Library…and the Lesson Learnt…

A new arrival of books revealed the reason for low levels of issuing books in the previous several months...Many had misplaced their Library Card...and did not have the courage to say so...

They got new cards and new members their first ones...The flurry of activity of covering / labelling / cataloguing was infectious...Book issuing began in earnest!See Here

library

Keeping the Peer Loop

Peer sharing / learning remains an important element. This occasion was a great example that literally reflected harmony. One member learning guitar chords, another learns basic beats of drum on paper with pencil, sewing trainer sits to learn the drum beats, a younger one watching on...See Here

Composite Effort for English

The effort for enhancing English language competency remains an evolving process. Scrabble was encouraged as a daily regular practice, even if for a short while. The need for basic grammar was highlighted in the previous annual cycle. Positioning it as a regular intervention in small groups became a felt need.

The efforts began getting reflected quite early on in the new annual cycle. In a Sunday session of Spoken English, the exercise was knitted around including general knowledge. This time it was the state of Jammu & Kashmir:

Trigger words, guided & limited internet time for information, sentence forming, speaking WITHOUT reading, two or more sentences…

Milestone: Each child spoke with full confidence…no hand-wringing / fidgeting / stuttering…sentences went from 2 to about 10.

Phiran, Kahwa, Saffron, Dal Lake, Shikara, Roghanjosh…the words got embedded...See Here

Scrabble Competition

Scrabble was well-positioned for nearly a year. This year, the plan is to have two ‘formal’ competitions in the year. The first one rolled out in and was rocking in this small town of Naukuchiatal.

A total of 12 children in three groups of four each participated. The top winner, Deepanjali, scored 315 points.See Here

Unexpected self-motivation

It was truly thrilling when a few boys decided they too would join the sewing sessions. They smile when told that they can now repair buttons and seams of their uniforms without bothering mother!...See Here

Photography Workshop

Building upon a basic workshop earlier, Joydeep Das, Photographer & Film-maker, conducted an energetic and engaging photography workshop. Over the four days, he conducted a detailed recee of the locale, then devoted specific days theme-wise. He went through the range of do’s and don’t for a good photograph, landscapes, photo essays and portraits (with a light). It was an unforgettable few days for the children – that ended with a bhelpuri treat! See Here

Team Training

For the first time, the Utsah Toli team had the great experience of a training directed towards them. Top downwards. Dr. Dimple Rangila, Assistant Professor of Child Development at Lady Irwin College in New Delhi, India, devoted intense hours. Between her observing the children in their daily routine and providing feedback to direct interactive sessions for enhancing and escalating techniques, it was an immensely valuable intervention. See Here

Higher Education / Career Counselling

Higher Education / Career Counselling has been positioned as weekly one-to-one interactions. Aspirations are a great insight...Acting, Army, Navy, IAS, CA, Economics, Medicine...See Here

Moving Up

Two members, who began the year with a high difficulty learning curve, achieve first division in the tenth board exam. Kudos to the Team leader / Mentors for the consistent and devoted hand-holding.See Here

Making Puppets

The inherent creativity of the children is an endless source of amazement. They made their own puppets! A school project for a Hindi poem 'Kathputli'. See Here

English Anew

The cycle for Spoken English began once again. New members were targeted with the initial process of basics while older members continued ahead. See Here

Game Craziness

The new STEM-oriented games became an instant success…grabbing it as soon as they arrive. Performance skills and timings show exceptional levels of eye-hand-brain co-ordination. See Here

Annual Enrolments

The calm, intense process for the annual enrolments was completed over several days. The new start was on April 1, 2024, with senior tem members and older members speaking about various facets of Utsah Toli to the new members. A few days later, there was the formal celebratory opening with some treats. See Here

Milestone – Fathers

Engaging parents in the processes remains a challenge. Mostly, whenever an ‘event’ is scheduled, it is usually only mothers who attend. During the new cycle, parents were invited in small groups to break them in about the overall vision-mission / attention to personality & civic development + specific interventions building further on the previous year for brain power, mathematics, creative skills, handwriting, counselling for higher education / career and more. On one occasion, it was a great pleasure to see SIX FATHERS attend the group meeting. Their intense attention was an added pleasure. See Here

Rumblings for New Beginnings

In preparation for the new cycle, Brain Games came to the world of Utsah Toli. A silent and indirect accompaniment for informal STEM education. See Here.

