Monday, June 8, 2009
Skools Up!
School up, time for summer camp
| Font Size |
Express News Service
Posted: May 15, 2008 at 2309 hrs IST
Print Email To Editor Post Comments
Jason Lopez, project manager of Youreka summer camps, the outdoor education division of idiscoveri, says, “The idea is to challenge kids, give them an opportunity to check out the wilderness while having fun.”
Riverside backpacking and rock climbing along the banks of the River Tons, in
Other than learning to pitch a tent or balance on ropes, a rural awareness programme in the mountains exposes the children to education outside the textbook. “We attach students to a village so that they can map things first-hand. How many houses are there, for instance, or where the water comes from,” says Khare.
The camps may be exciting, but they are not for everyone. For fashion designer Tanuja Jha, who has never sent her children to a summer camp, fear and cost are impeding factors. “They are risky. Perhaps, if it was cheaper we would send them,” she says.
Sociologist Srinivas Rao, assistant professor at
“The middle class includes millionaires and government servants with low wages — the camps can create classes within classrooms.”
Summer Magic - Only with Youreka!
Check the Apture Links:
Summer holidays: What a way to spend them...
4 May 2003, 0134 hrs IST, Shobha John, TNN
Forget that lazy, hazy, crazy, daze of summer. Indolent, languorous days spent either in the lap of Morpheus or climbing guava and mango trees with time to kill are now passe. Today, summer holidays for children means trips to the Himalayan foothills, mist-covered Coorg or the vales of Scotland where specialised skills are learnt in a structured manner — trekking, river-rafting, mountain biking, astronomy, theatre, magic, photography and bird-watching. Not to forget personality development and group activities. Of course, it comes with a price. But who’s complaining? Definitely not the parents.
For Sapna Bharadwaj, mother of 14-year-old Mallika, spending close to Rs 8,000 on her daughter’s eight-day trip to Sitlakhet two years back was an investment. ‘‘I found my introverted daughter a new person from the day she returned from the trip. She was open and talkative and became my friend. She also developed a bond with the outdoors.’’ She sent her son the next year and will continue to send both of them to camps as long as they want. She and her husband run a financial firm.
Many of today’s urban parents feel the skills learned during these trips will help their children cope better in a competitive world. Plus, urban living doesn’t give children exposure to the outdoors. ‘‘Parents feel that any investment made on children will make their future more secure,’’ says Prabhat Raman of Small World, which is having two-week programmes for children from 9-16 years in England and Scotland. This includes staying in a British residential school where they get to interact with foreign students, learn their culture and history, scuba dive and horse-ride. Also included are visits to famous colleges. ‘‘This enriching experience will come in handy later on in life. Last year, 8-9 children went.’’
For those who can’t afford to send their children abroad, there are camps in India that could fall within their budget. IDiscoveri Youreka for example was started in 1996 by Ashish Rajpal, an XLRI graduate and other trained professionals, with 150 children. Now close to 6,000 children have stayed in their camps in Sitlakhet, Tons, and Tirthan Valley and savoured the mountains, rivers and dales of North India and made numerous friends. ‘‘Last year, 1,000 children attended our camps,’’ he says. And it’s not just a man’s world out there. ‘‘The ratio of boys to girls is 60:40.’’
Eleven-year-old Akhil liked the campfires, adventure and the pastries he got on the last day. He took up rock-climbing and rifle-shooting and had to showcase his talent on the last day to his group of 50 children. ‘‘I cried in the end as I didn’t want to leave my new friends.’’ Sixteen-year-old Srijan enjoyed his summer camps much more than those with his family. ‘‘Friends are more fun and I learned diverse skills.’’
Most parents were gung-ho about sending their children to camps, having either gone on corporate camps themselves or heard of them from friends. Exporter Sanjay Singhal’s two sons have been going to summer camps too. ‘‘I have recommended the camps my sons went to, to 30 others. I also plan to send my elder son to a $2,000 camp in Virginia for six weeks next year. This is an investment on the mental, physical and social synergy of my child.’’
Some camps also do social service like building a wall or teaching in a nearby village, giving children exposure to those less privileged. And for those who want to have fun along with their children, there are family camps like Aquaterra’s along the Tongs river. ‘‘Both can go on walks, river rafting and rock climbing,’’ says Salil Paul. Many parents no longer want to do the rounds of hill stations as they did when they were children. ‘‘They want to savour newer outdoor experiences.’’
Summer holidays: What a way to spend them...
4 May 2003, 0134 hrs IST, Shobha John, TNN
Forget that lazy, hazy, crazy, daze of summer. Indolent, languorous days spent either in the lap of Morpheus or climbing guava and mango trees with time to kill are now passe. Today, summer holidays for children means trips to the Himalayan foothills, mist-covered Coorg or the vales of Scotland where specialised skills are learnt in a structured manner — trekking, river-rafting, mountain biking, astronomy, theatre, magic, photography and bird-watching. Not to forget personality development and group activities. Of course, it comes with a price. But who’s complaining? Definitely not the parents.
