Now, yoga classes in govt schools

PATNA: Bihar government is introducing yoga classes in government schools across the state. The move has been undertaken following concern over rising stress level among students and growing number of suicides.

Yoga is expected to significantly reduce stress among students, thus overcoming depression among them and checking suicidal tendencies.

"The programme aims at holistic development of learners. Complete physical and mental development is a must for a student to do well academically," said state project director, Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC), Rajesh Bhushan.

In order to teach yoga, the government has created an army of about 1,100 trained yoga instructors. "This army has been created in a mission-mode, so that the learners receive, along with quality education, training in living a healthy life," Bhushan added.

In the first phase, under the guidance of experts from Patanjali Yog Peeth, Bharatiya Yog Sansthan, Patna University Yoga Kendra and Navjivan Yoga Centre, a seven-day-long yoga training programme was organised for physical teachers of schools from December 6 to 12 in 2009 in Patna. Physical trainers from almost every upper primary school in 16 districts were selected to undergo training in the first phase.

"The physical trainers have been given comprehensive training in yoga. Rigorous practical and theoretical training have been provided to them," said a Yoga expert, Ram Vinay Sinha, of Bharatiya Yog Sansthan.

"The trainees had already been teaching physical exercises at schools. The training has fine-tuned their expertise. Exercise is an important part of our life," Sinha added.

In the second phase, a more elaborate training was imparted. The training programmes continued in a total of 22 districts over a period of five months. It started in September 2010 and continued till January 2011.

"Now, almost every school has a trained yoga teacher. These trained teachers will also have to train their associate teachers in their schools," said Ram Sagar Singh, programme officer of BEPC.

"We should encourage students to take up yoga classes. It should be developed as a daily routine to derive maximum possible benefits," said B N Mishra, executive director, Patna University Yoga Kendra.

"Regular practice of yoga will improve the mood of students and lower their anxiety. It will help in keeping them away from drugs, improve their behavioral system and overcome all negative thoughts," said Mishra.

But Mishra feels that the concept needs regular monitoring to achieve optimum results. "The government has introduced yoga teaching, but it has no specific plan yet to monitor its implementation across the state," he said.

The idea of yoga teaching is the brainchild of HRD principal secretary Anjani Kumar Singh. He said: "The army of yoga teachers has been created. At many schools yoga training is also going on. We will ask the teachers concerned to more sincerely introduce the concept."

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A growing number of boys from Bihar are homosexual

PATNA: Amish Singh, 24, has furtive glance in his eyes. As he loiters around Gandhi Maidan with his college friend Sunit, his right hand scrabbles to go inside Sunit's back pocket. But as the place is buzzing with people, midway Amish puts his hands in his pockets instead.

Amish, a PG student of Patna University, and Sunit, a BPSC aspirant, live in the city. They are gay, though not in a live-in relationship; they have been physical for past six months. The duo has also been physical with gays who come from different parts of the state.

"We enjoy each other's company. I like him and he likes me too. Everyday we spend hours together," Amish, born to a businessman father and a homemaker mother, told this correspondent during a recent late evening informal chat at Gandhi Maidan.

"I do not think gay culture is a new phenomenon in Bihar. There are a large number of gay couples, many of them in constant touch with me," Amish said. Amish showed exchange of late night SMSes that regularly takes place among them.

One such SMS, on July 11, 2011, reads: "Dili se apna B cl kiya tha. 28 ko Patna aa raha hai. Mere ghar pe sty krega."

Sunit describes the SMS: "B means 'Bottom', a guy who is the passive player in the 'gay game'. In the world of gay, Sunit said, T means 'TOP', a guy who is the active sexual partner."

As many as 476 people from Bihar are registered at one of the most popular websites in India among gay people. "I define myself. I'm a straightforward guy ... ... looking for fat and heavy, chubby dads....mail me on ... ... call me on ... ... ...," writes one of the registered persons.

Almost 99% of those registered have provided their e-mail address and contact number on the account. The number of persons registered at the site is growing day by day.

The state capital tops in Bihar in terms of the number of gays. According to figures obtained from the website, 287 people have registered from Patna. Aurangabad is second with 65 and Bhagalpur is third with 26 gays.

A gay, Raju, from Munger, SMSed this correspondent that he was planning a gay live-in relationship. "I hv prtnerd politicians, CEOs, and even some rickshaw-pullers. I plan gay live-in relationship."

