One would think the failure of half of the patch would bring the morale of our students down. We were expecting some very upset students. However, it turns out our students know how to take things in their stride.
Starting all over again .. but with happy face!
Just as we were basking in the glory of our successful sowing, the weather decided to put an end to it. With record breaking amounts of rainfall, there was absolute no chance our little methi and palak plants could survive. The torrential rains of August and unusual downpours in September ensured the patch a hard time.
So, what’s the damage?
The Methi and Palak plants completely withered under all that rain. Half of the patch flooded and amounted in a complete failure.
The 8th graders patch that got destroyed in the rains.
हम सब अच्छी तरह से जानते हैं कि पेंच में कितनी अच्छी मिट्टी और जलवायु है। वास्तव में, बोने के दुसरे दिन ही हमने अपने कुछ बीजों को अंकुरित देखा था! भयानक मानसून की स्थिति को देखते हुए, हम जानते थे की हमें धैर्य रखना होगा और कुछ हद तक असफलता को भी झेलना होगा। फिर भी हमने अछे परिणाम की आशा व्यक्त की।
हमारे छात्रों ने लगन से अपने पैच का ख्याल रखा और हम सब्जियों की एक अच्छी श्रृंखला की आशा कर रहे थे! हम यह महसूस कर सकते थे – हमारे पास निश्चित रूप से अच्छी सब्जियों की श्रृंखला होने वाली थी! सबसे ऊपर, छात्रों ने इतना प्रयास जो किया था!
7th Grader, Shreyansh, tending to his patch.
We’re all well aware of how good the soil and climate is in Pench. In fact, the day after we sowed, we saw that some of our seeds had sprouted! Given the terrible monsoon conditions, we knew we had to be patient and be open to some amount of failure. None the less, we hoped for the best.
Our students diligently took care of their patches and we were looking forward to a good set of vegetables! We could feel it- we were definitely going to have a good set of vegetables! After all, the students had put in such an effort!
7th Grader, Shreyansh, tending to his patch.
भारी बारिश और हमारे बुवाई के दिन बीत गए। हम सब अब धैर्यपूर्वक अपना काम करने के लिए काली मिट्टी और बीज के लिए इंतज़ार कर रहे थे। मौसम को देखते हुए , हम बीज के फूल के बारे में बहुत उलझन में थे , लेकिन हम अच्छे के लिए प्रार्थना कर रहे थे ( हाँ , सचमुच , और हम अपने छात्रों से भी प्रार्थना करवा रहे थे) ।
तब तक , हमने अपने बगीचे को अंतिम रूप देने का फैसला किया। हर वर्ग के पास उनका अपना बोर्ड था जिस पर उन्हें अपना वर्ग विवरण और जैविक पैच में डालने के लिए बोए गए अपनी सब्जियों के बीज का विवरण लिख रहे थे।
8A writing on their board.
The day of heavy rains and our sowing had passed. We were all now patiently waiting for the kali mitti and the seeds to do their job. Given the weather, we were very skeptical about the flowering of the seeds, but we had our fingers crossed (yes, literally, and we made our students cross them too).
Till then, we decided to give our garden the final touches. Every class had their own boards on which they were to write their class details and the vegetables seeds they had sown to put in the organic patch.
8A writing on their board.
Pulkita giving the students a quick do’s and don’ts session before the sowing.
हम मिशन पर एक टीम थे और छात्रों का दृढ़ संकल्प एक नई बुलंदी पर था। शायद इसीलिए, बारिश ने आखिरकार रुकने का फैसला किया और हमें हमारे हाथ के बड़े कार्य को करने दिया। एक अपेक्षाकृत स्पष्ट सुबह और दोपहर के साथ, हमें बीज बुवाई के लिए अच्छा समय मिल गया।
Pulkita giving the students a quick do’s and don’ts session before the sowing.
We were a team on a mission and the students’ determination was at another high. Perhaps, that’s why the rain finally decided to stop and let us get on with our big task at hand. With a relatively clear morning and noon, we got a good amount of time to sow our seeds.
हमने बहुत जल्द बात की।
The entire shed had come down like a line of dominoes because of the culprit branch!
अगली सुबह , एक कमजोर शाखा ने हमारे शेड को निचे ल दिया! ( हमें तभी पता चला कि हमें उस एक का इस्तेमाल नहीं करना चाहिए था! ) बारिश सारी रात जमकर हमारे शेड पर बरसी और उसके लिए एक वास्तविक परीक्षा की घडी साबित हुई। और अंत में शेड ने हार मान लिया।
We spoke too soon.
The entire shed had come down like a line of dominoes because of the culprit branch!
The next morning, one weak branch had gotten most of our shed down! (We just knew we shouldn’t have used that one!) The rains had lashed out at our shed all through the night and been a real test for it. And, in the end, the shed gave way.