Tete-A-Tete with Padmini R (Their mentor)

Tete-A-Tete with Padmini R (Their mentor)
This is an interview with Ms Padmini R, the PRO of Garden City College, Bangalore.

Chinese: The language known to be the toughest in the world.  Lets see how these students hailing all the way from China have been able to cope up with English so far... 

1) How have your experiences been so far?
Ans: Its a blend of good, bad and of course lots of humour.

2) How is the response from the students?
Ans: They were very reluctant initially.  Sometimes a bit lazy as well.  But now they are gradually developing their interests and improving on their consistency as well. 

3) How about the attitude of the students?
Ans: The students come from y affluent and wealthy families.  They are well pampered and self indulged.  So a lot of leniency is required on our part.  Temper doesn't work with them.  But in case we are polite and kind, its very easy to convince them for anything.

4) How is their attitude towards each other?
Ans: They are very friendly and helpful towards each other and share a good bonding as well.

5) What do the students like about GCC?
Ans: Like many others, they too love the ambiance here.

6) What do you want to say about them?
Ans: They are very humble, innocent.  They give and take with the right hand, which I like a lot.

7) Would you like to comment something about one particular student?
Ans: Yes!!! Liu Shuntiam, the eldest of all- is very innocent, very genuine, humble, consistent, a good artist as well.  Probably all adjectives fit him right.

8) Which part of teaching do you enjoy the most?
Ans: Every moment spent with them is an enjoyment for me.  But the time when they desperately want to say something or convey their message, and they don't get the words; their gestures, expressions are just worth watching.  I just love it!!!
        Also when they saw or see something, they use ''look look'', instead of saw or see, eg; I look look you yesterday. 
        For them delicious means nice.  So whenever asked about their experience; as in- How was the game? the answer is ''delicious''.  
        So these certain things, apparently small, but yet make up my day.  
Monika Jasuja
 

First memories growing up...

First memories growing up...
  On October 4, 2011, the Chinese students celebrated their national day at GCC, by hoisting their national flag along with some other Gardenians accompanying them.  In order to add a taste to their joy, sweets were also given to them.

The Chinese national day is celebrated on October 1 every year.  On this special day, the Chinese hoist their national flag and pay homage to their freedom fighters.

In order to make these students more comfortable and give them a feeling of homeliness, thus preventing their isolation, the college Co-coordinator, Mr Ajay initiated the idea of celebrating this day for them. 

The students came out gratified and thanked mam for her empathy.  ''We felt nice.  Thanks to everyone who supported us'', one of the the students said.

Though the students couldn't say much, their expressions did reveal how beholden they all felt.
Monika Jasuja

A tisket, a tasket, lunch in a basket!!!

 A tisket, a tasket, lunch in a basket!!!Every Saturday, the students of the English Academy are taken on educational tours and expeditions at places in and around Bangalore.  Accompanied by their mentor, they travel through the college bus.
 Hitherto, the students have been to various places like the Lal Bagh, the Big Banyan tree, Manchinabele dam, the Cubbon park, Vidhan Soudha, Vikas Soudha, GPO, High Cout of Karnataka, Rajbhavan, Planetorium, Iskcon temple, Prasanna Anjoneya temple.

They carry their lunch with them.

On these tours, not only learning, but the children look forward to them also as an outing as well as a change in the monotony of life. 

With teaching, it also serves as a good opportunity to know the students better and their attitude and behaviour outside the formal setup.  It helps in building a good student-teacher rapport, thus maintaining a healthy atmosphere, says the mentor. 
Monika Jasuja

Not because.....

Not because.....

 

If you see me walking with someone else,

that's not because I feel like,

but because you weren't brave enough to walk by me...

 

If you ever see me smile,

its not because I forgot you,

but because I'm tired of crying for you...

 

If you see me live again,

its not because I moved on,

but because I hate the fact that you can live without me...

 

So, if I fall for someone else,

its not because I wanted to,

but because you wanted to, for someone else...

 

Do tell and show some people, how much you love them,

cos if they really move on, you can never get them back...

 

Monika Jasuja

Bhaiyadooj: A festival of brothers and sisters. It falls on the 3rd day after Diwali and is celebrated all over the country.

Dear Honey...

 Bhaiyadooj: A festival of brothers and sisters.  It falls on the 3rd day after Diwali and is celebrated all over the country.

''I'll get you whatever you want, but you dare not step out of the house'',  ''Why are you talking on phone at this time and with whom?'',  ''Di, please don't tell papa, please!'',  ''Give me only 50 bucks, I promise, I'll return 60 after my pocket money comes''.

