herself in the scheme of things. Given the increasing number of women who work alongside with men for long hours in the professional field, the need of the hour is to develop a cordial and amiable working environment where there is mutual respect and trust between the sexes, without sexual innuendoes and obstructive chauvinism to mar the atmosphere. The foundation for this changing mindset should be laid right from childhood and that is why the school plays a pivotal role in gender sensitization.

   The school being a miniature society, the first step of gender equality should begin at the school level. The safety of woman has been a matter of concern right from the days of yore. In the absence of effective legislation and punitive measures for the wrong doers, the safety of the girl child is a topic that plagues the mind of every parent. That is why we make a bee line for exclusive schools for boys and for girls, special seats reserved for women in buses, special compartments for ladies in trains etc. But in life, instead of such escapist tendencies to safe guard women, our effort should be to make the society and the country a safe and comfortable place for ladies as well as for men.

   Many women who have inveigled themselves into key positions in society  still feel  insecure and find their positions  precarious. Some are filled with extreme competitive spirit. ‘What men can do ,women can do better’ is a motto that the modern woman is bent on proving over and over again. In the process she is unconsciously generating jealousy, inferiority complex and other negative emotions in men. This will do more harm than good. Right from the primary level, boys and girls should understand that though they have gender differences, both the male and the female species of human kind have an important and worthy role to play in the great drama of life. There should be healthy relationship based on respect, understanding and concern. In the matter of brain power, skill and talents, some may be superior or inferior but that has nothing to do with the gender.

 Parents are to a great extent responsible for such discrimination. Right from a young age, they expect the girl child to conform to the role of the meek, submissive and lesser human being while the boy in the family gets away without punishment for his cruel pranks. The school provides the right environment to do away with such rigid social mores. The teacher takes the pride of place as mentor and guide, showing the child its place in society. The days of damsels in distress and knights in shining armour are over. Let us embolden our girls to stand their ground and fight for their rights. Let us sensitize our boys to the fact that a six pack is not all that defines masculinity and that brain power is mightier than brawn power. Value education should be a part of the school curriculum so that girls and boys can imbibe values and have an insight into the intricate fabric of society in which each has an important role to play. Let them understand that thoughtfulness, regard, respect and concern for others will pave the way for smoother running of society than aggressiveness, impudence and gross disregard for others’ feelings.

    As citizens of a democratic country, we cannot turn a blind eye to our duties and responsibilities to the society and the country. What happened to a hapless girl in the capital city on 16 Dec 2012 has given a jolt to the Indian psyche. It has made us wonder what could have turned ordinary people into such cruel beasts devoid of any humane qualities. Something has gone wrong with the very fabric of society which is bound to protect every one who comes within its frame work. It is worthy to note that it was the youth of India that took the initiative to voice their protests vehemently at the time. The youth of India, of which the student community is an integral part, is a force to reckon with. Since the future of India is being shaped in her class rooms, it is our duty, as educators, to carve a future for our youth wherein they can interact and work in an atmosphere of mutual respect and consideration. Let the class rooms be the work shops where young minds can learn the lessons of life with joy and comfort and gear up to work with devotion and live a wholesome life.

 

 Shailaja Chandran, PGT(English), St. Thomas Central School, Mukkolakkal, Trivandrum.    

 ( This article has been published in CBSE's quarterly magazine CENBOSEC Jan-March edition) 

Congestion fee and the Indian Government

                           

 

‘Get ready to pay congestion fee’ is the title of the news item in the New Indian Express which caught my attention. According to the article, the Union Urban Development Department has written to the Secretaries of all Indian cities to introduce congestion charge scheme in Indian cities. The article mentions cities like London, New York, Milan and Singapore where the fee has been imposed successfully. True, but it must be borne in mind that in these countries, the respective governments have gone all out to provide comforts and amenities to the people before imposing taxes upon them.

    Travelling by the tube or the bus in London is a pleasure. All the buses and coaches are air conditioned. There are announcements before every stop. Plush ,cushioned seats, table tops where you can have your meals, read or even conduct meetings, the  schedule of buses and trains at bus stops and railway stations, sophisticated rail gates and  ticket windows are some facilities installed to ensure that the commuter’s time does not get wasted. Since the daily commuters spend a lion’s share of their lives commuting by rail or by road, all amenities are provided to make public transport easy, comfortable and convenient. Besides connectivity is an additional plus point.

