There was 'hachal machal' in the house. Today was a big day for Rahul... Its D day of interview. Rahul's parents are running in all directions to help out Rahul to do well in the interview. Time ticks 8 and the whole family leaves the house. Rahul's parents are thrilled more than Rahul, because it is their dream organization. All their friends' and relatives' daughters and sons are part of this great organization. They forsee a great future for rahul if he is part of this org.

They arrive at the venue. Lot of other parents and candidates are waiting at the lounge. It is Rahul's turn now. He is been called inside. There is a panel of 3 members sitting at the desk. they fire question one by one. They smile for some answers. They seem to be dejected for a few other as if Rahul has wasted all his life by not knowing answers for such questions.30 minutes later he is out from the room. Parents eagerly run to him... He seems shaken. Rahul's parents are now called inside.

The interviewer says - 'Rahul is ok. He doesn't seem to know most of the things. You should have prepared him a bit more. But nevertheless  we will put him in waiting list. we will send you an intimation by next week.'

Dejected parents come out of the room. Rahul doesn't seem to be dejected. He is just happy as usual with his Jetix dolls and lolly pop. After all he is just 30 months old in this world.

As the family return to their house in their car they see an advertisement - 'Pre-KG admissions open. Hurry. Limited seats'

let the child blossom.

Where is the child in me!

'Catching insects'
'Climbing trees'
'Counting steps'
'Collecting stamps'
'Collecting coins'
'Colouring'
'Making insect boxes'
'Rolling stones on the road'
'Making paper boats during rain

The list goes on! Who doesn't wants to go back in time and cherish the childhood memories. :)

Where is that child in me! Where is that curiosity! Where is that happy mood! where are those innocent questions!
Are they dead or are they all just hiding deep in me!
Are they gone forever or are they just lying low!

most of us at lest at one point or the other think with a sigh "wish I remained as a kid!" :) - No worries, no responsibilities, no rules of adult world!


Do you have the child still alive in you - who is inquisitive to learn new things, who is quick in forgetting small fights, who smiles with innocence, who enjoys being in his world!

Let the child blossom in me and in you!

Need for Jambavans!

It may be an over hype by the media or it may be a reality. I cannot conclude sitting 2500 kms away -  I am talking about the Common wealth games scam. one thing I would like to divert our attention to is the capability of Indians to plan out our work and work out our plans! 'Loot. But at least finish the work in class!' is what I want to say to Kalmadi!

Touch your heart and say how many times you would have started preparing for your exams only a week before! touch your heart and say how early you get ready to go to your office! touch your heart and say how many times,  how many things you would have forgotten to take to a trip!

Many of us even think that our best comes out only when we work at the 11th hour. The creative tension is what gives us a 'kick'!

whereas one thing that I admire about the west is their ability to plan! whether they execute or whether the things go as per the plan is secondary. But the way they meticulously plan is what we need to appreciate. I also sometimes wonder is it because of this organized culture that they had that made Indians admire them when the British stepped into India. And whether it was this ability that made us a slave to them.

The magnificent buildings in Marina beach, the mount road, the central station buildings, the Rippon buildings! If you actually think there was no need at that point of time for the Britishers to build such huge roads and buildings. But thank god they had built it that way. Or else imagine the chaos! 

Are we Indians very short sighted! are we really lacking the skill to plan! Should the schools start preparing students to analyze, plan from long term perspective, visualize and look beyond!

Ask a teacher what she is doing and majority of the teachers may just say "I teach!". Aren't the teachers the nation builders! Aren't teachers the creators of a generation! aren't teachers the architects of  the future! Unless we wake up this fact to the large teacher community, who are just like 'Hanuman' who forgot all his strengths , we are going to continue to produce short sighted, self centered and unorganized  generations after generations!

We need 'Jambavans' to come and wake up the thousands of ignorant 'Hanumans'. Once they wake up no body can stop them! :)

Jai Hind!

INTENTION

How do we help children develop good intentions and get out of their tensions?

