Tell us about the start of your journey working for a social cause. What spurred it on?
Looking back on more than two decades of engagement with children and ‘causes’, it is the children that spurred me on. Interacting and listening to them, very early on demonstrated that what we offer children in the form of uniformed pigeon-holed programmes of learning – specially reading material – is narrow and restrictive and does not take into account the most precious resource that children and human beings offer – diversity – originality – individuality.
So in thinking and reading and studying about these things, I realised that meeting children’s needs where the child is and visioning a way forward would be wonderful. And of course if I had to choose, it would be engaging with children that I love most together with disappearing into books – so it was an almost organic alchemy that made this happen.
What challenges do women face when attempting to resolve social issues?
From a macro point of view, it may be easier for a woman in education because the profession is strongly dominated by women. What is interesting however is that in many leadership positions, there are men. So I cannot respond from all women’s point of view.
But from my own, I have had this journey work relatively smoothly – perhaps because I am a strong, determined, focussed woman who works very hard and walks the talk. My only alignment is with the vision of Bookworm to reach as many children.
I have almost always been trusted by the communities I work with, welcomed into schools we work with and received most warmly by children irrespective of age, social background etc. Like all systemic problems however, getting the attention of men in power, receiving timely permissions, enabling our work to go forward is often slowed down by men (who almost always are in power).
How important is your family support in your cause?
My family has formed me. Not just my birth family and all its privilege of social and cultural capital but my own intimate family that interestingly are all men. I believe very strongly that there are deeply supportive, intelligent, thoughtful and sensitive men and women, and together we can enable fulfilled lives for ourselves and for others. If I was not in a relationship with a fulfilled man, it is unlikely I would have received the unstinting support (financial, emotional and intellectual)
to seed and grow the work I have done. Bookworm’s trustees are mostly men – very supportive men who have a vision for the cause and are gender agnostic. How can we encourage more mothers specially to raise more fulfilled men who enable a most just society?
What was the toughest challenge you faced so far? How did you overcome it and what did you learn from it?
The toughest challenge that we continue to face and therefore not really overcome is that the organisation is bounded by my limited vision – I am deeply concerned with the individual and the pedagogical rather than with growth plans. In a world defined by scale, being small and deep is not highly valued, starting with our own society.
Secondly, we struggle to find young people who want to work in a professional but challenging space of enabling reading joy in Goa. One way we are working on both these aspects is for me to let other people who have tenure with Bookworm (mostly women) decide how they want the work to grow and support them and the other is to begin with where people are, even if we are training on the job because the connect with the land, the language and the hope for a better Goa overrides other aspects for now.
How do you juggle your personal and professional life?
I recognise what privilege truly is as I look back. I have been able to manage my life on my terms which I recognise is a gift.
Read the full article in ‘Viva Goa’ magazine copy.
Viva Goa magazine is now on stands. Available at all major book stalls and supermarkets in Goa.
