This Octogenarian-Teenager Duo Has Bridged The Generation Gap To Work Together And Raise Funds For COVID-19 Relief

Who says inter-generation bonding is difficult these days? Here’s a heart-warming story of an 85-year-old who joined hands with a teenager to contribute to The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM Cares Fund) and has been successfully able to raise Rs 1 lakh by integrating art into Mathematics.

Saroja Sundararajan, a passionate teacher from Chennai and a national award recipient in the field of education, devised 100 Mathematics worksheets with the help of Siddhant Sinha, 16, a student from Gurgaon. “I do not feel I am old enough to retire. Even though my physical ailments pull me down, I am very alert mentally and can work even 12 hours a day,” she told Silver Talkies. Excerpts from an interview.

What brought you to integrating arts into mathematics for raising Covid-19 relief funds?

When I read about CBSE’s mandate that art should be integrated with every subject in the curriculum, it really inspired me and I thought why I should not try my hand at integrating art with mathematics. I have been in many ways a pioneer in doing things in the field of education. It, therefore, came naturally to me. However, I did not want to constrain myself with the usual interpretation of art as visual art or performing art. I wanted to give it a different connotation. I thought to myself that using the skills of problem-solving in Maths is an art; exhibiting spatial skills is an art; using mental computational skills is an art; appreciating patterns in shapes and numbers is an art. So, the entire fabric of Mathematics, I felt, was woven as an art. It became easy for me to devise worksheets on the theme of Art and Mathematics. I started working on creative worksheets – 100 of them – all of which were concept based and skill-based. Hence, they were not confined to any particular Board syllabus or curriculum; nor were they text book-oriented. Anyone – even adults could enjoy them. Thus was born the idea of this project.

How did you fall in love with Mathematics?

Mathematics is in my genes. My father was a mathematics wizard. He would always teach me as a child to look at numbers differently. He would teach short cuts in computations. He would make me look for patterns in car numbers, telephone numbers and give them to me like a puzzle. He was the main person who created in me, the love for the subject.

16-year-old tech whiz Siddhant Sinha from Gurgaon who helped Sundararajan in creating the website

How did you collaborate with your teenage partner who created the website where you could upload your worksheets?

When I was discussing my project to a friend of mine, I told her that I was just doing it aimlessly not knowing what to do with the worksheets once they were ready. She suggested her friend’s name to help me build a website where I could upload my sheets. The friend, in turn, entrusted the responsibility to her son Siddant Sinha who is in Std XII now, studying in The Heritage International School, Gurgaon, and is learning the job as a hobby. Siddhant did a very sincere, good job of creating the website. The next question was, ”Now what?” My friends suggested that I price the worksheet as Rs. 10 per sheet and the whole lot would be Rs. 1000. Suddenly it dawned upon me that I should donate the money to the PM CARES FUND for COVID patients since I did not have the need for that money but my country did as it is struggling with the pandemic crisis.

How has working with someone from another generation worked out for you and do you wish people should collaborate more across ages?

I have had an excellent rapport with the younger generation. In fact, they inspire me to work and I enjoy mentoring them too. People should really collaborate with all age groups. That is the secret of remaining mentally young forever.

What kind of response did your website get?

The response to my website has been overwhelming. Since I have thousands of students across the globe, they were thrilled about the idea and about my intentions. Those who have kids of the relevant age group bought the sheets and donated liberally. Friends and ex-colleagues of mine appreciated this venture as well. Unfortunately, people have already been donating generously in many other ways for the cause. For me to expect more in terms of number was not fair. However, those who felt that children will be usefully kept occupied during the lockdown at home did buy them. My own family members and close friends have donated liberally. A few children’s parents have been giving feedback that they are enjoying it. In fact, some parents are themselves enjoying it.

How do you stay active and engaged?

For the last 3 years, I have been working closely with a corporation school in Chennai, doing Teacher training in Maths and also conducting workshops for children of the underprivileged communities. At the moment I am busy developing material to do online workshops for teachers on ZOOM. However, as I said earlier, I always like to do things differently. My focus will not be on content. It will be on certain skills that teachers should develop in pedagogy. I am very interested in cooking and trying out new healthy recipes. I am also interested in writing blogs. I love music and it keeps me sane and peaceful.

You can access the worksheets at https://www.mathfundsindia.com/