Today, I presented about South India to Srinidhi's class
for their multicultural week.
The class is 98% Indian and had already listened to two other
moms talk about India. They were getting an overdose.
To the other kids, it was fascinating.
I was a bit nervous even though they were only Kindergarteners.
I created slides about a typical South Indian day - starting with
kolam, coffee, dosa, idli, music, and ending with tourist places to see.
I dug up my wedding sari and wore a beautiful orange silk and some
jewelery. Bala brought a projector from his office. When I arrived
at the class, there was a hush. The kids were so excited.
Srinidhi came up and gave me a hug - staking her claim.
I started out with Vannakkam. The kids had non-stop questions. It
was such fun. When I talked about musical instruments, I had a short
video clip of gattam. The kids started drumming their benches
until the teacher had to ring a bell and stop them. I played a bit
of thavil and nathaswaram as well. "could you tell us more about the lotus?"
"My mommy already talked about the lotus".
"What is that boat?" about a boat I showed them in Thekkady's Periyar river.
"That boat does not look like a boat. Does it move? Where is it going?"
More than other slides, the boat generated the most interest.
When I showed them the dresses that people wear in India -
dhothi - "it looks like a lady's dress" sari - "when do they
wear their real clothes?"
To finish, I played "Devuda devuda.." on You Tube and made the kids dance.
Some of them danced with a flourish.
The prezo made me realize how much fun it was to grow up in India.
It is so colorful - the culture, the food, the languages, the clothes,
and of course the variety of people.
After the presentation, the teacher came up to me and said "the way
you talk, the way you nod your head, and use your hands..Srinidhi does exactly
the same way".
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