The Retreat and the Cerebration

A long time since I logged in to type...and definitely eons since I felt like just unwinding and fecklessly going about life. But sadly that is not to be..and actually this write up is also a part of my job as a teacher.In fact feels totally weird to call myself a teacher when in fact I am an engineer (yeah..i know the sighs..Yawn) and was working in a cushy air conditioned office 6 months ago. Anyways a lot has changed since then, my life is revolving around TFI and school, hopefully for now life is trudging along in the correct direction.

I have just returned from my trip to Ahmedabad where we had the annual TFI retreat where we expected to take a step back, reflect on journey so far, take stock of our hits and misses and gain some insights. Needless to say there was a lot of introspection and personally I was really looking forward to this trip because this would then give me a opportunity to learn from others experiences. I had no set expectations and one can not prognosticate the outcome of the entire trip.Such issues are very subjective and we could all give our own two cents worth on it. We left for Ahmedabad (Ahmd) on the night of 17 November 2010 from Bombay, reached Ahmd the next morning around 5'o clock and headed straight for Tri Bhavan. Here we had our first reflection session and for me it was all about what I should have done during the last 6 months but didn't.Its been 6 months now into teaching and really there have been so many failures during this time that it is hard to be self congratulatory even if you wanted to do so. Later on during the day we headed to ESI and the Gandhi Ashram where we interacted with the members Manav Sadhna, an NGO in Gujrat working for providing good sanitation,health,literacy and social upliftment.There are a few questions that one needs to ask on the principles on which they operate but that doesn't take away the credit of providing clean and hygienic sanitation in the communities in which they work.

That night and what followed the day after was probably the most enriching experience of the entire retreat.I stayed over in a community named Tekro, very close to the Gandhi Ashram. My hosts were a potter and his family. Prajapati, his wife and 3 children Rajender, Ramesh and Anu took absolute great care of me during the next day and the half. I had great Pancakes and kadi for dinner followed by a deep slumber under a thatched awning. They provided me with the blanket and the mattress.The next I tried my hand at pottery and believe me it isn't as easy as it looks like.There is a lot of skill,hardwork,labour and pain that goes into making a pot right from the scratch. Prajapati said"Is mein bahut mehnat aur dard sehna padtha hai.Zyada science nahi hai lekin kaam bahut hai." Their family really taught me the meaning of content and being satisfied with what one had in life. Their kids displayed the eagerness to learn new things and also reliaze the importance of doing well in life. They showered me with their blessings and their wishes that how much ever I thank it will be insufficient.That was time I reliazed that I fortunate to have lived a very comfortable life and had got most for what I had asked for .In contrast there are people who live in absolute squalor and abject poverty but yet are magnanimous to accept the reality and continously work towards making the next day better with out any complaints.

During the reflection that ensued the next day I spoke up saying that the one big take away that I have from this trip was the display of compassion,affection and love that one to needs to express with the people around him.I have been guilty of not doing so and it is time that I rather take the wrath of the people around me rather than rot away in solitary confinement. All in all it was a very enjoyable trip and am looking forward to putting down few of my other reflections in the days to come.

Searching for inspiration

Another month goes by, and now its been exactly three months since I have started teaching.A lot has changed during this time, in me and hopefully withing the class too.Things for sure have improved but I am not too sure whether the pace is right. There are days when you really have to think of methods of making the classes more interesting in order to maintain the attention of the students.I try taking inspiration from my day to day activities and also from arbit things happening around that I can use in class to demonstrate or talk about so as to make the kids understand their application in life. It has been a very enriching experience so far and am looking forward to making it a 'enriching and valuable' experience for the children too. There are times when I really need to dig deep to get the best out and at times it is a complete failure. It is these moments that one needs to avoid even more so because the time spent within the classroom is as it very less. Compounding it is also the number of holidays, events in school, time wasteage and not to forget that my stay here is only for two years and I need to ensure that the kids get to understand and learn what I have to offer within these two years. I don't know whether I will be able to do so with all the 58 kids that I have, but if I am able to make a difference to the lives of even 15 of them I will feel reasonably happy that I have contributed in some form to their lives. There are also times when one feels helpness about not being able to help someone else despite knowing the weakness but none the less I am these days a big optimist and always have the belief that everyone can improve. Some just need to be given additonal time...the wait may be long but when the result is achieved the joy is an surreal feeling. I hope that in the next two months I have opportunities to show the kids what growth means and teach them values that will help them later on in life.

School Atlast...!!!

