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1. Description of Our Community
We are students of a multi-cultural community coming from various parts of the country. Our school is situated at Bissau, serving the adjacent town and villages. Bissau, a small town around 12 Kilometer away from the District Headquarters Churu and 200 Kilometer away from the State capital of Rajasthan in India, Jaipur.
Bissau is nestled in the Thar desert, with very meager means of agriculture and industries indigenous. It is a homogeneous mixture of Hindus and Muslims the two major communities. Otherwise a sleepy town that comes to a standstill with the setting sun, comes to life in month of October, when the inhabitants come together to enact the Ramleela from the Ramayana.
2. Summary of Our Project
The Ramleela is the enactment of the life of Raja Ram; His birth, exile, war with Ravana, victory, return and coronation. The Bissau Mook Ramleela is almost a 150 years old tradition with the locals. It has all the depiction of the melodrama without a dialogue, not a single word spoken or any narration. All is pure action in synchronization to drum beats and music. A stretch of road is the stage and different acts take place at a different venue along the road. One needs to follow the act and keep moving-on with characters to partake of the whole play. With the infiltration of the Smart Mobiles, Cable TV and the Internet accessibility this age old tradition is on its last strings. We were awestruck to witness all the episodes and interact with the artists and organizers. We take it upon ourselves to help revive this beautiful and very meaningful melodrama and put it on a stage for the world to see. We hope and pray that our humble effort comes to fruition and the Mook Ramleela gets recognition from the government, funds from patrons and a worldwide audience.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
The computer and internet facilities are very good. A lease line has been procured for the whole school with speed of 100 Kbps. The school campus is WiFi enabled and access given to all staff and students working on projects. The internet was not very helpful in collection of data of the Mook Ramleela as it has not been covered and put on the Net. But we learned a lot about the Ramleela performed in other parts of the world. To our surprise the Mook (Without words) Ramleela of Bissau is the only Ramleela in the whole world.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
1.Selection of the Project: The region has so much untouched by the world which is craving for someone to notice, like the Havelies and Frescos we covered in our last projects. To zero down on the Mook Ramleela in the first team meet was a heated discussion, as others seemed equally tempting to choose. 2.Time constraints: To have regular team meets in the middle of the busy curriculum and activities was a challenge. We met during break-time sharing our Tiffin’s and Findings with the team. Striking a balance between studies, research was a test for time management. 3. Viewing the Ramleela: The Ramleela is only enacted in the evenings when all come back from the fields and work. But we had to have the permission of our parents to leave in the evenings and come at a late hour (we are not allowed to move out after sunset). Our parents allowed us to view the Ramleela as we had our teachers escort us and safely hand us over to our parents. 4.Interviewing the actors and organizers: Taking prior appointments and permissions with the artists and organizers was another challenge.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
This project will not end with the website hosted on the competition; this will carry on as we have taken it upon ourselves to revive, get Government recognition, funds from patrons and a worldwide audience for this beautiful but slowly passing away Mook Ramleela of Bissau.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
Engaging in International Schools CyberFair Project has created an opportunity to connect learning across disciplines and to real life experiences these interactions with artist and organizers were learning for life. Subject areas covered in the course of carrying out activities include: History, Geography, Art, English, ICT, Event Management and Citizenship. The Internet has helped the students and allowed the student to create something never taught in a traditional classroom.
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