These sentences don't stop echoing in my ears today.  Wish you a very happy Bhaiyadooj dear honey!  Missing you a lot.  The cat and dog fights that we had, the way we teased each other, mamma getting irritated with us, daddy fed-up with our complaints.  I don't know when will these moments come back.

Life has changed here.  It has made me mature, I hope you too are realising your responsibilities towards our family.  I still remember our last meet when you said, ''Abhi bhi time hai, mat jaa''.  I know you are not very happy with my decision of being here, but trust me, I have not done any mischief that will make you scold me. 

But there are certain things that of course only you could give.  Yaad hai; when I used to sleep, and in case you entered the room even by mistake, I made a big fuss out of it.  But here I'm learning the art of sleeping in spite of all the worldly distractions which hurdle me from mastering this art. 

So much we used to fight, right?  Moreover, the T.V. remote.  How can I forget that?  That was the prime cause of our fights.  But now that its more than 3 months that I'm here, I don't recall even a single time of watching T.V.  I don't feel like, may be because no one to fight.  You took my Activa even for 10  minutes and blood used to start boiling, but now the Activa doesn't even exist for me.

There were so many times that we were the biggest enemies of each other, the bitter fights we had, our Macdi night outs, Maggi evenings, and of course our silence, that conveyed the feelings of the world over. 

I am very happy here.  But there is someone who is missing.  Someone who could buy me a sandwich, someone who could prepare me a Maggi in the mid night, someone who scolded me for being on phone for a long time, someone who angrily stared at my guy friends like they were his next target, someone who quietly stole 10rs notes from mamma's wardrobe and then blamed me, someone who could just be you.

Destiny brought us to gether in this world but may be fate had planned something different for us.  I think I'm destiny's favourite child to have a brother like you.  Love you!  Always stay special.

Monika Jasuja

Majesty and The three girls...

Majesty and The three girls:

Let me introduce to you the 'Majesty' of the group, Ms Nishtha Sood, hailing from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.  Though very jolly by nature and loves sneaking out with friends, Nishtha never fails to give her 100% to her work.  She's passionate about playing guitar and spends her leisure time surfing the net.  I've been with this 'Tom boy types girl', since the beginning of our college days.  I can surely say she's the most laid back person during times other than work.  I clearly remember the sentence she told me on the very first day we met, ''I'll do whatever you say'', but pity me; its just working the other way round. 

Next in line is 'The winner girl' of the group.  Very sensational and most wanted spinster, Kanika comes from the capital city Delhi.  Charming and gorgeous, she's very naughty at times.  Kanika keeps a keen interest in current trends, dance and outdoor games.  She did her 2 years in History Honors and is currently pursuing her BA in Journalism here, since she found better prospects in Bangalore.  She also practices healing and meditation in her daily life.  Intelligent and knowledgeable, Kanika enjoys every moment to the fullest.  Indeed, she's very different compared to her peers and this quality makes her stand out from the rest.

''We Rajputs like this, We Rajputs like that'', these are the most common sentences I hear from the tall, fair, beautiful and elegant Himani, whose from Jammu.  This so called 'Poor girl' of the groups best qualified with all those things that people usually say while talking about girls.  She's very innocent, most of the times childish and very very brilliant at blackmailing her friends to get her work done.  Himani wishes to make a bright carrier in the field of teaching.  She is blessed with a natural  beauty and a fantastic personality.

What do I say about myself?  My identity comes with my very own college.  They call me 'Clever girl', and find a great joy teasing me saying 'Bin pagari, full adhikari'. 

We all enjoy talking to each other in the 'ing' language and find a great joy in each others company.  After being together, the rest of the world hardly exists for us.  They've been very understanding as friends and and supportive like a family.  It started from a hi, changed to wassup?,  growed to 'oye pagal', tended to 'tu apna dimag mat chala', fell to 'thapad khana hai kya', and finally to, 'sambhal lena yaar'.  It really feels lucky to have such treasures in my life.

Monika Jasuja

Life is an ocean, u decide : Sink or Swim...

Life is an ocean, u decide : Sink or Swim...

I don't know if I'm the right person to talk about this, but my friends say I'm very formal and devoid of love.  Its not that I don't love, but may be my approach towards it is a bit different than yours.

We all have crushes, all want to love and be loved.  But do we ever reflect on the most important factor of right time?  Around me I see so many friends lying to their parents, being rude to them, disrespecting them and most importantly forcing them for an increase in pocket money.  And according to my experience hitherto, the basic reason behind all this is being into a relationship.

