Shanti

At the beginning and end of every Yoga session, Mr. Yogi chants “Shanti, Shanti, Shanti”. It means “Peace, Peace, Peace” in Sanskrit. As cool, calm, and peaceful Indians can be they can also be extremely violent. Since I have been here I have seen employers beating their employees, and children beating other children in frustration. I frequently ask myself, “Where are the human rights in this country?” In Canada, their behavior would be intolerable – and they would most likely be penalized. After observing Indians’ aggressive behavior, and not accepting it, I implemented a “No hitting policy at school”. In front of the other teacher, I explained there is NEVER any hitting in our classrooms. Finally, so I thought, the children stopped hitting each other. Then one day I entered another classroom, and I saw the other teacher beating one of the students on her back with his hand. My heart dropped and I said, “What are you doing??? Why are you hitting her?” I looked at the girl; her lips and chin formed a frown. Rakesh responded, “She hit someone!” I quickly replied, “Oh no… You cannot hit her back, otherwise you are condoning hitting and you are leading by poor example!” At that very moment I oozed frustration out of every pore of my body. Things sometimes seem backwards here, and it is extremely difficult to accept.
Here's a picture of the masks the children molded and painted.