I was walking briskly with my #camera, with an intention to #photograph #Kite-making, in the short half an hour time I had. This young man, a #logistics-auto plier, tapped me as I was passing by his auto and asked, “#Reporter?”, “Write for #Magazine?”. I said I do write, for my websites and blogs, at times columns in newspapers. His #enthusiasm was so #infectious, I paused to talk to him….. As he started, realized this #interaction will be so invaluable for #youth who give a million reasons for their inability to perform. Hence recorded….
listen to him…..
Since I was in Ahmedabad, I had acceded to requests from Baroda and Ahmedabad offices of CL Educate to take PDP workshops. These we’re eight hour sessions, covering..
A. Understanding self
B. Personal Victory
C. Public Victory
D. Creating a vision for self
E. Building Profile
Leading to excellence in life
At the end of the sessions, quite a few participants started asking questions on how they keep their enthusiasm for long, overcome their language challenge etc…
I just showed them this video that I had just captured… Each one was overawed.
Yesterday was a very insightful, introspective and compelling morning, being at the ITIHAAS’ 9th Annual Summit of Teachers and Educationists. Over 250 of them congregated in this annual immersion from across the country. Prof Poonam Batra, an eminent professor who has contributed immensely to the education space in the country, and Ms Prachi Agarval, noted developmental psychologist were the first ones to address the esteemed audience on the issue of, “Teachers and Curricula in the times of Educational Reforms”
It was a pleasure listening to Prof Poonam Batra of Delhi University on the shifts in the outlook towards education as the nation went on a roller-coaster ride that the ruling dispensations took the nation through, with their concept of nation and nationalism, paradigms of developmental economics, notions of secularism and tolerance! Here are a few of the salient points I managed to capture and tweeted live too.
Prof. #PoonamBatra #Teachers&CurriculaInEducationalReforms @ITIHAASKiBaat
Teachers have become one of the most marginalized, in a society that is hierarchical! #EducationalReforms are driven by #EconomicReforms. what are the #HumanIndicators? #Health #Education sliding further
#Teachers are catalysts in societal transformation. But #liberalization made the schools a market place #lessonplans, #studentprojects are being bought! #Teachers become #laborers #corporates who don’t understand #children and #education are packaging
#EducationPolicy is being pushed by #VentureCapitalists. #Teachers are no where in deciding what, why, when, where and how of #curriculum. #market has taken over #love, #affection too. Where is #Education? Where is development of #people?
We are focusing on #learningOutcome than #LearningExperiences #joy #child #Centricity has vanished! #Education has to be contextual, you cannot have global uniformity. Marginalization of #knowledge #context of course #Teachers.
#Child-centred vs #Discipline, #traditional vs #modern, why do we see only #polarity? Best way to learn is to have a non-threatening environment? Freedom means free to make mistakes, air opinions! Children observes your walk, do not talk!
Here are few points that I captured from Prachi’s sharings – @PrachiAgarval
Why do we go to #school? How many of us as #Teachers promote #questioning? Do we help the child to #realize his #potential? #developmental #relationship
Are we listening, understanding children? Are we co-creating? are we making children comfortable in committing mistakes? Helping them be compassionate? how many of us use our potential? How will we help children unearth theirs? #ExpressCare belonging, #ChallengeGrowth
Singers from TONK who have been championing the cause of education in country side, championed by dear friend Amir Abidi and his movement. The audience had the privilege of listening them.
I had short engaging interaction with the audience on “#Perspectives, in the rapidly changing #world”.
Thanks to my dear friend Manohar Khushalani, an eminent theater personality and a Professor at IIIT Delhi, who went live on FACEBOOK while I was engaging the keenly learning facilitators and mentors in the auditorium.
#Education is so much more! It is not about syllabus and marks for sure!
I am summing up the three things that any #educationist or #institution should strive to facilitate in a #child………………………..
1. Desire to #learn, through life: Life-long #learner
2. Have #courage to push boundaries: #Discover more of self. Dare to make #mistakes.
3. Be #humble whatever you achieve: #humility
These will not only help one in the changing times, but also #facilitate one ride the #change. Be the #master of your journey and destiny. Be the #change-maker. #Impact the #world.
