Read the complete short story at
Friday, 18 September 2020
Sunday, 6 September 2020
Totto-Chan: The little Girl at the window
A perfect book to celebrate Teachers’ day and another gem in
Japanese literature, Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the window is an educator’s
guide on how to deal with children with diverse needs. There is a lot of
history behind this book. The author, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, a very inspiring
woman is one of the most popular and admirable celebrity in Japan. She is an
actress, a television host and the UNICEF ambassador for thirty years. At the
age of 83, she still looks so young and energetic.
She started her first talk show on Japanese Television in 1975,
has completed more than 10,000 episodes and has entered the Guinness books of
world record for the longest Television show ever aired. And it is said that
the host never missed a single show.
The book “Totto-Chan: The little Girl at the window” is an
autobiographical account of the author, where Tetsuko aka Totto- Chan recounts
her childhood days in a school named Tomoe Gakuen, a unique Montessori-type
school which valued the freedom of expression and the spirit of curiosity in
each child.
It begins with Totto-Chan being expelled from her previous
school for non-compliance and bad behavior. She was more interested in standing
near the window and watching the street magicians rather than focus on the work
at hand. She would not listen to the teacher, makes a mess of her work and
disrupts the whole class.
Her mother, instead of rebuking her for her bad behavior
takes her to an unconventional school called Tomoe Gakuen, which is led by a
visionary headmaster Sosaku Koboyashi, who believed in a completely different
set of ideals on how to run a school.
He had modelled his school like train cars to get the
children excited about coming to school. As there were less than 50 children in
the school, each class had children with different ages and each child learnt
at his/her own pace. A lot of importance was given to outdoors, nature walk,
field trips and activities like farming. A child was encouraged to speak up,
anything as simple, as “Today I woke up and brushed my teeth” was appreciated
by everyone.
A child who threw a newspaper in a cesspool wasn’t rebuked
but just told to clean up after the mess. A teacher who made fun of a disabled
child was vehemently admonished to have brought down the confidence of the
child.
Totto-Chan increasingly started trusting her headmaster and
as the faith develops, so does the compliance. She was willing to do anything
for him including giving up her fancy ribbon as he could not find one for his
daughter.
She studied in Tomoe international for few years and transformed
from a problematic child into a world-famous personality. She attributes her
success to her headmaster who nourished the freedom of expression in his own
unique style.
Because of the Tokyo air raids in 1945, the school received
a severe blow, and the dream of Sosaku Koboyashi remained half fulfilled. His
other efforts prove less futile and he died in 1963.
Tetsuko went on to become an actress and started her own
television show in 1975. She published a series of articles in a magazine
between 1979-1980 about this unique elementary school she attended in her
elementary years.
In 1981, it was published as a book and Japan witnessed
history when it became an instant book seller breaking all barriers within a
year.
It started a new trend as the educational professionals in
Japan started analyzing the reason why the book was such a huge hit. This culminated
in a comprehensive assessment of the amount of dissatisfaction among the
children and the parents because of their prevalent schooling system.
More laurels awaited the book when it was translated to
English and published worldwide. The world embraced it with open arms, and it
triggered a new revolution in the world of education. Few chapters of the book
found its place in the text books of middle grade students. It has been
translated into multiple languages in India, Nepal and SriLanka.
The educators started using the book as a reference for best
practices conducive to support education for children with diverse needs across
the world.
My respect towards Japanese literature and the people
quadrupled after reading this book. Their perseverance, optimism in the face of
crisis and their out-of-the world innovative ideas are very commendable. More
one reads about them, more one tends to feel inadequate in one’s own
personality development.
I wouldn’t deny that I was expecting the book to end with
the school prospering with flying colors. I was curious to know how Kobayashi tweaked
the education system as the children grew older.
