Western Ghats Calling: Where have the children gone?

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Where have the children gone?

Balni village is not far from the coastal town of Karwar, south of Goa, known for the heavily fortified naval base called Seabird and its little known beach named Rabindranath Tagore. Drawing inspiration from the beauty and serenity of the beach, Gurudev had initiated his work on his Nobel Prize winning work Geetanjali here. Vinod Gurav takes pride in rich legacy of the place but regrets its consistent decline of values.

Retired as a school teacher over a decade ago, he informs that the enrollment has uniformly declined across all the classes, from 1 to 7, in the Government Higher Primary School at Balni. ‘As against 153 students a decade ago, there are only 10 students in the school today,’ regrets Vinod. Given its close proximity to various towns on the outskirts of Goa, including Karwar, parents prefer sending their children to English-medium private schools.

Balni is located in Joida taluk in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, the most densely forested area in Uttara Kannada district. Joida is located in the Kali river valley, the most-dammed river in the country.Not only are there six hydro-electric projects along its 184-km length, one dam every thirty kilometers, the controversial Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant is located along its banks too. Despite such developments, the valley is inhabited by traditional forest dwelling communities.

Further upstream into the valley, at Henkol, is located another Higher Primary School. Mid-day meal is under preparation for its 76 students and 4 teachers. ‘Sustaining enrollment and retaining children is tough’, admits headmaster E Revappa. Revappa is joined by his colleagues in asserting that despite adequate financial resources and facilities at their disposal, enrollment of students in higher primary schools has been on the decline in the region.

The trend is prevelant all across the district. In many schools, there are classes without a single enrollment. Does declining strength of students in the schools concern the teachers? The biggest worry the teachers harbor relates to the probability of school being closed down with the likelihood of them being transfered to schools at far off places. To ward off such fears, some teachers coax their relatives and friends to enrol their children.

In contrast to overall improvement in school enrollment across the country, enrollment as well as retention continues to be a serious issue in this district. However, one look at any school gives a distinct reflection of region’s rich culture. Not only are school premises clean and green, the classrooms are neat and engaging too. Though teachers seem competent and committed, they are grappling with the reasons behind declining enrollment of children.

While migration of families to urban centres remains the prime reason for poor enrollment of children in schools, small families and declining fertility in the region could be another plausible reason. In the absence of any demographic study, many hypotheses persist to justify the prevailing trend. All said, teachers in government schools remain circumspect about their future and the future of government schools in the region.

As one leaves the taluk limits, one is reminded of the fact that Joida is the place where legendary writer Manohar Mulgaonkar grew and attained prominence as a literary genious....Link

(First published in The Hindu, Sept 18, 2013)

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Save Western Ghats Movement (SWGM)

SWGM has an unpleasant history. Hailed by India Today as one of the finest post-independence environmental movement, the mid-1980s march along the pristine 'ghats' had to wither away on account of internal squabbling between the organizers. Between 2006 till 2008, Sudhirendar Sharma got an opportunity to travel across the region to capture the latent energy among diverse actors to reignite the past. Together with Pandurang Hegde, who carried the painful memories of the past, the Save Western Ghats Movement of the 80's was revived at Peaceful Society in Goa in 2009. Peaceful Society (led by Kalanand Mani) had played stellar role in anchoring the SWGM in 1988.

SWGM Conferences

Three important congregations of activists, researchers, scientists, artists, politicians and thinkers have been organised since 2009 under the aegis of Save Western Ghats Movement - an informal platform of civil society actors. While the first, in 2009 in Ponda (Goa) revived the erstwhile movement of the mid-80's, the second in Kotagiri (Tamilnadu) in 2010 was major milestone as it led to the setting-up of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel by the Ministry of Environment & Forests. The third congregation at Moodbidri (Karnataka) in 2011 reiterated civil society commitment to conserve the ghats whatever be the outcome of the panel.

Sussegad

Sussegad, meaning `easygoing’, is often associated with the Goans but it does extend to other areas along the Western Ghats, notably hilly parts of Karnataka. Mellowed down by the warmth of the Sun, the coolness of the rains and the wisdom of the green hills, people in these parts of the Western Ghats are known for their simplicity and hospitality. Accommodating as they are, sussegad lends a distinct cultural identity to these people.

When the world elsewhere is racing against materialistic greed, sussegad provides the much desired calming effect. Gandhi used to say: `there is more to life than speed.’ People in the ghats seem to have imbibed that spirit from time immemorial. Being laid back and stealing siesta time during each afternoon may seem out of place for an average outsider but for people here it is an accepted practice that renders them inherent strength – of being in harmony with self, society and nature. It seems sussegad could be for the good of the entire society. Any takers!

Open House

By definition, activists are an interesting bunch of people with high octane levels. At the heart of activism lies the unflinching desire to bring the world on its feet. Unilaterally focussed, immensely committed and socially driven, activists have struggled to carve out a niche for themselves in the shrinking social space. Yet, they enjoy the patronage of the state and its cronies. Had there not been the state with its dubious designs, the breed called activists would not have existed? Wonder, who then is the real activist?

Do you agree with this notion?

All About Frogs

Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats has been published to help students, researchers, forest managers, photographers and general public in identifying a species in the field along with its status, ecology and distribution. Simultaneously it also aims at bringing awareness about amphibians among general public. This book covers 73 species of 156 frogs and toads recorded from the Western Ghats as of date. Written by Dr. KV Gururaja, the book is available through: http://shop.gubbilabs.in.