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A Guruji in the Making

“So Bhavana…what do you want to be when you grow up?”

I can’t tell you how many times I was asked that question as a child, and how much I loved it – for each time that I was asked, I had a different answer…an author, a doctor, a clown, a movie star, a plumber (yes, I actually wanted to be a plumber at one point.) It was only in college that I hated the question, because I hardly knew what I wanted to change my major to next, let alone what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. But children, they love imagining what amazing things the future holds for them; they’re unafraid, with no limitations, nothing to hold them back. The world is theirs, and they know it, and they are forever ready to claim it. And if they’re not…well then, in my view, we have a problem. Aruna, a second grade student at Vidya Vandeo Mandir School in the village hamlet of Aghane, is, in a word, smart. She is quiet as a mouse, but her eyes are forever taking in every single thing around her – literally nothing gets past this girl. As we sit on the floor and draw pictures during a break from learning the English alphabet, I notice the car that she’s drawn. It is almost perfectly to scale, with light reflecting on the windows, spokes on the wheels…even the windshield wipers are set at the right angle. I look at my own pathetic car and immediately feel the need to start over. Ironically, as someone who has actually driven a car almost every day for the last five years, I still hadn’t been so thoughtful as to draw in wipers. This little girl who sees a car maybe once or twice a month seemed to remember every detail about them.

Aruna is a member of the Katkari tribe, classified by the Indian government as a “primitive tribe.” The Katkaris are a landless tribe and the majority of them eke out a living by fishing or working on other people’s fields. In the area where I work, many Katkari families have been displaced due to the construction of a large dam that was built to provide electricity for industries. Decisions are made about them, never by them. They are oppressed by so many forces that it makes my head spin; in fact, even some members of other tribes in the area continue to look down upon them.

My goal for this year is simple. I want Aruna to know that she is smart enough to make decisions about her own life; that she doesn’t need to listen to the decisions of others who claim to be smarter, or better, or more capable. She is a first-generation learner, and there is no guarantee that she’ll stay in school for the long run (especially because she’s a girl), so I know it will be hard to reach this goal. But still, what better way to start towards it than with my favorite question?

“So Aruna…what do you want to be when you grow up?” I casually ask as I bring an eraser down upon my mess of a car.

A few moments of silence pass. At first I wondered if my Marathi hadn’t been clear enough, but the look on her face told me that it wasn’t the language, but the question, that was making her hesitate. She turned back to her drawing, presumably hoping that if she ignored me, I would forget that I asked the question.

In my typical obnoxious fashion, I press the issue. I do this because I believe that nothing is possible without having faith in oneself. If nothing else, I wanted to get her to see what was open to her - that she was obviously intelligent, perceptive, and that she could do anything she wanted if she put her mind to it. “Well, if you could be anything, what would you choose? A doctor, an artist, a teacher, a housewife, a farmer, what?”

She looks at me. “What do you want to be?” she asks, turning the question back around. Told you she was smart.

I would tell her after she answered, I inform her. She thinks for a minute, and then her eyes brighten. “Guruji,” she announces. She wanted to be a teacher.

“That’s great!” I say. “Teachers are really important.” Satisfied at having an answer, and hoping that just that simple question would get her thinking about the worth of her many talents, I start working on my second attempt at a car…this one would have windshield wipers, of course. I glance at Aruna to see what she’s drawing. She’s not. Instead, her forehead is wrinkled in concentration as her pencil hangs loosely from two fingers.

“Tai (sister), what do you have to do to become a teacher?” she suddenly asks.

I am totally unable to hide my excitement at her question. “Well, I know you have to finish tenth standard at least. I think you can do that easily, you’re too smart.” I have an urge to make her sign a contract saying she will do that, plus go to college and get a Ph.D. to boot… but I hold back and let her take in the answer and the encouragement.

She smiles and puts pencil to paper once again, this time to start on a house. I don’t know what will happen to Aruna in her future, just as I don’t know what will happen to me in mine. But I have faith that she will succeed in anything if she is able to believe that she can. The conversation was a short one, but it made me incredibly happy just to know that asking a simple question can get a child – any child, anywhere – to at least think about the idea that anything is possible if they believe in their ability to reach their goals.

I go back to my car. My windshield wipers aren’t in line with each other at all. I think to myself that I would never drive a car with wipers like these; if it rained, I would definitely be in trouble. Aruna glances at my paper and laughs. “No, Tai. Like this.” She firmly guides my hand and fixes the wipers so that, miraculously, they look like actual wipers. A born guruji…

Bhavana Chilukuri hails from Maryland and recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in economics and history. As a 2007 Indicorps Fellow, Bhavana is developing a curriculum and strengthening a local primary school in interior Maharashtra.

Did You know?

Indicorps offers a variety of programs and opportunities that encourage leadership and civic engagement. While the fellowship focuses on empowering people willing to do whatever it takes to affect change, we also have local volunteer programs in India, an established internship program, an emerging domestic program, an effort to engage late-careers seniors in development, an online volunteer opportunity site, and more....

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