Glimpse to Jumbish n Sign Cafe

This Saturday, PJI was witness to a spectacular workshop by Surabhi Jain, a newbie at Pravah but no newbie at sharing things beautifully :) She conducted a session on the basics of sign-language. Old and new volunteers alike, along with the stalwarts, got to learn something new from this session. A lot of us were surprised to see that sign language uses such common-sensical actions, and it was lots of fun to spell out our names and other words for PJI family members to guess! 

The next in this series of learning Sign-Language is to follow soona fter Jumbish! 

Surabhi is a 2nd year student of B.Com at Kanoria College, Jaipur and works with her mother at the Deaf Women's Society of Rajasthan. Most of us take for granted, our ability to talk and communicate with words and voice. Born to parents who are speech- and hearing-impaired, signing is Surabhi's mothertongue. Her life, and indeed that of her parents, shows us that courage and determination to excel can never hold us back.  

Sunday saw a hullaballoo in true PJI fashion. With over 20 masti-mongers working in and around the kitchen, the plan was to have a cook-out Awesome Style. And indeed, that is what it turned out to be :) WIth someone chopping the onions, another boiling the rice, a group peeling pea's - the Sunday cookout tasted a mouth-watering pulao and chutney! Yum. We should do this again, and soon! 

(Who's hungry? I AM!) 

Till next time, folks! 

Café Mohalla- BACK WITH A BANG!!

“Theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can  share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
- Oscar Wilde

Participants-Garima, Gunjan, Dipesh, Ritansh, Jimmy, Sunil, Anand(volunteerfrom faith), Bhomik, Keshav, Shyam, Sangeeta, Mridula, Kritika, Chaitanya, Karan, Shivang, Abhishekand Rajesh.

This Saturday Café Mohalla of PJI started with the celebration of Ritansh‘s birthday and its rebirth (applauds!!). It was best to commence the programme with a brief introduction about CAFÉ MOHALLA from the mouth of Gungun, as the idea of café is the seed of her mind only. She explained the concept of 5th space of PJI and how we can build relationships by sharing keeping importance of money constant.Acquaintance with Café Mohalla demanded introduction of everyone present for the café which was carried out by their respective names along with a gesture each.The programme got a step ahead by the question asking the thing that pops up in mind first when the word theatre is heard, and the question was answered very actively and creatively by everyone like


“projection of feelings- anger,frustration,bliss etc.",

”mean to express humanity”,

”expression of thoughts...”

Naveen took the cafe further by a group game of quickly forming groupsof number of members said in random.Next succeeding was movie making game in which everyone got the chance to add on to the play started by Sunil and to show their acting and creativity skills.The next two wereBang-bang game and the Bhains-gawala (blind fold) game which taught participants the importance of trust and listening skills in a very fun- interactive manner. Non-stop fun called for a breakin which everyone enjoyed delicious and healthy sprouts salad andchaach (butter milk) prepared by Gungun and Dipesh.Fun and learning were more tocome as we got served withFarjistan-Ki-Farzi baatein game, yes-boss game and fake-acting game in our plates by Naveen which worked on their skills likes improvisation, presence of mind and creativity. But the real show stopper was the Pantomime game in which participants were made to sit in two rows and been given themes to enact and hence transfer it along the row. Giving them the feeling of competition and team work and also bringing out the essential life skill of inter-dependency.

The session concluded with a little discussion on what all we had learnt about theatre and life through all these games and how easily all these things also describes the quality of our behavior, emotions and perceptions with others in our daily life.

Overall the café on Theatre was all about fun,acting,spontaneity,sharing and learning in a row. Café Mohalla’s return was at its best and credit goes to Naveen for the way he designed and left no leaf unturned to imply acting through various games and also to the ever enthusiastic PJI volunteers to show so much of energy and interest throughout the session (CURTAINS DOWN !!!!!!!!)

Facilitated by Naveen Sharma and Co-facilitated by Aprajita Sharma.

