Arati Chokshi (Thanks, Arati, for letting us use your post on Suno Sadho -- http://sunosadho.blogspot.com/ . Videos, images, and text in italics added by us.) The day started unusually for me - with zero expectations. Shabnam and I were on our way to 'Shibumi' - a non-formal school conducted in a house on the outskirts of Bangalore city. About 35 children,and 7-8 dedicated teachers - who were themselves exploring boundaries of learning with stories, arts, songs, and lots of play. I looked forward to this day - a day of singing and sharing Kabir, with a vertical age group from 6 to 60, as playmates. The singing began in a long open room - well lit, with walls of books, drawings, odds and ends. The little ones sat closest to us, clustered around - wide, bright eyes, open mouths, a wonder in their looks as they watched Shabnam sing with her head thrown back, eyes closed, a smile - expressing a little of the world she inhabited inside. The older, taller ones sat systematically furt...

Sharad The visit to Kanchi's (Ranjana aunty, as known fondly to many of us) land proved to be a lot more exciting than one had imagined it to be. Though planned out as a trip to bake the clay wok by the children, there was lots more to it. We left Bangalore on a hot sunny afternoon (Which most children knew was valentine's day, shhh....shhh...-- hee hee hee), the quiet Armada was made noisy only by our constant screeching, screaming, shoving and pushing games. Upon arrival the rocks there gave us a warm, or should one say a hot welcome. Amazingly, neither the temperature of the rocks or the hot sun stopped the children from exploring and enjoying the beautiful land scape. The baking started late afternoon and it was quite interesting to watch how keenly the children were observing the process. We divided the clay work into two groups, one to be baked black and one so that the natural colour would show. The clay work that the children wanted black was placed in a pot and seale...