RAJASTHAN: Jaipur, the historic city of Chittorgarh in Rajasthan is famous for its massive fort, a Unesco World Heritage site that commemorates the legendary life of medieval queen, Rani Padmini. Today, a modest teacher is creating waves in this tribal-dominated area. Swati Birla teaches at a government school in this region and is known as the ‘Cake-wali-teacher’ among children in villages of this under-developed tribal belt.
The moniker that Swati has earned is a special one, sort of, gifted to her as she celebrates birthdays of poor Bhil tribal kids. On any such special day – regardless of rain or a heatwave or a bitterly winter day, Swati takes out her Scooty through the paved roads and reaches the small tenements where these children live. She collects kids and celebrates birthdays of village children by cutting birthday cakes. Swati spends time with her little companions and, in return, wants the kids’ parents to make a promise that they will send their children to school. Most such children are completely unknown to Swati.
About three years ago, Swati taught children in a government primary school in Jhadoli village, about 20 km from her village Kannauj. She noticed many children belonging to the Bhil tribal community in Bhilgatti and Dhanis sitting idle. They would often fight among themselves. On enquiry, she found that they did not go to school though some of them did enroll. Their parents made them work in the fields or take care of their younger siblings. Swati decided to do something.
Soon, she found a way. Swati was fond of making cakes and decided to use that skill to interact with and guide those children. “I took a small step and started celebrating children’s birthdays by baking cakes for them in my school,” says Swati. Swati then took her initiative to the children of Bhilghatti village with education as the ‘icing on the cake’. “I decided to make them feel special on their birthdays. I too could relive my childhood,” recalls Swati.
Her husband, Tarun Kabra, not only liked the idea but also supported her. However, the problem was that cakes are not available in the village. So, Swati started making them at home. Another problem was knowing the date of birthdays of these kids. She collected the records of the children from the village school. Now, she holds the celebrations along with her husband when they are free in the evening.
Swati’s husband runs a grocery shop and she takes all cake-making material and stationery items from there. For each child’s birthday, she prepares food for about 20 children in the village. The theme of the cake she makes is education. She draws a pencil on the cake and uses a ruler, not a knife, to cut it. She also gives them stationery so that a kid feels the need to study and go to school every day. “Children feel very happy after cutting the cake and their parents get emotional on these occasions. I also tell the children that the size of the cake will be the largest for the child who has the maximum attendance in school,” says Swati. So children now compete to go to school. “I make them promise that if they go to school regularly, they will get a chance to celebrate their birthdays in a grand style,” says Swati.
Swati says that most Bhil tribals work under MGNREGA, but drinking alcohol is common among men. Children and their education is not their priority. “They often collect hand-me-down clothes from houses and give them to children, which makes the kids avoid school,” she says.However, Swati’s unique effort has resulted in a sharp decline in school dropout in Bhilgatti and Dhamani Kheda villages. Schoolteachers praise the success of the cake campaign, where children now go to school with great passion.
Teachers like Trupti Tiwari, Manju, Sunita and Renu Somania say these children look far more excited and happier now. In Bhilgatti school, only 90 children were enrolled in classes one to five but now over 150 children have enrolled.Celebrating birthdays has also brought about attitudinal changes in children and their parents. The first realisation is the importance of life. Swati has celebrated the birthday of over 250 children by now.
“The children wait for me to turn up with congratulatory messages, and of course, their cakes. I have made so many kinds of cakes that the cake made by me tastes better than the one available in markets. I also get a lot of happiness as these special celebrations help me to live moments that I did not experience in my childhood,” says Swati.
Education of kids Not a priority
Swati says most Bhil tribals work under MGNREGA, but drinking alcohol is common among men. Children’s education is not their priority. Parents made the kids work in fields or take care of siblings.