Yesterday, the kids were even more eager to decorate “their tree”. We painted on dried leaves, we painted our names on the stones and leaves and scraps of paper and we hung them all from the tree. One of our teachers was doing Hindi and English alphabets with the kids and soon they were painting क’s and ख’s and hanging them in between the beautiful bits of painting. In this, we may have found a great new way to get the kids to learn alphabets. 

Rajkumar painted his cap and Naina painted her fingernails and all the while the kids were fretting over people tearing their paintings down or the rains washing away their names from the stones. And these things will happen too. But the very process of creating our little haven brings a lot of joy to the group and so even if we have to do this everyday, it would be worth the effort for the sense of security and pride that it brings to the lot of us.    

Here are a few pictures from the day. 

One of Rajkumar’s incredible paintings that Shaila had framed. Up for sale at Kar Kamal! 🙂