NISARG it was, the word I was curious to reveal the meaning of. Ever since I heard about NISARG, an RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) at South India being organized by Rotary Club of Sivakasi Town (RI District 3212), I was very much excited about it. As I entered inside the program hall at JC Residency, Kodaikanal, in the afternoon of September 22, 2011, I could feel the eyes of organizers unwearyingly waiting for us. Though we were not lucky enough to witness the whole of the opening ceremony of the four-day event, we were there before the opening ceremony ended. We were introduced with the familiar names of Rtn Selvaa and Rtn YR Baksi with whom I corresponded beforehand. Five of us from Nepal were provided with RYLA kit and informed that we all were divided into five different groups named after 5 basic constituents of life (according to Hindu Mythology); jal (Aqua), Prithivi (Earth), Aagni (Fire), Vayu (Air) and Aakash (space) and I was now Aqua wearing a “C” shaped nametag with my photo and nickname on it.
“Shivana” the program hall- Shivana was big enough to accommodate 60 participants. We were asked to stay with the respective groups. I was very happy as I looked at the front wall written “WELCOME DARLING RYLARIAN”. We could forget all the tiredness of the travel but instead felt enthusiastic seeing the arrangement. I could see again the word “Nisarg” below it was written UNLEARN LEARN with an inverted cup and at the bottom of the same banner was a portrait of Buddha. This made me more curious to reveal the meaning of the word. I could again see another banner on the wall displaying an ice-cream cone with 8 different flavors of ice-creams superimposed, the banner not only watered my mouth but questioned me what it means. Later on, I realized it was the cream of faculty members we were to taste during RYLA. The whole hall was decorated with meaningful quotes and beautiful pictures all around.
Warm welcome! - Selvaa introduced us to the Rotarians and friends and soon after we introduced ourselves to the mass. The members of the Aqua group warmly welcomed me. I was thankful to Sam as he left his chair for me and the first person I knew then after was Kritika Iyer team leader of Aqua, who approached me for registration. The mentor of our group was Rtn Shyam Sundar a very pragmatic genius who took very good care of all of us.
Rules of the Game- I was surprised as the organizers tried to create a learning ambiance, unlike school or college. Whenever the participants addressed the facilitator Rtn Selvaa with sir, as a rule, he/she had to go to the front, stand on a chair, promise “I won’t repeat it again”, thank the chair and return to his place.
As seen in most of the training programs we had a small board on the back wall of the hall. Anyone could hang a joke, poem, or anything interesting on the board and share it with all the friends.
We were given small gifts whenever we attempted or answered the facilitator or the faculties.
Each group was assigned some work for the day. When one group made morning wake up calls for everyone, the next group took care of the hall, the other helped in serving food, and so on.
Facilitator Rtn Selvaa presented a Coin to one of the participants and asked to give the coin to the friend who entertains everyone. I could find that the rylarinas were more interested and enthusiastic about the proceedings and plenty of them deserved that.
Lodging and Fooding- The food was very nice and timely yet I regret taking very little as I was not sure if the change suites my belly. I should thank a person of my grandfather's age who always showed himself with food and ensured that all of us have eaten well. We used to have a morning tea/ coffee at 6 AM. After a short morning session, we would stop for breakfast at around 9 AM. Again we were served Lunch at around 1 AM. We had a small break for tea and snacks in the evening at around 5 PM. After a small session, we then had our dinner somewhere around 9 PM. The south Indian dishes were very tasty. So concerned were the organizers, that they had arranged a glass of milk at midnight before we went to bed. I shared my room with two other participants, both of them were very nice to me.
Surprise Birthday Celebration- Surprise birthday was celebrated by facilitator Smita and friends on the first day of RYLA who had the birthdays near. Again next day a surprise birthday was celebrated that of Mr. Hafeej, one of the faculty members.
Games- There were plenty of games we played. One of them was to identify the murderer, in which all the participants formed a circle and closed their eyes. A murderer, a policeman was selected and the villagers had to open the eyes and identify the murderer. It was interesting but it was the late-night we played it so it was not as expected.
A game of Donor and Receptor was played for which 12 volunteers were selected. Among the 12 participants, a pair of 2 persons each were made, consisting of a donor and a receptor. The donor had to give the detailed information about him/her and the receptor had to note them all and present the same to the mass. I did not participate in it, but it was very nice to listen to them. Later on, the receptors provided a token of love to the donors.
One of the games I can't forget is the volley ball game. It was very interesting as our breakfast was on a bet. We had to throw the ball in the air at least 100 times with the group effort of all participants. Seemingly easily it was, but it took several trails to get to the mark.
I can recall a game with balloons and toothpicks which was very interesting and meaningful. Everyone was provided with two balloons and a toothpicks as all attempted to burst each other's balloon, everyone lost his/her balloon.
Faculty members – Faculty members were introduced by the participants. The faculty members were Rotarians and the professional trainers. All the sessions were very interesting and informative. We had very close with the faculty members as they spent at least a couple of days with us.
YOGA- We practiced YOGA on the morning of the second day. This was a very refreshing way to start the day with. Vinod, a well-known yoga instructor handled the session.
