Summers. Camps and Shikanji

by Mansi Nanda,

“Garmiyon mein jab dhoop se ghar aao aur Shikanji mile to saari thakawat door hojaati hai”. The Home Science teacher is addressing 6th standard girls while explaining the quantity of lemon that needs to crushed in one glass of water. It’s the second week of summer camp in of GGSSS, Ambica Vihar and the ongoing theme of this week is WATER.

It was an interesting sight; a bunch of children, sitting in groups trying to make the best lemon drinks, carefully listening to each and every instruction given by the teacher. Sugar wrapped in small newspaper pouches, the smell of lemon in the classroom, noise of spoons and giggling faces. A few of them in a group struggling with the right quantity of lemon required for the drink, others thinking about what to do with leftover sugar.  One of the girls’ in an attempt to show off to her friends that she knows how to make shikanji, crushed the two lemons she got in half glass of water before the teacher started explaining the procedure. The next moment we hear the teacher saying “Ek glass mein aadha nimbu daalo”. Soon after realising her mistake of mixing more lemons in less water, the girl hurriedly runs outside to get more water. She counts something on her fingers and very cleverly tells the teacher that she made 4 glasses of shikanji with half lemon in one glass of water exactly how the teacher had asked them to do.
A few days later, on the open day I got a chance to meet a few parents in the summer camp. It was a delight to talk to one of the mothers’ whose daughter has been attending the camp. I curiously ask her what makes her send her daughter to the camp to which she replied “Ek din school se aa kar mere liye Chanda ne Shikanji banaayi and mujhe bola ki mummy aap dhoop se aaye ho to yeh piyo. Ismein meri mam ne kaha hai ki Vitamin C hai jisse energy milti hai.  Ye sunn kar main itni khush hui and mujhe ehsaas hua ki bache khel kood mein bhi kaafi kuch seekh jaate hain”
All this was because while teaching the girls how to make shikanji, the teacher was also explaining them the advantages of having lemon water and how it is useful for the body.
The shikanji recipe turned out to be a huge success that day. In my knowledge this is what the essence of the summer camp was to teach the children in a way that they enjoy and learn.

School: Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Ambica Vihar