#Shivani of @ITIHAASKiBaat nicely summed up. If you do not know #where you are #coming from; if you do not take pride in who you are, #why and #How will you know where you want to go? Do we facilitate #integrity #compassion #courage #humility?
Smita Vats, the founder of ITIHAAS concluded in her inimitable style, exhorting the teachers to create their own stories that they and also the society will be proud of, and also facilitate children in a manner that their stories too become legends.
I have been deferring writing for some time. Every day brings forth so much, worth penning an article a day. Lazy or I can say misplaced priorities, I must say about myself.
Yesterday was a very eventful and memorable day for me! All thanks to our lovely daughter Mallika. She was awarded the scholarship in school for her meritorious work and excellence in Music, through her middle-school, classes 6-8, at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, her school. Music is one of those intelligence that is not so common as maths and sciences, still we usually look down upon. Thankfully at our home, it is appreciated. The right brain enriches the left brain effectiveness and we invest significant time to facilitate the right.
Collecting the scholarship from eminent public servant, Mr. Lakhan Mehrotra formerly Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Government of India
Here are a couple of favourite compositions of the school. The school has many a music album to its credit. Mallika features in the choir..
Yes, over the last six months there has been a concern with her performance in other subjects, especially Maths and Sciences. Mallika is brilliant there too, but interest and passion is lacking. I have been running with her a little more purposefully to infuse the passion. I always feel bad if one does not perform to ones potential. I am sure she would realize hers soon.
What made me introspect more is one more episode that happened last night. We have been talking to Mallika about a great opportunity in a fellowship, Counter Speech Fellowship, that aims to expose a very young mind to a variety of perspectives, especially in the world that is getting influenced by the proliferation of Social Media. We have been having talks with Mallika about her inclinations and engaging interactions over Social Media, both overt and covert, in the last few months. We felt, some of them are not only unproductive but energy sapping and rendering her ineffective.
It was Oct 31st, the last date to fill the form for the Scholarship and time 8pm. When we went through the form, we realized it demands introspection and expression of oneself, not only in words but also she has to design a poster. Mallika was revising for her weekly test scheduled this morning. We spoke to Mallika, whether she would still like to fill the long form for the fellowship. She said she wants to. I just spoke to her broadly about the purpose of the questions and went to my room. She filled the form and did everything to be submitted before she called me to show. I said, if she is happy, just submit. It was almost 11pm.
And this morning I saw a copy of the form that came my way from the fellowship office. When I went through, I felt so inspired by Mallika’s expression, I am still overwhelmed. CHILD IS A MENTOR OF PARENT, Mallika mine. I felt like expressing. Here insights into what our young darling is blossoming into.
What excites you about the Counter Speech Fellowship?
The mind of an adolescent is always a tumultuous one, the heart is one that is often unexpressed and the thoughts are always confused ones. Many feel alone, unsure and weak. Many around us , harm those weaker than themselves to feel powerful. Many seem to feel eyes judgemental eyes on them even in an empty corridor. We are surrounded by individuals who frequently use the term “depressed” to describe their state of mind. People think its a joke and that it is okay to put somebody under a term that is not a very friendly one, something that may be racist ,sexist ,casteist or any other term which makes one feel low and discouraged. A lot of our ideas are influenced by the internet, which may or may not be giving our thoughts the right shape and direction. One always feels the need to be guarded and protected.This is the time of discovering oneself and of self-realisation . People should realize that it is NOT okay to close your eyes and take it or see someone else take it. Your voice, can make a difference.
As I see it, the counter speech fellowship is an opportunity to voice my opinions and engage with others who are my age and who believe that these same set of problems should be tackled. I want to know more about Bullying, Body Positivity, Mental Well being, Embracing Diversity, Safe Spaces Online and Violent Extremism and learn better ways of making people aware of these issues .
This is why the Counter speech fellowship excites me.
Have you held any leadership position at school or outside of it? Tell us about some life lessons from that experience.
Yes, I have held a leadership position before. I have been elected as the representative of my class at school (Sardar Patel Vidyalaya) quite a few times.
Something I learnt while I was a class representative was that, all people are very very different. We all have our own set of likes and dislikes. You cannot control somebody ( it makes them rebel) and you should not take such condescending behaviour either . Everybody’s idea of an ideal individual differs. It is important to respect other’s thoughts as well as have your own opinions which one should have the courage to express. This is what, in my opinion , can make us better. I also think that one can be a good leader only when one listens to other opinions and learns to accommodate others.
