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As soon as we had reached the station we
checked our names on the
reservation chart. Soon the train
reached the platform. We saw that the coach was already full. The train had started
early in the morning from Gandhidham, in Kutch.
When the train came, there was so much confusion.
People were getting off and others were pushing and trying to put their luggage
inside, all from one door.
We somehow managed to get in, find our
seats and put our luggage under them. By the time the train started, most
people had found their seats and arranged their luggage.
After some time the ticket collector
came and checked our tickets to see that we were in our proper seats.
Amma and Appa had the lower berths. Unni
and I have the middle berths. There are two college students who have the upper
berths.
On the other berth, there is a family
with two children. They seem to be about our age. I will go and talk to them
later.
Now I am sitting near the window and I
have started writing about our journey, just as I had promised you. I will stop
now because Amma has opened the tiffin box. Amma had packed a lot of food –
dhokla with chutney, lemon rice, and some mithai. My mouth is watering. I will
write more later.
After lunch some people slept. But I was
not sleepy. I kept looking out of the window. I saw many fields, but they all
were brown and dry. Sometimes we passed small villages. They seemed to be
flying by. Do you know that when the train is at a very high speed things
outside seems to be running in the opposite direction?
Earlier it was really hot. Now that it
is evening, there is some breeze.
The sun is slowly setting and the sky
has become orange. I have never seen it look like this in Ahmedabad.
We have just passed a station called
Valsad. The train stopped for only
two minutes, but even for the short time,
there was so much noise . “Chai! garam, chai ! ” one man w a s calling,“batata
vada! batata vada!
puri-shaak! , doodh-thanda-doodh!.”
People were selling and buying food on the platform. We quickly bought some
bananas and chikoos through the window itself.
I have made some friends. They are Sunil
and Ann. They are going to their grandmother’s house in Kozhikode. Sunil has
given me some story books to read. A little while ago, I went to brush my
teeth, but there was no water in the bathroom.
Somebody said that it will only be
filled at the next big station. Gandhidham, Ahmedabad and Valsad are inGujarat. Kozhikode is in Kerala. Show these states to the children on the map
to help them realise what a long journey it is.
This is a true story. Anita Khushwaha is
a ‘Girl Star’. ‘Girl Stars’ is a project which tells extraordinary tales of
ordinary girls who have changed their lives by going to school.
My name is Anita Khushwaha. I live in
Bochaha village. This is in Muzzafarpur District in Bihar. I stay with my
parents and two younger brothers. I study in college. Besides studying, I teach
young children. I also keep honeybees.
All this has not been easy for me. When
I was young, I used to spend all my time with my goats as they grazed for food.
I always wanted to go to school but my parents did not like the idea of girls
going to school.
A Dream of School
One day I peeped into the school in our
village. I could not stay away. I
silently went and sat down behind the
children.
I felt so happy. I wenthome and picked
up courage to talk to my parents about going to school. But they told me
clearly that I could not do so. That day, I cried and cried.
One of the teachers in my village
explained to my parents why it is important to study. The teacher told them
that they would not have to pay anything for my education upto Class V.
The teacher said that it was the right
of every child to go to school. Somehow my parents agreed. I started going to
school. I did not get high marks, but I always asked many questions!
Staying in School
Time passed, and soon I completed Class
V. I knew that we would need to spend more in Class VI. My parents said that it
was time for me to leave school, but I wanted to study more. I found a way to
do this. I started to teach younger children. From the money that I got, I was
able to continue my own studies.
One Sweet Memory
I remember some older boys in my village
also used to teach young
children. They did not like it when I started
teaching. They started to scold and scare the children, so that they would not
come to me.
For some time, all the children except
two, stopped coming to me. But soon they all came back because I used to teach them
with love and care.
Slowly I started talking to other parents
in the village about sending their daughters to school. My parents
also started helping me in my work. My mother used to do all the house work so
that I could get more time to study.
From School to Bee-keeping There are
many litchi trees in our area. Honeybees are attracted to the litchi flowers.
Many people do bee keeping and collect honey.
I thought that I could also do this. I
joined a course run by the government to learn about this. I was
the only girl in this course. During my training I found that
honeybees lay their eggs from October to December. This was the best time to
start bee-keeping.
Becoming a Bee-keeper
I completed my bee-keeping course. But I
did not have money to keep my own bees and start work. I continued to teach and
with time could collect Rs. 5000. With this money, I bought two boxes for
keeping bees.
Each box costs Rs. 2000. With the remaining
money, I bought sugar to make the syrup for honeybees, and medicines to clean
the beehives.
That was in September.
By December, I had so many bees that I
had to buy two more boxes. I was still learning about bee-keeping.
