CONTENTS Editorial DISHA DAY 2016
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Volume III | Issue II October 2016 CONTENTS Editorial DISHA DAY 2016.......(2) The idealogy of Disha for the previous years has been to assist the current education system, by teaching and inspiring young A WEEKEND ON minds. This choice comes from the fact that, being privileged SHRAMDHAN ...........(3) enough to be studying in a premier institute, attempting to alle- viate the educational status of some of the less privileged is an effective way for the volunteers to give back to society. This has JIGYASA SCIENCE CAMP been the mindset until this past summer. Along this line, the ..............................(4) Jigyasa Camp was successfully organised over the summer. In addition to this, however, Disha has extended its domain of so- cial work by taking up initiatives to help in the drought-hit areas SANJAY GANDHI VASAHAT of Maharashtra, described in this issue in The Spark Behind An Initiative by Kumar Priyadarshi and A Weekend of Shramdhan SURVEY ..................(6) by Shubham Joge. This has been a noteworthy and welcome milestone for Disha as it establishes that it is not a rigid organisa- MEET THE CURRENT tion in terms of the causes towards which it works. COORDINATORS.......(7) Even though, by now, the Abhiyasika volunteers know a lot about the people living in the vastis they go to teach in, it was realised that for a systematic analysis of the progress with the THE SPARK BEHIND AN children and for a long-term impact on the society as a whole, a deeper understanding of the children’s family backgrounds is INITIATIVE ..............(8) required. Prachi Atmasiddha writes in Sanjay Gandhi Vasahat Survey about how students went to each house in the vasti surveying using questionnaires that the team had thoughtfully prepared. This issue, called “New Beginnings”, talks about the new initia- Design credits: Swastik Mishra tives taken up by Disha, keeping in mind the bigger cause and working towards it in a sustainable manner. While it still targets improvement in education because that is what volunteers are reasonably well-equipped to target, we commend Disha’s involvement in more causes, as well as the execution of new strategies to improve previously eshtablished agendas. With the new semester under way, we are pleased to see that there has been a huge addition of highly enthusiastic and supportive volunteers to the Disha family from the new batch of students this year. With a fresh mindset and hopes for the future, we sign off as editors of Pahal, handing it over to Abhijeet Pendse. Danish Kaur and Rahul Iyer Pahal Volume III Issue II Sriram Raghunath Disha Day is an occasion for all of us mance by Rasika Daware, Shubha forts of our volunteers and regaled in Disha to look back on the events Bhat and Praful Rahate. The stirring us with stories of his time in TIFR, of the past year while simultaneously music really set the tone for the pro- where he and his friends taught planning for those in the upcoming gram. This was followed by a pre- underprivileged children. Dr. Sud- year. This year Disha Day was held sentation which introduced to the ha Rajamani also commended our on 17th April 2016 in C-201 (the mul- audience all the activities that Disha dedication and pledged to support tipurpose hall in the guest house). has conducted in the past year. Af- Disha in every way possible. The The programme saw the attendance ter the presentation, volunteers from editors of Pahal- Danish, Reema and of many professors from IISER Pune, each programme came forward to Rahul, then came forward to release including Dr. Nagaraj Balasubrama- share their experiences with Disha. its latest issue. nian, Dr. Sudha Rajamani and Prof. Some students from other colleges The program concluded with Sunil Mukhi, as well as few dignitar- in Pune who had participated in fund-raising dinner which was ies from outside IISER. Spread the Smile also shared their ex- prepared by a women’s self-help The program commenced with a periences with the audience. Their group from Sanjay Gandhi Vasahat, melodious Veena recital by Akshay stories were funny, inspirational and Pashan. The sumptuous dinner was Nair and Chaitra Agrahar. This was heart rending. a great end to an altogether satisfy- followed by a group singing perfor- Prof. Sunil Mukhi appreciated the ef- ing day. 2 Volume III Issue II Pahal A Weekend on Shramdhan Shubham Joge For the past few years, several plac- es in Maharashtra have been facing acute drought. Consequently, an alarming number of farmers have committed suicide. In almost all cas- es, the primary reason for their sui- cides was being in a state of heavy debt. This is saddening considering the integral role farmers play in our lives, slogging to provide food for us, despite the circumstances. As the socially conscious and responsible youth of society, it is our duty to pro- vide any possible assistance to them We conducted this survey on the were declared to be in very urgent in such dire conditions. 