Seeing Kodai with Nath Uncle (Nanaji as the children fondly called him) was perfect! Nath Uncle did a lot of wonderful activities with us.... showed and shared with us his carpentry tools and passion.... taught us how to make maida glue.....reuse envelopes.... make sturdy boxes....recited urdu poetry for us... made meal time a jolly time ... often broke into a song (which the children enjoyed!)...took us boating..It turned out that he had planned many more things to do with us, but the six days was not enough :) We also walked a lot in and around Kodai with him... he's been there for more than 25 years now and knows almost every other person who crossed our paths.... We also met a lot of other wonderful people....friends of Nanaji......Harry Uncle who owns a restaurant called Tava treated all of us to a wonderful meal,where we ate as much paneer and srikhand as we could! :) ... Prasanna Uncle and Meenakshi aunty who run a little bakery called Daily Bread.....invited us for breakfas...

By Sangeetha, Student (16) While the junior and middle school children were off to kodaikanal and Sahyadri, we, the senior school we given 10 days of ‘freedom to explore whatever enthused us’   So, we made a list of things we wanted to do which included fantasies (like archery, setting up a photochemical lab, a day-trip to keystone etc).     But here are the things I did end up doing:   Baking – Though it was something I had never tried, the thought had always fascinated me. Gayathri, Shreesha and I attended two wonderful classes by Shruti- Ved’s aunt. Shruti was extremely sweet and warm. We started off with chocolate chip cookies .In half-hour’s time we were busy measuring, sieving, kneading, cracking eggs and happily chattering away! (I made a point to taste everything I came across). The hard part was, having to wait for the cookies to bake, as their fragrance teasingly trailed across the room. Finally, they were done. Although they were abnormally large and irregular i...

By Vasudev, Student (14)   When the teachers in school said that we had ten days off when the juniors were away, to explore things we enjoy, I really could think of nothing. I knew I had to study a lot, because of my exams this November, but other than that I had nothing much. I decided to continue my normal routine of studying, cycling, listening to music etc. Just that I would study a lot more.   Usha aunty had suggested that I should learn to play Table Tennis as it’s a game that can be played alone without a team, as there aren't any other boys my age in Shibumi. She knew of a class in Jayanagar (4 th Block). As a result of this I found myself playing TT every day for an hour and a half. I wasn't too enthusiastic about it on the first day but after a bit I found myself enjoying it quite a lot. The classes were at 5:30 and went on till 7:00. This used up most of my evenings (as I had to leave at 4:00 and was only back at round 8:00) and I suddenly found myself strug...

By Gayathri, Student (17)   [This is a very summarized passage on some of my experiences in Gudalur. If I wrote about everything I would be writing forever!] During my O levels I was really fascinated by and interested in the “pregnancy and birth” section of Biology. Thereafter I understandably became more interested in the subject “Child Development”. My parents suggested that I visit the Adivasi Hospital in Gudalur, Tamil Nadu. They had started the hospital years back and for them, it was like sending me to a second home. Five weeks away from school, during one’s A levels would be unheard of in any other school, well thanks to the understanding teachers in Shibumi and all the very kind and tolerant people in Gudalur, this amazing trip was made possible! Excitement was added by the fact that this would be my very first trip alone, even without my brother! When I reached at 4 30pm I was warmly welcomed by a very worried Shyla Aunty. (One, of the 3 doctors in the hospital no...

By Anu, Student (15) During the ten-day break senior school had, due to the fact that our teachers were out on excursion, I went to a farm for six days, to learn about organic farming. I've been interested in organic farming for a while, having visited a few organic farms when I was very much younger. I wanted to learn about farming methods---mulching,organic pesticides---that consumed few resources,and did not use chemicals. The farm I went to was recently set up, around four months ago, by a couple---Swetha and John---who live on the farm itself. Among some of the many things I learned, was how to make Deepika's beds; Deepika being the organic farmer who showed Swetha and John this method for improving soil. The idea is to convert dry soil lacking in nutrients to fertile soil. The seeds are sown only to fix nitrogen,which is good for plants,and are uprooted in a month. After you uproot your seeds,you can grow the plants of your choice in these beds. How to make Deepika'...