Stories and Illustrations- Among many stories and jokes I can easily recall “An apple tree Story” the moral of which was to understand the painstaking effort of our parents raise us. We should really be thankful to them. There were several other short stories and illustrations in between teaching us good morals.
Nisarg T-shirt- The organizers provided each participant with a Nisarg T-shirt. The T-shirt colored in Black and grey was very attractive with the names and the emblem printed on it. This has been a souvenir for all of us to recollect the program.
Short Hiking- Short hiking at Kodaikanal was made. Though it looked similar to the hills here in Nepal but it was much special. The farming system was very nice and the pristine environment was preserved. Moreover, the settlement was concentrated in a place leaving the agricultural land unscathed. Furthermore, it felt better to walk in such a big group especially in the chill and inviting dawn. It was exciting to listen to the friends yell Tamil songs which provided an opportunity to learn a few words.
Outings at the lake- As a part of the program, we were taken to a lake where we were supposed to try our entrepreneurship and make some money. It was an individual assignment yet we tried to work on a group of four Diya, Shruti, Priya. We were very confused about what job to do as we had plenty of ideas but none looked practical. We were offered a job to clean the place which we did and were paid 20 rupees each. Then we tried to experiment with showing each of them how to put a cotton fireball on the mouth. We collected some medicated cotton, candle, and match stick. The crux was to invite people to do some daring act, by which they could feel great about them and happily contribute some money for a social cause. This was a very successful business as we collected a lot of money.
Discussion- There were plenty of topics to argue. One of them was what does it mean? “My love is like red red rose.” The other was “Who can be a better friend a boy or a girl?” and so on. I was reluctant to speak though I had plenty of things in mind. Yet, I could feel I was enjoying it.
Camp Fire- We had a campfire outside in a freezing evening. Divided into two groups we mocked at each other and competed in singing. Though I could not understand the dialect, I enjoyed a lot.
GROUP WORK- Each group was provided with half an hour to present their group performance. I was perplexed but later on, friends suggested me to take part in a chair dance. It was not easy for me as I had never before danced in steps. Our team presented a very good teamwork with a mimic of faculty members by Mano and Sam, classical Bharatnatyam by Kritika, a song, gymnastic performance by Tambo, chair dance by Tambo, Susi, Shruti and I. The other groups also had dance, songs, drama and many more. The team lead by … outwitted the rest.
Handwriting Analysis- A session was facilitated by Smita where she presented what does our handwriting speaks about our personality. The words t, d, and g were more significant to portray the attitude or the mood of the writer.
Chicken Dance- On the morning of the day, we departed Sept 25 we had a little session where everyone was put on their feet to dance. Each of us was provided with a mask and it was more fun dancing hidden inside the mask. This was a very nice dance tutorial that rejuvenated me and evoked interest to learn dance.
Mr. and Mrs. RYLA- Mr. and Mrs. RYLA were selected among the best performers during the entire program. All the participants were asked to vote and chose them. Mano was titled Mr. RYLA and Kittu was Mrs. RYLA both of them form team Aqua.
Grand Finish – Near to the end of the program, each of us was provided with a friendship band and had to tie it to the friend next to each of us. At the end of the day, everyone had the same red Band tied on their hands. All the lights were off and we were provided with a candle each and we made a promise, I don’t remember the exact words but it was some thing like “we will realize ourselves and change for betterment”.
IPDG’s session a grand wrap up- I was a bit amazed to see only three persons (IPDG Rtn.T.VALLIAPPAN, Rotary President Rtn J. Mahadev, and Ryla Chairperson J. Babu Senthikumar) in the dais during the closing ceremony. Last but not lest, the speech of IPDG Rtn.T.VALLIAPPAN, business acumen as very impressive and insightful. He asked participants to summarize the session of each faculty. He presented a video which had awareness about Polio. His style to bid goodbye was wonderful.
Ramp walk for certificate- The last thing that impressed me the most was the way the certificated were distributed. Everyone was called for his/her name and he/she had to make an interesting entry to the stage which was very delightful as it kept everyone guessing. Interestingly, with only two of them remaining for certification, Pragya and Kritika were escorted to the stage by IPDG himself.
Special affection to Nepali Rylarians - Five Rylarians from Nepal were offered special care and attention. Highlighting our presence the organizers not only thanked us for our participation time and again but also honored us with special gifts to be taken back home. Pragya ‘Kali’ was a very astute, outspoken, and enthusiastic as a result she showed her presence everywhere and bagged plenty of awards. Harka “Himal” was very funny. His art and cheerful presence delighted all, he was also awarded at the title “most friendly”. Abishek “Abhi” astonished everyone with his peccadilloes and daring acts. Priyanka “Priya” was gorgeous and she could not utter a word as she had a bad sore throat. I was taking care of all and preferred to be less noticed. Having served as a trainer on different occasions, I was more concentrated to learn the tact and tricks of training from the veterans.
After finishing NISARG, I discovered the meaning of it, which meant “Reconnect to Yourself”. All the figures looked meaningful and the friends so special. We were reluctant to leave the place, we aborted an idea to leave early but instead enjoyed at the lakeside with friends.