In the present world, the education systems are diverse and
supportive for all kinds of children. But my observation is that beyond Elementary,
they are forced to get into the rat-race of the academics sooner or later. This
also depends on the mindset of the parents, who are justified in getting
worried about the future of their children.
in 1937, in far less conducive circumstances, one man came
up with an idea of inclusion for children with diverse needs. Though Koboyashi
was the one who laid the foundation, it took more than 4 decades for the world
to realize his vision through this brilliant piece of work by his extraordinary
student, Tetsuko. We as readers should consider ourselves fortunate to read
about the lives of these two very inspiring people. They reinforce the belief
in us that the battle to make this world a better place is certainly worth
fighting for.
Perhaps it would take another Koboyashi to come up with a revolutionary
idea and define a completely alternate education system to cater to children
with diverse needs.
Meanwhile as the effort continues, here is a toast to all
those teachers who make a slightest effort to establish the empathy link with all
the children. Thanks for bringing out
the Koboyashi in you. We bow to you and are forever indebted to you. Happy
Teachers’ day.
Sunday, 16 August 2020
Friday, 14 August 2020
Sunday, 5 July 2020
The woman in a white Kimono
The Woman in the white kimono
It started as “reading a bit before bed time” on Friday. Then, I spent two sleepless nights finishing this book. The breath-taking prose is lyrical and melts your heart. A magnificent story, which runs on two parallel tracks, about two women, who live in different continents, but their past strangely connected through one man. One is a daughter in awe of her father, the other a besotted lover, who was forced to give up her love. It is a spectacular tale of a young Japanese woman falling in love with an American soldier, and ostracized for fraternizing with the enemy. 1950s is the time when the second world war had ended and Japan was tending to the severe wounds caused by the devastation of the war. America still continued its presence in Japan and the presence of US sailors are not an uncommon sight in that era.
But the relations between the two countries are tense and inter-racial relationships are not something which either of the countries approved. Such couples, who fell in love, were ostracized and were subject to severe criticism They were caught in a situation not very different from the idiom “The devil and the deep sea”.
The story of seventeen-year-old Japanese maiden, Naoko Nakamura, is no different when she falls for an American soldier, Jimmy Kovac, whom she fondly nicknames Hajime. She succeeds in earning the wrath of her family, her father especially, whose hatred is deep-rooted towards the Americans. She gets pregnant, runs away from home and get marries to her Hajime. The sailor, still in early years in his job, is sent away to distant waters. Her family, then sends her to a maternity home, hidden deep behind the tall bamboo fences, which promises to clean up the unwanted weeds in the wombs of young women, who are considered a social taboo in the society.
Naoko is determined to get her child into this world, and raise her as one of her own kin. Can an innocent child and a helpless mother survive in the ruthless Imperial society which looks down upon their very existence with disdain?
Tori Kovac, in present-day United States has lost her father to cancer. Before dying, her father trusts an unopened envelope to his daughter revealing the truth that he was once married before to the love of his life, when he was very young, and has had a daughter from that marriage.
Tori, being a journalist by profession, then travels to Japan to uncover the truth of her father’s past and find out what happened to Naoko and her daughter, who also happens to be her own half-sister. What she discovers is nothing short of horrifying and devastating.
The book makes you cry, not once but many times. I cried for the circumstances under which Naoko gets married, and the painful ordeal she goes through in the brutal maternity home. I cried when Tori uncovers the ugly scam, the arrangements made by the Imperial Japanese elite to get rid of their “tainted” family extensions.
I am not sure if I can ask you to read this book and weep like me, but if you do read it by any chance, I can tell you what we can discuss. We can talk at length about how Naoko is similar to Sayuri (The memoirs of Geisha) and the difficulties they both had to endure alone in their own ways. We can discuss the Japanese customs in detail, right from the proper way of handing over tea to one another, to the salutations before and after the meal. We can talk extensively about the Japanese folk lore, the traditions, the wedding customs the funeral rituals, their Gods, their demons. We can talk about country side Japan, the tall cherry trees and about Tokyo , the most populated metropolis city of the world. We can talk about how words can be so hauntingly beautiful, how they can pierce your heart and one can weep bitterly, but at the same time long for them more to fill your heart with more agony.
