Musings About SILC

“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides, and my windows to be closed. Instead, I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any”.
Mahatma Gandhi

“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One is roots; the other, wings.”

Hodding Carter

While getting ready to go to SILC on each Saturday morning or when engaged in SILC activities, these two quotes race through my head stirring up a fusion of inter-related thoughts. These thoughts come to the surface, just like an iceberg floating in the sea currents, revealing the tip of the inner turmoil I sometimes go through. On second thoughts … is it turmoil? Or is it a conviction that I have found the answers to two important questions every parent faces - “How best we can give roots and wings to our children? “ and “How can I make my kids appreciative of their culture and background”?

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Roots, in a traditional sense, convey all the things that tie a plant to a ground. Roots, in the context of our children, reflect the stability of a home and the nourishment of the love we provide to our children so that they feel safe and secure.

Wings, on the other hand, convey all the things that enable our kids to feel skilled and successful so that they can fly away to live on their own.

What do these roots and wings have anything to do with SILC anyway?

Though the traditional roots of stability and security are provided to the children by their parents, SILC provides special roots, “cultural roots”, to our children – teaching them about India, its culture, languages, festivals, arts, sports, food and many other things. These ‘cultural roots’ enable our children to be aware and appreciative of their identity and make them feel proud of their roots.

SILC also provides a fun-filled Saturday mornings where students learn a language, participate in social studies classes and pursue their interests in one of the electives (art, yoga, cooking, music, dance, literature, sports). Throughout the academic year, students are also exposed to a variety of experiences and interactions – social studies presentations, art projects, having fun at SILC Mela, Holi celebrations, graduation day, participating in community events such as ‘Vibha Kalakar’ . All such positive experiences make them confident, well-rounded individuals.

This combination – being aware and proud of their cultural roots, and growing up with positive experiences – helps our children to develop their wings, getting them ready to fly to be successful in life.
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I have joined SILC family a couple of years back. And during one of the SILC sessions, I saw one of the parents wearing a T-shirt with Mahatma Gandhi’s quote. I should confess that it is the first time I have read that quote; and I should also admit that it is the most influential quote that got planted in me ever since.

How can we, as parents and teachers, teach our kids to be open-minded and appreciative of all the cultures, and yet to be aware of their own culture? What is the framework and structure we can give to our children so that they are not blown off their feet by the external influences such as what they see/play on Gameboy or PS or Xbox or TV?

I don’t know whether Gandhi’s quote stirred these questions or whether these questions have their answer in Gandhi’s quote – that is a chicken and egg problem.

However, when these questions haunt and trouble me, it is at those exact times and moments, I feel a strong conviction that I have found an answer in SILC. At those moments, I vividly see the relevance and significance of SILC and the role its play in the community.

SILC provides an outlet where anyone who is interested to learn about India and its culture can come over to Como High School on Saturday morning, and anyone who is interested to teach about India, its languages and culture can also come (Hello volunteers, parents, teachers! Thank you).

Such a setting, where people with passion to learn and to share gather every Saturday, will naturally be a colorful and glorious setting. And that is what SILC is offering.

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No wonder! One can now see why and how SILC survived for 30 years serving the MN community. It is because of its unique character – that crosses the boundaries of a particular religion, or a language or an age group; and because of the passion and dedication of the volunteers, parents, teachers, students, and friends who gather at SILC to learn, to share and to have fun.

Congratulations to SILC on its 30 year anniversary. And long live, SILC!
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Siva Jasthi
2008 - 2009 Assistant Principal