For Sapna Bharadwaj, mother of 14-year-old Mallika, spending close to Rs 8,000 on her daughter’s eight-day trip to Sitlakhet two years back was an investment. ‘‘I found my introverted daughter a new person from the day she returned from the trip. She was open and talkative and became my friend. She also developed a bond with the outdoors.’’ She sent her son the next year and will continue to send both of them to camps as long as they want. She and her husband run a financial firm.
Many of today’s urban parents feel the skills learned during these trips will help their children cope better in a competitive world. Plus, urban living doesn’t give children exposure to the outdoors. ‘‘Parents feel that any investment made on children will make their future more secure,’’ says Prabhat Raman of Small World, which is having two-week programmes for children from 9-16 years in England and Scotland. This includes staying in a British residential school where they get to interact with foreign students, learn their culture and history, scuba dive and horse-ride. Also included are visits to famous colleges. ‘‘This enriching experience will come in handy later on in life. Last year, 8-9 children went.’’
For those who can’t afford to send their children abroad, there are camps in India that could fall within their budget. IDiscoveri Youreka for example was started in 1996 by Ashish Rajpal, an XLRI graduate and other trained professionals, with 150 children. Now close to 6,000 children have stayed in their camps in Sitlakhet, Tons, and Tirthan Valley and savoured the mountains, rivers and dales of North India and made numerous friends. ‘‘Last year, 1,000 children attended our camps,’’ he says. And it’s not just a man’s world out there. ‘‘The ratio of boys to girls is 60:40.’’
Eleven-year-old Akhil liked the campfires, adventure and the pastries he got on the last day. He took up rock-climbing and rifle-shooting and had to showcase his talent on the last day to his group of 50 children. ‘‘I cried in the end as I didn’t want to leave my new friends.’’ Sixteen-year-old Srijan enjoyed his summer camps much more than those with his family. ‘‘Friends are more fun and I learned diverse skills.’’
Most parents were gung-ho about sending their children to camps, having either gone on corporate camps themselves or heard of them from friends. Exporter Sanjay Singhal’s two sons have been going to summer camps too. ‘‘I have recommended the camps my sons went to, to 30 others. I also plan to send my elder son to a $2,000 camp in Virginia for six weeks next year. This is an investment on the mental, physical and social synergy of my child.’’
Some camps also do social service like building a wall or teaching in a nearby village, giving children exposure to those less privileged. And for those who want to have fun along with their children, there are family camps like Aquaterra’s along the Tongs river. ‘‘Both can go on walks, river rafting and rock climbing,’’ says Salil Paul. Many parents no longer want to do the rounds of hill stations as they did when they were children. ‘‘They want to savour newer outdoor experiences.’’
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Youreka Takes on the Nat Geo Junior Hunt!
Nice Apture Links and article here:
Entertainment-Short takes two last New Delhi
Friday, July 28, 2006
''With Nat Geo Junior Hunt, we are looking for the brightest, smartest and the coolest Indian kid who like books as much as sports, likes to make new discoveries, is adventurous, outgoing and ready to take on challenges,''Joy Bhattacharjya, Senior vice president, programming at the Nastional Geographic Channel said at a press conference here to announce the hunt.
Spanning across ten cities, the junior hunt will target approximately 3,64,800 kids between ten and 14 years of age in 380 reputed schools of the country. The initial shortlisting will be done at the school level where participants will be put through an innovative 'Think again' test comprising questions that will test the general aptitude and logical reasoning of children. Out of the 500 children shortlisted from each city, 20 city finalists will be selected based on selection rounds designed by iDiscoveri Education (an education partner of Nat Geo Junior) which includes games, puzzles, physical activities and thinking out of the box challenges.
These finalists will then have an opportunity to participate in a demanding array of individual and group challenges in the setting of Youreka (iDiscoveri's outdoor division) Sitlakhet campus and only four out of these 20 finalists will make it to the national finals. The lucky four will be groomed before they host their own show on Nat Geo Junior, a multi-faceted programming block on the National geographic channel that is very popular among kids.
The winner, to be decided by a reputed panel of judges, will be crowned with the prestigious title of Nat Geo Junior.
''The show is a reflection of the fact that intelligence today has expanded to include a lot more than just academic achievement,'' Mr Ashish Rajpal of iDiscoveri Education said.
The winner will not only get to host Nat geo junior shows on the channel for three months but will also receive a 'Nat Geo junior Hunt Fund' to finance his future education.
According to Joy, the Nat Geo junior hunt is the channel's endeavour to extend its popular children's block on-ground to provide and intelligent platform for kids to showcase their talents through a fun-filled learning experience.
Entertainment-Short takes two last New Delhi
Friday, July 28, 2006
''With Nat Geo Junior Hunt, we are looking for the brightest, smartest and the coolest Indian kid who like books as much as sports, likes to make new discoveries, is adventurous, outgoing and ready to take on challenges,''Joy Bhattacharjya, Senior vice president, programming at the Nastional Geographic Channel said at a press conference here to announce the hunt.