The themes for the 2017 Fellowship are: Bullying, Body Positivity, Mental Wellbeing, Embracing Diversity, Creating Safe Spaces Online and Countering Violent Extremism. Tell us about a personal experience that makes you passionate about one or more of these themes.
I come from a modest middle class family. Ever since I was young, I have been taught to share, to include people , to always be open to learning. As a family we travel widely and try to experience and interact with new places and people.
I have attended various workshops on a variety of topics and am interested in the performing arts (I am trained Bharatanatyam dancer, a Carnatic music vocalist and a theatre person).
All my experiences have given me memories which I will cherish forever. But would it have been as memorable if it weren’t for the people? Would it possible to learn so many new things from new places and to gather such experiences randomly?
The beauty of life is in differences. In different cultures, traditions, thoughts , ideas and lives. Differences make our life more exciting , they give us something new to learn, to behold, to try , to explore.
It is funny , that one would feel more at home with their warm and friendly neighbour than a relative who appears to be cold. Relations are made not pre-decided. Diversity should be celebrated. A canvas is more beautiful when it has many colours. 🙂
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What a clarity in the young mind. So much we can facilitate to help her blossom. I shall commit more of myself to facilitate both Mallika and Svwara, along with Indira. God bless every young mind. Love.
Endeavaours at the Dibrugarh university are adding more magic to the students and the university, empowering them to excel in life. Post my last visit in August, I had shared a short write up, here is the next post. The Videos here share what a human being can gain, how one can transform in life, in just a matter of four days. It is all about the awakening that one goes through, discovering the purposefulness in life and with determination moves in the direction that he or she ought to move.
Enjoy listening to their reflections and sharing of their delightful transformations…
Here is a video that strings together short captures of many participants making their presentations, and engaging in public speaking, for the very first time in life. Look at their confidence.
Every presenter has worked in a group of complete strangers, from other departments of the university, to study an alien topic (the topics they never ever read or studied about – due to poor reading habits), discuss, engage, share and then create a presentation to engage larger public of aliens (other groups).
I gain a lot more inspiration from the whole exercise, as it reinforces my belief that it is possible to bring the transformation in a very short span of time. I believe, I can.
The powerful “Empowerment to Excellence” program takes its powerful strides in the second season at Dibrugarh university. The four-day intense, interactive programme enables every serious participant to transcend every barrier that one has created for oneself in our journey of life. The program has been liberating each one from the shackles and helping each to realize the infinite potential we all have. It facilitates each to believe in oneself, to dig deeper and discover, what more one can be.
This year we are initiating 1200+ students into their empowered, rejuvenated and joyful journey ahead.
Just listen to the students giving their feedback on what they have gained out of the program and experience their unshackling…..watch their confident presentation skills, even on those topics that they never even heard of, let alone study.
Since I had space constrains on my mobile to videograph the whole of two hours, I voice recorded the entire introspective session. Kindly find time to listen to the enthusiastic sharing. You will be surprised how they share about not just their own, but also how they invited their shy friends to come into public and openly share..
– The transformations they have seen in themselves and, their friends and classmates
– The cathartic experiences
– Commitment of participants for their own future and that of the group
The four day process is an engaging endeavaour to help each participant
– Explore oneself, Understand oneself well
– Make notes on strengths and areas of concern for improvement
– Realize the elements of personal effectiveness
– Understand the secrets of being an effective communicator
– Being a good participant in group discussions and activities
– Being an effective presenter and communicator
– Being a very good communicator even while writing
– How to invoke the leader in you, and take leadership
– Introspect, realize and set an agenda for personal growth
Finally
– Create a vision for oneself, for ones career and life
– Set Long term and Short term goals
– Commitment to ones own development and also development of the entire group
These sessions were facilitated by R. Sreenivasan, with Bhargav Deori and Dr. Sarvjeet Herald as co-facilitators.
Looking forward to the second half of season 2 scheduled for Sept 8-11 that will have participants from humanities, commerce and all non-science and technology faculties.
If you are reading this and are from Dibrugarh University, make sure you make the maximum out of Sept 8-11 schedule.
