Until a few months ago, Jatin Kumar, a class 6 student at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in South Delhi's Madangir, feared to approach a teacher, forget about striking up a conversation. Today, eleven-year-old Jatin is not just confident enough but also volunteers to actively take part in school activities. Jatin credits the change in his behaviour to the "Happiness Curriculum", a 45-minute class mandated by the Delhi government for students from nursery to class 8 in all government-run schools across the city.

"I look forward to these classes [happiness] as I get to talk freely and share my ideas. For other subjects, we have to learn. For this, we are assigned to read the lessons. I love it," said Jatin who lives with his security guard father and homemaker mother in outer Delhi's Seemapuri.

Launched on July 2 last year by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the presence of Nobel Laureate Dalai Lama, "Happiness Curriculum" classes have not just turned out to be the favourite among students, but have started showing outcome in the otherwise neglected classrooms of Delhi government schools, Mail Today found in a reality check of the first-of-its-kind initiative.

The students have seemingly become more confident in interacting with teachers, parents feel. They said their wards have learned simple, yet important virtues like saying 'thank you' and seeking apologies.

Teachers say they see less littering on school campuses, among other outcomes of the special classes. "I like this class. We are not given any homework. The teacher talks to us and engages with us through activities like reading and role play," said Anshika Rawat, 13, a class 8 student at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Madangir.

WHAT IS IT?

Happiness classes include activities such as mindful listening, mindful belly breathing, storytelling and combining theatrics with role play. The teachers have been tasked to connect with students at a personal level since most of the students hail from a lesser-privileged background and do not get time to talk to them.

Under the program, 100,000 Delhi students spend the first 45-minutes of each school day without opening a textbook, learning instead through inspirational stories and meditation exercises.

It starts with students rubbing their hands and putting them on the eyes to relax. It is followed by meditation and children feeling the sounds of their surroundings. Then the kids go into discussions and exchange their ideas about anything under the sun.

Sample this: In one of the sessions at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, students took part in the "Gratitude Wall" exercise where each student shares anecdotes from their respective lives.

Each student is asked to write a message about who they are thankful to. By the end of this activity, the teacher once again asks students to close their eyes, think about doing good work, helping everyone around and being thankful to those who helped them.

Tamana Verma, a student, said, she could, "hear the sound of the fan," and Seema Singh, her classmate, said she heard the "sound of rain."

Parents have started noticing behavioural changes in their wards too. Seema Negi said her daughter, Asha Negi, has learned how to share apart from noticing an improvement in her listening skills. "She used to be an impulsive child and would never listen. This class has worked well on her," she said.

REPLICATION

There are reports that the extension of "Happiness Curriculum" to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled municipality schools of the national capital is being considered. The idea came up during the third meeting of the recent State Advisory Council, which advises the government on the implementation of the provisions of the Right to Education Act.

Last week, Ramanujan College started the first-ever batch of happiness classes in the University of Delhi in which 45 students enrolled for a six-month certificate programme being imparted free of cost by the college's School of Happiness.

Officials said that students will be given training in personality development, yoga, meditation, and life and communication skills etc. Delhi government is working on a certificate course for those interested to start the Happiness Curriculum.

PRAISES GALORE

The initiative has received praise both locally and internationally. On August 31, speaking at the first anniversary of the programme, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi mooted the introduction of Happiness Classes across judicial academies in the country to address the problem of litigation.

The education department is excited with the feedback that it has received from the project which they said is part of a larger plan to make education in government schools interesting.