Spanning across ten cities, the junior hunt will target approximately 3,64,800 kids between ten and 14 years of age in 380 reputed schools of the country. The initial shortlisting will be done at the school level where participants will be put through an innovative 'Think again' test comprising questions that will test the general aptitude and logical reasoning of children. Out of the 500 children shortlisted from each city, 20 city finalists will be selected based on selection rounds designed by iDiscoveri Education (an education partner of Nat Geo Junior) which includes games, puzzles, physical activities and thinking out of the box challenges.
These finalists will then have an opportunity to participate in a demanding array of individual and group challenges in the setting of Youreka (iDiscoveri's outdoor division) Sitlakhet campus and only four out of these 20 finalists will make it to the national finals. The lucky four will be groomed before they host their own show on Nat Geo Junior, a multi-faceted programming block on the National geographic channel that is very popular among kids.
The winner, to be decided by a reputed panel of judges, will be crowned with the prestigious title of Nat Geo Junior.
''The show is a reflection of the fact that intelligence today has expanded to include a lot more than just academic achievement,'' Mr Ashish Rajpal of iDiscoveri Education said.
The winner will not only get to host Nat geo junior shows on the channel for three months but will also receive a 'Nat Geo junior Hunt Fund' to finance his future education.
According to Joy, the Nat Geo junior hunt is the channel's endeavour to extend its popular children's block on-ground to provide and intelligent platform for kids to showcase their talents through a fun-filled learning experience.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Hi - Another hot day - another line!
We're sitting here, wondering what's going on, what to write about, and why no one's making any posts out here!
Well hello everybody, and welcome to a brand new day! How are all the sweet n cute Youreka children!? It miserably hot here in Delhi and Gurgaon, and we particularly envy the young kids who are out on the camps. Maybe I've got writer's block, because I cant think of anything specifically to say - or maybe I'm just dried out and drained out because of the heat, or maybe we've just posted too much here without any response from you guys n gals. Well what can we say?! :)
Well we hope everything's going fine and you all are going to comment and post some more on the blog here. I think meeting you guys will actually solve the problem. So what do you all say to an actual real life real time non virtual meeting?!!
Hope you all are fine. Do write to us and tell us what your response is and tell us more! We are now also on twitter at http://twitter.com/Youreka
Thanks
From all the the Youreka Team!
Well hello everybody, and welcome to a brand new day! How are all the sweet n cute Youreka children!? It miserably hot here in Delhi and Gurgaon, and we particularly envy the young kids who are out on the camps. Maybe I've got writer's block, because I cant think of anything specifically to say - or maybe I'm just dried out and drained out because of the heat, or maybe we've just posted too much here without any response from you guys n gals. Well what can we say?! :)
Well we hope everything's going fine and you all are going to comment and post some more on the blog here. I think meeting you guys will actually solve the problem. So what do you all say to an actual real life real time non virtual meeting?!!
Hope you all are fine. Do write to us and tell us what your response is and tell us more! We are now also on twitter at http://twitter.com/Youreka
Thanks
From all the the Youreka Team!
Welcome to all the new Tons Yourekampers
Welcome to all the new campers for the Yourekamp Rocky River (Tons) which left today morning.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Welcome to all the new Tirthan Yourekampers
TirthanWelcome to all the Yourekampers off for their Yourekamp to Tirthan at Green River Valley Campus today. Hope you enjoy your stay there. You can blog/tweet or email us for any queries doubts or postings.
Thank you
Friday, May 29, 2009
Posting to the Youreka Blog
You can post directly on the blog by emailing your posts to the editor/webmaster directly at nilanjan.gupta@youreka.in
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Educational Cartoon of the Day!
Educational Cartoon of the Day - Kids can you comment on it and figure out and tell us what it means???!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Navneeth's Notes!
Navneeth's Lengthy notes and quotes on the Youreka Camp 2009!:
My mom signed me up for the youreka yercaud y2 program for the
group, from the 18th of April to the 26th.i knew it would be awesome
fun over there because I had heard too many awesome things about
that place. I had to go to the railway station at 6 in the morning
and the platform was very cold and very stinky. They were about
a 115 kids waiting in front of the train, when the instructors showed
up they gave us our name tags on which they had put the
seat and compartment number. None of us liked our places,
so the instructors said we could change our places once
the train started moving. After the train started to move everyone
changed places and I sat with people of my age and younger
who seemed to be very nice, friendly and someone who you
can talk to. It was a 5 hour journey, so along the way we were
talking about music, movies and about ourselves. In the train
it self I made 6 new friends. The moment we reached yercaud
all of us started to sweat, it was probably 40 degrees.
We all picked our luggage and got into 14 sumo vans.
Luckily my van had a/c and there were less people.
It was 1 hour journey from Salem to yercaud; I dozed of in
the van to catch my breath. After reaching yercaud we all
saw the y1 program kids were wearing youreka t-shirts
and waiting for the sumos to return so they could go back to
Bangalore. We all chucked our luggage into a huge truck and
we had to trek to our camp. I was thinking we would have to build
our own tents but when I entered the camp I was shocked to see
that the tents were built on metal poles. After that all of us had to
assemble in a huge circle and one of the instructors named
panna sang a song called ‘ajja gujja’! It was an interesting
song which was filled with actions. Then the instructor divided
us into groups of 18 approx. I was in the wilderness backpacking
group, then he told us who sleeps in which tent.
