Teachers emerging for one thing - joy!

This Saturday, a teacher had a baby in a milk bottle on her lap while she talked about her pedagogy to the group. Are we aware of the different contexts our teachers come from? A lot of teachers in the country are most likely waking up hours before school to cook for the family, wake their children up for school, have a tiffin ready for their spouse, deal with 2-3 tantrums, and then make their way to school. She might get to school late, arrive a bit tired, and not be motivated enough to be herself in class. There has to be more space for teachers in our education system, for their well-being and for them to express themselves. 

This week's happenings included Learning Forward Saturday, which explored how we can encourage teachers to talk more and share classroom moments and reflections. One beautiful instance that a teacher shared was when she was sitting in a garden with her young students. Basking in the warm sun. A butterfly came and sat on her. She asked her students everything they knew about a butterfly – shapes, form, habitat, colours, and lifespan. We discussed how cold books cannot bring to our learning what an experience of sitting together, observation and reflection can. Driving home this point may or may not be easy. Not because the teacher, as an individual, does not realise the importance of real experience; she is often a mother or has had children growing up around her, but it is a systemic failure. Do books hold everything that a student wishes to learn? More importantly, how do they want to know? 

Schools should take the teacher's word more seriously and invite her to the discussions about curriculum and teaching. The system can value her word and empower her. When we have teachers reading with us or them reading by themselves, we are creating a moment of revolution, reflection and unlearning. 

On a different note, I love classroom libraries. There are always moments when you see young minds engage with thoughts, climax and emotions- a way to enter into a deep relationship with them and their learning.  

Neelashi Mangal

BOOKS OF THE WEEK

When It All Began: The Secret Archives of the Underworld (1920 – 1980) | True Stories of Gang Leaders, Crime Syndicates & the Birth of India’s Underworld by Rakesh Maria

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the 1980s, the streets of Dongri, Pydhonie, Nagpada, Agripada and Byculla witnessed some of the bloodiest gang wars and reigns of terror India had ever seen. These neighbourhoods became the battlegrounds of crime. But when did it all begin?

Tracing it back to the 1930s, when Abdul Karim Sher Khan Pathan, aka Karim Lala―considered one of the first feared dons of Bombay―arrived in the city. He soon mastered the tricks of the trade with the Pathan lords Babul Khan and Jumma Khan, thus gradually establishing his dominance. As the Pathans grew in power, resentment against them simmered among the Pathans. Petty criminals from the city’s streets and markets began to evolve into ‘dadas’ and ‘bhais’, forming gangs of their own.

This gave rise to the first generation of dons―figures including Karim Lala, Haji Mastan and Dilip Aziz―who built empires through smuggling, extortion and other rackets. Over time, these groups diversified, regrouped and expanded into larger syndicates of organized crime.

But the next generation of gangsters were ruthless. Power struggles turned volatile, and many began to pose serious threats to one another. Dawood Ibrahim and his allies too emerged during this time. What followed was an era of bloody rivalries, gangsters eliminating their rivals with impunity, openly defying the police.

Rakesh Maria, the veteran Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who led some of India’s most high-profile investigations, reflects on the tumultuous history in this extraordinary book, When It All Began. Replete with rare information, landmark cases and the full arc of gang wars at every turn, the account captures the rise and fall of Bombay’s underworld like never before. With its authoritative voice and an insider’s perspective, this book will grip you to the very end.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rakesh Maria is a former IPS officer who led some of India’s most high-profile investigations, including the 1993 Mumbai blasts and the 26/11 terror attacks. Known for his sharp instincts and fearless leadership, he rose to become Mumbai’s Police Commissioner before retiring as Director General of Home Guards in 2017.

                             

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