Every Sunday morning, a one-way section of motorway in the business district of Hyderabad is closed to vehicles and becomes a gathering place for cyclists, Zumba and Yoga enthusiasts, performers, protesters and those who just fancy a stroll about.
On Saturday night, Lottie and I were informed that we needed to be ready for a 'programme' in Hi-Tech city which would require is being ready to leave Devnar at 6am the following morning. While neither of us were thrilled by the idea of a 5am start, we were both really excited about what this 'programme' was. We were given no indication of what this trip out would be, how long it would take or what Hi-Tech City was but at 6am on Sunday morning we were sat outside the school office ready to see a little more of Hyderabad. In true Indian fashion, at 7am a mini bus pulled up and Lottie and I were piled into it along with about 15 other students and a few staff members - two people per seat seemed to be the general rule. We made a 30 minute trip across town to this section of motorway where we all stumbled out of the mini bus and had to cross the busy road and climb over the central reserve before we actually understood where we were and what this trip was all about. We were there because, on the 4th of October, a Blind Walk is being held in honour of National Sight Day and to raise awareness about blindness and the school. During this event a number of the students will be performing various acts and the stage at Hi-Tech City was the perfect place for them to practice.
At one end of the blocked off road there was a very enthusiastic lady engaging a sizeable crowd in a Zumba fitness lesson, while the other end of the road curved into the horizon. We headed towards the stage and greeted by the enthusiastic lady who had one of the older boys onto the stage within seconds to explain why we were there. After the introductions four more older boys took to the stage and performed the most amazing dance to a remix of Hindi and Telugu songs I had never heard of and their energy and enthusiasm seemed to shock the whole crowd who, I think, had been expecting something a little slower or more simple from blind teenagers. I felt immensely proud of them when they finished and they completely deserved the large round of applause they received. Next up was a little girl from 2nd grade who sang a beautiful song is Telugu and then Sana and Sri Gangga completed the set with another song. I was more than impressed by the confidence these children had, especially in front of such a large crowd.
After the performances, the children were to engage in a number of team building activities such as finding objects on the floor while stood in a line and only being able to communicate through tapping on the shoulders of the person in front to get them to turn left or right. While this was a good idea for a game it didn't take into account that a number of the students have some vision so weren't completely relying on the physical cues and were, instead, just picking objects off the floor as they normally would. After this a game of cricket was set up so the people could see how the boys play the sport (by using a ball with a rattle inside rather than a normal one and also rolling the all rather than throwing it).
Lots of passers-by wanted to stop and ask questions about the school and the kids (as well as who Lottie and I were and why we were there) and some even joined in with the cricket. It was great to see strangers adapt to the children's disability so easily- people who didn't realise the children found it hard to catch would throw a ball to the boys and notice that they would stand with their arms protecting their heads as they couldn't see where it would land and, therefore, roll it to them next time.
I really enjoyed this little trip out and I'm now really looking forward to National Sight Day. Unfortunately, however, I spent the rest of Sunday curled up in the dark in my room being very unwell which put a bit of a downer on an otherwise wonderful morning. Hopefully my stomach settles down properly soon and I can get back to teaching as normal and enjoy this week as much as I did the last!
On Saturday night, Lottie and I were informed that we needed to be ready for a 'programme' in Hi-Tech city which would require is being ready to leave Devnar at 6am the following morning. While neither of us were thrilled by the idea of a 5am start, we were both really excited about what this 'programme' was. We were given no indication of what this trip out would be, how long it would take or what Hi-Tech City was but at 6am on Sunday morning we were sat outside the school office ready to see a little more of Hyderabad. In true Indian fashion, at 7am a mini bus pulled up and Lottie and I were piled into it along with about 15 other students and a few staff members - two people per seat seemed to be the general rule. We made a 30 minute trip across town to this section of motorway where we all stumbled out of the mini bus and had to cross the busy road and climb over the central reserve before we actually understood where we were and what this trip was all about. We were there because, on the 4th of October, a Blind Walk is being held in honour of National Sight Day and to raise awareness about blindness and the school. During this event a number of the students will be performing various acts and the stage at Hi-Tech City was the perfect place for them to practice.
At one end of the blocked off road there was a very enthusiastic lady engaging a sizeable crowd in a Zumba fitness lesson, while the other end of the road curved into the horizon. We headed towards the stage and greeted by the enthusiastic lady who had one of the older boys onto the stage within seconds to explain why we were there. After the introductions four more older boys took to the stage and performed the most amazing dance to a remix of Hindi and Telugu songs I had never heard of and their energy and enthusiasm seemed to shock the whole crowd who, I think, had been expecting something a little slower or more simple from blind teenagers. I felt immensely proud of them when they finished and they completely deserved the large round of applause they received. Next up was a little girl from 2nd grade who sang a beautiful song is Telugu and then Sana and Sri Gangga completed the set with another song. I was more than impressed by the confidence these children had, especially in front of such a large crowd.
After the performances, the children were to engage in a number of team building activities such as finding objects on the floor while stood in a line and only being able to communicate through tapping on the shoulders of the person in front to get them to turn left or right. While this was a good idea for a game it didn't take into account that a number of the students have some vision so weren't completely relying on the physical cues and were, instead, just picking objects off the floor as they normally would. After this a game of cricket was set up so the people could see how the boys play the sport (by using a ball with a rattle inside rather than a normal one and also rolling the all rather than throwing it).
Lots of passers-by wanted to stop and ask questions about the school and the kids (as well as who Lottie and I were and why we were there) and some even joined in with the cricket. It was great to see strangers adapt to the children's disability so easily- people who didn't realise the children found it hard to catch would throw a ball to the boys and notice that they would stand with their arms protecting their heads as they couldn't see where it would land and, therefore, roll it to them next time.
I really enjoyed this little trip out and I'm now really looking forward to National Sight Day. Unfortunately, however, I spent the rest of Sunday curled up in the dark in my room being very unwell which put a bit of a downer on an otherwise wonderful morning. Hopefully my stomach settles down properly soon and I can get back to teaching as normal and enjoy this week as much as I did the last!
Unfizzy Coca Cola! I know I'm at least a week late for this but try this next time - it might help with stomach horrible-ness.
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