(In each tent 9 people could sleep).I liked all the people who
slept in my tent, but their were few people in my tent who didn’t
want to stay so they changed to another tent. Our tent number
was ‘9’. After that we all ha to go up a small hill and into a hut
called the ‘kprd’! (Khana pina rona????) It was a place where
we ate, drank, chatted and partied. We had lunch there and
went into our groups; our group went to a place called the sunset
point. We had a name game to recognize each of our names
and we named our group the ‘wild spirits’! After that we had soup
and squash. We all got something called the cool book; with it
we got a cool pen and a cool bag. It was something like a diary
with lots of activities. After that we had to do it. I don’t really want
to explain it though. We had an hour time of Y.O.T (your own time)
after that we have to remain silent and do our cool books.
After that I met one of the students who had graduated in my school
when I was in the 4th grade. Her name was archana. She was
an extremely nice person! We all had dinner by 8:30 sang and
danced a bit! After that we all went into our tents and many
people wanted to sleep in our tent because we were
chatting interesting things. We invited a few people and chatted till 11.
The next day the wild spirits assembled near a place called the l
apa lapa (Mexican word for hut.)And we did a small bit of exercising
called the ‘chota hazri’. After that we had breakfast and again we
assembled in front of the lapa lapa, our group got a rucksack for
each person we put our sleeping bags and we went for a short
trek with our bags. We played few games when we reached our
destination like Acid River and arms and legs. While coming back
we had to find our own way back to the camp without the instructors
help. We came back in time for lunch after that it was the regular
program, Y.O.T and then did our cool books. Then had dinner and
partied! This I did every day. (Y.O.T till party) next day we were told
we will also be having some minor activities and few instructors
would do some tent inspection while we are doing our minor
activities. We again went for a small trek to a place called ‘raj pond’!
over there 15 people didn’t know how to pitch a tent so the other
3 were given a challenge, the challenge was 15 people were blind
folded and three people had to instruct the blinded to build a
tent without touching them. The 3 were 2 of my friends and me!
It took us 45 minutes to do that challenge. After that we were all
given another challenge, we had to be divided into groups of
2 and 1 needed to be blind folded. The challenge was to guide
your blinded partner through a rough pathway and both get a
chance to be blind folded. By then we reached another pond.
(I don’t remember the name of that pond) we sang a song and
played a game over there, the song’s name was ‘rump sum sum’
and the games name I don’t remember. We came back in time for l
unch and we had a minor activity, it was making a news paper
and I had to review the campus doctor. It was fun, and the day
ended with the usual routine. Next day we went for a 6 km trek to
a place called great view, we made coffee over their with a butane
burner and we had to make a map with the help of a compass.
(I am not telling how.) till lunch and then we had a minor activity,
‘bracelet making’. I had never seen that kind of method of making
a bracelet. You had to hold one end with your mouth and do a
weird way of tying it. I made two of them. After that same routine
till dinner, it started to rain heavily and we were very scared
of what might happen to our bags. After it stopped raining we
went to check on our bags and came back up to party.
Then we slept at 11………. Next day same thing but we were
getting ready to go for a 2 day 2 night trek to a place
called ‘singlathpadiam’ or something like that…. Just before
we left we did a minor activity called the tartan swing, where
we had to swing on a rope and had to land on different circles
(each circle had a different number of points) first three were 500,
second row was 1000 and third row was 5000! After that
we started on our trek, this time we had to find our way their
with the help of a ready made map and a compass. I had to
decide who to give the map and who to give the 2 compasses.
After that we started the trek we made few mistakes making the
directions but we finished half of the trek by 5:30 or so, we
pitched our tents and made some palouv like stuff for dinner.
And sang a bit and slept late.
Early morning we had to pack our tents and make breakfast, i
t was coffee, biscuits and bread butter, cheese and jam. After
that we refilled our bottles and started on the second half of the trek.
The map and the two compasses were given to different people
now. We saw a dead rat snake on the way. We reached our
destination by 3:30 made maggi for lunch. One of the instructors
made lemon tea for us, it was so tasty. Then we enjoyed the
view for an hour. Came back made our tents and played a game
called ‘where is my monkey?’ after that I made more knew friends,
about 3 of them! Then we went to bed.
Next day we packed our stuff got into 3 jeeps sang all the way
back to camp and we were all surprised to see that no one
was at camp, it took us some time to realize to see that they
had gone for their major activities….
Till lunch we were unpacking the tents cleaning the rucksacks
and getting contacts in our cool books. Then the instructors
told us we were going to do T.T. at first we thought its table
tennis, but it actually was something called ‘tera tera’. We had
to go down hill and we saw all the other groups’ river crossing.