New Roll-out

By end of February, it was time to roll-out announcements for the new cycle in April 2024. The present members have imbibed concepts of concentration and attention to details from their mentors…and are geared to share these values of the Utsah Toli world with the new group that will form ahead. See Here.

Photography Field Trip

The photography workshop inspired photographer and birder, Neha Parmar, to take the participants on a field trip. Members were enthralled with the tips about photography in nature. It ended with a great pizza and hot chocolate treat at Colonel’s Café. See Here.

Great January 2024

January was a wonderful month for members of Utsah Toli. Trustee Varun Mathur, with professional expertise, conducted two workshops over five days each. One in Photography and one in Water Colour Painting. See Here.

Towards 2023 year-end

The festive season culminated with a visit of Patron, Aruna Vasudev and a team lunch with spouses. See Here.

Making products for local sale

As the festive season begins, members get well engaged in making creative versions for different occasions. Janmashtami jhoolas, Karva Chauth Thaalis, Diwali diyas…all a blast of group activity. All well sold locally at the two shops in the local hub. See Here.

Hungarian painter returns after Covid break

Zsuzsa Gajdan had conducted intensive art workshops in earlier years. Covid caused a break. It was exciting that her passion had not stemmed and she was back again in September 2023. Even wearing outfits made from fabric gifts given as tokens to her earlier. It was an engaged few days understanding and practicising the mood of colours and perspective. The goodbye day is always emotional for her…with tears… See Here.

This little world…

Personalised attention, diverse activities, peer teaching & learning has successfully created this Third Space away from home and school…Providing intense, exclusive, underlying happiness and pleasure...and creating life-long memories… See Here.

Celebrations…again!

Independence Day, Janmashtami and Teachers Day celebrations kept rolling in one after the other. Total celebratory mood in self-driven plan and programme presentation mood. Ofcourse, treats were in order. See Here.

Spoken English

This has remained a challenge…The new model in this year cuts across barriers of age / medium of instruction in school / social background and the issue of irregular attendance (which is NOT mandatory at Utsah Toli). In this trial, in one session, members themselves came up with 29 words ending with ‘en’. See Here.

Expanding sewing skills

Members were initiated into sewing saree falls…first with practice on old saris, then new sarees for their mothers / grandmothers. See Here.

Fun competitions

Members decide to set up their own groups for some fun competitions in Scrabble, Carrom and Debate….while they were at it, groups for stitching, painting, etc. were also formed… See Here.

Field Visits…a new start…

A new intervention was started by taking members for Field Visits as part of exposure in career counselling. Members were taken to six sites: Bee-keeping, Mushroom Farming, Nursing College, Chocolate Making, Silkworm Farming, Domestic Solar Energy Unit. The post-visit debriefing sessions were led by the members themselves. See Here.

New milestone…Library

More than 100 books were numbered, covered, catalogued…and membership cards given out for the Utsah Toli Library… See Here.

Visitors

Trustee visit with treat and patron visit with updates… See Here.

Lego on demand…

Lego comes to the world of the smaller children…joyous times… See Here.

Digital Literacy continues

The new Digital Literacy groups are formed… See Here.

Enrolment time again

Enrolment announcement goes public…and the process begins for the eighth year…Soon, an intense sets in, as old and new members blend into a peer-led energy… See Here.

Sewing and knitting goes well

Sewing and knitting truly picked up with each member showing immense interest from start to finish. See Here.

Annual Trip

The annual outing is something much awaited. Just a trip to nearby Nainital…and so much fun. More so, with the treat offered by The Himalayan Café. See Here.

Xmas again…

This time it was a ‘surprise’ party…all secretly planned in advance…the team was informed about the next day only at the last… See Here.

At the core…

Daily, dedicated, individual, personalised attention = impact and long-lasting learning...creating special memories of an energetic childhood space away from home and school... See Here.

The elders who let it happen

Our all-female team are able to work as an empowered group with concentration only because of family support. It was time to acknowledge that with due respect. See Here.