Yes...finally...have started the real work of teaching and now have been 1 month into the job. It feels amazing...reflecting on how the last month has passed just makes me wonder on whether things could be done a tad baeeter but then things in hindsight can always be improved upon.
Given that I am a novice in the teaching profession, I must say my first few days of school were a mixture of nervousness and anxiety. What if I am unable to live up to the expectations of the students, what if something goes wrong in the middle of the class, what if I don’t get along well with my colleagues and numerous other questions. I am happy to say those fears were just a passing phase and have improved everyday as teacher and more importantly towards becoming a better human being. I teach Grade 2 students of a municipal school in Pune which has kids coming from underprivileged backgrounds but the amount of zeal and the urge to excel is second to none. When the kids come up words like Blink or Bluff in a phonics lesson or be it the sheer inquisitiveness in questioning everything right from why do we sing the National Anthem to what is the need to learn addition or the mere innocence portrayed when they ask “Bhaiya, why don’t we have extra class today?”, one just can’t help but have the faith and sense of possibility that one day they too will be able to lead the life they want and the education they get will alone be the gateway to their goal. Yes, there are a few who are slight out of line but I have the faiththey too will slowly improve.
. They should be able to develop a process of framing opinions and questioning every action taking place around them and take independent decisions. If they are able to transform their thoughts into action in terms of action and being a good citizen I will be satisfied with the work that I have done. On a personal level , teaching is an extremely difficult profession where in one has to put a lot of thought in terms of planning a lesson and thereafter executing it while keeping in mind the mishaps that can happen during a lesson. One has also bear in mind they are role models for innocuous children and enormous amount of responsibility rests on that of a teacher to shape the future of a kid. There is a lot that can be learnt in a teaching exercise and my respect for teachers has increased manifold after this experience.
Luckily for me I have all the support from my colleagues at school and the Principal herself. Despite being a new entrant in the system and having a different background, they have been very accommodative and helped me. Yes, there will always be differences between two idealogies but I guess one needs to live with it and try changing things. However I am sure things will be much better as the year progresses.
Ultimately when you reflect about your day in school thinking about the various lessons, you will always come across a better way of doing the same thing again but the critical point is to be aware that you gave your best shot today and that your kids are approaching the desired mastery level.

A month of Planning

Yep...its been a long time now since I have written something in the virtual world. It is 14 July and precisely a month back I started out in a venture of mine. I have joined this organization called Teach for India which is operating to reduce the inequity in the field of education. Well anyways the last one month has been absolutely amazing for me and I have been exposed to the different facets of life. I have interacted with a number of people from different backgrounds ranging from history, psychology, teachers, law, doctors, media etc…and last but not the least guys like me…the omnipresent engineers :P. The last one month has been absolutely thrilling and exciting be it the washing the cars to earn money on the very first day, going out into the community to ‘connect’ and by far the most exciting prospect has been going into the classroom and doing the real job of teaching.
Being introduced to the concepts of ‘Teaching As Leadership’ (TAL), backward planning, countless number of lesson plans and not to forget the community visits that we had. The last month was essentially for us to get acquainted with the role of a teacher and what a teacher’s responsibilities are both inside and beyond the classroom. Also we had plenty of training sessions by the faculty from Teach for America and Teach First. We also had a few leadership forums where we met APJ Abdul Kalam aka ‘Rocket Man’, Gyan CEO of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and is currently working on the impact of poverty alleviation issues at MIT and Kiran Sethi W/O Geet Sethi and the founder of the Riverside School. We also had a one on one session with Anu Aga former chairperson of Thermax and currently a member of the National Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Apart from this we had plenty of sessions where we were asked to reflect and ponder over each and every activity that we performed and what we had missed out in life and we ought to have done. It is almost like a realization and most of these mind games still do continue. The good thing about these reflection sessions is that they help one analyze things in a reasonably quick time and hence one is able to incorporate changes asap. The one thing that I have learnt here so far is that everyone is vulnerable and if one fails, it isn’t a bad thing. One can either mope around or get up, dust himself and say “OK, fella…I ain’t gonna allow that to happen once again” and work doubly harder than what he did before.
Weeks have been hectic with the lesson plans and chart preparation taking most of our time. However there have also been times of joy be it the smile on the kids faces at summer school or the night outs at Lemon Tree. Either way there has been a lot that I have learnt in the past month that I am looking at incorporating in my personal life. The have been questions pertaining to social issues that have arisen that I shall address in my later posts and try getting a sound reasoning. I shall also try going in depth with regard to my teaching and learning during summer school. Finally I would like to just to say on record “My respect for teachers especially primary teachers has increased manifold”. One has no idea as to what they go through unless you are in their shoes.

