Annam Bahu Kurvita, Annam Dadyata

Balwadi teacher and their works

- Nivedita Raghunath Bhide

Sister, Neengal Sapadiliya? - are you not eating meals?’ asked Rajam, the Balwadi teacher. ‘Why, I am eating’. I showed her the piece of Idly in my hand. ‘You are eating Idly not saapaadu - meals!’ I was surprised, ‘Why is this not food?’. ‘It is… but it is not saapaadu’ she said. The first lesson I learnt was, ‘food is rice. All else is snacks!’ This dialogue was repeated with few other Balwadi teachers in few more villages.

Vivekananda Kendra had started 11 Balwadis, in 1980s in the villages of Kanyakumari. I was given the responsibility of training, visiting the Balwadis and also monthly meeting in which something new like songs, games, teachings aids would be introduced to the teachers and also their honorarium would be given. Except 2-3 Balwadis most of the places I had to change the buses twice to reach village where I would be visiting the Balwadi. Therefore, I used to carry in tiff in box whatever was the breakfast in our mess and during lunch hour would eat it in the Balwadi, when the students and teachers would go home for lunch. We had conducted the residential training for the teachers and a day long monthly Baithak every month was also organized, so, the teachers got very close with me. They called me Sister and not Akka may be due to the influence of Christian missionaries in Kanyakumari district.