“Namasté”! That is how Tamani greets her friends in India. But this greeting has more to it than a simple hello. Translated, it means “I admire and respect you”. Tamani is 11 and lives in New Delhi. That is the capital city of India and is home to around 22 million people. So, as you can imagine, there is a lot going on in the city. Tamani lives in a suburb there with her family.
And that is also where she goes to school. There are nearly 45 students in her class, which can be pretty chaotic if all the children start talking at the same time. The school day usually starts with assembly where all the pupils get together in the school yard. The headmaster holds the assembly and they all sing the national anthem together. This is intended to help the pupils concentrate and learn better. At lunchtime, Tamani’s school serves vegetarian meals only as a lot of inhabitants of India are not allowed to eat meat for religious reasons. For Hindus, cows are actually sacred. This is why you will often see them just lying around in the street. Incidentally, vehicles travel on the left in India. And in rural areas it is entirely possible you will see people riding elephants if they are taking a long journey. Tamani loves stroking the wrinkly skin of an elephant calf.
In her free time, she usually wears a sari. A sari is a traditional dress for women and is made of colourful material. It is worn like a wrap-around skirt with a sash over the shoulder. Tamani’s favourite sari is lilac with small embroidered flowers on it. But she only wears it on special occasions.
And that is also where she goes to school. There are nearly 45 students in her class, which can be pretty chaotic if all the children start talking at the same time. The school day usually starts with assembly where all the pupils get together in the school yard. The headmaster holds the assembly and they all sing the national anthem together. This is intended to help the pupils concentrate and learn better. At lunchtime, Tamani’s school serves vegetarian meals only as a lot of inhabitants of India are not allowed to eat meat for religious reasons. For Hindus, cows are actually sacred. This is why you will often see them just lying around in the street. Incidentally, vehicles travel on the left in India. And in rural areas it is entirely possible you will see people riding elephants if they are taking a long journey. Tamani loves stroking the wrinkly skin of an elephant calf.
In her free time, she usually wears a sari. A sari is a traditional dress for women and is made of colourful material. It is worn like a wrap-around skirt with a sash over the shoulder. Tamani’s favourite sari is lilac with small embroidered flowers on it. But she only wears it on special occasions.