Share-A-Smile Cafe

On Friday, Ashutosh hosted a Cafe meeting to informed the volunteers about the Share-a-Smile program and its Project Yatra. The project is a program to help members explore themselves, learn about different social issues, and contribute their own skills by teaching English in a government school.

The first phase of Project Yatra is the "virus" stage, which aims to make people more aware of the ways they are linked to and play a role in social problems. This will be achieved by hosting public meetings. In the cafe, the members started out playing games which forced them out of their comfort zones and urged them to consider different concepts, such as efficient use of resources.

The cafe participants then discussed the next two phases of Project Yatra. The next phase is "Gyan", in which the participants will go to government schools in Jawahar Nagar and other areas of the city. They will seek to help the students by teaching them English.

The last stage of the project is "Khoj", an exploration of one's self, in terms of skills, options, and active consideration of the choices we have in life. Ashutosh speaks about how Kabir said that the only question we can really seek to answer about ourselves in "Who Am I?", and this will be a central part of "Khoj".

Share-A-Smile is actively seeking volunteers to join the Project Yatra campaign for the next two years! If you are interested or would like more information please contact Ashutosh at 8302485842 or shareaasmile@gmail.com.

Environment Day Cafe!

The Pink Square Mall was host to a Cafe Mohalla meeting on International Environment Day, June 5th. PJI celebrated by hosting an interesting and interactive cafe meeting in the mall, where we played games, watched films, and did other activities relating to the environment.

We started by playing a few energizers and games which relate to concepts and the environment, such as "seed to tree". Then we watched a few short films on topics such as environmental crises and climate change. One animation on what we can do to help protect the environment was made by our very own volunteer Chaitanya.

"At the cafe, we interacted with lots and lots of people. The environment was very good. People became more aware of what they are doing and what they should do," Chaitanya said. "I havent showed my film on such a large scale, like in a mall...it was really very good to know that the crowd who I dont know, they also like my movie."

Afterward, we had an intensive discussion on these issues, along with what steps we ought to take in our own lives to help solve environmental problems. We did a "kabaad se jugaad" activity, in which we made bookmarks from old newspapers, in order to conserve our resources and put them to a good use. To help publicize this cause, our volunteers went out in to the mall to distribute kits made of "kabaas se jugaad", as well as tree saplings generously donated by the Pink Square Mall.

Roughly 25 members came to the Cafe meeting, which was organized by Amreen and Bhavya. We collaborated with the NGOs Message and Muskaan in hosting the cafe. This is the first monthly cafe which will be held at the Pink Square Mall, which we hope to establish as an open space and platform for youth in Jaipur. We are grateful to Nitin and everyone else at the mall for hosting these cafes.

Kabir Cafe!

PJI hosted a Cafe Mohalla on the theme of the mystic poet Kabir's music and how it relates to self-development this past Saturday. The event was held in Deer Park, and over 30 volunteers came to learn about this subject, meditate, play games, and enjoy themselves on the beautiful day.

The cafe started with an hour of meditation led by local theater artist Asif Sher Alikhan, to help the members get into the mindset of intensive thought and self-reflection.

Afterward, Jimmy Potter and Jitendra Sharma used their musical talents to lead us through a number of Kabir's dohas, discussing how they can relate to self-development. They performed with instruments including drums, guitar, khadhtaal, thambura, and sitar. Some of the questions of self-development in the dohas included asking what we are, how we perceive the world around us, and what we want to do in life. Also, the concept of reflecting on and changing ourselves before we tell others how to change was stressed throughout the various songs performed.

At the end of the cafe, the PJI members played a variety of games, made some food together, and did some fun activities to cap off the day. The cafe was a wonderful mix of fun, discussion, and self-development. Thanks to all those who organized and took part in the day's activities!

Republic Day Cafe Mohalla with Radha Kant Saxena

For Republic Day, Cafe Mohalla welcomed many new members to listen to Radha Kant Saxena, the  retired Director General of Rajasthan Police prisons and current Vice President of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties. Mr. Saxena is a tireless advocate for reform of the criminal justice system, and he generously shared many of his personal experiences and views with the group to raise awareness of this important issue.