Another ex-member becomes team member

Meanwhile, another ex-member, Renu, joined on staff as Art Superviser. See Here.

Safai Team

In November 2022, after much thought and parent consent, we formed the first Safai Team…members to clean the premises once a week. It is work they wish to do diligently and a consciousness of a Clean Space. After the first month, they all got a treat. Subsequently, they have been promised Rs. 200 each per month in their bank account. This initiative is supported by Sir Sobha Singh Trust. See Here.

Teacher’s Day…always fun…

Teachers Day remains an all-time favourite…now totally self-driven in terms of programme planning and presentation. A Fun Day. See Here.

Diwali time

Come August, and it is time to begin with Diyas for Diwali sales. See Here.

Rakhi time

By July it is time to begin trials for Rakhi designs for sale locally. It continues to be a successful effort. One customer even requested for an out-station delvery. See Here.

Outreach with local school

Before Covid, Utsah Toli had also started a rolling trophy for the Class XII topper in the local school, Government Intercollege Naukuchiatal. It continues and Jyoti was the winner in 2022. See Here.

Kathak becomes the new joy

By July, Kathak had taken root and we had our first male participant. Members truly look forward to this their Sunday joy. See Here.

Aepan art roots in

From this year, training in the traditional folk art, Aepan, was structured for best results. The interest is high and Utsah Toli even received an ‘order’ to paint pots for succulents in a local nursery. See Here.

Back to normal

By mid-2022, the post-Covid system had settled down… Study, scrabble, carrom, sewing, macrame and now - regular computer training on new laptops donated by Sir Sobha Singh Trust and lessons in English typing supervised by Nikita. See Here.

Ex-member becomes team member

Baby steps in empowering ex-members began with hiring Nikita as a Computer superviser after she completed a course in computers. See Here.

The world of Scrabble

Scrabble became the new tool for indirect English learning. It rolled without any handholding. See Here.

New enrolment begins

By March 2022, it was time to start the new enrolment process and meet parents and new children. By now, previous members, like Dipanjali Karnatak, are working like ambassadors to bring in new members. See Here.

Utsah Toli with Youth Hostel Association

In February 2022, Utsah Toli was invited by the Nainital Unit of the Youth Hostel Association of India. The competitions included painting, photographs, Solo Dance. It was a milestone with all participating 11 members winning prizes. The Utsah Toli Team of Uma, Neema, Bhawna worked tirelessly to achieve this success. See Here.

Omicron stalls us again…

In mid-January 2022, thanks to OMICRON, we were back to village sites for a while. It seemed beneficial for ex-members in the village. They could access sewing and succeed with great results. See Here.

First exposure to Photography

In January 2022, Pranjal Sah kindly agreed to conduct some basic photography sessions for the members. See Here.

New start - Kathak

A big step was taken when Utsah Toli finalised a Kathak Dance Trainer in association with Binita Bora. Dikshika Arya started regular Kathak Classes on Sundays from December 2021. See Here.

Xmas at Utsah Toli

Barriers have been crossed, thanks to You Tube / Whatsapp. Members themselves decided to have their Christmas celebration for the first time. See Here.

After Covid…slow start…

Covid induced a scattering of sites in villages. Rebuilding the energy and dynamics at the centre again was a long process. The build began with on-demand guitar classes, self-driven English practice, sewing practice and starting with knitting. See Here.

COVID

DUE TO COVID RELATED ISSUES AND MIGRATION OF THE UTSAH TOLI WEBSITE, THERE WAS A LONG BREAK IN UPDATING. A BRIEF RECAP OF YEARS 2022 AND 2023 FOLLOW.

CHILDREN’S DAY

Another day for some fun was Children’s Day in 2021. The UT members had rounds of Antaakshari, Dumbcharades - and ofcourse a UT treat that they always love. Some Chowmien and Gulab Jamun. See Here.

SCRABBLE AND GUITAR

Scrabble has been introduced as a side step for English word learning. While Guitar lessons have started on demand. See Here.

PEER LEARNING

By 2021, The older members of Utsah Toli has mastered Diya painting, particularly with designs derived from the local art form, Aepan. The process of sharing this soft skill has been initiated and the next round of members were learning fast from their peers. The ’21 Diwali saw a sale of about 400 diyas worth about Rs. 6,000/. UT members got their treat when they received their full share of the ‘profits’. See Here.

