Eating with Hands, Birthdays, & Community Service

In India, it is very common for people to eat with their hands, and many students at Shanti Bhavan prefer this traditional method. Last week, I was asked to film an Instagram video in which one of the graduate students, Anwesh, taught me how to eat with my hands in the traditional way. There is a rich history behind the practice as well. He explained that eating with your hands enhances the sensory experience and allows for a deeper connection with the food. It engages multiple senses: you begin by seeing the food, then smelling it, and finally touching it as you eat. Anwesh also mentioned that food often tastes better this way and leaves you feeling fuller after a meal. He added that whenever there’s a special meal at Shanti Bhavan, all his friends choose to eat with their hands.

There is a specific technique and set of manners that comes with eating with your hands. The first thing to keep in mind is that you use all five fingers, but the food should never touch your palm or go past the bottom knuckle on your finger. When mixing rice and curry, only pour curry onto a small portion and mix a bite-sized amount with your fingers. Always bring your hand to your mouth, rather than lowering your head to the food. One helpful trick Anwesh taught me was to place the food on your four fingers and use your thumb to push it into your mouth. It was surprisingly easy and convenient and I’m really glad I had the chance to learn!

Birthdays at Shanti Bhavan are always a fun tradition. The student celebrating wears a special outfit for afternoon snack and stands on a table while everyone sings happy birthday to them. In the photo on the left, Alen Rio, a kindergartener, poses proudly in his birthday outfit. On the last Friday of each month, the whole school comes together to celebrate all the birthdays from that month with cake and ice cream. This week, one of the volunteers also celebrated her birthday, and she was flooded with handmade cards, drawings, poems, and small treasures the students had found, like slinkies.

Another important part of daily life on campus is community service, which the students participate in every day. During this time, they help maintain the campus by pulling weeds, sweeping, picking up trash, and completing other chores. Students either spend part of their morning or afternoon PT doing community service. It is also used as a form of discipline - if a student misbehaves, they may lose their PT time and be assigned community service for a certain number of days. Additionally, whenever there is a visitor on campus, all students spend their morning PT period cleaning and preparing the school grounds.