Then the instructors told us that tera tera means river crossing
in México. We all did it; I was the fastest person to cross the stream,
I did it in less than 30 seconds. Then we went back to camp had
our minor activity, tie and dye, it was awesome fun and very easy,
so I finished mine fast and I went to see what the other groups were
doing. One of them was doing bracelet making so I joined them
and made another bracelet. We were told that they were selling
some things at the large tent behind the KPRD, so I went there
and bought a t-shirt. Then after that we had our usual routine till
dinner. They conducted something called the talent night. In
that people showed off their new talents they learnt in youreka.
It went on till 10:30, I didn’t like it that much I liked the other
night where we partied much more. After the talent show we
danced till 11:00. Then two of my group instructors performed
some awesome fire tricks and fire staffs…I was seriously
speechless by looking at them. After that we partied a bit
mare and cheered the instructors who performed for us,
till 12:00. Then we had 3 extra people sleeping in our
tent because it was the best tent out of all the 30 tents…the
next day we had a special breakfast and most of us were
crying because we had to leave….
We took some more contacts and got few hugs.
After that we dumped our luggage into a truck, the truck
took the luggage to the railway station. We did something
called the bead ceremony and then we got some
chocolates from the instructors and got our certificates….we
all left crying…I also lost a friend because someone had
something bad to him and he thought I said it….then we
waited for the sumo vans to come. When they came we
saw the y3 program kids were in it. We all said some
crappy stuff to them and we got on the vans and we were
ready to go to Salem. I dozed off again in the van but I
made another friend over their…when we reached the
railway station I made 7 more friends, we all sat together
in the train and we chatted about ourselves, music,
funny things and about ourselves till we reached
Bangalore…but we all still keep in touch through
cell phones and facebook….
group, from the 18th of April to the 26th.i knew it would be awesome
fun over there because I had heard too many awesome things about
that place. I had to go to the railway station at 6 in the morning
and the platform was very cold and very stinky. They were about
a 115 kids waiting in front of the train, when the instructors showed
up they gave us our name tags on which they had put the
seat and compartment number. None of us liked our places,
so the instructors said we could change our places once
the train started moving. After the train started to move everyone
changed places and I sat with people of my age and younger
who seemed to be very nice, friendly and someone who you
can talk to. It was a 5 hour journey, so along the way we were
talking about music, movies and about ourselves. In the train
it self I made 6 new friends. The moment we reached yercaud
all of us started to sweat, it was probably 40 degrees.
We all picked our luggage and got into 14 sumo vans.
Luckily my van had a/c and there were less people.
It was 1 hour journey from Salem to yercaud; I dozed of in
the van to catch my breath. After reaching yercaud we all
saw the y1 program kids were wearing youreka t-shirts
and waiting for the sumos to return so they could go back to
Bangalore. We all chucked our luggage into a huge truck and
we had to trek to our camp. I was thinking we would have to build
our own tents but when I entered the camp I was shocked to see
that the tents were built on metal poles. After that all of us had to
assemble in a huge circle and one of the instructors named
panna sang a song called ‘ajja gujja’! It was an interesting
song which was filled with actions. Then the instructor divided
us into groups of 18 approx. I was in the wilderness backpacking
group, then he told us who sleeps in which tent.
(In each tent 9 people could sleep).I liked all the people who
slept in my tent, but their were few people in my tent who didn’t
want to stay so they changed to another tent. Our tent number
was ‘9’. After that we all ha to go up a small hill and into a hut
called the ‘kprd’! (Khana pina rona????) It was a place where
we ate, drank, chatted and partied. We had lunch there and
went into our groups; our group went to a place called the sunset
point. We had a name game to recognize each of our names
and we named our group the ‘wild spirits’! After that we had soup
and squash. We all got something called the cool book; with it
we got a cool pen and a cool bag. It was something like a diary
with lots of activities. After that we had to do it. I don’t really want
to explain it though. We had an hour time of Y.O.T (your own time)
after that we have to remain silent and do our cool books.
After that I met one of the students who had graduated in my school
when I was in the 4th grade. Her name was archana. She was
an extremely nice person! We all had dinner by 8:30 sang and
danced a bit! After that we all went into our tents and many
people wanted to sleep in our tent because we were
chatting interesting things. We invited a few people and chatted till 11.
The next day the wild spirits assembled near a place called the l
apa lapa (Mexican word for hut.)And we did a small bit of exercising
called the ‘chota hazri’. After that we had breakfast and again we
assembled in front of the lapa lapa, our group got a rucksack for
each person we put our sleeping bags and we went for a short
trek with our bags. We played few games when we reached our
destination like Acid River and arms and legs. While coming back
we had to find our own way back to the camp without the instructors
help. We came back in time for lunch after that it was the regular
program, Y.O.T and then did our cool books. Then had dinner and
partied! This I did every day. (Y.O.T till party) next day we were told
we will also be having some minor activities and few instructors
would do some tent inspection while we are doing our minor
activities. We again went for a small trek to a place called ‘raj pond’!
over there 15 people didn’t know how to pitch a tent so the other
3 were given a challenge, the challenge was 15 people were blind
folded and three people had to instruct the blinded to build a
tent without touching them. The 3 were 2 of my friends and me!