"In a recent hookup with two friends (one of whom is a Patna policeman and another a professional), we enjoyed at a place in Fraser Road," Sunit said. The policeman and professional friends of Sunit are married and have one daughter each.

But, in a society where sexuality in any form is rarely discussed openly, Bihar gays feel the sword of the society hanging over their heads. "It is a taboo. Only extremely close friends know that I am gay. I am sure my parents will commit suicide if I ever disclose my sexual orientation to them," said a gay, on the condition of anonymity.

(Names have been changed for keeping their identities secret) alokknmishra@gmail.com

Hawker's son cracks IIT-JEE, sans coaching

PATNA: Appalling poverty had shaken Sazid Mehboob, 19, to the core when he was in class X, but that only steeled his resolve to do something to improve his family's condition. Two years of hard work has now landed him in IIT-Punjab, without any private coaching!

"Unlike the family of a government peon or sweeper which gets a meagre but regular income, my family's financial condition was completely unstable," says Sazid, a boy from West Champaran.

Many a time, Sazid would arrange saris on the cycle of his father, Md Idrish Ali, for him to hawk at Valmikinagar in West Champaran district. "But, sometimes my father would return home without any income even after daylong efforts. I would shake when I used to see my father's dejected face," Sazid told TOI.

"I would always think of me and my siblings' future. I do not know how my father managed to feed 10 members with an average daily earning of Rs 150," Sazid, who has four sisters and three brothers, said. He resolved to do something different to make his family come out from financial insecurity.

"I came to Patna in July 2009 to prepare for IIT. I knocked the doors of many IIT-JEE coaching centres, but they demanded Rs 40,000-50,000 as fee for two-year preparations," Sazid recalls. Obviously, such an amount was beyond his means

"Finally, I decided to work on my own. I discussed the syllabus with other college students and started preparations," Sazid, who made it to IIT (AIR 2112 OBC) in his first attempt itself, said.

Asked did he feel no dread about cracking the country's toughest examination without any guidance, Sazid said: "I would work harder whenever I would feel any dread. My study hours went up to 17 to 18 hours a day as the IIT-JEE test drew nearer."

Meanwhile, Sazid's mother, Shahina Khatoon, worried over poor financial condition of the family, had taken up the job of 'anganwadi sevika' to support her family.

Sazid's classes at IIT-Punjab would begin from August 1. "I have selected mechanical engineering as machines have always fascinated me. I will study as hard as possible as I do not want to leave any stone unturned in getting good ranks and thus good placement," he said.

Sazid, staying in a dingy rented room at Mahavir Colony, Kankarbagh, said he never faced any fascination for enjoying life with friends even as he was living alone in Patna. "I always think after five years, I would enjoy and chill out. The fear of poverty would stop me from going awry," he said.

Ultimately, Sazid wants to be an IAS officer. "After doing IIM you may earn more, but after doing IAS you can serve the people more," he said.

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Landless farmer's son lands Rs 50,000/mth job

PATNA: Time was when Suresh Ram and his parents would live on "bhuja" (dry, fried rice) for days. This son of a landless farmer of Sitamarhi's Adhkani village, however, struggled his way to do civil engineering from IIT-Delhi and recently bagged a job in an infrastructure consultancy firm with a pay package of Rs 6 lakh per annum.

Suresh's journey to success was not easy. He was all of ten years when he lost his mother. However, his father Chhatar Ram, whose earning was not only meagre but also irregular, did not let him drop out of his Kendriya Vidyalaya in Sitamarhi.

While in ISc, Suresh had a chance meeting with a classmate's IITian brother. Impressed with Suresh's academic records, he counselled him to take the IIT-JEE. "He said, 'IIT will change your life for the better for good'," Suresh recalled and added life for him became a bigger challenge from that day onwards.

The teen, who had not heard of the IIT-JEE till then and who had never gone out of Sitamarhi, started dreaming big. "There is no electricity in my village. I studied before a lantern till late into night after helping my father in fields during the day," recalled Suresh.

The boy would then wash his uniform almost every day, except during the rains, as he had only one uniform which he also wore at home. Once on the school campus, however, he was a pampered prince of sorts. "My teachers used to take special interest in me because I could solve even complex mathematical problems," he said and added it was his maths teacher who made him realize that he was good in maths.