5th and 6th of March in 60 villages need. With this sentiment, around 76 PhD of Ashti Tehsil in Beed district which This was an unforgettable experi- students from IISER, NCL, SPPU came contains 177 villages. Between us, ence for all of us, as we witnessed together and volunteered for field we went to each household with such dismal conditions up close. work for NAAM foundation. Found- questionnaires, and based on their However, we felt satisfied for being ed by esteemed actors Nana Patekar answers our responsibility was to part of a relief-providing program. and Makarand Anaspure, NAAM determine the degree of their crisis. foundation works towards building Based on this information, the foun- a sustainable and progressive soci- dation would provide financial aid ety by facilitating development in to these farmers, prioritizing those in rural areas by working on different extreme crisis first. The results of the issues like infrastructure, education, survey shed light to the wretched employment, food etc. Field work situation of these villages, as 80-90% involved conducting a survey to find of the households were declared to out needy and destitute farmers. be in urgent need, while quite a few 3 Pahal Volume III Issue II Jigyasa Science Camp Mitali Thatte and Saurabh Kadam Disha and IISER Pune conducted day of the Jigyasa Science Camp. Science Park and probably the best the Jigyasa Science Camp for un- It started with a documentary film day of their stay in Pune. The kids en- derprivileged students from 21st – about the wonders of nature fol- joyed the 3-D Science and Taraman- 24th July. These students came from lowed by a welcome note by Apur- dal shows enormously and were Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. va Barve. This was followed by the enthusiastically asking about and try- Bachpan Banao, a voluntary organ- much anticipated tour of the IISER ing out different science games and isation working in the education campus. The students visited the un- activities displayed in the museum. sector in Chhattisgarh, was respon- dergraduate physics lab, the Bubble It was the volunteers who had the sible for providing an opportunity to Chamber, the Fly Lab, the Green- tougher job of explaining and trans- these students to attend this Science house and the Library among other lating everything in Hindi (the only camp. The students greatly enjoyed places. The kids appeared delighted language understood by everyone the four days of science activities, to look through the windows of the in the group). demonstrations and games con- labs in Mendeleev, H-cross and G1. The final day began with a ‘Fun with ducted by Disha volunteers. But the highlight of the day was the Maths’ session by Dr. Anisa Chor- The train bringing these students balloon car racing session conduct- wadwala. Post lunch, there was a from Dantewada to Pune pulled ed on the ground floor of the dining screening of the movie ‘Nil Battay in at Pune junction on the 20th of block for which the kids had to make Sannata’. In the evening there was July. It was immediately clear from their own cars using water bottles, a short Physics demonstration ses- the expression on their faces that the balloons, straws etc. sion followed by an art and craft and kids were slightly bewildered to find Day 2 began with a lecture about sports hour. It had dawned upon themselves in so large a city. Their general health and hygiene fol- everyone that the science camp was nervousness levels shot right up on lowed by a highly popular session almost at an end and emotions were finding themselves in a big unfamil- demonstrating the properties of liq- running high especially among the iar hostel and being given their own uid nitrogen. In the afternoon there kids. keys to their rooms. Their first meal was a visit to Quest, a science centre The camp was a great success in IISER was marked by absolute si- in Aundh, and a hands-on activity which exposed the underprivileged lence. It was only during the evening session. The kids had fun trying out students to the world of science and when the volunteers conducted a different science experiments them- the volunteers to the educational re- few ice-breaking games that they selves. ality of rural India. opened up and began to feel com- After spending two days in the IISER fortable in IISER. campus, the third day was the day The next day was officially the first of the visit to the Pimpri-Chinchwad 4 Volume III Issue II Pahal My personal experience: the entire duration of the camp, I kids for whom the word science is The four days of Jigyasa camp got to know exactly how much probably just the first half of a ‘sci- were undoubtedly the best ones planning it takes to pull something ence textbook’.