It took us 45 minutes to do that challenge. After that we were all
given another challenge, we had to be divided into groups of
2 and 1 needed to be blind folded. The challenge was to guide
your blinded partner through a rough pathway and both get a
chance to be blind folded. By then we reached another pond.
(I don’t remember the name of that pond) we sang a song and
played a game over there, the song’s name was ‘rump sum sum’
and the games name I don’t remember. We came back in time for l
unch and we had a minor activity, it was making a news paper
and I had to review the campus doctor. It was fun, and the day
ended with the usual routine. Next day we went for a 6 km trek to
a place called great view, we made coffee over their with a butane
burner and we had to make a map with the help of a compass.
(I am not telling how.) till lunch and then we had a minor activity,
‘bracelet making’. I had never seen that kind of method of making
a bracelet. You had to hold one end with your mouth and do a
weird way of tying it. I made two of them. After that same routine
till dinner, it started to rain heavily and we were very scared
of what might happen to our bags. After it stopped raining we
went to check on our bags and came back up to party.
Then we slept at 11………. Next day same thing but we were
getting ready to go for a 2 day 2 night trek to a place
called ‘singlathpadiam’ or something like that…. Just before
we left we did a minor activity called the tartan swing, where
we had to swing on a rope and had to land on different circles
(each circle had a different number of points) first three were 500,
second row was 1000 and third row was 5000! After that
we started on our trek, this time we had to find our way their
with the help of a ready made map and a compass. I had to
decide who to give the map and who to give the 2 compasses.
After that we started the trek we made few mistakes making the
directions but we finished half of the trek by 5:30 or so, we
pitched our tents and made some palouv like stuff for dinner.
And sang a bit and slept late.
Early morning we had to pack our tents and make breakfast, i
t was coffee, biscuits and bread butter, cheese and jam. After
that we refilled our bottles and started on the second half of the trek.
The map and the two compasses were given to different people
now. We saw a dead rat snake on the way. We reached our
destination by 3:30 made maggi for lunch. One of the instructors
made lemon tea for us, it was so tasty. Then we enjoyed the
view for an hour. Came back made our tents and played a game
called ‘where is my monkey?’ after that I made more knew friends,
about 3 of them! Then we went to bed.
Next day we packed our stuff got into 3 jeeps sang all the way
back to camp and we were all surprised to see that no one
was at camp, it took us some time to realize to see that they
had gone for their major activities….
Till lunch we were unpacking the tents cleaning the rucksacks
and getting contacts in our cool books. Then the instructors
told us we were going to do T.T. at first we thought its table
tennis, but it actually was something called ‘tera tera’. We had
to go down hill and we saw all the other groups’ river crossing.
Then the instructors told us that tera tera means river crossing
in México. We all did it; I was the fastest person to cross the stream,
I did it in less than 30 seconds. Then we went back to camp had
our minor activity, tie and dye, it was awesome fun and very easy,
so I finished mine fast and I went to see what the other groups were
doing. One of them was doing bracelet making so I joined them
and made another bracelet. We were told that they were selling
some things at the large tent behind the KPRD, so I went there
and bought a t-shirt. Then after that we had our usual routine till
dinner. They conducted something called the talent night. In
that people showed off their new talents they learnt in youreka.
It went on till 10:30, I didn’t like it that much I liked the other
night where we partied much more. After the talent show we
danced till 11:00. Then two of my group instructors performed
some awesome fire tricks and fire staffs…I was seriously
speechless by looking at them. After that we partied a bit
mare and cheered the instructors who performed for us,
till 12:00. Then we had 3 extra people sleeping in our
tent because it was the best tent out of all the 30 tents…the
next day we had a special breakfast and most of us were
crying because we had to leave….
We took some more contacts and got few hugs.
After that we dumped our luggage into a truck, the truck
took the luggage to the railway station. We did something
called the bead ceremony and then we got some
chocolates from the instructors and got our certificates….we
all left crying…I also lost a friend because someone had
something bad to him and he thought I said it….then we
waited for the sumo vans to come. When they came we
saw the y3 program kids were in it. We all said some
crappy stuff to them and we got on the vans and we were
ready to go to Salem. I dozed off again in the van but I
made another friend over their…when we reached the
railway station I made 7 more friends, we all sat together
in the train and we chatted about ourselves, music,
funny things and about ourselves till we reached
Bangalore…but we all still keep in touch through
cell phones and facebook….
Monday, May 18, 2009
Starstruck Beneath The Twilight Sky
A beautiful poem written by Prasenna Rajendran on the Youreka Camp 2009 on his blog http://prassu170.blogspot.com/:
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Starstruck Beneath The Twilight Sky
Riding on a wave for now ;Is this our chance for one last bow?
Bears & pigs are not so far,
Are we clowns in a forest? - Yes, we are!!!!!!!
Without a paddle, we're way away ;
Sharks & fishes might fall in our fray.