"Cracking the IIT-JEE was a matter of life or death for me," Suresh told TOI and added that even though he couldn't score high marks in Class XII and failed it to make to IIT in 2005, he was undeterred. "These were the saddest days of my life. I was nervous, almost depressed. But I decided to move on with a stronger determination," he said.

He was all smiles as his name figured quite prominently in the list of successful JEE examines the very next year. "Hard work pays after all," Suresh told TOI and thanked his teachers, including Super-30's Anand Kumar, for their help to him when he needed it the most.

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Tea vendor's son aspires to earn Rs 10L per month

PATNA: From his crumbling hut in a village in Bihar's Madhubani district to the sprawling campus of IIT-Mandi, the journey of Abhimanyu Kumar has been awe-inspiring. Abhimanyu cracked IIT-JEE in 2009 though he had no idea about either the IITs or JEE till 2006 when he came to stay with his father, a tea vendor in the state capital.

"I came to Patna for higher studies because there is no college in my village, Balwa. The idea was to study hard and get a government job." As he went around filling up forms for admission to ISc in Patna's TPS College, he heard about the "country's toughest exam". And he decided to give it a try.

That he had to share a dingy room with his father and brother did not deter him, and he studied hard — 17 hours a day. Yet, he could not clear the exam in 2008.

Abhimanyu was devastated. His kinsmen, working as daily wage earners in places like Mumbai and Punjab, appeared to add insult to his injury as they advised him, albeit sincerely, to come to their place and they would help him get a job.

Abhimanyu was not a quitter, however. Having read in newspapers about the 'Super-30' initiative under which poor and bright IIT aspirants are coached for free, he approached the 'Super-30' mentor Anand Kumar. Bright as he was, he also cleared Kumar's selection test and started JEE preparations afresh under the guidance of Super-30 faculty. Success did not elude him in 2009.

Abhimanyu is pursuing computer science from IIT-Mandi (Himachal Pradesh), which earlier functioned from the IIT's Roorkee campus. "I touched a computer for the first time in Roorkee," the 21-year-old told TOI and added, rather proudly, he was the topper in his class in 4th semester.

While an education loan from a bank takes care of his fees etc, he also gets a scholarship from IIT "which, if used responsibly, is adequate for other expenses".

Back home at Balwa, villagers address Abhimanyu as "engineer saheb" even though he is yet to complete the course. "I can feel that they are proud of me. I can also feel that the students of my village school now also dream big," he said.

But graduation form IIT is not the last degree on Abhimanyu's wish list. "IIM grads are earning Rs 10L a month. I will leave no stone unturned to bell the CAT," is his latest facebook status.

alokknmishra@gmail.com

'Life is hell for every sex worker'

PATNA: Four years ago, when the self-proclaimed unit in-charge of a polio eradication wing promised Seema (name changed) a job and asked her to accompany him to the district collectorate, the Muzaffarpur girl trusted him and did his bidding. Little did she know she would end up not as a polio drop administration agent but as a sex worker.


The self-styled government babu - his name was elusive to Seema as well - took her to Bohatola in Sitamarhi, an infamous red light area, and forced her into the flesh trade. Seema, a matriculate, is now 18, and knows no other world than this.


"Seema comes from a poor background and her family members could not afford litigation. Today, Bohatola is her home and she is disconnected from any person known to her parents," said Jahara Khatun, a representative of sex workers from the area.


Khatun told TOI Seema's story on the sidelines of a two-day state-level workshop on the welfare of sex workers, organized by the Mahila Development Center (MDC), which began on Tuesday. The programme was inaugurated by MDC director Paramhans Prasad Singh, Child's Rights Protection Commission (CRPC) chairperson Nisha Jha and other guests.


There are many girls like Seema across the state who are being lured with promises of jobs and forced into the flesh trade. " Life is hell for every girl who has got trapped in this trade. The lives of women in Chaturbhuj Sthan - a red light area in Muzaffarpur - are especially hellish," said Shabana Begum, a sex workers' representative from the area.


She elaborated on her comment and said everyone looks down upon the sex worker from Chaturbhuj Sthan and its adjoining areas. "No one respects us. Rickshaw-pullers demand we produce the fare even before allowing us to get onto their rickshaws. Some sex workers have cheated them earlier and made off without paying the fare, because of which they do not trust us," Shabana added.


"Once you are into the flesh trade, it' better to remain in it. No one will give you respect outside," said a sex workers' representative attending the workshop, not wanting to be named.


