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Photo: K.R. Deepak

Getting the volley rightYoungsters undergoing tennis coaching as part of a summer camp

Nine-year old Naveen wants to become an accomplished musician and intends to show his prowess on the keyboard at the school annual day function. And for that, he is concentrating hard in the music classes at a summer camp organised by a cultural organisation.

Summer camps are meant to bring out the best in the children. ‘Learn while you play’ seems to be the central idea of the concept and is catching up with the present generation kids. The thought is not a new one; it was prevalent in the west since decades. In the US, the traditional view of a summer camp revolves around the adventure theme. Move to the woods and indulge in a variety of activity like hiking, canoeing and campfires. Special summer camps are also organised for learning different forms of performing arts and music. There are also religiously affiliated summer camps, such as those run by Evangelical Christian groups. The American Camp Association (ACA) reports that 10 million children attend summer camps annually, and there are approximately 12,000 camps nationwide.

Vizag is not lagging behind and almost every school appears to have taken up the concept of summer camps which was considered to be a strange idea a couple of decades ago. Taking a cue from the schools, many social, corporate and cultural organisations also have started the concept.

The Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation runs a swimming camp at its pool, Hotel Dolphin organises swimming coaching classes and the Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association runs a cricket camp for the children.

“The children have long holidays and this is the time when they can be engaged in a variety of activities, which could also be a lifetime learning experience,” says Raju of Muralinagar Residential Association. The association hosts swimming and skating camps for children.

While in most of the summer camps the children get engaged in a variety of games and craft activities, the camp run by Gayatri Vidya Parishad in collaboration with CMR Shopping Mall is a camp with a difference. The camp is organised for the children from the government schools and it comes draped with a traditional flavour.

“It is open to all children from 4 to 16 years and we teach them chanting of Sanskrit slokas, English literature and mathematics. This apart, we have two hours dedicated for various crafts like drawing, painting and clay modelling. The children also have the option of choosing classical music or dance,” says the secretary of the camp, Rambabu. The camp is being held simultaneously at MLBT School and Aditya School from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on a daily basis.

Mihira Charitable Trust also tags the traditional line. The month-long camp is divided into slots that comprise activities like yoga, learning of Vedas, spoken Sanskrit and English, personality development, classical music and guest lectures. Crafts like pot painting, glass painting and fabric painting are also part of the summer camp. M.R.L. Rao of Mihira says, “In the mornings, we have the activities from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. and in the evening we hold a one-hour guest lecture session where experts come and speak on various facets of our culture and patriotic themes.

The idea is to bring back the traditional values. Children should know about our culture and heritage, which is rarely taught in our present day schools. The basic design of the camp is to infuse the ideas of friendship, teamwork, patriotism and cooperation.”

The summer vacations are not meant for the children alone but even the teenagers’ can make good use of it.

They can take up a summer job or a project. Many companies offer summer internships, and it could be a both earning and learning experience. One can even pursue the old hobby, which has virtually become non-existent after the school days. One can even utilise the vacations for learning a new short-term course or learn a new game or add up the skills. Creating a study group with like-minded friends can be a good option. Whatever, be the activity, the idea is to utilise the long vacations fruitfully amidst fun and frolic.

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