In keeping with the holiday, he centered his talk around the constitution's rights and duties towards Indian citizens. He spoke about the frequent corruption of justice seen throughout the nation today, and shared some personal stories highlighting this issue, as well as corruption in politics as a whole.

Mr. Saxena's session was also highly inspirational, as he described his faith in today's youth to tackle this problem and move the country forward on this issue. The Right To Information Act, among other tools, is essential in bringing government officials to respect their duties towards normal citizens. Perhaps most importantly, as Mr. Saxena said in reference to making progress on any social issue, "In each of us there is a Mother Teresa, it is just up to us to have the courage to live our life in that way."

Afterward, we had a question-and-answer session, and a discussion led by Meenakshi and Richa of how to bring these values into our everyday lives. Volunteers shared their own stories, with Aditi speaking about her experience working on education, and Siddhant sharing on how his views of reservations changed when he saw the other side of the story. Saurab spoke about he and other students from MNIT started an NGO called Utthan that works to educate physically and mentally challenged children.

Lastly, there was an informal chat with a group of Global Exchange Volunteers from the UK and India who are working in a village in Tiloniya, Urmul, near Jaipur, and a session explaining Cafe Mohalla and PJI to all new members. Afterward, we shared snacks and played a game of frisbee. Jaiveer announced his new action project,"Pukar--The Unheard Voices", which will document how the lives of people have been changed since the Jaipur bomb blasts of 2008. Anyone interested in being a part of this project can contact Jaiveer or attend the first meeting on Feb. 2nd at 1 pm.

In all, the Republic Day Cafe was a huge success. Bhaumik, Sunil, and Meenu worked to organize all the activities, and over 50 people were in attendance.

Christmas at Pravah

On Christmas, Cafe Mohalla celebrated the Christmas spirit by hosting a cafe session on the topic of waste and waste collection in India. The volunteers gathered together to meet a group of young waste collectors, who were befriended by Priyanka and Sonam.

The cafe started out with the volunteers playing games and relay races with our young friends. After getting to know them, we sat together to watch the short films Until Kids with Raghu Dixit and Wasted, which explored the social issues related to waste disposal in India. Through conversations with the children and watching the films, the volunteers sought to gain an inside look into how waste affects people's lives.

Afterwards, the group had an intensive discussion about the topic. Volunteers spoke about potential solutions, and tried to decide how exactly we should view the profession of waste collecting in our society. We also discussed how to balance work and education for children who have the obligation to support their families.

At the end, we all got together for a Christmas party, with idli, sambar, and candies from our own personal Santa Claus. The volunteers collected donations of clothing and other gifts, and gave them to the children for the festival.

Runaway Kids: Enduring Their Destiny

The following is an account of the Cafe Mohalla visit to Taabaar, by Siddant Nowlakha

10 year old Vipul (name changed) was just as shy and timid as a child of his age could be, while meeting a bunch of strangers desperate to get his attention and amuse him. He would smile at times, and then give a look as if he was bored.  Then Vipul joyously announced that he has recently knitted a ‘jhola’ (hand-bag), and that he’s big fan of Sunny Deol, and also that his best friend is Bablu.

One may feel Vipul is just another kid, but will be surprised to learn that he is identified as ‘A runaway kid’.

During the exposure visit of a group of teenagers from Pravah, Jaipur, to TAABAAR, a local NGO working for enhancing the lives of kids who have fled from their homes at a young age. They left for reasons diverse and painful enough that separate stories could be written on each. Mr. Rakesh, a highly experienced and dedicated fellow, and a co-founder of TAABAAR shed light upon the lives of these children, some who are in the centre, some who went back to their homes, some who are still fugitive, and some who couldn’t survive this ‘filthy’ struggle of life.

