Ekatva Family Gathering :)

As the last leg of this beautiful journey takes its course, we gathered today, with our loving parents to discuss next year’s children’s education plans as well as the upcoming EKATVA tour to America and the UK. It has always been a blessing to have the parents so closely involved in the EKATVA journey. Even when we had our big Bombay show and tour, we brought the parents down to Bombay to be a part of the show and audience. And the pleasant surprise that we usually get in our Parents’ meetings is that most of the brothers and sisters show up as well. Almost 60 of us, one big family, got together, cleaned the Manav Sadhna prayer area, cooked food, did prayer together, ate together, cleaned dishes together, and then reflected on the past 2 year journey of our kids and discussed the upcoming EKATVA tour.

It’s all a blessing and all God’s work we are humbled to be a part of.

Love.

True Tests in Oneness...

The other day two of our Ekatva girls, Dipmala and Payal, got into a tiff during practice. They were not talking with each other and you could see the distance they were keeping from each other with negative vibrations. I asked Dipmala what was wrong and she said that Payal had been giving her dirty looks and speaking behind her back about her. Bringing both of them together, they had a heated back and forth and then we finally ended the conversation with a hug (which was kinda forced) and finished practice.

After practice I had individual talks with both Payal and Dipamala into the night. Though they were both upset and sad, it was beautiful to see their ability to accept feedback and share their thoughts openly. I left it at that for the night. I was definitely hurt and sad that two of our girls felt such negative energy towards each other. But a constant reminder from our kids, that as much as we try to share a positive spirit of ‘oneness’ we are still kids and human beings J

The next day, I saw Payal before practice and asked her how she was doing and feeling? She said the following: “nimesh sir, do you know what I did today. While Dipmala was sitting down in tuition class, I came behind her and put my hands over her eyes. Then I  placed a chocolate in her hand and opened her eyes. She saw me and started smiling and then we both hugged each other. She took a bite of the chocolate and gave me the other half. We are friends again.”

Ekatva, the spirit of Oneness, is not a space of perfect being and love. It is more about being tolerant and forgiving. That is love.

Tour of and Performance at a Pharmaceutical Company

In January we went to Marck Biosciences Pharmaceutical Compnay’s Annual Cultural Show program, to perform for the company’s 1000 staff and employees.

But, we arrived early to give the kids a tour of the Factory. 

Was a great learning experience. How products are Manufactured, Systems, Processes, Machines, Technology, Labor,  Production, Packaging, Distribution, Marketing, and Safety.

The kids observed with their safety outfits on and asked questions, observed and absorbed. A beautiful learning experience, that then led to a fantastic outdoor performance in the Gujarat cold winter weather. 

The Family Behind EKATVA - Part 2: Nilamben

Wonderful Big Sister - Nilamben

You can see the spirit of paying back to the community alive in her and being put into practice each day through her work. As a young child, she always dreamt of joining the army and serving her motherland. With her family not being supportive enough to her aspirations she took up teaching.

She has been a Teacher to 1st through 4th graders of the Balsanskar project and 5th to 7th graders of the Ashramshala Residential School based in the Gandhi Ashram for over 2 and half years. She has introduced creative methods of teaching and is currently designing the Value-based/Education curriculum for all Manav Sadhna education projects.

Being a constant learner, with a quest to recognize her inner potential, she always tries to grow through her involvement in various projects. Presently she is actively involved with ‘Swagyan’(self understanding) project, an experiment in alternative education initiated by Stanford University in collaboration with Manav Sadhna.

In EKATVA, her caring and consistent support has created a healthy developmental environment for the EKATVA kids. She understands the behavioral changes our kids are going through with the onset of puberty and sensibly handles issues related to it. She manages and supports all of their educational needs including having personal relationships with all of their teachers and principals. When on tour she personally prepares study schedules for all the kids wisely managing their time so their academics do not suffer.

She has proved to be an amazing, multi-tasking bask stage specialist as well as  'wardrobe supervisor’ maintaining all costumes and jewelry, ensuring their proper labeling, storage, laundry and dry cleaning between performances. Along with Naynaben, she is the main backstage support for the 8 girls in the show - A challenging task when 8 girls are changing costumes back and forth for a 90-minute non-stop show.