Even a 3 year old kid today uses the word tension so naturally. "Mom, don't disturb me. I am in tension." Children pick up the lingo quite quickly from the people around. They start imitating the elders around. We all know this. All of us, at least most of us, definitely would have played the role of a teacher or mom or dad when we were young. :)

In recent times I have seen many children picking up some of the lingoes used by comedians in films. Those in Tamil Nadu would understand this better - the dialogues of Vadivelu and Vivek like 'vanduttaanya vanduttaanya!" 'risk ellam engalukku rusk sapdaramaadiri!' have become so common with the kids here. Its because the elders use it commonly and also television channels keep playing these over and over.

and so it is important for us as elders to be 'CONSCIOUS' of what world we are creating for the children and in the children.

I have especially highlighted the word CONSCIOUS because it is sad to note that many of us are not even 'aware' what impressions we are creating in children using our language and actions!

The other day I was walking through a street and I saw a man kicking a 2 year old boy. So naturally the kid is going to imitate the man!

I truly believe that children have to be exposed to good intentions. They need to experience noble intentions. take some time and ponder upon this term 'intention'. Behind every good man, behind every successful action, behind every smiling face, behind every true friend, behind every true mother what is there is this INTENTION. any action in itself is not good or bad, it is the intention that makes it good or bad. Do you agree? Think!

And these intentions are very powerful. It can change the course of any individual and even a nation! If the intention of a CEO is to make 100 Billion dollars then only money matters! If the intention of a politician is to get the minister birth, then his actions are driven by that.

So a question for all parents - What is your intention behind your child's growth? Is it that he has to take care of you when you are old? Is it that he has to be an engineer and get you good name? is it that he has to be the first always? Or is it 'LET THE CHILD BLOSSOM'?

I am leaving the blog with lot of loose ends. I have not connected all dots. It is because I have an intention behind writing this blog.

'THE world' vs 'MY world'

I saw a very interesting presentation by Devdutt Pattnaik in TED (East vs west - The Myths that mystify). He spoke on the basic cultural difference between East and west and as a result the difference in the business structure between these paradigms.

One point that really set me thinking was the way he connected the story of Ganesha and Karthikeya going around the world to get the divine fruit. while Karthikeya set out in his peacock to go around the Earth for 3 times, Ganesha just went around his parents thrice and got the divine fruit. :)

karthikeya went around 'THE WORLD' but Ganesh went around 'HIS WORLD' !!! Think!
and this is what I would call as making a 'WORLD of difference' :) Thanks to Devdutt

While most of the parents are more concerned about alighning the child to THE World, they hardly dive into the 'MY World' of a child and get to know his dreams, aspirations, values, etc, etc.

I came across the mission statement of a 'so called' good school, it read something like- ' To prepare students to fit into the society...'

lets zoom into the word 'fitting'. is fitting the students into the society the goal of a school. Then are we not completely ignoring the 'My world'of the child and only 'Moulding' them to FIT into 'THE WORLD'!

Lot of educationists also proudly claim that they 'MOULD' the children. I can only remember a potter moulding a pot! Imagine the state of the child whom every teacher is trying to 'mould' according to 'THE World' of the teacher / parent.

'Do like this. Don't do like that!'
'DO MBA. That is the 'in' thing now.'

Look around people who made a mark in the history. They are the ones who d
ared to live by 'Their World' and not 'THE world'. While the world belived that EARTH was flat one person stood by 'HIS world'. It took almost centuries to really understand his world.

While the whole world was going towards violence, one person stood by 'HIS WORLD of non-violence' and proved to the world the power of non-violence.

There are many ways to interpret the concept of 'MY world and THE world'. lets think about it.

Lets start listening to the child's world. Lets start understanding the child's world. lets start nurturing the child's world.

Lets 'LET THE CHILD BLOSSOM'

MBA / NBA ('Namesake' Business Administration)

"What is your name?"
"Me Parthasarathy"
"So you have done your MBA in HR."
"Yes"
"Please tell something about you."
and then followed a conversation that ended up strengthening my fear that a 'Namesake degree holdres' in our country is growing in number.