To do is to be, to be is to do ;
Stargazing above without a clue.........
To kick a horse's ass, takes loads of stuff!
And if we swear'd we did ; you could call it a bluff!
Minds so strong, going on a rage ;
Being headstrong, might just blow the gauge!
Showoffs & lies, now the crazy people cry ;
Now they're running off their pants - now that they've looked into the wolves' eyes!
Knowing each other, trying to get together,
Doing something stupid, to make them laugh forever.
Forgetting ourselves, going on a ride ;
Playing some pranks & getting ready to hide!
Wishing that all this could be never ending ;
Smiling away our fears - now that's mind bending!
Red eyes - one hell of an irritation,
Trying to walk on a beam - now that's innovation.
Splitting in groups, building up trust,
Jumping all around - we could never rust!
Acting all cracked up, losing all our nuts,
Doing push-ups & crunches & showing off our guts!
Is this the stairway to infinity that we've been searching for?
Spreading joy, wearing smiles - right till the strike of the midnight hour.
Days ago, we were strangers alike ;
Until this second - now that we've become campers beneath the twilight sky!
This ink, that I use, is not enough to suffice this poem.
My thoughts make words, that bleed to fight ;
It's hard to imagine, that it all ends tonight.
People - they filled the place with color & light ;
Now they fade away slowly......away from sight.
Spells of thanks from side to side ;
Tears that shower - they're tough to abide.
Going on & on like a roller coaster ride ;
Getting friends for life - they'd never hide.
When hearts get close & flirts give a pose ;
This camp fires out, like a leaking hose.
It's sad that we're gonna miss our fags & fools ;
Tough to think, that there aren't any broken rules!
When the sun sets below the silver lining of the world ;
The eyes close - blinding the dream that had whirled.
- Prasenna
Written in memory of the Youreka! Camp 2009.
{ !DEVIL ROCKS! }
Monday, April 27, 2009
Youreka Training Children to become Instructors
The Financial Express reports on how Youreka, iDiscoveri is training children to become more productive and useful:
Friday, April 24, 2009
Fwd: Welcome to Yourekamp MMB Pinewood Cliff 24 April onwards
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 1:51 PM
Subject: Welcome to Yourekamp MMB Pinewood Cliff 24 April onwards
To:
Welcome to all the kids & participants from Max Muller Bhavan, going for the Sitlakhet Yourekamp Pinewood Cliff today!! You can call us (on 09910983335-9), tweet us, blog us or email us for any help you need. Incidentally you can also twitter us and post to the blog from yr mobile ph. on http://yourekaexpress.blogspot.com/.
Thanks!
Youreka
--
http://yourekaexpress.blogspot.com/
http://youreka.in/
http://twitter.com/Youreka
www.idiscoveri.com
Date: Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 1:51 PM
Subject: Welcome to Yourekamp MMB Pinewood Cliff 24 April onwards
To:
Welcome to all the kids & participants from Max Muller Bhavan, going for the Sitlakhet Yourekamp Pinewood Cliff today!! You can call us (on 09910983335-9), tweet us, blog us or email us for any help you need. Incidentally you can also twitter us and post to the blog from yr mobile ph. on http://yourekaexpress.blogspot.com/.
Thanks!
Youreka
--
http://yourekaexpress.blogspot.com/
http://youreka.in/
http://twitter.com/Youreka
www.idiscoveri.com
Google Map of Yourekamp Pinewood Cliff Sitlakhet
View Sitlakhet Yourekamp iDiscoveri in a larger map
Friday, April 17, 2009
Introductory Contest
New Contest
Hi All!!
We are introducing a new contest on the Youreka Blog, whereby
1. The Person who makes the highest no. of nice Comments in 2 weeks starting from today AND joins to follow the blog with Google Friend Connect at
or from the "Follow Me with Google Friend Connect" link on the bottom right hand column of the blog gets a special Youreka mountaineering Carabiner Keychain as a Prize.
2. Also, the person who gets the maximum no. of people or his/her friends to join and follow the Youreka blog with Google Friend Connect at
or from the "Follow Me with Google Friend Connect" link on the bottom right hand column of the blog gets another one of the same prize!! The Contest is mainly meant for kids from ages 9-16, but anyone can join. I have extended the contest by one more week.
I've noticed that only I can post on the blog, and others can only comment(!). So pls submit yr entries as comments to this post, or email them directly to us at nilanjan.gupta@youreka.in and we will post them up.
Thank you
The Youreka Team
Hi All!!
We are introducing a new contest on the Youreka Blog, whereby
1. The Person who makes the highest no. of nice Comments in 2 weeks starting from today AND joins to follow the blog with Google Friend Connect at
or from the "Follow Me with Google Friend Connect" link on the bottom right hand column of the blog gets a special Youreka mountaineering Carabiner Keychain as a Prize.
2. Also, the person who gets the maximum no. of people or his/her friends to join and follow the Youreka blog with Google Friend Connect at
or from the "Follow Me with Google Friend Connect" link on the bottom right hand column of the blog gets another one of the same prize!! The Contest is mainly meant for kids from ages 9-16, but anyone can join. I have extended the contest by one more week.