According to him, every other child escaping his home is a case of violence or forceful education. Violence normally comes from the guardians of the kid and can range from moderate to extreme. Children often runaway to dodge studies as well, which they don’t find interesting enough or may even face abuse at   school as well.

Once the children run away, most of them can’t count upon many options but to reach a railway station and climb on any train available. The big bad journey starts there. They reach alien stations, which welcome them with fear and hunger. And local station gangs catch hold of them like a scavenger pounding on its prey. The  members of the gangs lure new-comers, offering them food and shelter. Once taken in, the child is pushed into age-old gang business of collecting used plastic bottles (and anything else they can get a hand on), which is sold up to for Rs. 1 per bottle. The frustrated child, disturbed by past memories, is now taught another part of ‘station life’- the drugs. Their ‘big daddys’ deliver ‘whiteners’, ‘iodex’ and other unconventional stuff, widely on hand in markets for completely different purposes, but used by for direct swallowing  or intaking with bread, as if fruit-jam.

The toxic matter attacks the nervous system, and the body loses  sensation for several minutes. This way the  sickening memories of the drug-taker may find calm for sometime, and hence provide a perception of tranquility. During this stage, some even damage their anesthetized skins with shaving-blades, one more way to express internal aggravation. In later stages they may become addicts, using their money to buy drugs, and when facing shortage of funds, jump into eve-picking, robbery and blood-shed violence.

As Mr. Rakesh told brief stories of various incidents, I was shocked to learn that many of these kids are traded like commodities among various gangs. They are beaten, may become  disabled due to accidents on tracks, are sexually abused, and suffer from diseases--including STDs--without ever getting medical treatment.  In one story, he told how a kid was taken back home, only to find that his mother was dead and alcoholic father sold his five daughters.

Fortunately, not every child has to cope with this misery all his life. There are rehab centers like TAABAAR which pick up those who have a chance to recoup, give them care, teach basic rules of respectful life, provide counseling & medics, inculcate skills like dancing, painting, art, stitching, and above all pour into them a sense that they are not unwanted on this earth, but do have a meaning for which they have to live.

Vipul, now in the garden, was vivaciously showing us his little gymnast skills on a trapeze-like swing. Though he refused to sew a formal-suit for me, claiming he is not that good with needle & thread (I’ll not mind mate..I am jobless right now and may require that only in 5 years till which hopefully you’ll learn) but its okay, I still love you. Oh! I can’t believe that I cared for human sufferings for the first time, too busy with my romance with animals.

Goodbye children. As I leave I remember that I gave my heart to all of you, as nothing more could I afford, and gave a moment from my life to hope that your future remains as bright as the yellow of the banana peel that one of you just tossed into the bin.

cafe mohalla invite

another rocking afternoon with PJI friends on 11 Sep 2010 at 02.30 pm .....

cafe mohalla on picnic

CAFE MOHALLA ON PICNIC!

We will meet on Sunday 15th August in Pravah Office at 8.30 am. And will then go out for a picnic. Request all of you to be on time.

Event is open for all, bring your friends, family, near and dear!

Just guess where we are going! The one that has the first right guess, will win a nice price..

Hints for the place are as below:

1. Hills

2. Water

3. Religious shrine

4. FUN!!

hey Buddies.. we will be there by 3 so bring enough food or snacks....

Mohita's reflection on Cafe meet

Another successful café mohalla meet….!!

As always in Pravah Jaipur initiative, the 10^th of July, being the 2^nd Saturday, had the privilege of being the “café day”. Preparations, which were going on since Monday, were at their peak. Every volunteer was in the best of their moods and energies. Just the whole air at PJI was exigent yet enlightening.

Café started off at 3:00. It was hosted by the very interactive bhavya soni… the theme of this café was “ROAD SAFETY”. We began with introducing ourselves to everyone. And as is well said “well begun is half done”. So was the case here. It’s my personal favorite part of the session as we get out of our shells. Know more people! Make new friends! Reflect on our thoughts! Break a lot of stereotypes! And most importantly take our first step in the journey from “ME” to “WE”…

Right after the introduction we had various games which along with being fun had a lot to learn from…!! The energy was being radiated from every single face present at the PJI premises. The very loud guffaws are still loud in clear in the back of our minds.