The Family Behind EKATVA - Part 1

Ekatva has been such an organic journey. Each day for the past few years, a family of 7 Staff Members from Gandhi Ashram-based NGO, Manav Sadhna, have made the EKATVA pilgrimage a reality for our 16 children.  Whether supporting and managing the children's health, education, emotional ups and downs, family relations and problems, and as important, the full creative production of the EKATVA show, the Manav Sadhna Staff and EKATVA Family members have been behind each day, each interaction, each step.

Now with the tour coming to fruition, and for children who have rarely ever left their homes, without such a family there is no way that such a journey can become a reality. For this we share and celebrate the love and journey of our EKATVA leaders and children's caretakers.

SHIRISHBHAI - a Real Coordinator - born and raised in Gandhi Ashram has been working with Manav Sadhna since its inception, mid 1990’s. Currently, he is working as All Project Coordinator, performing all administrative task: handling email correspondence, updating websites,scheduling team meetings and maintaining status reports. He manages all the essentials of local and international volunteer recruitment, right from assessing Manav Sadhna’s need to enrollment of volunteers, their residency, building rapport with them and maintaining their databases.

For Ekatva tour in particular, he has been managing Logistics, booking the show venues, arranging stays and travels, understanding and running the technical elements of sound and lights for the show. He has been helping with getting the passports for the kids and staff, applying for their visas and other administrative work involved therein. He efficiently understands the kid’s and their family’s mindset and need by organizing regular meetings with them at Gandhi Ashram and quite often visiting their homes. He has become an integral part of kid’s life, enjoying the ‘small yet beautiful everyday moments’.


JAGATBHAI - The Truest Big Brother - is an extremely creative person who believes in creating healthy community through Art!!! Since Past 13 years, he has been dedicatedly providing value based education to slum kids by giving lessons on arts and crafts through Earn and Learn Project (www.earnlearn.org). His distinctive rangolis, creative flower decorations and ingenious stage set up enhances the beauty and elegance of each of our Ekatva performances. His aesthetically designed hand props and masks for the performers make the show visually appealing.

He has been a big brother for all the kids. Having unplanned dinners together with kids family once in a while, celebrating occasions and festivals with each other’s family, comforting the kids in their difficult moments have created synergy and inter dependence in their relationship and helped to resolve a lot of children’s problems. He has been encouraging the kids, cheering them in their journeys and enabling them to maximize their potential through regular interactions and one on one counseling sessions.




NAYNABEN - Our Team MOM!

You meet her, observe her and can only marvel at what she does.
She has been overseeing the finances and serving as Chief Accountant and Financial Advisor at ManavSadhna since the beginning. Her valuable insight about foreign regulation acts, financial wisdom and management skills have helped to utilize the foreign contributions wisely. She closely monitors Ekatva’s day to day expenses and entire Ekatva tour budget. With her gratifying personality she has established beautiful interpersonal relations with local and international donors.
I had an opportunity to stay with her and know her better during the Ekatva tour for ‘Karjaat-Mumbai performances’

Her warmth is radiated in her each and every action. She understands how simple things mean so much to kids. She would wake up the kids gently, give them head massage, do their hair neatly, take care of their nutrition, talk about their family and pamper them so they don’t miss the love they get from their mom. At the same time she will frames rules for them and make sure they follow them, sees to it that they wash their clothes in spite of travelling and rehearsals, pray before they go to bed. She is quite firm and strict when they throw tantrums ;)
She is one of the 2 main back stage support who manages make-up, hair-styling, 5 Quick costume changes under 90 minutes for 8 girls. With all these chaos backstage, she will make sure that kids stay on the script and dance sequence throughout the show, carry their requisite masks and props and are fed in between with some glucose.

She will never let you miss your mom,when she is around 

My Name Is Sanjay. What Is Your Name?

After our trip to Mumbai, the kids have realized how important the English language is. They really wanted to learn more English! So Dipaliben has loving decided to volunteer her time to help the kids grow in their English skills :) 

Jagriti Yatra: 450 Social Leaders share the EKATVA Spirit

What happens when you take 450 social leaders, innovators and thinkers and put them on a train across India to interact, learn, inspire and involve themselves in the happenings of this beautiful country?...You feel a spirit very close to that of Oneness. Jagriti Yatra - People from all walks of life, all parts of the globe, ended their 3 week trip around India at the Gandhi Ashram today and spent their final hour of their pilgrimage with our EKATVA Family and Manav Sadhna.