I've noticed that only I can post on the blog, and others can only comment(!). So pls submit yr entries as comments to this post, or email them directly to us at nilanjan.gupta@youreka.in and we will post them up.
Thank you
The Youreka Team
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Best Way to Unwind this Summer
All in praise of Youreka! :
Saturday , April 23, 2005
Saturday , April 23, 2005
Kids going over the hills this summer
Express News Service
‘‘After slogging it out in classrooms, the best way to unwind is trekking,’’ he says. His mother, Kalpana agrees.
‘‘Rohit and my other son Bharat prefer the outdoors to indoor activities, like theatre workshops and painting classes. The outdoors are not only refreshing, they also teach kids to survive in the wild,’’ she says.
Youreka , an organisation that organises summer camps for children in the age group of 9 to 17 years, is taking kids to Sitklakhet, Tirthan and the Tons hill range in Garhwal for rock climbing and mountain biking. The eight-day camp will see the young ones living it up in the pristine hills.
The tough terrains are the flavour of the season - a cakewalk for 11-year-old Armaan Talreja, a student of St. Columbus School, Gol Dak Khana. ‘‘I went on a week long trip to Tirthan last year. We walked in the forests, it was very exciting to be there on our own. We learnt how to make and live in tents,’’ he says. Right now, Armaan is bargaining for a trekking trip as opposed to a family holiday.
Schools too encourage the outdoors — something not possible in a mountainless city like
Springdales, Dhaula Kuan has come up with a novel idea for their summer camp. ‘‘We have 133 kids from underprivileged backgrounds. So we are organising a month-long session where we will take them on nature walks, to the planetarium and also some activities like dance, music and computer awareness classes,’’ says principal, Jyoti Bose.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
A Youreka Way of Life
Now here's a really superb article from The Energy Research Institute (TERI) Magazine "Terragreen " in praise of Youreka and iDiscoveri and with a very apt relevant and powerful quotation by Schumacher (author of "Small is Beautiful - Economics as if people mattered") at the end. Really, lifestyles have changed disastrously and drastically in the last few years and Youreka and iDiscoveri are among the few organisations who are attempting to set this balance right by pioneering outdoor programs and correcting this glaring imbalance. Ed. :
We know we live in
a very modern
world, with
amenity. You go
to school, there are cars and buses
to pick you up and drop you back.
When you study, you get onto the
computer. When you want to spend
leisure time, there are several
television channels to choose from.
Some of you may love chatting on
the telephone, playing video
games, and watching movies. Life is
beautiful.
But there’s something even
prettier there, out in the woods. Far
away from the noisy bustle of the
city, are mountains and rivers,
deserts and jungles. As you read in
the school textbooks, it is this
bounty of nature that provides
every chemical and every fibre,
every atom and molecule, which we
put together to make everything
we use on a daily basis. Just try
picking up anything in your home,
try breaking it down to where it
comes from, and it’ll take you back
to nature. Yet, living away from
these surroundings, we often miss
the stuff life is made of.
How about reconnecting? I’m
sure there are several initiatives all
across the country, but one that I
came to know of is a camp
programme called Youreka! Run by
idiscoveri, an education initiative
that takes teaching beyond
classrooms, this is one camp where
you aren’t likely to have it easy.
After convincing your parents
that you, their child, is in
completely safe hands, the
programme managers give you the
options of joining their week- long
camps at several places away from
your homes. The list includes places
like Tirthan, Sitlakhet, and Coorg.
Bang in the middle of mountains,
right next to a roaring river is where
the tents are pitched. Now the
course begins, each camper has to
choose one major course and a
minor course. Before you start
grumping, take a look at the
courses. Major : rock climbing,
white water rafting, kayaking,
wilderness backpacking, ropes
course, outdoor survival and
mountain biking. Minor – candle
making, bandana making, music
and choreography, juggling,
magic, campus newspaper,
astronomy, photography, ecowalk
and painting. Phew.
iDiscoverers, as they call
themselves, have wonderful things
to say. They love the sounds of
nature, they love the fun, the tough
acts, the independence. Says
Adnan Vahanavaty, a young gun
who went to the camp, ‘iDiscoveri
has changed the way I see the
environment, other people, and
myself.’ The mums and dads also had
good things to say. They felt that
the children came back a lot more
confident. The safety rules at the
camps and the presence of a doctor
also impressed them.
We thinks it’s a great way to drop
into the lap of nature. Every hurdle
you cross – a river or a rock – not
only makes you confident, but also
teaches one to respect nature.
When you’re so close to this beauty,
so lovingly tended by it, you’ll learn
to love it. And that’s when you’ll
learn how to keep Mother Earth
safe and happy.
Quote
‘A way of life that ever more rapidly depletes the power
of the earth to sustain it and piles up ever more
insoluble problems for each succeeding generation can
only be called violent.’
Ernst Friedrich Schumacher (1911–1977),
German economist and pioneer of appropriate technology
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
.jpg)