I really pity those youngsters who are swayed by the mob and end up fooling themselves by getting some degrees for name sake. My conversation with this guy really left me worried on the way degrees have been given so loosely. An MBA graduate who cannot speak English. A Hindi graduate who cannot speak Hindi. An engineering student who cannot engineer on his own! These are just a few. Look around the number is enormous.

I was referring to the article in ToI the other day on lack of employability skills in Indian graduates. The statistics clearly says that a huge problem is awaiting Indian graduates who would be left behind due to lack of these employability skills.

I believe the problem again boils down to lack of inspiring teachers who can model, aspire, dream, think, motivate and really inspire students to think beyond and explore the innumerable possibilities, opportunities and follow their dream.

A university rank holder and a gold medalist (Don't ask me how many students did the course along with me.. :p) I had all the time in the world during my college time, still, looking back, I feel I could have learnt much more if at all I was awakened to the 'awe'  of learning, pushed to think beyond, challenged to explore...
I feel I wasted my time and just got some degree for name sake. I too was one of the 'namesake' degree holders.

And I didn't want to continue being like that. I applied in many colleges and seeing the course material and quality of questions and assessment I feared I would again land up getting a NSD(Namesake degree) and dropped out of my masters several times.

I was eagerly waiting to see my first semester results in MBA education management from a reputed distance education college. I know how much time I had spent preparing for the exams - Hardly 2 hours for each paper! The results were out and I couldn't believe myself. I passed the semester with 56% marks!

Now, I could have continued my studies and could have easily got a degree and proudly say that I am an MBA graduate. But my conscience wouldn't let me do that. I didn't want to  be a NSD. I didn't want to learn some random stuff which were mostly recall type and score marks and get job!

 And what use is the mark if I don't know where I lost the rest of the marks! Of what use is the mark going to be if I do not know what strengths in me got me the 56% score! And what use is it for the company that is going to employ me by seeing my marks! What insights is this so called MBA degree going to throw open to them about me!

I would rather wait for the day when the universities in the country would offer a more constructive and higher order curriculum than wasting my money in acquiring a NSD and following the mob.

I was really feeling proud for those boys out there who made the smallest satellite and set it in the orbit. Youngsters must draw inspiration from them and learn to learn.

Hats off to those young boys who made the country and their family proud. Sure, they are not the NSD holder's who would be a burden to the country and for themselves.

LET THE CHILD BLOSSOM

?DIPUTS os yhw

When was the last time I did something new?

When was the last time I thought about my thinking?

When was the last time I really did some 'THINKING'?

When I first heard this question – 'when did you think last?' I said, of course I am thinking 24x7. What a stupid question this is! And then I REALLY started to THINK!

 

Am I really thinking or am I just……. 'Rethinking' ?

Am I really thinking or am I just……. 'recollecting'?

Am I really thinking or am I just……. 'remembering' ?

 

Am 'I' really thinking?

Am I 'really' thinking?

Am I really 'thinking'?

 

(Man! I am proud of myself, for, I remember my English lesson on 'stress'J This was one lesson I really enjoyed. How the meaning of the same sentence changes depending on the stress on a particular word! )

Edward De Bono in his book 'Why so stupid' claims that human race has never really learned to think! What an audacious statement!

'We brush, we eat, we think!' is what he says. We are not really thinking. We are just browsing our memory and doing what is being stored in there. We are most of the time remembering and recollecting than really thinking.

Thinking about 'thinking' is a PhD by itself. There is so much to think, evaluate, analyze, debate and conclude.

But it would be a valuable exercise to start thinking about these questions.

Let's begin our first step towards thinking and do this simple exercise.

1. List down 6 random words and form a story. Give the same 6 random words to few other people and see what story they form. Share over here, whether they were similar stories or were they completely different. Do it with elders and do it with children as well.
   

It's an interesting exercise right! Share your experience. We would then discuss further.

 

LET THE CHILD BLOSSOM!