bootcamp cse

8/12/2019 Bootcamp Cse

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Travelogue

We begin from Vadodara at 7:15pm to Delhi for attending the Bootcamp at Centre for Science and

Environment between 4thto 15thNovember. I was taking as if life is taking a big turn. After boarding the

train, I started relaxing and preparing for the Bootcamp.

At 5;45 am, we get down at the Tuqlakabad station. We have a long walk, to the nearest

autorickshaw stand. The walk is unique because the whole walkway is beautifully landscaped. The mind is

totally at peace. We reach after we get to the PRIA hostel and see the most beautiful sunrise. The room is

facing the CSE premises. Then I get ready and start for the day at 10. There are 4 Indians, 3 Bangladeshis,

2 Sri Lankans and 1 Nepali national.

All day is taken up by Ms. Sharmila Sinha, the hostess of the Bootcamp with a brief introduction

of Mr. Amit Bharua. There is a visit to the library and then we are given the assignment. After 6 pm,

everyone starts focusing on the assignment. After dinner, we chalk out the rough planning strategically

about the e-magazine project that we are given. Then after retiring to the room, we pack our bags andfinally into the bed dreaming what the field trip had in store for me.

The first lecture was given by Mr. Richard Mahapatra, the environmental journalist. He gave us

an idea about the techniques used to write articles to make them eye catchy, and yet the information had

to be crisp, well organized short and sweet and yes with lot of visuals too. We have lectures until 3:30 pm,

then we get ourselves organized for the field trip and get going.

On 5thNovember, at 5 pm we started off forJaipurfrom Center of Science and Environment. We

reach there at about 11pm and had our dinner at a restaurant.

Water being pumped out of Barkheda lake for irrigation, near Jaipur

On 6thNovember, we started early in the morning, at 9 am we start off with

Mr.Harshvardhanwho has worked extensively for the lakes of Jaipur. We visited 3 lakes,

namelyBarkheda, ChandlaiandMansagar lakes. This is purposely done to make us think the variety of

ecosystems that prevail in and around the lakes and how the community responds to them.

BarkhedaLake has a completely well balanced ecosystem because Jaipur Municipal Corporation does not

recognize it.ChandlaiLake on the other hand is as large as theBarkhedaLake but face major threats of

siltation and getting polluted. TheMansagarLake amidst whichJalmahalstands is a catchment area

where rainwater gets collected from the slopes of theAravalli.
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A view of Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur

Then we visited theJaigadhFort and saw the perfect way of water harvesting. It has been a history

that Jaipur has never faced any droughts except the last 10 years due to this simple, logical water

harvesting system. Living Wisdom, Dying Senstivities.

And then, at the end of the day, some of us went shopping. We had our dinner atLaxmi Mishtaan

Bhandarand called it a day.

On 7thNovember, early morning we started for Tiloniya. Tiloniya is a small village set up byBunker

RoyandAruna Royand the campus is called Barefoot College. We reached there at lunchtime. Then afterlunch we had a look around the old campus of Barefoot.

A women busy in welding in a fabrication workshop at barefoot collage

At old campus of Barefoot, we saw The Solar Cooker Engineers, The Solar Battery Engineers, The

Wood Section, Handicrafts Section and the Kabaad seJugaadsection. To our utter surprise, all the

work was done by village women. Those women, who could not even come out of their houses for fetching

the portable water, are they in SWRC, and working in any of the above Sections.

Mr.Navrotquotes us as the likhit asaakshar, the reason being that though we come from

different professions we read the theory part of making a solar cooker, it is our literal inability to make

one. Whereas some of these women have not even seen the school but they are able to make 2 solar

cookers in a month. Here they are not only buying the materials required for making the solar cooker but

also welding, fabricating, cutting the mirrors and assembling the solar cooker.

Carpets being made from mill scraps, Tiloniya
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As we went through the series of sections of Kabaad seJugaad, a thought crossed the mind, that

there are so many wonderful things we could do apart from the regular 10 am to 7 pm job which can make

us happy. We saw the making of calendars, diaries, pocket diaries etc. then from the thrown away slippers

numbers were made for the little children to educate them in the Kabaad SeJugaadSection. Also the

wood section was interesting part. Rather people working in Tiloniya are much happier than us doing jobs

in a stipulated manner, time and they earn too.