TEACHER’S DAY

As Covid restrictions began to ease, the urge to have fun times together grew among UT members. In 2021, they decided to plan for a rocking Techer’s Day celebration. The great laughter moments when mentors, trainer and a Trustee were asked to mimic one of the others. The members planned everything with a Mistress of Ceremony panning out the event. See Here.

SELF-DRIVEN CREATIVE WRITING

Thanks to Bhoomika, we now have budding writers and poets, who are getting published. Bhoomika’s essay on Forest Fires and Jyoti’s poem have been published on the editorial page of Nainital Samachar, a prestigious paper of Nainital. See Here.

THE CHALLENGE OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Due to local advice, support at the village sites was stopped for some time. Mentors did their best to help telephonically at an individual level. The idea to have some virtual fun meetings on Sundays came to naught. Between issues of connectivity and devices, it could not be sustained.

Later, on public demand and in consultation with village chiefs / elders, village site work resumed - with protocols of limited numbers, hand sanitisation, face masks and distance. See Here.

THE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

The Utsah Toli Team of Uma, Neema and Bhawna took charge of an important new project of Oral History. Over a period of three months, six male and six female elders met the UT members on Sundays. The males shared information about Health, Education, Poverty, Value of hard work and dedication, good career thinking, etc. from a perspective of their younger days and today’s times. The female elders taught traditional Kumaoni folk songs and dance. In the following months, the UT members recapped what they had heard and learnt. See Here.

RAKHI-MAKING

Over time, it also led to demand-driven Rakhi making. Due diligence to quality inspired a local shop-owner to promote it as Buy Local initiative. See Here.

SOFT SKILLS TOO IN COVID TIMES

On-demand sewing and craft sessions by Trainer, Bhawna, also started during this period. Including a new craft, Macrame. See Here.

MORPHING IN COVID-19 TIMES

Mentors, Uma and Neema, started with special support sessions in small groups at village sites. It is helped children to ride over the challenges of Whatsapp / Zoom - driven school work. The personal touch of the mentors and being with a peer group is filled a bit of the vacuum of isolated learning. The effort paid off with two first-divisioners in Class XII, Nikita and Renu. They were duly felicitated for their accomplishment. See Here.

CHAIRPERSON’S VISIT

In April 2019, Chairman of Utsah Toli, Aruna Vasudev, visited the centre and spent time with the members. Her pioneering efforts at fund-raising continue to keep Utsah Toli an active “Third Space” for the children of Naukuchiatal. See Here.

CHANDIPRASAD BHATT

The tall leader of the Chipko Movement, Magsaysay award-winner, Chandiprasad Bhatt, visited the centre and had a long interaction with the children. It was a unique and unforgettable experience. Bhattji is very impressed with the concept of Utsah Toli and fully perceives and praises the vision-mission and relevance of the project.

He pertinently commented that the impact of this effort would be ‘visible’ only after ten or 15 years. The effort of Utsah Toli is to not just impact the members who come in now as children. The vision is to mould them as future parents when they have their own children. See Here.

LATEST RESULTS

Non-board students, who scored 60% + have been gifted handloom file folders. The board results are awaited. See Here.

OPENING SESSION OF FIFTH YEAR

The first Sunday meeting of the fifth year of Utsaj Toli was an intense beginning. Apart from explaining the concepts of Utsah Toli, new members were partnered with old members. The old members will guide the new members on various aspects of the centre and its activities. See Here.

TOWARDS THE FIFTH YEAR

The fifth year of Utsah Toli has begun with enrolment of 42 members. This was a culmination after a month of intensive interaction with parents, listening to their aspirations for their children and expectations from Utsah Toli. See Here.

BIRTHDAY FUN

Birthday celebrations continue to be great fun times. See Here.