  Now consider the case of India.  In an over populated country like ours, the public transport system, even without the congestion fee is invariably over crowded. That is one reason why people prefer private vehicles, in spite of the escalating fuel charges. In the peak hours we can see heavily over crowded buses with people precariously perched on the foot boards. Many drivers find pleasure in making the people run a mile before they can board the buses. Instances of eve teasing, sexual harassment and accidents while boarding and alighting are dampeners which discourage people from using the public transport. In some cities, A/C buses have been introduced but the connectivity is so poor that you tend to lose patience waiting for these buses. Besides, waiting in the shabby sheds which pass for bus stands, under the scorching sun is so torturous that getting into the next available bus, whether a/c non a/c, private or a dilapidated mockery of a bus is the only  option we have.

   Two other funny alternatives are suggested in the article to combat the over crowding of vehicles- walking and cycling. In a cold country like England, walking and cycling are welcome exercises. But in a hot country like India, these are sure shot methods to get sunstroke and sunburn, notwithstanding all the sun screens and fairness creams available in the market. I am sure most of us would rather pay congestion charges than get baked alive. And that is exactly the sentiment that the powers- that- be intend to exploit. Extract more money out of the poor tax payer without giving him the benefit for his money.

  A caring, responsible government should look out for the comfort of the tax payer before levying taxes If  we  have  a sophisticated and convenient public transport system, why should the people bother to travel by private vehicles? In the Middle Eastern countries like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, I have seen bus stands and over bridges which are air conditioned. Given that these countries are intensely warm, this is how the government looks after the needs and comforts of the people. With the monsoons playing pranks with the land, even Kerala is turning into a veritable desert .But such comforts exist only in our  dreams. And now the Government is thinking of snatching away the comfort of our own vehicles by imposing congestion charges in addition to the hike in fuel charges every other day. Whither, India? Or should I say- wither, India..  

India's Shame

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high…’ These great words of the Bard of  Bengal  had inspired and enthused Indians, mired in poverty and backwardness, enslaved and deprived of their rights by British imperialism. The great sage had envisioned an India where all Indians, irrespective of caste, creed and gender could move freely and  live their dreams. But 65 years after independence, when the new year dawns on 01 Jan 2013, every Indian has cause to hang his head in shame. India that boasts of Chandrayan, the emerging super power  waiting to be acknowledged as one of the developed nations of the world , with a voice that demands to be heard in the corridors of power in the world, could not provide safety and security to one of her daughters who had just sought an innocent pleasure of a late night movie. How can the mind be without fear when the perpetrators of such crimes are at large in the greatest democracy of the world? How can we hold our head up in pride when our own brethren  can perpetrate such violent crimes upon our fellow beings?

          Cry, my beloved country, cry in shame. Cry for the innocent daughter whose dreams and aspirations were burnt to ashes at the altar of man’s lust and beastly amusement. Cry for the thousands of abused girls and women whose voice could not rise above the power and pelf of a  corrupt political  system and the unjust laws of a  blind legal system. Cry for all the crimes committed against the weak and the hapless .      As the dawn of a new year breaks, let us resolve to put right the wrongs done to man by his fellow beings. Let us pledge to exercise courtesy and dignity in our everyday dealings. Let us promise to stand by truth and right and raise our voice against injustice and abuse of any sort. Let us stand united, as we did when the gruesome crime against Amanat  came to light, and fight for the dignity of man and woman in this enlightened world.

           From the age of lawlessness where the law of the jungle prevailed, society has evolved into  the enlightened world of the educated and the sophisticated Indian..Our country can boast of  a woman prime minister, a woman president and a woman as the president of the powerful Congress party. We have a missile woman and many women entrepreneurs and politicians. Yet when a horrendous crime came to light, some of the ‘powers that be’ asked- why did that girl go out at night? Some accused the society of becoming so permissive that there is too much interaction between the sexes. Whenever a crime of this sort is exposed, some point a finger at the way a woman is dressed , the way a woman behaves with the opposite sex. Let us have no more of such narrow minded moral policing. This is the time to think and reflect on what ails our society. It is a sick society that allows what should be considered sacrosanct to be defiled and cheapened. It is a sick society where lust and alcoholism can deaden reasoning and stifle the pricks of conscience . We know that a mob has no conscience or reasoning power. Out of the six beasts who defiled and tortured that girl, not even one had the morality  to stop the others from such a heinous crime. This is a mental aberration that cannot be condoned.