No just because of the café but this was the release of the 2^nd film by the very proud “CVU” team. Even the single glimpse of the film could very easily reflect the amount of hard work and dedication put in. and this blog would be incomplete if I don’t specify each and every name. Rajesh, Rahul, Abhishek, Neha, Khalil Bhai, Seema di & Meenu di – “hats off” to every second that you put in the film. I would like specially acknowledge “akshay sir” and “Richa Di”, without whom I don’t think the CVU would have ever existed!

I must say the film was indeed enlightening. One of the most outstanding works I have ever seen with people of that age!

Then was the arrival of the most awaited and my very favorite “Mridul ma’am”. Her glow! Her radiance! Her positivity! Creates a highly distinguished aura all around. This was my 2^nd encounter with her and believe me I feel like her biggest fan! She spoke to us about road safety. She shared her experiences about “MUSKAAN”. Her beautifully craved words of wisdom, just like a comet, left their tail behind. Her views, well justified, leave you with a lot to think about. It was a privilege, an honor to have her with us and at least I would look forward to it in future.

The discussion was later followed by lip smacking “samosas” and “kachoris”. We then bid adieu with promise to never let this energy at PJI fade off….

Mohita sharing the " Water Conservation Campaign"

Another milestone conquered!

Pravah recently moved another step ahead on the ladder of "active citizenship". During one of the cafe mohalla meetings, one of the volunteers came up with the idea of starting an action project on "water conservation". Just the thought of brought us out of our deep slumber...!!

Because each one of us could very easily relate to it. Considering the present scenario "water scarcity" is not uncommon any more! We all realized that its we who would have to take up the initiative. Since it was the first time i was working with Pravah, i was very excited as well as a little nervous.

We held meetings everyday for a week and there was excellent participation of all. We even visited “vinobha ashram” to learn about “rain water harvesting”. It was a very important lesson. 

One of the major stereotypes that we had regarding this method was that it is really complicated but to my surprise the techniques were extremely simple and easy to implement. We mutually decided the tools of spreading awareness, which were theatre and comics. Because we realized that they are highly effective in grabbing attention and are simple to understand. Hence we decided on performing a play wherein we were assisted by the very talented "ASIF SHER ALI KHAN" popularly known as asif bhai amongst us all. He helped us design the play.

Some of put their creative strokes forward and designed some comics which we distributed amongst the various sects of society. And then the project began its mass appeal:

28th may: this day we started with a bang. We reached out the crowd of bapu nagar. We performed our very first play near "janta store", many of us were doing it for the 1st time and were hence tensed. But the response that we received was beyond imagination. It raised our morals and brought a new ray of confidence amongst us all.

29th may: we took another step and widened our horizons and voiced our opinions and ideas amongst the people at “central park” and “Nehru Park” in the early hours of morning. People were extremely participative. Their enthusiasm was unfathomable.

Later in the evening we reached out to the masses at “birla mandir”. People contorted and veraciously voiced their views and appreciated us for the cause.

30th May: we extended our journey a little more and reached “jaldhara” as well as “gaurav towers”. With that we came to an end with the 1st phase of our project. While going back we had a different energy. The realization of the lessons we have learnt. The confidence that we have built. The change that we have made but above all the love that we have received

On one of the days we even went to the residential areas and conversed with the people there. We came to learn a lot about the problems that they face and how they overcome it by doing their bit in their day to day lives.

We learnt various ways of saving water:

1. We realized that we can save tones of water by using bucket instead of showers or bath tubs.

2. Recycling is another extremely important means that people have adopted. A lot of them wipe the floors with the same water with which they wash their clothes. We can even collect the water with which we wash utensils and water the gardens with it.