Idealistic thought..

I have just come back from a hard days of work, rather I'd like to think I worked hard. Anyways I doubt it matters.These days work has become extremely hectic and really at times this gets me wondering whether I am in the right job, am i doing a good job and more importantly am I deriving happiness from what I am doing. Why does one essentially work? The most obvious answer would be so that one can satisfy his needs and wants. Is the greater aim of one only to earn money so that he fulfill his aspirations or is the aim to fulfill ones aspirations without earning too much but still be content with what he has.I guess its logical to assume that when someones fulfills his desires or achieves something he is bound to be happy...but at what cost is something that each one of us needs to introspect and understand.

Am i trying to say that making money is bad? The answer is NO...wealth is important, and since we don't live in an egalitarian society,however much we would like to live in one, it is imperative that one takes care of himself without becoming a liability on any other individual. But what is dislike, rather disapprove of is the ostentatious display of wealth, when in country like mine millions of people are living below the poverty line and each day is a battle for survival. People could label me as hypocrite since I wear a pair of Adidas sneakers,carry an Ipod,a zippo and other expensive accessories which are not essential for leading ones life but just enhance his way of living. I may be at fault but then I am not displaying wealth in a 'vulgar' manner. It atleast isn't at the level where a chief minister of a state was decorated with garland of 1000 rupee notes fetching a value of over a crore. How can one in a country like ours, where people do not have the access the basic amenities to lead a respected life, have the conscious to display their wealth in a very arrogant manner and claim to be working for the upliftment of the downtrodden. I do not say that one needs to lead a life of austerity or live like an ascetic but the very least that one can do is be consistent with what he stands for and also at the same time help others in overcoming social and financial difficulties if possible.

I started off wanting to write about something else but ended up going on a tangent. I guess am being way too idealistic and expecting Utopian society. At this moment Lennon's most famous song comes to mind and all that i can say is... I Hope Someday You'll Join us and the World will live as ONE.

A city called Pune

yes...thats the place am dwelling at these days. It was quite a change for me from my 8 years of stay in the south of India. And after staying in pune for a little more than a year I think it would be be rather safe to assume I know a few characteristics of the place, I could stand corrected in certain issues but then it wouldn't matter.. ;)

Well anyways what got me to Pune..?? My job...actually was very keen on going to Bombay( yes...i prefer calling it by its old name...hopefully won't get hammered for it) but my folks back at home brain washed me against choosing it and in hindsight it was a good decision. Nothing against Bombay but then on a couple visits to the city felt it was too fast for my liking. Anyways i came in expecting a lot from the city and well its been a mixture of hits and misses so far. It certainly isn't something like Bangalore or Bombay but I think it can be compared to cities like Hyderbad,Indore etc. I came from Madras and really one thing that I immediately liked about Pune was the weather. Thousand times better than Madras where one is generally sweating without even doing anything. Plenty of places to go and kill time...restraunts,bars,lounges,cafes or quite simply the telas..the point is that there loads of opportunities for one to kill time or make use of it. Personally I prefer Camp amongst all the places in Pune.The Place is one place that recommend people to visit.

A few other observations...

1)The public transport is really no good. Hardly have any buses or rather is frequency is ridiculously poor. So most've of the times one ends up taking a rickshaw...and its here thats ones Marathi comes into use. The fares that the rickshawalas demand are rather insane...just to give you an idea...to go to 3 phase in Hinjewadi(a place where all the IT coolies work..me too being one) from University one would need to shell out about 450 bucks. Thats as good as going to and fro to Bombay...!! + 1 for bombay ;) After a good 5 minutes in bargaining one can settle for a reasonable fare but still a little hefty on the pocket.

2) There are more institutes on the streets of Pune than in any other city in India. Almost every street will have an Institute in Management,Sciences or Arts. No wonder its called the 'Oxford of the East'...God alone knows about the quality.

3) The ratio 'boys' and 'girls' is quite a healthy one. Infact one will soon start getting an inferiority complex if he doesn't have a bike with a fairer sex riding pillion . Believe you me...I've experienced it..! How does one define a Loser...i guess you know the answer. Another feature that one will notice is that people either below 30-32 or above 50 on the streets of Pune. If there is one place in India where you will plenty of young people its got to be Pune.