VISIT OF CARLETON COLLEGE - USA STUDENTS + LECTURE AT BHIMTAL

Padmini Smetachek, who runs a homestay in Bhimtal, was co-ordinating a visit of some students of Liberal Arts from Carleton College in Minnesota, USA. They were on a study trip with the theme of ‘Globalisation and Local Responses’. Some students expressed a desire to visit Utsah Toli, which they did in two groups. They were accompanied by their professors in History and Sociology. It was a unique experience and opportunity both for the American students and the members of Utsah Toli. The members asked the American students some sharp questions and it made for interesting conversation in this remote location. See Here.

GRATIFICATION PARTY TIME

Purchase of diyas: Approximately Rs. 350/-. Paints: Gratis Utsah Toli. Sales: Rs. 1,200/-. Definitely gratification time for a successful collective effort. Fabulous outing at Café by The Lake and memorable treat courtesy: Adit-Soni Dave and their team headed by Ishaan. Seed is sown: Innovative thinking can make local alternative income-earning possible… See Here

PARENTS MEETINGS

As the year of membership nears its end, it is time for review. Apart from the mentors, parents are the best positioned for feedback and discussion. See Here

OUTREACH BEYOND UTSAH TOLI

A visit to the local school was revelatory. Children really did not have proper seating for study. Utsah Toli took it up as an online campaign and successfully raised funds from xxx donors. GIC Naukuchatal is now filled with rainbow colours. The Chief Development Officer of Dist. Nainital. Mr. Vineet Kumar, formally conducted the handover. See Here

XMAS TIME

Come Christmas – New Year, members got busy painting pebbles and making boxes to sell Lucky Charms! See Here

ANNUAL TRIP

The annual excursion is a time for much excitement – and lengthy discussion. Where to go, when, what to eat where…endless conversations. Members visited the nearby tea garden in Shyamkhet for the first time. It was an opportunity to learn about tea beyond the local tea they know. Then it was Mukhteshwar…alas, the clouds deprived the children of the 360 degree Himalaya view…but the drive (exhausting!) up and down was fun-filled with music and dance in the bus. See Here

DIWALI JOY

Come Diwali, an innocent question ‘Do you want to paint diyas for sale?’ led to a hectic 10-12 days of activity. Purchasing, painting, delivering and sales done! Utsah Toli has orders for next Diwali! Profits were four times – members are thrilled with the idea. Mr. Mahendera Verma (Trustee of Utsah Toli) and his wife placed an order and the children were thrilled to deliver the diyas in person. See Here

STUDY CONTINUES

There are always requests from those hitting into board exams for small and big (as in really BIG) primers for various subjects. See Here

RAMLILA TIME ONWARDS

Once it is Dussehra time, local life changes into a festive mood. Representatives of Utsah Toli were invited to attend the night-long Ramlila performances. See Here

ZSUZSA GAJDAN

The Hungarian painter, Zsuzsa Gajdan, once again came for a week-long workshop. Since she had a previous experience with the children of this region, she came well prepared for a very structured workshop. The participants truly enjoyed the experience.

The output is inspirational and a selection is to be printed as greeting cards in two sizes and gift-cum-thank you cards in a small size. The set has been curated as a series: Animal, Fish, Butterfly, Matisse-Hey Maa! See Here.

STORY TELLING 1

Children love to hear little stories. Now, their attention is drawn to stories in English or Hindi. One exercise is to translate it. The other is to read it out to the members on a Sunday morning. This is the story that was presented by Vishal. See Here
Click on pdf to download story.

MONTH OF JUNE AND LOTS OF FUN

The school holiday period in June 2018 was a great ‘season’ at Utsah Toli. The greatest moment was that seven out eight children cleared their Board exams, with two getting First Class. Surely a moment of celebration for the children and the mentors. Then, a lot of holiday project activity, learning English, photography, fabric painting – and counselling by women constables for girls who wish to join the police force. House full time. See Here

YEAR 4 BEGINS

With the kind support of Kalpataru Trust and many individual donors, Utsah Toli moved into its fourth year from April 2018. The time of applications is also an opportunity to interact and hear about the expectations and aspirations that parents have about their children.Year 4 began, as usual, with a full gathering. It was graced by one of the trustees, Mahendera Verma and Anil Chanotiya, Senior Block Chief. New members introduced themselves with confidence and they all attentively listened to what the guests had to say. See Here

ACADEMICS – MOVING AHEAD

In 2017, children had taken an oath to study with more dedication. Now, they are beginning to perform better in school with the support of the mentors, Uma Chanotiya and Rohit Brijwasi. Members who passed the 10th and 12th exams received books as a gift. This is thanks to the donation for books by Mahendera Verma, a trustee of Utsah Toli. Those who got first division got an additional gift of a pen. The mentors were also honoured for their efforts with gifts and thanks. See Here.