Children at night school tired after a long day

We went to see the night school in a nearby village. Here it is a one man show. The lady

namedKishankunvarteaches from 1stto 5thStandard. She teaches all the subjects singlehandedly. The

school runs in the evenings between 6 pm and 9 pm. All the books required for reading and writing areprovided by Kabaad se Jugaad Section. The basic medicines required for cough, cold, fever are also

provided by the Barefoot College. It supports these schools until they are officially run by the Tiloniya

Gram Panchayat. And once they are recognized, they start a new school in the nearby village.

Nayeem riding a camel in the camel fare at Pushkar

As the sun aggress us to get on our toes, on a lovely morning on 8thNovember, we hurried off to

Pushkar. Pushkar is famous for its famousPushkarLake and the only temple of Brahma in the world is

situated here. The people of Pushkar were busy making arrangements for the world famous Camel

Fairwhich starts from the 17thNovember. (the date isDevuthani agiyarasaccording to the Hindu

Calendar).

Woman from diverse backgrounds learning solar engineering at Tiloniya

And after a quick lunch, we started off to see the new campus of Barefoot College. We saw the

Solar Battery Unit, Sanitary Napkin Unit and a small Barefoot Hospital. In the Barefoot Hospital there are

Acupuncture, Dentistry, General Physicist and Radiology Department.
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Khusbu, from the acupuncture Department quotes that, I had to face many problems when I

commenced the work here. But after my family got the confidence that I am working in a good place with

good people, there are many girls from my village who are encouraged to work by their families.

Barefoot dentists at barefoot collage explain participants how to clean teeth

And how can we forget the lovely Barefoot Dentists,Kesarand Gauri.Gaurihas studied till class 2

and Kesar has never seen the school but both know their job as a dentist perfectly well.Kesarwas a fun

lady to meet. She shared her lifetime experience with us.

Once an Australian helicopter pilot visited around Tiloniya, he had pain in his tooth. When he

took off in his helicopter, the pain was terrible. So he landed and asked for a dentist to a villager passing

by. The villager told him about the Barefoot Dentistry Section. The Australian just went to the Dentists

and got instant relief throughKesarswork.

Barefoot trained Dentist, Kishan Kanwar gives demostration

Hence, he offered her a helicopter ride. Now, she has never been in a helicopter so she took 2 to 3

ladies along with her. He gave them all the head gear and asked them to tie the safety belts. As they went

in the air, all the ladies were getting butterflies in their stomachs and just said, Abto gae(now we will

die). He was pointing straight to theMataji Ka Mandiron a hill. And then when they got really near to

that mandir, he artistically manoeuvred the helicopter and all the ladies heaved a sigh of relief. After that

he once again made sure whether they were ok and asked whether they wanted to go for one more round

and Kesar being a real Marwadi lady, asked for 2 more and enjoyed the ride.

We also saw Video Library, village library, Puppet Section and The Community Radio.
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House of puppets at Barefoot College

In the puppet section, we metPunaram. He showed us the most famous puppet, 365 years

old,Jokhim Chachawho hails from Lucknow! ThroughJokhim Chacha, Punaram and his 7 member team

tell stories which are concerned to the common villagers lifelike the water crises, malnutrition crises.

They run workshops for 3 days in which they just give the information, the 7-day workshop in which they

give general information as well as teach us how to make a puppet. And the 15-day workshop, they teach

everything, right from the making, to the performing of the puppet show. All the songs are sung in the

traditional style using Harmonium,Dholak,Ektara, andRavanhattha. The songs are sung in local

language.

Lastly we saw the Community Radio. And guess who the Radio Jockey is?Navrotji! At 90.4 FM, one

can hear the Community Radio. The radio runs for 6 hours daily. Guess what is the acoustic material used

for insulating the room of the radio station? Used egg cardboard crates! Wow! Now thats what we call

smart. Sorry this is not the material they taught us to use in Architectural Schools. Why have our l ives

become so complicated that we cannot think in a simple way? This radio is broadcasted in the local

language. Usually the information regarding the health-hygiene is broadcasted, information about the

night school, encouraging people to send their girls to school and work. And of course the fun part that

everyone awaits like some classical singers program, a group song performance, recital of the self written

poem etc to encourage local people having talents like singing, writing. The idea is to make people

sensitive towards their own life as a whole may it be education, health or having a hobby of mimicking!

After seeing the community radio, we quietly wrapped up the day. Also we chalked out a rough plan about

the e-magazine.