4)The most interesting feature are the women on the streets. 99% of them will be walking or driving with a scraf wrapped across the face..almost like the burkha clad women in Afghansitan. Don't know the logic of the scraf...is it the dust..or the heat...or is it just that they feel their eyes are more beautiful...or is because they don't want to be recognised..?? I am still searching for an answer. Another interesting fact is that they have different scraves for different days of the week..polka dotted ones for mondays, purple for tuesdays,blues for wednesdays.. etc. Its quite fascinating and one can actually do a thesis titled 'Scarves, Women and their daily relationship' :)

5) Traffic...probably the most craziest issue is traffic.Peak hours are utterly hopeless...and really one crawls during early mornings and late evenings. At times it can turn into a demolition derby and if you manage decently in pune...you'll be doing wonderfully well anywhere else. I would like to see Schumi getting some practise on these streets...will help him a lot on the track when it comes to overtaking. My cousin gave me some good advice when I first reached here..."Never behave like a gentleman on the road...you never know when you'll get knocked...! "

None the less...despite all of this , Pune is a city with a lot of vibrancy,energy,bubbling with enthusiasm and with shades of grey that only add to its beauty and make it a more interesting place to live in...

Teach For India

Today i have something big to announce. I am one of the few to have been selected as a fellow by a non profit organisation called 'Teach for India' (TFI) , To all those who don't know about TFI, it is a nascent organisation, just a year and a half old aiming at reducing inequity in the field of education. It falls under a world wide organization called 'Teach for All' and essentially is being run on the lines of a sister organization called 'Teach for America' (TFA) . TFI was conceived after a study conducted by McKinsey & Co as to whether the TFA model could be replicated in India and study gave two thumbs up :) . One can get more information by visiting www.teachforindia.org

Anyways that was about history TFI.I got to know about TFI when Kavita Rajagopalan, a representative of theirs, held an innocuous presentation at my company premises sometime in the month of Dec 09 inviting applications for the fellowship programme to be held in 2010. Once she had completed with her presentation, whether she had other people in the audience convinced or not she definitely had me convinced and guess she had done her job. The same day in the evening, I went and gathered as much information regarding TFI and what I read was something distinct and real. Over the next couple of days I made sure that I answered their questions in their application form in the best possible manner. The questions that they put forward to you really make one think and introspect whether one has really achieved something in life or not. That was the moment I realized that in my 23 years of existence there was nothing exemplary about and something that I could be really proud of. Anyways putting all my grey cells into action, got the answers ready and after a series of telephonic interview and agonising wait I got a mail informing that I had been shortlisted for the final round.

And really, on 28 Feb when I went to Thermax House, I was quite blown away by the people I met.Different individuals with different qualities, each one bringing something new to the table. I really felt that I was at the wrong place but it felt good that atleast TFI considered me at par with them. :) Anyways what followed was evaluations which were extremely professional, which included a GD,a case study, regular analytical and reasoning issues, a sample teaching exercise and finally the interview. My interview was taken by a program manager called Tom, who was part of the Teach First in the UK. And really the questions that he posed were really issues that one needed to search within himself. Reality can at times be such an illusion, that inspite of one thinking very high of himself, simple questions can put ones consciousness to shame. The entire process the convinced me as to how professional TFI was and how serious and committed they were towards the challenge that they had taken up and I really was sure that I had to be a part of this revolution and change rather than giving comments on talk shows and signing check books for NGOs. I went from the assessment centre not only as a more informative person but also as a person who had many difficult questions to answer. I badly wanted to be a part of TFI and when I got the mail confirming my admit I was ecstatic. My prayers had been answered...and I now embark on a journey of a different kind hoping to make a success of it...I am now officially an Teach for India Fellow for the year 2010 :)

F1

Well...its been one great weekend for me now. Chelsea mauling Villa 7-1, Lampard becoming the 3 highest scorer in the clubs history and my French classes finally starting off. With regard to sports i thought it could have been much better had United lost, or CSK had won their match or Arsenal losing theirs. But most of all it would have made my weekend special if the God of racing had been on the podium. Its been two races now quite predictably one can see Schumi being a little out of pace and touch in the current Formula one season. Its good for the sport that he's back as it will make things more interesting. I don't think never has the an F1 line up ever boasted of so many title contenders. I see about 6-7 title contenders and this will make the course of the season all the more exciting and enthralling. Schumacher's current form looks a little patchy and that is evident. However I didn't have a dismal performance of finishing 10 at Albert park, the place where he has won 5 Grand Prix.I however am not counting him out this season though it will be a little difficult. However keeping everything in mind I would expect him to put up a strong performance at Sepang.The car needs a little bit of tweaking so as to match the pace of the two Red Bulls who probably have been very unlucky despite being the fastest cars on the circuit on both occasions. Vettel and Webber are an amazing combination are going from strength to strength with each race. It is only a matter of time before 'Baby Schumi' will start his string of victories for the season. Button too has got on to a reasonable start and if his car remains steady he too will do well. For me the season will belong to Fernando Alonso and I see him winning the drivers championship and Ferrari the Constructor Championship. It was also a good outing for for Mr Mallaya and Karun Chandok. Karun managed to get the car to the checkered flag at last...!!! Quite frankly didn't expect him to finish..his effort is commendable. And as for Mr Mallaya, I am sure he'll be celebrating every point by uncorking a bottle of his lager ;) I just hope this years season will be more exciting and be filled with loads of drama...along with Schumi winning a few more races..! Vrooooooommmm...

