In India each state has their vernacular language and it is their official language apart from Hindi which is the major language of the masses. Other languages include Assamese, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and more. In many states English is the primary medium of instruction in schools and colleges. It is also the language of the upper judiciary and the business world. It has taken into the world of art and literature as well. Haiku Poems/Haiku Rhythms were introduced in India way back in the twentieth century. Though, it has not gained popularity among classrooms in India it is definitely garnering all the attention and Haiku is slowly but surely experiencing a boom in India.
Haiku learning management system
Teaching Haiku poems in Indian schools is a challenge as the poem has dozens of genre. The poem is first read in English and then the poetic conventions are explained. Haiku is a three liner with 17 syllables and is translated by prominent poets like Basho, Shiki, Buson, Chiyo and Issa. These translated works are recited in the classroom. Similarly the contemporary poetry of 5 lines and 31 syllables is also introduced. The shorter version is called the tanka. The prose with poetry is known as haibun. The linked verse poetry is called renku. Simple games were played to make the learning process enjoy. When the session is complete the students are asked to compose a poem.
To make the learning session inspiring students are taken for a renku trip by shuffling chairs to create a circle and poetry is written in groups in the classroom. The leader of the group writes the first three lines and the classmates add the next two lines before another students add some more lines and so on and so forth. The outcome is an inspirational verse of one poem. Students are asked to get inspired from the outside the campus. The ginko walks into the mountains, lakes regions feeds the thoughts of the students. Ginko is the term used to describe outdoor walks by a poet particularly while composing Haiku. The poet carries the nature’s beauty to add it to their poems. The poetic walks are a memorable experience left to be cherished for life for the poet.
Next gen Haiku poets
To create an interest in the students of today, the Central Board of Secondary Education strives to promote creative writing among students across the country. In this exercise 600 schools participated and studied Haiku as part of the program. In this program Haiku poems were written in the intensive Haiku workshop and the best were to be published in the book. This recognition encourages Indian youth to come up with creative and interesting Haiku poems. The pride of seeing their poem on the pinboards along with the popular works of Basho, Chiyo-in and Buson. For some it is the simple attraction with the word Haiku that let them attend the workshop.
Some of the works were appreciated include:
#1 still water . . .
a zebra runs away
from itself
#2. people everywhere
amongst them I walk
finding my own silence
Haiku learning is seen as a vision of simplicity and harmony and the teaching process makes it all the more interesting. Today Haiku learning is more than 70 percent when compared to the 36 percent earlier. The user-friendly interfaces add to the success of the Haiku transition in India. The digital learning systems have also increased the adaption of Haiku among Indian students. Now teachers can deliver content digitally interacting with students in real time and through embedded lessons. Digitalizing haiku is done with the sole aim of sharing the vision with the students and working in close coordination with the educators. The objective is to improve classroom teaching cum learning experience.
Haiku learning in India is increasing thanks to the efforts taken by the teaching community to bring awareness among students. Haiku has helped to draw closer to the Japanese culture and it helps to make them feel one among them. Through Haiku people are able to express their thoughts beautifully and in a way that is appreciable by all. Through Haiku learning programs people are able to gain confidence in writing some recognizable works.
