Making Use of Summer Vacation

Part One

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Children get two months of summer vacation every year. For parents, it means two months of all-day access to children, without the competing demands of school. One-sixth of the entire year is more than enough for an intelligent parent to influence them, guide their growth, and get them strongly connected to their roots. It can be overwhelming unless there's a good plan. Still, parents can easily set aside a couple of hours every day to make kids understand their Hindu heritage in easy and fun ways. How then can we best use the summer vacation?

Hindu parents give great importance to education. We often make children watch science or geography channels. While these are important for kids' growth, they also need to watch programs relevant to Hindu heritage. The warm days of summer are perfect for relaxing indoors with quality videos. We can easily spend two hours of a lazy summer afternoon or evening watching Ramayana or Mahabharata with kids.

The easiest way to getting children interested in Hindu stories is through B.R. Chopra's Mahabharata. Please see my article for Hindu Post here for a detailed analysis on how to approach the Mahabharata. It's a great start even for the most deracinated child who is a total beginner in all things related to Hinduism.

After acquiring a working knowledge of Mahabharata, we can approach Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana, a beautiful introduction to the ideals of Dharma and Bhakti. The Hindu imagery and values in Ramayana are sure to leave an impression on children.

These two shows set the stage for the very realistic and beautifully produced Chanakya by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi. This series is the most important history lesson that children need. By watching Chanakya, they will understand that a single unique culture connects the whole of India. They will appreciate how Sanskriti is defined, the dangers of conquerors, and how important it is to stay united and fight off predatory cultures. What easier way can there be than TV shows like this to open our children's eyes to the thoughts, values, conflicts, and problems of Hindu India today?

Parents must firmly fix images of kings, rishis, and other key characters from the epics in childrens' minds when they are young. Complete and early immersion in the epics is the best way to inoculate them against repugnant current-day depictions of Hindu gods and religious figures. Hindu parents must jump in to claim the first-mover advantage when children are young. The stories we tell at home, the shows we watch together, the comics we read will all create the first vivid impressions of Hinduism in their minds. Nobody can have access to the youngest of children before parents. We need to solidify that advantage smartly, rather than worry about how others are manipulating our children.

Moving on from TV shows, you can find good games that can be played once a week to reinforce learning. There are many board games based on Indian and Hindu themes. Some titles are "Life of Krishna" (for young kids) and "Bharata 600 BC" (for older kids).

Summer is a good time to cook some good family recipes together. Enlist childrens' help in the pickle-making process. Try to give them a sense of ownership rather than mandate tasks that will not interest them. They can use a small jar to make their pickle mimicking the process used by adults. They will learn a family recipe that they can then pass on to their kids.

There's also a good choice of online classes and summer camps these days. A small list includes pracharam.in (check their website for beautiful dharmik picture books on gods and goddesses and courses for young kids), Agastya Gurukulam(summer camps, co-schooling, and homeschooling options available), and Gurucool Fun. IGenPlus has courses as well as a monthly magazine for teens. Older teens and young adults have a fascinating array of courses, including those by Vibhu Academy, Anaadi Foundation, and Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Rashtram School of Public Leadership trains young people on Indic knowledge systems and leadership skills. They also have short courses on great Hindu thinkers.

Another way to use free time is to have many books of the right kind around the house. Old Amar Chitra Kathas from the Anant Pai era (beware of the modern ones recently released, which seem to have anti-Hindu content and illustrations), books on Hindu temples, art, architecture, history, Panchatantra…the list of must-have books is endless. For older children, you can leave good books around the house. Try to buy books like "Being Different" (or any books by Rajiv Malhotra), "The Educational Heritage of India" by Sahana Singh, or "Avarana" by S.L. Bhyrappa. Kids read the books they see around them.

Summer is also an excellent time to devote more time to classical dance, music, and art classes. Even during a pandemic, there's much that can still be done. You can buy DIY art and coloring kits based on Indian themes like Kerala mural painting, Gond art, Worli art, etc. In addition, there are online classes for many traditional arts. You can find institutes that even offer beginner-level online training in the ancient martial art form of Kalaripayattu.

Most of India is hot in summer, but trips to small, uncrowded local temples are easy to make. It might be just the right time to enjoy a temple peacefully, without people jostling for space. Take some time to sit under the peepul tree found in most temple courtyards, and explain its significance to kids. There are courses on understanding and appreciating temples from Vibhu Academy. Organizations like Gurucool Fun conduct online temple tours for kids. 

Enroll together with your child in any spoken Sanskrit 10 day camp for beginners by Samskrit Bharathi. Starting a language together helps in retention and learning. Another fun activity for an art-loving kid is drawing Rangolis outside the house every morning. Children can start from simple patterns, gradually moving to complex ones. It builds design intelligence too.

Yes, your kids will watch current TV shows, read the books and news everyone else is reading. That's okay. If you can give them a good grounding in Hindu values and history, the influence of modern media will not matter as much in their lives.

These ideas need not - and cannot - all be implemented. Parents can take whatever suits them and the child. Even one or two of these activities will go a long way in raising rooted children. They will then be less swayed by the constant stream of Hindu hate from schools, workplaces, and media around them.