Many times,
the bees would sting me and my hands and face would get swollen. It would pain
a lot.
How could I complain to anybody? I
myself had decided to do this work. The litchi trees come to flower in
February. I put all my four boxes near the litchi orchards. I got 12 kilograms
of honey from each box. I sold this honey in the market. This was my first earning
from my bees. Now I have 20 boxes.
Every day I cycle to my college. My
college is in the town, five kilometers away. When I go to college, my mother prepares
the syrup for the bees. My father looks after the bees and takes the honey out
of the boxes.
Now you also know a lot about Anita. Anita
is known by everyone in all the villages nearby. She goes to all the village
meetings and talks about how important it is for everyone to study.
Sometimes people make fun of her, but
Anita knows what she wants to do. She does exactly what she wants to. Anita wants
to become a wholesaler so that she can help the villagers to get the right
price for their honey.
HONEY:
Honey is a sweet syrupy substance
produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers and used by humans as a
sweetener and a spread.
The Honey is comprised of 17-20% water,
76-80% glucose, and fructose, pollen, wax, and mineral salts. Its composition
and color is dependent upon the type of flower that supplies the nectar.
Background:
Honey, golden and sweet, has always been
held in high regard. The Bible refers to heaven as the "Land of Milk and
Honey." In ancient times, honey was considered the food of the gods and
the symbol of wealth and happiness.
It was used as a form of sustenance and
offered in sacrifice. In the Middle Ages, honey was the basis for the
production of mead, an alcoholic beverage.
Beekeeping is one of the oldest forms of
animal husbandry. Early beekeepers encouraged the establishment of bee colonies
in cylinders of bark, reed, straw, and mud. However, when the honeycomb was removed
from the cylinders, the colony was destroyed.
Every beehive has one Queen Bee that
lays eggs. There are only a few males in the hive. Most of the bees in the hive
are worker-bees. These bees work all day.
Explain the role of wholesaler to
children. also look after the baby bees. They fly around flowers in search of
nectar.
They collect nectar from flowers for honey. When one bee finds flowers
with nectar, it does a special kind of dance by which the other bees can know
where the nectar is.
The workerbees are very important for
the hive. Without worker-bees there would be neither hive nor any nectar
collection.
All bees in thehive would go hungry. The male bees have
no special role as worker.Ants live and work together like
honeybees.
The Queen Ant lays the eggs, the Soldier
Ants look after and guard the ants’ nest, Worker Ants are always busy looking
for food and bringing
it to the nest. Termites and wasps also
live like this.
This is a true story from long long ago.
Almost three hundred years ago, in a village called Khejadli, lived
Amrita.
Khejadli village is near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The village got its name
because of the many Khejadi trees that grew there.
The people of this village took great
care of the plants, trees and animals. Goats, deers, hares and peacocks roamed
fearlessly there. The people of the village remembered what their elders used
to tell them. They used to say, “Agar perh hain to hum hain. Plants and animals
can survive without us, but we can not survive without them.”
Amrita would get up early every morning
and greet her friends – the trees. She would choose a special tree for the day.
She would put her arms around the tree trunk and whisper to the tree, “Friend,
you are strong and beautiful. You care for us. Thank you tree. I love you very
much. Give your strength to me also.” Like Amrita, the other children also had
their special trees. They would play for hours in the shade of the trees.
Trees in Danger:
Time went by. Amrita was now grown up.
One day she went to greet her trees. She saw that there were some strangers in
her village. They had axes with them.
They said that the King had sent them to cut
trees for wood. The wood was needed for building the King’s palace.
Amrita was shocked. She went to the tree
that the men were about to cut. She put her arms around the tree and hugged it
tightly. The men shouted and threatened her, but Amrita did not let go of the
tree.
The King’s men had to follow his order.
They had to cut the tree. On seeing this, Amrita’s daughters and hundreds of villagers
–old and young – hugged the trees to protect them.
Many people including Amrita and her daughters
died to save the trees. When the King heard of this, he could not believe that
people gave up their lives for trees. He visited the village himself. There he
learned about villagers’ respect for trees and animals.
The Village is Protected…
The villagers’ strong feelings for trees
affected the King greatly. He ordered that from then on, no tree would be cut
and no animal harmed in that area.
Even today, almost three hundred years
later, the people of this area, called Bishnois, continue to protect plants and
animals. Even though in the middle of the desert, this area is green and
animals roam freely without fear.
The Khejadi tree is found mainly in
desert areas. It can grow without much water. Its bark is used for making medicines.
People cook and eat its fruits (beans).
Its wood is such that it will not be
affected by insects. Animals in this area eat the leaves of the Khejadi. And
children like you, play in its shade.