CHAIRMAN VISIT

In April 2018, Chairman of Utsah Toli, Aruna Vasudev, visited the centre and spent time with the members. Her pioneering efforts at fund-raising continue to keep Utsah Toli an active Third Space for the children of Naukuchiatal. See Here.

FABRIC PAINTING 2

Girls have got engrossed with fabric painting. More material has been made available. They have made cushion covers and moved onto paintings for framing. Choices of designs and colours evolve by the day. See Here. See Here.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Members have begun to imbibe some basics of photography through informal lessons with the Executive Director, Pramod Mathur. See Here.

ENGLISH

The aspiration for learning English is also very high. This is being given importance and a new teacher has been hired to cover the school curriculum. Additionally, 'Project Director, Neelima Mathur' is conducting regular informal sessions for English speaking, including reading, building on root words, making sentences, conducting simulated conversations, building stories. See Here

SPECIAL VISITORS

Ron Hess and Cheryl Groff, International Development Experts, were into documentary film-making several years ago. They moved to the development sector and were last posted in Nepal before signing off. They visited Utsah Toli and were absolutely thrilled to be there. Ron spoke to the children in Hindi about the beautiful heritage of environment they live in and how to dedicate their lives to preserve it. See Here

HOPE FOUNDATION
In December 2017, Utsah Toli was approached by another NGO, HOPE. They do regular annual health camps in Naukuchiatal. This time, they wished to add an element of cultural activity with children. Utsah Toli gave some ideas about painting and debate competitions. This was done in co-operation with the local government school and Utsah Toli members participated in it. Many won prizes as well. HOPE donated two desktop computers to Utsah Toli. These have been dedicated for school and project related work, with one computer for girls and one for boys. See Here

PAINTING WORKSHOP

Hungarian painter, Zsuzsa Gajdan, came for ten days to teach painting to the members. Children enjoyed their experience with water colours, crayons and charcoal. See Here.

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
From June 11, 2017, Manu Singh and Simone started their ten-day volunteering at Utsah Toli. The members enjoyed the mix of formal sessions and fun & games to learn some basic spoken English. See Here

FABRIC PAINTING
Support Tutor, Uma Chanotiya, started fabric painting sessions at the onset of the holidays. See Here.

MUSIC
Support Tutor, Rohit Brijwasi, started music lessons at the same time. See Here.

OUTING
On June 9, 2017, members went on a trip to Ranikhet. They visited the Kainchi Dham temple on the way, had an Arjun Verma-sponsored lunch at Parvati Inn in Ranikhet and then visited the Bindsar Mahadev Temple. See Here.

PARENTS
It is important to keep the  connect with parents and whenever possible, we try to invite them to Utsah Toli. Children get engaged for the day with much dedication – preparing bouquets, arranging for tea and snacks, writing up little speeches, which they read out to the parents. See Here

DIGITAL LITERACY
In the third year, we began to channelize children to use the internet for research and knowledge gathering. Informal conversations around a topic are used to motivate them, to look for more information on the topic. The children seem quite adept and enjoy this activity of informal Digital Literacy. See Here

STUDY SUPPORT
The meetings with parents made it clear that the focus on study must be an important element at Utsah Toli. Many cannot afford private tuitions, without which children find it difficult to move ahead at school. The mentors are now conducting vigorous sessions to cover the curriculum, particularly of those who have board exams. The system is being further fine-tuned in the fourth year starting April 2018. See Here

BONDING
Girls and boys choose their ‘activity’ of the day and settle into small, intimate groups. These are moments of bonding and sharing that create memories for them on a daily basis. See Here

BIRTHDAYS
Birthday parties continue to be an all-time favourite of the children and they really look forward to receiving little wrapped gifts. Children decide the menu of the day and help with the arrangements. Of course, a nice, creamy, flowered cake is always a must! See Here