The work Krishna does with schools shines a light on Hinduism. Through the use of artefacts, music and simple resources she shows how to make Hinduism accessible to learners of all ages. Her work draws on the visual and kinaesthetic and is an enchanting route into greater insight into this religion. Teachers have loved her work and I am recommending her to other schools and local authorities.
Mary Myatt, Advisor for RE
Indri’s workshop was magical and the Year 4 children were rapt. We had a truly wonderful morning. The children took on board the spiritual element and are still talking about the stories they heard. The photographs we took were used in an assembly on the workshop presented by our class, when the children retold their experiences. Thank you for giving the children so much.
Lisa Denney, Year 4 Teacher
Krishna’s style of sharing information about her faith is very open and personal, and wonderfully supported by her wide range of artefacts, many of which were available at our INSET evening to purchase if we so wished. As a school with only a few appropriate resources prior to the visit, this was a great help too. The evening was shared with staff from three other schools, and I understand that they too felt the awareness-raising of the Hindu faith to be very worthwhile.
Elaine Hawes, Head Teacher
Just before the summer holidays, we Year 9 students were given a session with a Hindu priest called Indriyesha to celebrate Hinduism. However, the session was not as we all had expected. Indri helped the students learn meditation, and we learnt about some Hindu traditions, such as respecting all life, and giving flower garland to loved ones. Some of us were even dressed up in Hindu clothing to represent the three major Hindu gods – Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma for the boys, and their female counterparts Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati for the girls, complete with saris and bindi spots. The sessions were very engaging and Indri entertained us all with some amusing stories about both India and England. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we would like to thank the school for making this session possible.
Jonathan, Year 9 Student
Krishna’s presentation on Hinduism was an excellent display of knowledge, visual content, stories, dressing up and pupil interaction. The presenter has a lovely manner with the students, explaining the Hindu concepts gently but effectively and constantly checking the understanding of the students through various means. Krishna spent three periods with our S2 pupils (age 12), which works out to be the equivalent of 240 minutes and the time just flew by. My students told me that their favourite parts where dressing up as the gods and goddesses and learning about Hindu beliefs like reincarnation and the atman (soul). Krishna’s presentation also tied in with The Aberdeenshire Framework for a 3-18 curriculum emphasising, as it does, the cultural experiences of the students. In addition to this the presentation also involved elements of A Curriculum for Excellence. I would recommend Hinduism Education Services to any teacher who wishes to expand their pupils’ experiences and also their own, as it also acts as a delightful piece of CPD.
Stephanie Chalmers, Principal Teacher of Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies
Year 7 were very impressed with the workshop that was delivered by Indriyesha today. The students thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, the information given, the lovely mix of colours and materials that they were allowed to wear, and being able to participate in the wedding ceremony. They enjoyed their learning by actually experiencing the culture firsthand. St Ivo were very happy with what Indri delivered today and I am sure that we will be touch for this to happen next year too.
Keri Barkway, RE Teacher
When the children in Year 3 heard that they were going to have a visitor to talk about a Hindu wedding, they were excited, but didn’t know what to expect. What they got was a fantastic morning of hands-on experience and a unique chance to dress up as the wedding party and guests. The children listened, were interested and thoroughly enjoyed the session. If you have the chance to have Krishna visit your school, take it! It will excite, enhance and enrich the children’s learning experience. By the way, adults get to dress up too!
Janet Masetti, Year 3 Teacher
I wanted to say what a fantastic day the children (and staff!) had with Indri! The workshop was delivered brilliantly and everybody learnt so much! My class are using a lot of the day for our class assembly to the rest of the school. The opportunities for them to be fully involved and try out the costumes and the dances was an experience that they will never forget! I’m hoping I will be in Year 4 next year and that we can use your workshop again (if not I will most definitely be recommending you!).
Allan Trower, Year 4 Teacher
At the start of this 2016-2017 school year Avesha Presentations Hinduism Workshops for Schools has come back with a new name: Hinduism Education Services! We hope you like our new name, which we think more clearly expresses what we do and what we are all about.
So what are we up to this year? Krishna’s husband Indriyesha has joined her as a partner in the company, while other colleagues have gone on to various other callings. Krishna and Indri are very excited by the newfound advantages and challenges of a husband and wife team learning to work together. We have our days, but we’re gradually getting there. In general, we go out singly on our school visits, but once in a while it’s nice to travel and work together. We both love the adventure of being able to travel to and work with schools in every corner of England, Wales and Scotland, and we are incredibly grateful for the many, many opportunities we get to connect and share with children, youth, and educators. It is our aim to contribute in an effective and meaningful way to peace building and loving intercultural relationships amongst communities in Britain, and we hope that whatever good we are able to do here will spread out in a ripple effect around the world.
In addition to running workshops on Hinduism at schools, Indriyesha is also available for telephone consultation to educators seeking advice on teaching Hinduism. So if you need help, give him a call. He’ll be happy to talk to you. Students, with the referral and supervision of a parent or teacher, may also call for information and advice regarding Hinduism study projects.
Indri and Krishna are joined by our new website developer David Kingston, and consultants Naina Patel, and Rasamandala Das.
Mock Hindu Wedding at Springhead Primary School, Anlaby
Krishna was extremely calm and patient with our children and it’s safe to say they loved their workshop looking at a traditional Hindu wedding. The resources were amazing and the children had a fabulous time wearing traditional dress and experiencing the customs. Krishna was very insightful and put things across in a child friendly way […]