Our little ambassadors shared parts of their EKATVA performance bringing about an energy and spirit beyond imaginable within the Harijan Sevak Sang Ashramshalla, that Gandhiji had started many years ago. We bow down to the Higher Power for giving us all these opportunities to give and receive, share and learn.

Love.

Full Circle: Gandhiji's Legacy Connects to our Kids

What a blessing it is to serve and grow and learn in Gandhiji's space. Yesterday, our EKATVA kids welcomed Gandhiji's grandson, Arun Manilal Gandhi, as he and his Global family made their annual visit to the Gandhi Ashram and Manav Sadhna.

Arunji, has spent a good portion of his life carrying his Grandfather's message forward in the modern day, in so many different ways. We were blessed to have a beautiful interaction between him, his son Tushar Gandhi, and a family of 30 other professors and students from around the USA. The interaction involved sharing about the life of service rooted from Manav Sadhna and the Gandhi Asrham, as well as the EKATVA journey.

Then the children performed a half hour show for the entire Arun Gandhi US Family.

Learning B-Boy Dancing!

Rohan, a friend from Houston, was teaching the kids b-boy dancing today. Man, all the kids were so into it!! Was amazing!
Love.

Ekatva Performance in Mumbai, Dec. 4th, 4-6pm @ Nehru Centre

EKATVA’s Mumbai performance at the Nehru Center AuditoriumJoin us for a special Sunday performance of EKATVA in Mumbai, India! 

December 4, 2011

Nehru Center Auditorium - Mumbai

4PM - 6PM | FREE - a gift from the children

http://www.nehru-centre.org/ 

Doors open at 330pm.
 
Dr. Annie Besant Road,
Worli, Mumbai - 400018
India
Google Map: http://g.co/maps/3pvh6
  
EKATVA comes to Mumbai! EKATVA is a 90 minute dance/drama musical performed by 16 slum children, hoping to share a message of 'oneness' and universal love, to the world. A Manav Sadhna experiment, EKATVA features Sixteen children from some of the largest slums of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. They were selected through a nine month audition process, and are being trained and developed, by two mentors from Manav Sadhna and teachers from Darpana Academy, to perform a 90-minute dance-drama production sharing Gandhiji’s message of ‘Oneness’. After one year of training and development, the children will tour the show across India, the US, and the UK.
 
 Choreography by Mallika Sarabhai (Darpana Academy).
 
 Learn More at www.ekatva.org and join us on Facebook (ekatva-oneness)

Nov. 26th, a Special Performance at a Special School, IFF

Ekatva begins its Mumbai trip to a very special school, who's focus is on the wholistic development of its children from a Global perspective, The India First Foundation. We are privileged to be invited to such a school and look forward to the interaction between the kids and the energy created.

This show will be very unique as we will be creatively involving and working with the IFF children days before to prepare an integrated performance of sorts. They have just sent us their music, script and ideas. We are blessed to have schools and leaders who are willing to take such initiative and embrace the creative experience and journey of our children.

Thank you Arvindbhai, Madam Kavita Karve, and the India First Foundation School for your heart warming support along our Ekatva journey.

In humble gratitude.

WWW.IFFSCHOOL.IN

Love and Peace

Ekatva Debut Performance on Gandhiji's Birthday

It was a blessing to kick off our Ekatva Tour on Gandhiji's birthday, Oct 2nd at Natrani Theatre, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The kids had rehearsed til' 3am for 2 consecutive nights before in order to pull off their first performance. Everything ended up being a first. Performing with full costumes, props, etc. Not to mention many times they only had 1 minute or so to change costumes back stage before the next performance item. The show was a blessing and an amalgamation of all the children's hard work, dedication and love throughout this journey. It was a show of love. And we are blessed by the opportunity to all share in this ongoing journey of family, children and growth. Love All Serve All.

Let the Shows Begin...Soon :)

We are happy to share a video with you all, helping introduce the EKATVA tour 2011-2012.
Love and Peace.

Meet Vishal...

            “In Shankar Bhuvan, you can find any type of masti (mischief) you are looking for,” says Vishal’s father. “Liquor, gambling, fighting, foul language – It’s always going on in the streets.”