I am very fortunate to undertake the soulful inward journeys laced with the culture pilgrimage of SPIC MACAY every year, all through. For every ambassador of Indian and world culture it has been a very enriching one as always. Here I captured the essence of the pilgrimage 2017, SPIC MACAY international convention 2017 held at IIT Delhi recently. You can check the visual captures, in still form, at my FLICKR stream
The Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi, inaugurating the International convention 2017, in his inimitable style of eloquence, pays tribute to the movement of SPIC MACAY and also to the founder of the movement, Dr. Kiran Seth. Beseeches the youth to embrace the spirit and purpose of the movement.
The following short video documentary, in five parts, captures the essence of the conventions, the daily schedule followed, the spirit of volunteerism, the passionate facilitation by gurus who have dedicated their lives for the cause of artforms, the earnest desire of every participant to assimilate, imbibe and live the spirit as well as the art forms, as much as they can.
The week long convention is an endeavour to instill the discipline and have a sublime control of ones own life and expose every participant to the mysticism of arts and culture.
The days start at 4am with YOGA, then shramdan to keep our environment clean and tidy, then after a break of an hour for morning ablutions, commences with the intensives. Every participant will undergo an intensive to gain deeper understanding of an art form works with a Guru for seven days, four hours a day. The afternoons after the lunch is devoted the exposing every participant to a variety of genre like not limited to music and dance but also theatre, choir music, folk music and dance, puppetry etc. The evenings are devoted to classical music and dance performances.
Enjoy watching!
The last day is all about sharing the learning during the week gone by, in every art form. .Here are a few of the showcasing I have been able to capture at a couple of venues. I apologize for not being able to cover all the five centres of performances.
Come participate and contribute to the propagation of art forms and the spread of the spirit of brotherhood and composite culture. UNITY in Diversity.
In the next part of the series, ,”Believing is Seeing”, I am going to carry a few personal stories of youngsters who have realized their immediate dream, of securing their admissions in their dream institution. I asked each one of them to write a personal note on
a. What are the key factors that contributed to their success
b. In what ways has the personalized program benefited them
c. What would each like to share with the youngersters who aspire to get into these institutions
Here is the one from Shubham Bhatnagar
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However satisfying the destination may be, it’s always the journey that is the most fascinating. CAT has not just been a preparation but a journey towards realizing my potential as well a sense of clarity that will pave the path towards success in all the future endeavours. It all started an year ago with a thought of realizing my potential and fulfilling my interest in the field of management. I was not too satisfied with the job at hand and was eagerly getting more and more interested towards administering and managing things. What could have been a better way than to start preparing for CAT and other B-school entrance examinations.
I took up the Smart CAT Cracker Comprehensive package from Career Launcher and started preparing from the very basics. I started to realize in a very short span of time that the package was actually a Pandora box which had a multitude of well researched resources which aided me in my preparation. The comprehensive study material along with the video lectures by CL gurus helped a lot in laying the foundation towards realizing my dream. The Test Gym component added icing on the cake in giving the much needed confidence in solving the paper. The test series of CL is very close to the actual paper in terms of pattern and difficulty level and the mock analysis by CL gurus especially GP sir is something that should not be missed.
Talking about the post CAT scenario, I would like to point out that most of us think that cracking CAT is the only sufficient factor to get into a coveted B-school. But the real battle begins when we start appearing for the B-school interviews. No battle can be won without proper preparation, strategy building and goal clarity and cracking the B-school interviews is no exception. All these tools to ace the interview process were well presented in a very comprehensive manner through CL’s Personalized PDP program. I could personally say that this is not just a program to ace a B-school interview, it is a process which provided a conducive environment to know oneself better before knowing anyone else. Goal clarity towards life was the central theme and gradually everything started to seem relevant and in line. Sreeni sir’s opening session on goal clarity along with his insights on the minute shortcomings during mock interviews proved to be very beneficial in all my interviews. The knowledge sessions by Mehekka were one of a kind in terms of simplicity and technology use. The complex concepts were explained by her with such ease that it is difficult to forget her sessions. In the end I would like to comment that irrespective of the B-school I join, the journey has been a very mesmerizing one.
administering and managing things. What could have been a better way than to start preparing for CAT and other B-school entrance examinations.
