IN PERFECT HARMONY: Humming Indian tunes

Twelve-year-old Gita Ramamurthi is wide awake early on a Sunday morning-she'd rather go to Shishu Bharati than sleep those few extra minutes. "Once there I have a lot of fun. I look forward to meeting my Indian friends and playing games and I like the dramas and stories we read," she says. As does her twin brother Arjun. "I enjoy learning languages and facts about the places my parents came from," he says.

That is the first step towards the goal that a group of Indian immigrant families had in mind while founding the school 25 years ago in the US. Today it is considered indispensable in bestowing an identity.

WINDOW TO INDIA: Students of Shishu Bharati learn the Indian way of life (top); theatre helps them imbibe the cultural heritage of their parents' homeland

"Everyone needs culture," says Dilip Gandhi, a founding member. "Children from another country but born here sometimes face inner conflicts. They may already know about the religion and traditions followed at home but still find themselves thinking, 'Am I American? Am I Indian? Where do I belong?'" The goal of the school is to give students a portrait of their culture so that they can be proud and even pick up the best from both cultures, he adds.

What started as classes held in homes and basements in Burlington, Massachusetts went on to become Shishu Bharati-a two-hour Sunday school which now has 250 students in 30 classrooms and 50 teachers. They charge each student $275 for a school year (September-June). The school also has another branch in Nashua, New Hampshire, which began last fall.

It's here that American-born children of Indian origin learn about Indian art, music, dance, literature, yoga, ayurveda, customs, languages and history. The eight-year programme, which starts from kindergarten, hands out homework assignments, holds examinations and promotes students from one level to the next.

The organisation remains a non- profit venture with the core group of 20 families volunteering their time. While 1 per cent of the students are adult Americans, 20 per cent have one Indian parent.

IN PERFECT HARMONY: Humming Indian tunes

"We could have gone all out with a huge marketing campaign to advertise what we do but we are pleased with retaining the quality of education," says Gandhi, the secretary and public relations spokesperson of the school board. Shishu Bharati gives the students assurance, strength, pride and a deeper understanding of their heritage.

"We have also made it a part of our policy not to focus too much on the politics of the country; students are exposed to it while learning about history and culture," says Gandhi, a software engineer in Farmingham. "We educate them about the real India. We want them to make their own choices and hopefully, they will pick the best things from both cultures." His two daughters Nipa, 25, and Alpa, 21, graduated from Shishu Bharati and later returned to teach Gujarati.

"We enjoy learning about the places our parents came from." Arjun & Gita, Twins studying at Shishu Bharati

In principal Sipra Shah's 15-year career with the school, ensuring an affinity with "Indianness" has been one of the most interesting aspects. "We want our students to fit in intellectually, emotionally and culturally when they visit India. If they speak the languages and know the history and geography, they will be comfortable," she says.

In Going Home for Diwali, a play she directed and supervised at the school recently, Shah focused on the visual effect. Its premise was a train that travelled to 11 stations-Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Delhi, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Ramapuram, Chennai and Bangalore. "When you get off at each station, it's an accurate portrayal of how your hometown is decorated ... we wanted them to see how it is to go home for Diwali," says Shah.

As testimony of the manner in which children respond to the arts, Neelam Mistry, 10, who played a water-seller in the Diwali production, says, "I like the dancing, the music and learning all this stuff which I would not be learning anywhere else."

Her brother Samir, who graduated from the school, still goes back to volunteer. "When I go back to India, I can communicate with my grandparents in Gujarati and I have built many friendships with my old classmates. I think we will be friends for life," he says.

President Vasant Jinwala, among the pioneers of the school, says: "I believe the school performs an essential service for the second generation. It fills in the blanks between the lives they lead here-a foreign country-and the lives their parents lived, rich in Indian culture and traditions." Jinwala, a textile engineer in Belmont, has three daughters Nayna, 31, Sangita, 29, and Jyoti, 25. Incidentally, all of them graduated from Shishu Bharati.

Sangita is still inspired by her father's hard work in starting the school and encouraging everyone to join his efforts. "I remember him driving us to school on weekends and picking up all the neighbourhood children on our way," she says. "The school is successful because the parents are committed and dedicated to passing on the values and richness of Indian culture," she adds.

Sangita even taught-"and loved it"-at the school. "Through my father's dedication to the community, I have recognised the importance of instilling culture in subsequent generations and the necessity of empowering myself and others through education," she says.

Sangita was instrumental in establishing the Shishu Bharati Alumni Association with the ambitious goal of creating a network which will continue to educate communities across the country.

Considering the enthusiasm of Indians who spread and celebrate their culture even when they are in countries where they are a minority, it could well be a success. Like Arjan Daryanani, who moved from Hong Kong to Wakefield, Massachusetts. His children-Haresh, 35, Ram, 32, Vijay, 26, and Anita, 23-went to Shishu Bharati. Daryanani proudly announces that each of them speaks, reads and writes fluent Sindhi. No mean feat since their mother is Chinese and the two older ones were born in and spent their childhood in Hong Kong. "This school enhances the child's perspective of culture and maintains his link to it. This country is a melting pot and if you don't hold on to your individuality, you will just disappear in it," he says.