Laxman Singh at his office taking the Sun

On the 9thmorning, we started forLaporiyaafter breakfast and shopping in the Tiloniya Craft

shop. We reached the Nagar village, where Mr.Laxman Singhjihas his office.Laxman Singhjigave us the

detailed idea about the how his journey began from the age of 17, his idea ofSharaddhakarmi yatraand

the famous Chaukasystem.
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Every year from thisDev uthani agiyaras, there is a procession named Shraddhakarmi

Yatrataken out by the village volunteers who want to do social work for the progress of their own village.

They go from one village to the other and then sit along with the grampanchayatto chalk out what

facilities they need may it be making a school, water storage tank, temple, community hall planting of the

trees. The Gram Panchayat officially writes the work to be done. And then theseShraddhakarmis divide

the work. They work accordingly to make a temple for example for a year. After the completion of the

work, on next years Devuthani agiyaras, the temple is formally inaugurated by the Gram Panchayat and

given away to the villagers. Also, for some of the villagers who have done some outstanding social work for

the village are be awarded accordingly.

Thank you Laxman Singh say the sheep!

Post lunch, we saw a region where more than 100,000 trees are grown by the Shraddhakarmis.

Many of these trees have just grown by mere pollination done by birds and insects. More than 25 different

species of birds have called this place as their home. We saw the Chauka system.

After a detailed interaction with Laxman Singhji, we wrapped up the day by a nice desi meal with

bajre ki roti, ghee and gud and then we glided silently into a blissful sleep.

Solar powered pumps installed on the wells full of waters in Laporia

On the 10thNovember morning, we had a walk in the farms having Chauka System. Through the

Chauka System, the water in the soil is hardly an inch beneath the soil. The amazing factor is that all of us

had a hard time to bid goodbye to the wonderful farms coupled with perfect temperature, with fresh air,

and the only sound of birds chirping around. Then after the breakfast atLaxmanjishome, he explained us

the 3 different types of Chauka system. Then on the way back to Delhi we saw a cowherd shed nearby and

the view facing it. Then at the National Highway we bade adieu toLaxmanjiand set off for Delhi. Late

evening, we had snacks at Bahor Midway.

We reached Delhi at about 10 pm and then called it a day after a very fast dinner atSagar

Ratnarestaurant.
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Overall we had been brainstormed by a number of people who just have the basic education but

their strong will has changed the environment around them, may it be the story of Jaipur Lakes, the

rainwater harvesting system inJaigarhFort or the work done by the Shraddhakarmis to create a vast

forests which has its own ecosystem in Nagar village. Tiloniya is model village but how the people in and

around it have benefited is where our e-magazines theme comes Community intervention can hammer

the change.

So last but not the least the change comes from within. Remember, an egg when broken from

within gives birth to a chicken and an egg broken from outside makes a good omelette! So folks chose! As

there is a saying in Gujarati, Manhoy to j Malvejavaaymeans where there is a will there is a way. Yes

today we may be totally uneducated about the topic that concerns us but then a strong will and constant

updation of the information and knowledge we can reach the Stars!

From 13thNovember, we were brainstormed in each and every field that makes a difference in the

change in the environment. And besides that we also learnt some presentation techniques since we were

designing an e-magazine to be published on wordpress.

Mr. Jay Panda, Indian politician, currently serving as a Member ofParliament in theLok Sabha

also happened to give us a perspective from a politicians point of viewregarding the Cyclone Phailin that

hit the coastal Odisha and also about Vedanta and Posco.

I think the most interesting one to one talk that we had was with Shankar Gopalikrishnan

(Activist, Coordinator, Campaign for Survival and Dignity). Then in the late evening we had a fieldtrip to

Waste and water management: Walk through Neela Hauz, Sanjay Van, Hauz Khas Lake and Deer Park to

understand the linkages of waste and water management.

Then on the way, we had stopped to have some refreshment. Then back to the campus and two of

us sped off to get the groceries for the dinner! We had a late night lunch at about 10ish and then we all sat

in each others room having a great time together.

And then on 15thNovember, the last day of the seminar, we present the e-magazine to Ms.

Sharmila Sinha and Amit Bharuah. Officially we all thanked Centre of Science and Environment for

helping us to become sensitive towards the environment that we live in.
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Kishor Rimal, A.N.M Ehtesham Ul Huq, Ravindra Gunawardana and Kalyan Tanksale were our

teammates who gave their presentations about their work. And then we have a lunch party in a nearby

restaurant and we call the Seminar off with a note to do something meaning in our own gamut of interest

and make India a better and greener place to live for the future generations!!!

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