Should I...Shouldn't I...???

Its 11:45 in the the night and am sitting on my counch reflecting on how the day passed. Work has been quite hectic during the past few days. Typical day starts off by by waking up at around at 6:00 Am and pretty much lazing around in bed for about an hour. I come to senses and the better part of me instructs me to head out to earn my daily morsel. Leave my place by around 8:30 or so with "Hangar 18" playing on my I Pod. Actually feels real good to hear some trash metal in the morning, atleast revitalizes my mornings. Anyways catch the the so called bus ( actually it's a mini van ) and am at my desk by 9:05 or there about. Slouch in my chair and like a trained Labrador start off by typing the username and password.Yep...welcome to my world and probably the world of a lakh and a half It engineers. The universe of bits and bytes encompasses quite a few people these days. Routine work of filling up the time sheet, checking mails, replying to client's requests etc is all a part of work which probably needs to get addressed within the first hour or so. And then , I start off with probably the most mundane and monotonous work of filling up excel sheets tailor made to the someone else's needs. Yes...most've of the time thats exactly what I have been doing. There have been days when you sit and stare at the 17" screen not knowing what the hell your are doing in life. Are you meant to be doing something useful? Is this something that I really want to do? Is this something that will take me ahead in life.? these questions stump me and quite frankly I get most've of the answers in the negative.What does one do with it. Its hard to explain...its hard to break the shackles and go try doing something which is unusual, outlandish and eccentric. infact I have an option of joining a prominent non profit, where I would get to interact with probably the best minds. I yet have to inform my parents regarding this and quite frankly have no idea as to what their response will be. Anyways when I told one of my friends about this, he was so hell bent on talking me out of this...justifying himself by saying that such things are not practical, financial constraints, dip in career opportunities. I on the other hand am quite passionate about what I want to do and really am looking for an opening to get out this routine work of mine adding quality in some aspect or the other. What I plan to do, how i plan to go about , I have absolutely no idea, am one confounded person and the situation is being compounded with the complexities I am entangled in ...I really am hoping that I can make one sane decision which will probably change the way I think and live..! man...i should've probably pursued philosophy over engineering..how muddle headed can a person really be...will probably hit the sack with the thought still looming in my mind and looking forward to a better day and a improved life.

The Dawn

WELCOME people...!!! This is the new stage in my life...and really it has been ages since I sat and typed some random arbit stuff. The sunrise is essentially to denote a new phase in my life and also in the ideas I am exploring. I have changed a lot with regard to my thinking and I think this will be quote evident in the posts that will follow. A lot has happened over the past year and the half, some good , some bad. However most of them were quite irrelevant as it never macthed with the life I was yearning to live. But anyways here I am, in the fast moving city of Pune. Well, atleast its faster than Chennai where I have a spent a good part of my life. Pune, the Oxford of the East, as quoted by Pt.Nehru is known for its education, which I totally disagree since the quality of education is no wrehere when compared to Oxford. That's an entirely different topic to debate about and probably isn't apt to write about right now. Pune more recently is known for the upcoming software hub, and well am one of those hundred thousand IT engineers in the city, who is employed in a major MNC for the past 16 months. Its been precisely 1 year and 20 days since i arrived in Pune. And quite frankly my stay has been quite eventful to say the least. This post is essentially to get back to my old writing habit which I so badly want to nurture and probably one of the few good things that has happened for me while working has been a major improvement in my typing speed. :P I will shared most of my experiences of the past year or so, as this will just help me ease my mind and look at issues in much calmer and broader perspective. Here's hoping that this exercise of mine is not an ephemeral one and hoping that I will be able to sustain it in the days to come. Cheers.. :)