I made my choice; I did not rest till I finished the book. It’s over to you now!
Thursday, 2 July 2020
Friday, 26 June 2020
Tuesday, 9 June 2020
goodreads updates
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Sunday, 31 May 2020
Monday, 25 May 2020
Trishna
Past two days have been absolute bliss binge watching Trishna, a Hindi serial, which was aired on Doordarshan in the 1980s. It is an authentic Hindi remake of the much-cherished classic, Pride and Prejudice. It has been uploaded on YouTube by Prasar Bharati Archives in April, thanks to the re-broadcasting spree by Doordarshan of late.
I used to miss watching Trishna in school days because it used to air during the time I used to be in school. I had been searching for these videos for more than 20 years now, until someone from a book club tipped us off with the YouTube upload.
The story follows a life of the bright, chirpy and high spirited Rekha Anand (Elizabeth Bennett), second daughter of a middle-class family in Bombay (now Mumbai) and a rich business man, Rahul Mehta (Oh, Mr. Darcy) from Ahmedabad. One is proud of himself, and the other is prejudiced against him. We all know the rest of the story. I am not going to narrate the plot of Pride and Prejudice here 😊
Considering it is a 35-year-old serial, one can understand that it has few major glitches. The chemistry is not so great between the main leads. The acting of most of the actors and settings are quite mediocre. But the storyline itself is so refreshing. The native “Indian” ness adds much charm to it. We all can recollect those loose Kurtis and salwars we used to wear in our schools and colleges. The dances and balls in the book are replaced by parties and picnics. The story brings back memories of those days when we all used to huddle up in a neighbor’s house to watch a movie or play some games. The long walks our dads and uncles used to take to avoid paying the taxi fares, the urge from few of them to arrive on time and the chaos they create in the family to be punctual brings back some good old memories and a big smile on your face. There are two characters who specially deserve special mention for their acting skills. Lakshmi Anand (Mrs Bennett) has played her role to such perfection in the Indian context. Most of us can relate to the fussiness of our own moms when we watch her. Another character is Raj Mohan (Mr. Collins). He is a natural and his acting is brilliant. He has portrayed the imperfections of Mr. Collins so perfectly, all of us can relate to one distant relative of ours who makes such a fuss. These two characters are given enough screen time to show case their skills. Rekha Anand is casted very well, according to me, the perfect Elizabeth Bennett. Sangeeta Handa as Rekha Anand, is dusky, has a very ordinary face but such beautiful eyes. She does not dress up well, wears those loose kurtas and most of the times, does not comb her beautiful hair. She has an unkempt bun tied on her head, and has no make up or any other adornments most of the times. But when she looks and talks with such beautiful eyes, even we fall for her, leave alone Mr. Darcy!!
It might sound preposterous, but I could never come to terms with Aishwarya Rai or Keira Knightley or even Jennifer Ehle (who was so perfect) as Elizabeth Bennett. They all are too pretty to play the role of the charming Elizabeth. But for once, I liked this casting of Rekha Anand. She is just perfect! I cannot say the same for Rahul Mehta though. Whoever plays Mr. Darcy has to be charming. Tarun Dhanrajgir is indeed good looking, but leaves a lot to be worked upon on his acting skills. He just doesn’t seem to connect with his counterpart, though he does due credit to his role in the last episode.
These episodes were shot 35 years back and the print which is uploaded on YouTube is not very clear. The acting of most of the characters is quite mediocre except a few of them, who have done a brilliant job. The script writers have to be lauded to stick to the authenticity of the plot. Each and every dialogue is in line with book. Contrast to the boisterous and loud Aishwarya Rai starrer Bride and Prejudice, which had such glamour around it, this simple yet refreshing 13-episode serial is bound to steal your heart.
I was waiting for this serial with great expectations, and it did not let me down.
If you are an obsessive fan of Pride and Prejudice as I am, do not miss Trishna despite its glaring flaws. Go get transported to your childhood memories with this precious port-key.
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