            The environment is hardly suitable for raising a family, but Vishal’s mother and father have no choice. With his father as the sole breadwinner, and five mouths to feed, they cannot afford to move out of the Shankar Bhuvan slum.

            Vishal has mixed feelings about his community. He has lived in Shankar Bhuvan all his life. He knows how to navigate the narrow labyrinth of alleys, squeezing past wandering goats and stepping over stray dogs who seek shelter from the blazing Ahmedabad sun. He has built a group of trusty playmates who offer him constant company. With his family and friends in the area, Vishal is never at a loss of people to spend time with.

But upon further thought, Vishal begins to reveal the various difficulties in Shankar Bhuvan that he has faced.

            Like most residents of the area, Vishal’s family does not have a toilet in their home. They have no other option than to use the riverbank as a mass toilet, along with the thousands of other people and no privacy.

            “It’s just not right,” Vishal says. “If I have to go to the bathroom at night, I’m scared to go to the river.”

            His face contorts in disgust and distress as he thinks about the conditions.

            Although Vishal is playful and often smiling, his manner changes suddenly to one of anger and frustration when he becomes upset. And living among men who drink often, and children with little guidance of what is right and wrong, Vishal is often angered by neighbors who misbehave and speak rudely.

            “When the other boys use foul language, I get so mad,” Vishal says. “I lose my head and feel like hitting them.”

            Vishal spreads his hands far apart, illustrating how angry he becomes.

            “I don’t feel just a little angry,” he says. “I feel very, very angry.”

            His EKATVA mentors have coached him in ways to curb his anger and check his physical reactions to those who anger him. But Vishal admits that it is a work in progress.

           

Meet Asha...

            Asha is tall, charismatic, and according to her teachers at the Ashramshala, very stubborn. A conversation with her is impressive, but lacks the innocence or candor you’d expect from a 13-year old girl. She has a film star-esque quality to her smile – bright and beautiful, plastered on her face as she searches for the “right” thing to say.

            Yet, someone with Asha’s background cannot be expected to have much girlish innocence. Asha’s family lives in Shankar Bhuvan, a slum area in Ahmedabad known for its tough crowd, and rough living conditions. The narrow alleys that weave through the community are dotted with men exchanging cigarettes and liquor, spitting at the feet of passersby as crude language rolls off their tongues.

            Two years ago, Asha’s parents eagerly took the chance to put Asha and her younger sister in the children’s hostel at Gandhi Ashram.

            “I wanted to get a good education so I can move ahead in life,” Asha says, a response almost too wise for her years. Despite her prodigious claim, the transition to hostel life was not easy for Asha. As she describes the loneliness she felt when other girls did not include her in their games, and as her sister found new friends to join, her smiling and charming veneer shows a crack of candid unease.

            Her troubles were not limited to making friends. The contrast between the disciplined environment at the Ashramshala and the abrasive life in the slums became apparent in Asha’s schoolwork. Her teachers hassle her to pay more focus on her studies, but she is not used to being around those who value education.

            “My friends at Shankar Bhuvan used to always trouble our teachers,” Asha explains. “With them, I never took my studies seriously. Now everyone says I’m not making an effort in the Ashramshala, but I am trying. It’s just that I’m not used to studying. Even a little effort seems like a big one.”

            While effort is relative, Asha’s poor grades and negligent attitude toward her lessons cannot be overlooked. After failing her mid-year Ashramshala exams in February, Asha was warned that her spot in EKATVA was at risk unless she improved her study habits. But she was not left to tackle her schoolwork on her own. Her mentors at Manav Sadhna took out time for extra tutoring, and her friends at the Ashramshala would sit with her late at night after dance rehearsal, to help her practice her lessons.

But when results for the end-of-year exams were tallied, Asha’s performance was disappointing. Her failing marks in every subject left no doubt that her focus in her schoolwork had not been sincere.

Until she demonstrates a sincere effort and improvement in her studies, Asha is no longer a part of EKATVA.

            Asha’s mentors explained to her that the purpose of this production is not as simple as taking 16 children from the slums on a tour around the world. EKATVA is an experiment in uplifting children from poverty to self-sustainability, by supporting them holistically and showing them the fruits of hard work. To include Asha in this journey while she continues her bad study habits would be a disservice to her and the person she has the potential to become. She has been given one more chance to apply herself and add value to the message EKATVA seeks to send to the world.