3. It is always advisable to water the garden during early morning hours or late evening as it prevents the water from being evaporated by the scorching sun during the day.

4. We should use buckets or sprinklers to wash our vehicles rather than pipes.

5. We can stick some innovative posters about water conservation on the wash basin or drinking water area.

The entire journey was a joy ride. It was a learning experience. I want to thank ‘PRAVAH’ for giving this kind of an exposure. For believing in me. For having faith in me. It was just the first phase. The second one will start bang on from mid-July. It was a great experience to work with Pravah and I would always be a part of it for as long as I can.

Swati in cafe Mohalla

Yesterday there was Cafe Mohalla's meeting. I really enjoyed it .Our discussion was on water conservation. We made plans. Oh I am really sorry just forget to tell about myself and my new journey - I am Swati Gupta and just few days back I joined Pravah . Well at last I joined an N.G.O. which I always wanted to join .Pravah is an N.G.O. which.works on social issues like water,education,woman rights,woman & child, and a lot of current issues. It basically works for youth and with youth . Its motto is "self to society". It also organizes CAFE MOHALLA for young people who want to do something different from others.

Well , I think I was sharing my first experience of Cafe Mohalla meeting. In this meeting our topic was "Rain water harvesting". I was feeling little bit uncomfortable because it has not passed much time to join this group but soon i was adjusted and not only adjusted but also enjoyed a lot. Beginning of meeting was from an introduction or rather I should say interesting introduction and then we played a game which was really great. Further we were being introduced with many methods of Rain water harvesting, after knowing that i felt how much water we waste? Its very bad.If we start to save water from today itself , the problem of water will vanish soon .One thing I learnt that we dont use water, we waste it more . That's why we are facing such kind of water problem. Hope soon people will understand the value of water and will start to save it.So our next step was planing for water conservation campaign.But till now, frankly speaking I was little tired and was feeling lack of energy. Meanwhile Jitendra had come and all volunteers requested him to sing a song as he is good singer and he plays songs with Guitar too.He sang some songs and again we felt new energy. And then our discussion had started again and Bhavay wrote down points. Oh I just forget to tell about Bhavya. He writes awesome poetry.He said his feelings about water problem and poverty in simple 4 lines.It was really touching.Then at last coordinators were decided , who are Aprajita and Siddhant.Well it was our meeting which i tried to write in words.I don't know how much i could write. At last I would like to thanks Jitesh, Aashutosh and Meenakshi di who facilitated this meeting.

I hope our next meeting which will be on 24th may 2010 at 11o'clock will be rocking and more interesting....(to be continue)

- Swati Gupta

Movie Screening - Had Anhad by Shabnam Virmani

The hot summer afternoon of 9th April , a small room laced with a shelf of books and "gaddas" on floor and walls occupied with several colorful posters , a tv and dvd player and 10-15 curious young people - it was the office of Pravah Jaipur Initiative and we all were called up there for a movie screening - a documentary movie on Kabir. Everybody was chatting in low voices , I was sitting quietly as I was new at this place and knew no one particularly. I was quite excited about the movie but was afraid too as it could turn out very boring but I was wondering what others are talking about and not until the movie finished and some people confessed , I got to know they were also anticipating that movie would spoil their precious summer afternoon sleep. But guess what? After watching movie , everyone was in an ecstatic state , upon being asked the experience of movie , no one even could express the joy in words.

The movie was- Had Anhad , made by Shabnam Virmani under a kabir Project. It begins with a question - "Where I will find Ram?" And the first landscape is that of Ayodhya - Ram janm bhumi... but does she find Ram there? Some shopkeepers are interviewed by her and it is very realistic to see that what people actually think about Babri Masjid Case. It is a war between Ego and Belief. A war on God's name - to find God or save God- but does God reside in temple or masjid? God would be pleased by such wars? Such questions take her from Ayodhya to Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan and finally Pakistan. Through Kabir she tries to find all these answers . She meets different people in her journey who are either local singers (folk singers) of Kabir or related to Kabir in one or the other way. Finally she goes to Pakistan where she feels most closest to Kabir and his philosophy.