Ranju Begum, another representative, recounted what happened to a girl who managed to escape from the clutches of pimps. "Once I found an underage girl crying for help and stopped her and asked what was wrong. She said she had escaped from the clutches of some men who were forcing her into the flesh trade," said Ranju.


But worse fate awaited the poor girl - her family members refused to accept her because she was no longer 'pure. "She went through severe mental torture at home before she was finally married off by her parents," added Ranju.


Minki Khatoon, a representative from another red light area, complained of severe discrimination by civil society against sex workers and their children. "Several sex workers have complained to me that school teachers refuse to give admission to their children," Khatoon told TOI. The discrimination runs deep down that police raid red light areas looking for suspects after every incident of dacoity in town. They think the touts and pimps in red light areas are miscreants as well, she added.


All the representatives attending the workshop stressed upon the need for serious government intervention to save girls from being forced to become sex workers and to stop the flesh trade that is on in full swing in Sitamarhi, Saharsa, Purnia and other districts.


"Most of the women involved in this trade want to give it up but cannot do so as there is no alternative way for them to earn their living," said MDC director Singh. Dozens of social representatives from across the state, including NGOs working for the welfare of such vulnerable groups, are participating in the convention.


CRPC chairperson Nisha Jha assured all possible help for the welfare of sex workers' children. "We will make sure all government child welfare programmes reach these children," Jha said, asking the representatives to submit a detailed survey report on such children.
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2 IITians turn down lucrative job offers, tread new path in farming

PATNA: Treading a path less travelled, two IITians have taken to agriculture after turning down lucrative job offers by MNCs and made a mark for themselves within a few months. Beginning their offbeat initiative in October 2010 in Vaishali district, their activities now span six districts in Bihar.

Meet Shashank Kumar, an IIT-Delhi graduate (2004-2008 batch), and Manish Kumar, an IIT-Kharagpur postgraduate (2005-10 batch), who have embarked on their mission to improve the lot of farmers in the backwaters of Bihar with the aim to empower them, much to the chagrin of their parents.

The two techies were old friends, having prepared together for engineering entrance tests, a couple of years back. In October 2010, they persuaded a group of 14 farmers in Vaishali district, 30km from here, to do scientific agriculture.

"We suggested to farmers to cultivate 'rajma' instead of the conventional crop of wheat. But they ignored our suggestions outright," said Manish. "We were at our wits' end," Manish recalled adding, "but we somehow persuaded 18 farmers to experiment on six acres of land. Luckily, it was a huge success."

"The farmers earned Rs 1000 per kattha with an investment of Rs 400. For wheat, they used to invest Rs 350 and reap 50kg produce per kattha, earning Rs 400 to 500," said Manish, son of a retired clerk.

In February 2011, they founded an NGO, 'Farms n Farmers (FnF)', which does everything from soil testing to providing a market to farmers. Its activities have now expanded to adjoining districts including Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Banka and Purnia.

"Our focus is on maximizing returns from land through natural farming," said Shashank.

In Purnia district, where corn and potato are predominantly grown, farmers usually leave their land unused from June to September. "We advised farmers to sow baby corn. As baby corn is reaped within 50 to 60 days, farmers had a bumper harvest just before raising another crop," said Manish, who hails from Chakdariya village in Vaishali district.

Several Purnia farmers harvested 25kg baby corn per kattha of land and sold it for an average amount of Rs 750, earning more than Rs 300, he said.

In Buxar, the farmers, facing water shortage, were advised to grow medicinal herbs, which need negligible irrigation.

"We sell directly to food processing companies. It helps farmers earn more," said Shashank. The FnF charges a nominal 10% of total sale value from farmers. The techies plan to lower this figure in future as more farmers join their initiative.

"We want to create a large network of small and marginal but happy and prosperous farmers," Shashank and Manish told TOI.

Though they are currently not using organic methods of farming, they said "organic is best." "Now that we have gained farmers' faith, we have started to work on organic farming. We are advising farmers to avoid using chemical fertilizer," they said.

FnF, which has more than 150 farmers associated with it, has an eight-member advisory team which includes Prof P K Sinha from IIM-Ahmedabad, Prof R Singh and P B S Bhadoria from IIT-Kharagpur, and Dr Bimla Rai from RAU, Pusa. Manish and Shashank hold regular training programmes in different parts of Bihar.

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