Meet Sanjay...

When Sanjay’s father was in second grade, his teacher slapped him on the hand with a ruler one day for misbehaving. He never went back to school. “Because I was afraid of being hit again, I missed out on an education. I want Sanjay to realize I am doing majoori (labor) work because I am uneducated”

Sanjay and his family live in Ram Rahim no Tekro, a slum area in Old Ahmedabadfamous for the communities of Hindus and Muslims that live side-by-side. Both his parents do majoori, and are desperate for their children to find a way out of their difficult and unstable lifestyle.

A few years ago, Sanjay began ragpicking to earn some extra income for his family, who were in danger of losing their home. He would go through mountains of rubbish in the slums around his home and collect enough scraps of paper to earn about 30 rupees per day.

“My neighbor’s son was ragpicking near the river once, and he got swept away,” Sanjay explained. “I was afraid something like that would happen to me, or that I would get kidnapped.”

The conditions were unimaginable and dangerous, especially for a 10-year old boy, but Sanjay continued ragpicking for several months to help his family.

“As a laborer, you can’t always expect the work to be pleasant.”

Sanjay’s parents hope that EKATVA will equip their son with the tools to build a lifestyle that is not based on hard labor. But it was not clear from the beginning whether Sanjay would be a good fit for this journey. Unlike the other children who were selected based on their potential as performers, strong academics and attitude, Sanjay does not particularly excel in any of these criteria.

He does not show natural talent as a dancer, and his schoolwork is poor. His mother describes him as absentminded, “When I send him to the market to buy five things, he will only come back with one,” she explained.

            “It’s like things fly out of my mind when I need to remember them,” he says. This forgetfulness, in addition to his tendency toward mischief, made him an unlikely candidate for this demanding journey.

            But although Sanjay’s qualifications seemed lacking on paper, he has demonstrated an impressive commitment to EKATVA. Everyday for over three months, he made the 40-minute bus trip across the Sabarmati River that divides Ahmedabad, to reach EKATVA practice after school.

            “In the beginning, I was afraid that I would get on the wrong bus and end up in God-knows-where,” Sanjay said.

            He has earned the trust of his parents, who do not hesitate to send him unaccompanied, and his teachers at Manav Sadhna, who have witnessed his street smarts and dependability.

            Although the responsibility of travelling alone has not always been easy, Sanjay doesn’t mind putting in the extra effort.

“Bad things take no time at all to finish,” Sanjay says. “It’s the good things that take a long time and hard work. For good things, you have to sweat.”

Meet Krishna...

            In her EKATVA journey, Krishna has learned about inner happiness and inner strength.

            “Helping others is the way to feel santosh (contentment),” the 11-year old says sagely.

            Krishna describes a young boy she met near Gandhi Ashram whose leg was handicapped from polio. As he was trying to cross the road, faced by an onslaught of speeding rickshaws and heavy buses, Krishna and her friend noticed his struggle and hurried to help him.

            “You should have seen his face when I took his hand and my friend took his bag” Krishna’s face lights up as she tells the story.

            “He was so happy. When he said thank you, I felt something good open up inside me.”

            The value of seva, or service, that Krishna has developed through EKATVA has pushed her beyond her comfort zone. Her mother explains that before, Krishna used to look out for herself only. But recently, she has noticed her daughter putting the wellbeing of her siblings and parents before her own.

            “We are one family,” Krishna says. “We should take care of each other.”

            What activities of service and compassion have done for Krishna internally, the rigorous EKATVA dance rehearsals have done for her physically, helping her realize the limits of her physical strength.

            Since the beginning of this journey, Krishna has been fragile, both emotionally and in terms of her fitness. Daily dance practice has been grueling, especially in the heat of Ahmedabad summer. The rehearsal schedule and dances demand strength and endurance, something that young Krishna was visibly lacking.

            But just as she has displayed a change in her behavior toward others, recently, her strength has improved as well.