Who is Kabir by the way ? - An incarnation of Vishnu ? A fakir or saint? A poet of Bhakti movement? A revolutionary man? Why not go back and see him first as a man... but something definitely makes him different from an ordinary man and that's his knowledge of Self . When one knows himself , his own soul , from this knowledge one can embark on the journey of "search of God". And why kabir is relevant today? There are various reasons like his dohas and songs contain the eternal knowledge about "soul" , "god", "life", "love" but the most prominent voice of his dohas and songs are - "Humanitarian" which today in the world threatened by terrorism , existentialism , depression and loss of faith on God, we need to understand badly. He teaches us to see everyone as human and worship one God whom he called "Ram" - his Ram is not Dashrath's son Ram , an incarnation of Vishnu but his Ram lives in everyone's heart and if we love everyone , we are worshiping God.

पोथी पढ़ पढ़ जग मुआ पंडित भया न कोई

ढाई आखर प्रेम का पढ़े सो पंडित होई.

Through the screening of this movie , Pravah whose motto is - "Me to We" and whose Focus is on both "self" and "society" , tries to help us to see "what we are" , "who we are" , and "What we can do for our society and humanity?"

-Ojasi mehta

Genetically Modified crops

Mood on the table : To introduce the people with the term of genetically modified food and to promote the concept of organic farming among people.

Mrs. Anupama has shown a documentary made by well known director Mahesh Bhatt called “Poison on the Platter”. The documentary focused on the problems related to genetically modified food and how it act as slow poison for human breed. It shows that continuous usage of GM food causes various diseases like allergies, cancer etc and how various countries are quitting this kind of food, but the Indian government is allowing various international companies to sell their GM food and pushing people towards the slow death.

The documentary was followed up by an in depth group discussion. People shared with one another their views on GM food. They had also shared that they have heard about this topic but didn’t have in depth knowledge

Jaipur Half Marathon '10

This month of January our Café Mohalla was on tour so in this next step we went to take participate in the half Marathon race which was organized so to make people aware to make the city clean, which is rich in heritage and culture . One of our volunteer Banwari came with a idea of participating in this event. So to promote this cause of making the city clean and making citizens aware to there responsibilities towards the city our volunteers also came together and joined the cause. In this whole marathon our volunteers interacted with the citizens and knew there viewpoint and also were pleased to see the large turnover which they had seen in the event. The marathon started at 7.30 am in the morning and it has to be completed in 3 hours.

The theme of the marathon was “make jaipur a world class city”. Jaipur is one of those cities which is rich in culture and heritage so this marathon was one of the initiative to promote the message that no matter how much we are developing technically but we should keep checking that we should not harm the environment and the rich culture and heritage of our city in fact the whole world.

Kafe Mohalla Joining Hands with Fly Peace Campaign

As the sky seems to be the only space in this world where no boundaries are existing, the kite festival on the 14th of January is the ideal event to bring people from various levels of society together to celebrate freedom and peace. This time, Café Mohalla decided to go with the Café on a tour with the Give Peace A Chance- Fly Peace Campaign through the various levels of Jaipur’s society to discuss and spread the word of peace with the chosen groups.

In 2009 the Pravah Jaipur Initiative organized a Fly Peace Campaign for the first time. This year, participants of the Café Mohalla at Pravah independently organized the campaign as a form of citizen action to get together on these days for a few hours a day to celebrate freedom and the desire for peace and harmony among all religions and ethnic groups. The focus groups therefore were school students from various schools in Jaipur, children with different abilities, children living in marginalized areas, people living in old people’s homes and children with AIDS with whom they have planned various actions, e.g. writing peace messages on kites, painting their faces, flying kites and discussing the individual meaning of peace. They want to promote the use of Sadda that one understands that no one needs be harmed. Partner organizations as Faith, Muskaan, Help Age India, UMANG and IDGAH provided the framework for the volunteers to get in contact with the various groups in society.

