Someone has rightly said, ‘If a person has not discovered something that he/she will die for, he isn’t fit to live’. An experience about something or the other in a person’s life can bring in lots of changes in his/her daily outlook towards it, this opportunity was experienced by me and my fellow colleagues when we were given responsibility to arrange a camp as part of the ‘Scout & Guide’ department. To be very frank, at the beginning I was not optimistic about conducting a camp successfully. Maybe from the inside there was a voice which was continuously hammering me and saying ‘it’s a mammoth task! reject it!’ Being the scout master for the tenth grade it was a challenging task but one that I decided to take to a logical conclusion.
‘A positive attitude gives you the power over your circumstances, instead of your circumstances having power over you.’ This positive attitude came to me via the support and constant help of my fellow Scout master, Mr. Jitender Desai and Guide captain, Ms. Paras Ahirwar. Together as a team we shared the work amongst ourselves leading to much excitement and planning regarding activities, time scheduling, location of the destination, dates and most importantly dividing students into effective groups.
Eventually the date was decided and the destination was fixed. The time had finally arrived to execute the plan which was continuously worked upon for twenty two long days. After getting a thumbs up from the school authorities our journey commenced sharp at 7.00 am on the frosty morning of December 20, 2018 to our port of call ‘Lonavala’.
The bus journey from Mumbai to Lonavala was like a PANDORA’S BOX of happiness because it was visible in the eyes of our students and their expectations about the camp. Reaching our destination sharp at 11.00 am brought in a new wave of enthusiasm because we needed it as it would be a day filled with loads of activities that would test our students’ team-work skills, their mental as well as their physical attributes.
Sometimes life without a CRUSADE is incomplete and this adventure came to us in the form of hiking, trekking and venture sports (archery, rifle shooting, rope ladder climbing & monkey bridge crossing). The early morning trek brought us close to nature and made us realize the ALCHEMY it brings with it. The hike to Karla caves was really a test of endurance for most of us as it was a climb of more than 350 steps! This single crusade according to me was the most exhausting and at the same time the most exhilarating one because of the satisfaction we all got after reaching to the top. It was really a milestone achieved not only for me but for most of us.
The main highlight of the camp was the ‘CAMP FIRE’ during the night time. I suppose this was the first time our students experienced something of this sort in their life. Fire is always considered as a symbol of ‘DESTRUCTION’ but after this undertaking I believe that many of us understood even the positive side of it. Speaking in a very forward manner I would say that I am not a nocturnal creature at all but handling 112 students comes with an added responsibility of taking at the most care of each and every one. For the first time in I would say I was awake till 3.30 am but this experience I would cherish a lot because this gave me a chance to connect with my colleagues as well. I will fondly remember the few hours around the camp fire for the rest of my life.
It is always told that ‘BEING CURIOUS TO KNOW SOMETHING LEADS TO AMAZING RESULTS’. These two days have proved to me that with every silver lining there is a smile to be cherished and this smile which all of us cherished was on the faces of our students.
Contributed by Angaraj Saikia
Std. IX & X English Teacher
Going through this blog, it was a sort of reminiscing the days of my childhood being a part of such enthusiastic activities. Throughout the blog I was connected and could sense my actual presence just by reading. I am sure this might be a life time experience for you, but for us (readers), as well it created a portrait of enthusiastic aura. Thank s for sharing your wonderful experience.