            During the children’s exercise routine at practice one morning, the children began a contest to see who could do the most jumping jacks. Five minutes passed, and kids started dropping. Then ten minutes. The number continued to fall, as more exhausted little dancers ran out of gas. Finally, nearly 20 minutes into the contest, only two children remained. Delicate Krishna and tiny Chandani surprised everyone with their stamina, and even more so, with their will power and desire to win.

Meet Devram...

            When Devram begins to talk about his grandfather, there is a change in his body language. He sits on top of his hands, as though he is afraid someone will try to take them, and focuses his eyes ahead, on a point far away. He describes how his Dada used to give him a few rupees each day to buy fruit, before he came to live at the children’s hostel at Gandhi Ashram. Devram prefers apple or guava, but during the summer, he would bring home a mango, his Dada’s favorite.

            “He taught me only good things,” Devram says. “He taught me to never steal or lie, and to work hard.”

            Devram’s Dada also taught him to read and write. These days, surrounded by dozens of playful children at the hostel, he still prefers to study and read his school lessons in his free time, rather than join in the mischief and impromptu cricket matches with other boys.

            When his Dada passed away in January, Devram refused to take time off from school to be at home with his family, worried that he would fall behind in his studies. His eyes fill up with tears when he thinks about it.

            Despite his sadness over his grandfather’s death, Devram’s studies have not suffered. He continues to place first in his class. Yet, his future remains uncertain. In the past, the Ashramshala hostel has only accommodated children until the seventh standard. Until recently, Devram had planned to return to the Ahmedabad slum in which his family lives, and attend the public municipality school this year as he enters eighth standard. He explained that his parents did not want him to leave home again to study in another hostel, but one can sense that the wish to be home may be mutual.

However, his mentors at Manav Sadhna felt it would be a shame for his bright future and shining potential to be eclipsed by the uncertainty of life in the slum and the neglect of public schoolteachers. Since Devram has proved himself to be a hard-working and conscientious student,  Manav Sadhna has arranged for him to live in the Ashramshala while he studies and continues to attend the Gandhi Ashram School No. 1.

The New School Year, Ashramshalla, Education...

As we approach finishing the EKATVA show production over the next 3 months, we need to get prepared for the journey we will be taking this upcoming year with the kids: Performances, interactions and activities, practices and rehearsals, alongside the most important activities: School, Tution class and Education.

For this reason we have decided to bring all the EKATVA children living further away to come live at the Gandhi Ashram Hostel Ashramshall, with the other 120 kids that currently live there (6 of which are already our EKATVA kids). These kids are all from the so called ‘Untouchable’ community. Gandhiji started the Harijan Sevak Trust over 70 years ago to help in the upliftment of this community.

With most of the EKATVA kids at the Ashramshalla now, and going to Government School across the street, Gandhi Ashram School No. 1, we will be able to focus more attention and detail on their studies and with their teachers. On top of this, we will be having tution class for the kids everyday at the Ashramshalla, Gandhi Ashram from 2-5pm. And then finally we will have dance practice from 5 – 8pm.  In this new school year it has been very important for me to stress to the kids how important their education and studies will be this year. Because once the EKATVA journey and project is complete, Education and their values, will be the number one and only tools they have to reach their dreams. They seems to understand and accept that.

A pleasant surprise: Two of our kids, Bhavnik and Nikita were awarded 5000 Rupees each (about 2 months of their mom and dad’s salaries) for being top performers in their last school year. Three other of our EKATVA kids also received top 3 in their class. J

EKATVA Skype performance with Liecester UK - Indian Summer Festival



The groundbreaking Indian Summer festival in Leicester UK featured a live Skype linkage between the 16 children of EKATVA and kathak performers at the festival. The children interacted with Festival participants, artists and organizers, and learned about the Indian community that lives in the UK. Segments of the dance drama were performed and projected live at the Festival.

We all gathered around Gandhiji's bronze statue at the Gandhi Ashram at 6pm on Saturday, June 18, 2011 to first explain to the children what we were about to do. For most of the children, this was their exposure to Skype and its power to connect people through audio and video all over the world.

We talked about geography, explaining to them where Leicester UK was in the world, and what the festival was all about. The kids had many questions and were full of wonder once the camera came on and we were all interacting with the Festival moderator.

This first interactive linkage has set the stage for more exciting collaborations! For all of us, the experience affirmed the power of unity and EKATVA, and how music and dance can dissolve boundaries between cultures.