Dates: 6th January 2010 to 12th January 2010

Locations,Partner Organisations &Venues:

• 6/1/2010- 8/1/2010, 10:30am to 12:30pm: Road Safety Week by Muskaan: Vardman Path, C-Scheme
• 6/1/2010, 3:00pm to 5:00pm: Help Age India: Old Age Home Anubhav 6, Heera Path, Behind St. Anslem School, Mansarovar
• 7/1/2010, 1:30pm to 4:00pm: Faith, 6/157 Malviya Nagar
• 9/1/2010, 2:00pm to 4:00pm: Pravah Jaipur Initiative, C-96, Jagraj Marg, Bapu Nagar
• 10/1/2010, 11:00-1:00pm: IDGAH, AFD Madarasa, IDGAH Kacchi Basti
• 10/1/2010, 3:00pm to 5:00pm: Naigarh Fort
• 11/1/2010, 11:00am to 1:00pm: UMANG, ¾, Kabir Avenue, S.F.S., Mansarovar
• 12/1/2010, 3:00pm to 5:00pm: Purani Basti, Govind Rao Ji Ka Rasta 171 Purnani Basti

See you there!!

Trading Game

Mood on the table : International trade dynamics and role of IMF and World Bank.

At this café opening, we played the ‘The Trading Game’ facilitated by Joe Spence. The idea was to explore the issue of international trade with thirty young people and volunteers. The game is a fun participatory simulation game that helps to show how trade actually works, who benefits and who loses. It aims to help players understand clearly how trade affects a country’s prosperity. It provides a simple outline of some very complex issues.

We formed six groups. Each group was a country. The facilitators played the role of the ‘World Bank’. The aim of the game was for the groups to make as much money as possible by making sized, measured from cut from pieces of paper. Each group was given an envelope with the necessary equipment needed to make ‘products’ such as paper, scissors, rulers, compasses, set squares and pencils. The paper represented natural resources and the other equipment represented the tools and infrastructure needed to make products from natural resources. However, there was a twist when the groups realized that the resources were distributed unequally and in order for them to make shapes they would have to trade with one another, just as in the real world.

The trading was frantic and a lot of fun but as the game panned out, we came to understand the importance of international trade and also how it favors the rich, developed nations. The emanating discussion went on long into the evening as volunteers debated on how we can create a fairer, more just world for all.

Eve-teasing

Mood on the table : Eve-teasing and how to combat it??

Held in two cafe meetings. The first Café Mohalla based on eve teasing, facilitated by one of Pravah's youngest volunteers ‘Padmaja Gungun’, began with a documentary ‘Jor se Bol’. Made in an urban slum in Mumbai, the documentary followed the stories of a number the victims of eve teasing, it explained their struggles, how they felt and eventually what they did in order to stop to it. It talked about the importance of collective action, whereby a number of people in the community all came to together to raise awareness of the issue.

The documentary was followed up by an in depth group discussion. People shared with one another their views on eve teasing and brought their own understandings and values to the table. Some people shared that they had experienced eve teasing themselves and felt that they had to remain silent about it because if their parents found out they might place restrictions on them going out for example.

During second Café Mohalla(29 Aug), facilitated by Neha Singh, we looked at the Indian constitution so that we understood the legal protection we are entitled to in the face of abuse from another person. We took this as an opportunity to look at Pravah’s own sexual harassment policy so that volunteers know that there are procedures and structures in place to protect the wellbeing of all of those who come into contact with Pravah itself.

Reflection : Eve teasing is indeed a sensitive topic, but important in the fact that it affects so many people, young and old. It was useful for the group to explore what constitutes eve teasing and where the boundary lies between joking or even ‘flirting’ and where certain remarks can become aggressive and offensive. It was a rare opportunity to tackle a topic which is in danger of getting brushed under the carpet and being allowed to continue.