I don't ask you to stop being into a relationship, but at the same time you need to learn how to balance different things together.  Is it not sick on our part, that we disobey and abuse our parents, who've given us birth, taken care of us for more then 18 long years; just for the sake of a guy/ girl whose been with us just since a couple of months.  We forget our sleep if our lover is not well, but how can we forget the sleepless nights that our parents have spent just to comfort us?  I don't say forget friends and lovers, or stop treats and freak outs.  They too are necessary.  They too are an essence.  But at the same time we need to learn to prioritize things.  We need to be matured enough to understand what is how much important at a particular time. 

Love is the most divine feeling and something happened to a person.  It is indefinable.  The more we know about it, the less we understand it.  Its a basic necessity that everyone needs.  We must make the most of it and enjoy it to the fullest, but we need to look at certain factors like with whom and the time.

Our parents have given us birth.  They are the ones to bring us into this world.  Thus they deserve complete rights on us.  Whichever step we take, whatever we do, where ever we go; how ever far we are from them, they should know where we are, what are we doing and for what purpose.  believe or not ; the moment you feel you are going to hide a certain thing from your parents, I'm sure you're taking a wrong step which is why you bare reluctant to discuss the issue with them.  But, our family, especially our parents are the only ones who were, are and will always stand by us in all in all walks of life, in spite of knowing the worst in us.  It really feels nice when your family supports you as a friend and your friends stand by you as a family.

We are here for the basic reason of study and experience.  It is our duty to concentrate on our studies and work.  I don't expect you to be a book worm, nor am I so, but at least spend your time constructively.  The are so many extra curricular activities we can indulge ourselves in, then why choose to do these ''extra extra curricular'' activities?

So many of us repent for our past.  How much ever successful and bright our future is, past is alas the same.  But yet its never too late.  We all have an speakable secret, an irreversible regret, an irreplaceable loss, an unreachable dream, an unforgettable first love, still life is about being happy anyhow, cos everything in life has to be summed up into three words, 'it goes on'.  So you can still make the most of your present and one day this will be your past, which will overlap your previous past.  Once on the walls of a theater, I read, ''Life is a movie in flash back, so after many many years, when you see it, make sure it is worth watching'', isn't it true?

Just imagine, after many many years, when we come to GCC with our children we should have good memories to cherish for.  Instead of the punishments and regrets that we faced, we must rather have memories of love from our teachers and respect from our friends.  Cos love from friends and respect from professionals, every one gets it, but why not try it the other way round? 

Thus, above all the fun had, all the love shared, fights made, its our family, our degree, our dignity and most importantly our experience that will matter.  I may sound a bit selfish and self centered, but just think on the aforesaid topic and start working on it.  May be not very soon, but once in life, when you look back at others, you will surely realize, you are somewhere ahead.  Its at that point of time when you will really feel contented. 

So many of us are unable to sleep at night in spite of lying on the bed.  We think on stupid topics over and over again, but if we work hard and indulge ourselves in various things, we're already so tired with our work and simultaneously satisfied with ourselves, that the moment we lie on the bed, we're fast asleep without a secondary thought.  And why call it work? Once you start loving your work, it's no more a work, in fact an enjoyment.  So a reply for the ones who ask me why do I keep working all the time?  I don't guys.  In fact i enjoy more then you all.

So once in life, do fall in love; not necessary with a person, but with a dream, an idea, an ambition, for it will give you a new reason to wake up with a smile.

Monika Jasuja

Just That I Love You...!!!

Just That I Love You...!!!

Early in the morning when I want to be with you,
its not that I like disturbing you,
its just that I want my day to start with you...

When I talk loudly,
its not that I want to create a nuisance,
its just that I am so much engrossed in talking to you, that I hardly notice the world....

When I'm asking you where are you and for what,
its not that I'm trying to pervade your privacy,
its just to ensure that you are safe...

When I'm possessive about you,
its not that I'm trying to put you in a cage,
its just that I'm trying to protect you...

When my name flashes on your mobile again and again,
its not that I don't want you to finish your work,
its just that I always want to stay connected with you...

When I am not able to tolerate you shouting at me,
its not that I cannot tackle your harsh words,
its just that I can't accept the fact of I being the reason behind it...

When I behave silly,
its not that I'm not mature,
its just that with you, I feel like being myself...

When I'm working hard, ignoring my health,
its not that I want to tense you,
its just that I want to achieve enough to lay the world in your toes...

When I cannot sleep without your goodnight,
its not that I'm addicted towards you,
its just that I want my day to start as well as end with you....

So when I sound  crazy,
its not that I'm out of my mind,
my heart whispers,
ITS JUST THAT I LOVE YOU...!!!

Monika Jasuja
Garden City College.