Category Archives: Back in US
Remember When
I have friends, colleagues and family members in the U.S., who ask me still – so, aren’t you glad to be back?
It’s been almost six months and they still ask the question!
Then, there’s the assumptive – you must be so glad to be back!
Mostly, I would guess, because so few of them would have wanted that experience that I had of living in India after years in America and they wonder how I did it.
I’m quite used to it now, this question. I’ve got the answer down pat too.
I roll my eyes and say, of course. It’s great to be back at home!
I mean it too.
But to leave it at that is an incomplete answer. The rest of it is, I’m glad to be back but I was also very fortunate to have had that experience in India.
I mean this too but I wonder if they believe me.
This last trip back to Mumbai was 95% work related. But I also got to spend a few hours of free time before and after the work week with some of my dear friends there.
I visited my old neighborhood where they still live. I remember well those much awaited, well planned Sundays there.
During the visit, something that smells awfully close to nostalgia surfaces and sets in as I cannot help but relive the good times. It’s the mind’s propensity to remember positives over negatives, that’s what it is.
“Do you remember when…?”
Those Sundays, for example. Numerous Suryanamaskars (oh, yoga!) in the morning and at eleven o’clock sharp we were ready and waiting to watch the next episode of Satyamev Jayate. Ready and comfortable with a sangria/mojito/margarita in hand, accompanied by hot pakoras and spicy peanuts.
We were ready to get immersed as Aamir laid out the pressing issue of the day. Ready to absorb, debate and applaud. Wonderful moments those, and it’s nice reflecting on them.
So, yes, of course I’m glad to be back at home.
But that does not take away from the fact that something about living as an expat in my native country for a couple of years struck a chord and touched me deeply somewhere.
Every trip back therefore has its inescapable yin and yang moments. There are those that go this is India, what do you expect?. Mixed in with them are the nostalgic ones as I once again count myself lucky to have had a short but memorable ‘India experience’.
On A Mission To Transform Education
Do you know Sir Ken Robinson?
Doesn’t matter. [But you might want to get to know who he is].
Included here is his latest TED talk on education (that’s mostly what he talks about).
It’s called:
“How to Escape Education’s Death Valley”.
Why I highly recommend that you watch is twofold.
One, its content is superb and is on a crucial topic – Education. More on this later.
Two, the delivery is fantastic. Whether you are on the hook to deliver a TED talk, or whether you have any kind of public speaking assignment, there’s a lot you can learn from Sir Ken.
It easily made my list of favorite TED talks.
So, first on content, here are a few of the things he talks about and I quote –
“Kids prosper best with a broad curriculum that celebrates their various talents, not just a small range of them. And by the way, the arts aren’t just important because they improve math scores. They’re important because they speak to parts of children’s being which are otherwise untouched.
The second principle that drives human life flourishing is curiosity. If you can light the spark of curiosity in a child, they will learn without any further assistance, very often. Children are natural learners. It’s a real achievement to put that particular ability out, or to stifle it.Curiosity is the engine of achievement.
Now the reason I say this is because one of the effects of the current culture here, if I can say so, has been to de-professionalize teachers.There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than its teachers.Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools.
But teaching is a creative profession.Teaching, properly conceived, is not a delivery system. You know, you’re not there just to pass on received information. Great teachers do that, but what great teachers also do is mentor, stimulate, provoke, engage. You see, in the end, education is about learning. If there’s no learning going on, there’s no education going on. And people can spend an awful lot of time discussing education without ever discussing learning. The whole point of education is to get people to learn”.
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And, now on delivery –
This talk combines wit and intellect in one fantastic package; it is one of the most engaging talks I have ever heard with dry British humor at its very best. The delivery kept me just as enthralled as its content.
Clearly, Sir Ken is talking about a topic that he is passionate about but he makes his case so very well!
I would strongly urge anyone out to do a talk, teach or present any material to take a few pointers from watching him speak. I learnt a lot and I hope to put at least some of it to use.
And it’s not just about public speaking either. It’s about any speaking, and how you can be engaging, authentic, factual and convincing when you are interacting with anyone, including an audience of one. What’s great is how he has taken that skill to a whole new level by using it to communicate – really communicate – with a much larger audience.
Here is his TED talk again for anyone interested enough to watch and learn:
“How to Escape Education’s Death Valley”
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The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 