Save Water

Today some of our schools students were going to IIC to see a presentation of water by Anupama Mishra. He told us how people save water in places like Jaisalmer. He showed us some photos of a water harvesting system; There was a big square in the middle of a desert and right in the middle of the square was a dome kind of thing, the floor was a bit tilted to the middle so that when it rains the water which comes into the big square will go into the dome in the middle so that the villagers can take water from there to drink because just before every monsoon they clean the floor of the square so that the water that gets collected will be pure. He even told us about some step wells of Rajasthan. He showed us a photo of Jaisalmer from above the city and we could see that every house had a water harvesting system. He told us how much water the people of Delhi and Mumbai waste, for example they wash their cars with pipes that splash a lot of water. He told us that government had provided Jaisalmer water but they would not drink it and instead use it for bathing and washing clothes and they used their own harvested water to drink.      

Red Indians

RELIGION
                  Native Americans did not believe in one god. Nor had they any hell or heaven. To most of them, the world was filled with powers which showed itself through all living things, the animals, the heavenly bodies, the plants and sometimes man. This power was good if handled right otherwise it was evil. So men tried to get in touch with it and to gain its favor in order to have strength to live well. Many tribes have taught their children to go out in some lonely place in early life, fasting and praying, as men of almost every religion have done. Some animal or might then appear, praising their bravery and promising help. Plains Indians sometimes cut off a finger joint in sacrifice. They said that everything in the world belonged to the great power, so there was nothing they could give it, except a part of themselves. The farming tribes held their principal ceremonies in honor of the corn. All summer long they held dances to call the rain and help the plants grow. These dances were not like most white mans dances, where women and men dance together. Often they were performed by men only. They were like dignified processions carried out with a dancing step and a beautiful costume. Such dances are still performed among the Pueblos. Indian ceremonies were conducted by priests. Many Indian officials as medicine men should really be called priests, for it was their business to remember every act of a beautiful ceremony, just as any priest does, to recite the prayers, and to teach the songs. Sometimes a person who fell ill was thought to have been disrespectful in the ceremony, and then the priests and his helpers could make a cure by performing the ceremony all over again and putting things right. Other medecine men claimed to get their power straight from a vision. Sometimes they thought this power enabled them to bring ran or take away the enemy's power in a war. Most often it helped them to cure sickness. Most primitive people have believed that magic would cure sickness, for they have not known the scientific causes of disease. Sometimes the Indians imagined that some little stone or living creature might have gotten inside the body. The medecine man, after singing and praying would suck it out. Some Indians thought that an unconscious patients soul had floated away, and the medecine would call it back. Whites can readily understand why the medecine man's singing and praying gave real confidence to a sick person. Even in the government hospitals, with all their improvements the Indians miss this religious side of curing.      
    

Dairy 23/4/2010

Today in the morning I woke up early because it was school today. I got ready and went to school. In the morning we ran two rounds and then played football in which I was the keeper and I got hurt on my hand. The first class was hindi, in which we made sentences of difficult words. The next class was french, but my hand was really aching. So I could do nothing but sit with an ice pack in my hand! The next class was math I again could do nothing. Then it was lunch. After lunch we played cricket. The next class was SST in which I found information about the hunting of the red indians. I liked that class. The next period was free, in which we again played cricket and then the school was over and I went to the ashram to meet my grandparents. I talked to my grandfather about cricket. After some time we went back home.

Dairy 20/4/2010

Today in the morning I woke up and went to the school. We played football in the morning which was quite fun after that when we went to the class, a girl had to present her topic. Her topic was Amphibians. We had to write down the facts and interesting things. After that we had our history class, our history teacher is very interesting. We have a combined class of class 7th and 8th. I am in class 7th. Today he told us about how some of the lost monuments or temples. After that class it was our math class. Today math class was quite fun because our teacher had made two groups and each of us had to do one sum each and in every correct sum we would get a point. The class did not last long enough to finish our match and we had to go for lunch. After lunch we had half an hour of free time and in that time we played mini cricket. The next class was hindi in which we had to write a letter in hindi. I wrote such a small letter that the teacher could not find any fault in it and said that it is to small to find fault in, next time write a longer one. After that we had Drama class in which we had to come up with tongue twisters and announce it to the class and tell them to say the tongue twisters, it was quite fun.   

Dairy 19/4/2010

Today was my school so I woke up and went to school. After coming back home, I ate some snacks and then went to my Grandparents. My Grandfather had to go some where so Abeni (my sister) and I stayed with my Grandmother. My father came from his office and stayed with us. We went to the dining hall to eat snacks. After coming back I lay down on the bed, thinking about school and how much fun it was. I suddenly wanted to eat ice-cream so I asked my father if I could, so he said yes and me and Abeni went to the shop and bought ice-creams and came back eating them with joy! After some time my Grandfather came back. I also went back home with my father and Abeni. After eating dinner my father went to my Grandparents to give them dinner, he soon came and we all went to sleep.

Diary 18/4/2010

Today in the morning I had to go to play a cricket match. My team scored 200 runs in 20 overs and then the other team got all out at 101 and we won the match by 99 runs. I came back home at 1:00 PM. I ate lunch and then bathed. At four o clock Abeni's friends started to come and I watched the IPL match which started at four o clock, the match was between King 11 Punjab and Chennai Super Kings. After some time the girls went to Bijai mandal  fort with my father and some other parents. The rest of the fathers and the boys were playing cricket so I went and started playing with them. We had fun and we played for about 1 and a half hours. After coming back we ate some things and then I continued watching the match and the people started going home. The first match ended and I started watching the second match which was between Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers. I started watching the match but after half an hour we had to go to our Grandparents. We took food for them. I continued seeing the score of the match. I ate a bit and then we stayed there for half an hour but then we had to go because the gate was going to close. When we reached home Delhi was in a bad state and Delhi lost I was very sad because now Delhi were out of the tournament. I went to sleep thinking about Delhi Daredevils all the time.      

Diary 17/04/2010

I am thinking about my friend's get together. And my sisters birthday which is tomorrow. I am thinking about my cricket match which is tomorrow. I am thinking about my old friends. I am thinking about my schools work. I am thinking about some monuments. I am thinking about my car. I am thinking of my school trips. I am thinking about my trip to the USA. I am thinking about my Grandparents who have come to Delhi but are not living with me in our house but in Sri Aurobindo Ashram because my Grandmother cant climb too many steps and our house is on the 3rd floor. I talk to my Grandfather about IPL because he is also interested in cricket. I go and meet my Grandparents many times, I stay with them for about 4-5 hours when its a holiday but on school days I can only be with them for 2-3 hours. We have to take food for them from home because they don't want to eat Ashram food. I stay with my Grandmother because she likes to be with me and my sister. She is getting cured because she has a pain in her legs. Everyday my Grandfather helps my Grandmother to exercise. My Grandparents are always telling me that I have got thin and should eat more. My grandmother is getting better because we have found a good doctor for her.