             But there is hope. The protesters who came out in large numbers to raise their voices against this crime points to an India which is no longer content to remain passive and neutral. Here is a voice that cannot be subdued,, a voice that is echoed in the mind and heart of every progressive minded citizen of the modern world. We should not allow this society to regress once more into the dark ages. Progress in society should not be equated with flights into space or nanotechnology or fashion pageants. Progress is the way you treat your fellow citizens, your civic sense, the way you think of others as you think of yourself. Progress is courtesy, care and thoughtfulness in word and deed. Only when each one of us inculcates this kind of respect and concern  for others, our society  can evolve and develop. Let us weed out the anti social elements who stain our society. Don’t let another President exercise clemency and allow rapists to go scot free just for the hollow title of ‘the merciful’. Be tough with the tough and gentle with the gentle. Understand that all human beings cannot be measured with the same yard stick. Among the species of homo sapiens ,there are those for whom a stern word or look would be enough as a punitive measure. But there are others for whom only the gallows would suffice to wipe out their sins.

Pongala

The glow of fire from the makeshift kiln. The brimming earthenware pot containing rice and water overflowing with white froth.The shrill sound of 'kurava' uttered by ladies bending piously over the brimming pots. The fragrance of incence. And my friend beside me,offering 'pongala' in the adjacent hearth,our eyes turning red with the smoke and heat, but our hearts overflowing with devotion and fulfilment.The scene appears vividly before the mind's eye every time I recollect the festival of 'Pongala', deemed to be the largest congregation of women in Asia.The offering is meant to appease Attukal Devi, the favourite Goddess of lakhs of women .

Years back, when my friend Maya invited me to accompany her to perform Pongala, I had agreed out of sheer curiosity. I had only heard of Pongala till then.After years of gallivanting along the length and breadth of India, when I returned to Trivandrum, it was Maya, with her kindness, grace and warmth, who had given me the most enduring moral support.So it was a given that I would accompany her to her aunt's place at Manacaud, to partake of the festival and express solidarity with the lakhs of women performing this holy ritual on an auspicious day which marks the culmination of the nine day festival of the temple..

We had to walk for miles and miles. For some 5 kilometres around the temple, the whole area was cordoned off , preventing all vehicular traffic.Rows and rows of bricks arranged in triangular fashion sported earthen ware pots in which would be cooked the offering. There was no distinction between the rich and the poor- all were equal in front of the Goddess, bound by an invisible bond of devotion to the Goddess. As we all kept waiting, the priest lit the main kiln in the temple at an auspicious moment. This was the signal for all of us to kindle the fire and start preparing pongala- a concoction of rice, jaggery,coconut, bananas, ghee and dry fruits. The brave hearts amongst us experimented and came up with so many innovative varieties but Maya and I stuck to the usual sweet one. We fasted for the whole day and broke our fast only when the priest sprinkled holy water upon our offering. Afterwards we partook of the sumptuous feast generously offered by the lady of the house to all those who had accepted her hospitality and usurped every nook and corner of her vast compound.

A few times, we had even ventured into the temple, braving the scorching heat and the serpentine queues, to have a glimpse of the deity.Though it is a festival for the ladies, men also took an active part, mostly as volunteers, helping in the arrangements, offering water, lemon juice, buttermilk and meals to the devotees.Altogether, an unforgettable experience that made us feel elated.

After years of offering pongala together, Maya and I had to part ways, as her husband's transfer to Delhi took her away to the capital city. Now I don't go to Manacaud to perform the ritual. Instead I do it at home, in my own compound. I do it because, like thousands of other women, I too have turned into a devotee of Attukal Devi. Also because it signifies a togetherness never before felt or seen. Besides, in my mind, this festival is inextricably tied up with a rare friendship, unhampered by jealousy, rivalry, selfishness and all other baser emotions. It is this friendship that I celebrate as I perform this ritual year after year..