Kuch Aurr…

Report on Visit to Kumaram

Date: 27th September, 2018

To start with it was delightful to wake up early morning and going to Kumaram to learn ample amount
of lessons from Mrs. Rekha Shahani, Mr. R. K. Anand, Mrs. Fatima, Miss. Yashasweeta, the teachers and
the students of Sardar Vallabhai Patel Vividhlakshi Vidyalaya from 8th, 9th and 10th Standard out of which
most of students were prefects and monitors of the school and also not to forget my co-interns.

My co-interns and I reached Kumaram at 07:00 AM along with Mrs. Rekha who asked us if we had
breakfast and taught us to never leave the house without having breakfast as we have a lot to think for
which morning supplement is must.

We then met Sir Julio Rebeiro in his building compound for an early morning walk. I am mentioning
about Julio Sir as there I learnt that no matter how busy your day is going to be for the rest of the day,
an early morning walk is a must for a healthy and cordial heart and good health.

We then proceeded to kumaram with Mrs. Rekha and she briefed us about Kumaram and what the
PCGT’s Kuch Aurr... team does over there.

At 7:45 AM, the students and teachers of Sardar Vallabhai Patel Vividhlakshi Vidyalaya reached at the
worli sea link, Opposite to Kumaram. After Mrs. Rekha gave them the introduction about her, PCGT and
its work, she gave us our first activity of the day which was to sit on the parapet facing towards the sea,
Observing the surroundings and enjoying the serenity of the nature while maintaining complete
silence, giving ourselves those few minutes to be with ourselves, our thoughts and being docile
towards nature.

At 8:15 AM, we were asked to gather and share experiences and our thoughts on individual basis.
Talking about my thought process, I enjoyed watching birds, playing, chirping, racing and chasing each
other. When a helicopter passed by, I observed how the idea of flying and especially landing has been
drawn out from birds. I closed my eyes and tried to listen to various sounds of nature. How the waves
were racing altogether, united, bringing their problems (sea pollutants) to settle at the shore. From this
observation I learnt that if we as humans get united and hold other then we can also draw out all of our
country’s problem. I also learnt many lessons from the student’s observations that they shared with us.
Mrs. Rekha also gave us the title of “We the change makers”

After we shared our experiences, Mrs. Rekha involved all of us in a playful activity of holding each other
and forming circles to play Ring a Ring o’ Roses and to fall on the ground. We all sat on the ground after
playing, laughed our souls out and lived in that moment. Everyone shared their individual learnings
from this activity. Few of the feelings were of joy, fun, being childish, enjoying little things, to laugh
often etc. My feeling out of this activity was to hold each other and be selfless. The purpose of this
activity of sitting on the ground after playing, as taught by Mrs. Rekha was to learn to keep our
surroundings so clean that we can sit on the grounds and footpaths of our nation, promoting Swach
Bharat Abhiyan. While we were sitting in circles, a passerby who was jogging asked us to sit on one side
and not cause inconvenience to others and there was another lesson.
We also met some junior students of Podar International School, Worli from 3rd standard with their
teachers who told us that the students were learning about migration. Those little bright minds taught
us how important it is to get out of the four walls to learn different lessons from different people when
you meet them outside classrooms.

After a very interactive session at the sea face, we all gathered at kumaram where the students were
introduced to the man full of passion, Mr. R. K. Anand. Mrs. Fatima who is a clinical psychologist was
specially invited by Mrs. Rekha to talk to students. She addressed students by sharing her personal life
experiences and getting all of us involved in resourceful activities. From this session I learnt 3 important
things

 To shift our focus from negativity to positivity

 To focus on similarities of each other rather than pointing out differences
 To not do things that would hurt others

Mr. R. K. Anand also shared with us a fairy tale of Thumbelina to teach us that our physical appearance
is not more important than our talent and the love that we carry in our hearts. Also to be angels to
those Thumbelina’s who need support to strengthen their self-esteem.

At 11:30 AM, Mrs. Fatima left us after which we had a small break and the session was continued by
Mrs. Rekha who asked everyone to write down their lessons from the day and to share it with others so
that we can learn from each other.

Submitted by Vidhi Maniar