Why Should Boys Have All The Fun?

Why Should Boys Have All The Fun?

        It was the hectic day at the college. After completion of practical I was about to leave for home. The weather suddenly changed. The clouds came from nowhere. It all became dark and noisy. The nature seems to have all the new plans of celebrations. The brilliant firework was on in the sky. It was 5.00 pm, it was as dark as 7.00 pm, with all the bursting crackers the downpour started. The ever eluding, unreasonably deceptive monsoon came with a bang. It was raining profusely when I came out of my cabin cursing for wrong choice of the timing of rain. It was time to go home but was stuck at the college. Given the indefinite delay going home, I may have to deal with, I was very upset. But as I came out and saw the celebrations of nature, the welcome accorded to rain by the plants, trees and even grass around made me realize how selfish I was. For the whole day everybody including flora and fauna were reeling under severe heat. Everything was wrong that day, extremely hot, humid, worst not even a trace of a pleasant wind speaking gently in ear. I realized that only I was upset, the world around was so enjoying. Before I realized anything I got absorbed in the grandeur, finding it difficult to arrest the temptation to go out, entre in the shower.

       It lasted for close to half an hour, and then it started to wane. It hasn’t stopped completely but still most of the students started to leave. After around fifteen minutes the crowd moving out lost the momentum. I just packed up to move on my way home expecting the rain to stop; I saw a group of girls coming out from the department on way to two wheeler parking area. The signs of the heavy downpour were everywhere. Water sliding down the leaves, overflowing water outlets, water holding its position on many a places on road. The girls were moving joking, laughing, were in joyous mood. In just a flash one jumped in the stagnated water splashing it around especially on her friends. One of the friends responded with greater reflexes. It then became free for all, jumping, shouting, laughing, enjoying  the splashing around  and a thin, pleasant drizzle from heaven, just enough to get wet, girls forgot the world and so was I, watching them.

   They were lost in their own world, far away from harsh realities of the world that never ever was fairer to them for ages. They were supposed to follow all the rules, all the customs, share all the responsibilities, had to sacrifice for the whole family, had to face the blame and blemish for the misdeeds of others, had to live with the confinement at home and above all denied the humane life by branding  them with the divine  existence. The fairer sex always got away with all the wrongs. Their wrongs were natural aberrations, for girls they forever were deliberate offences. At home and outside they were soft targets.

    Is the world changing? Is new generation of fairer sex better, more accommodative, more sensitive? Do they have deserved open space for fresh air? Can they dream of following their dreams? Are the girls more in tune with time, mature, booming with self confidence, replete with self esteem? May be, the world which was not so safer a place for them is improving at home due to financial independence, outside, it has changed marginally. The education has given them self esteem, recognition, opportunities and above all a place of their own to breathe fresh air. The depiction of the girls’ world in an all girl Marathi movie, couple of years back, shown hidden side of the world, equally funnier, glamorous, naughty, full of energy and dreams not necessarily with a prince which hitherto was a norm. Yes, they definitely have a dream to chase, a career to pursue, have vigour in the eyes to succeed. The rules have not changed for they are not written in book but are in our mindset, girls simply have defied these unreasonable, illogical systems by sheer grit and self belief originated from educational opportunities.

     In engineering colleges at least one can see the difference. The girls are equally naughtier, great hooters, can fight for their fair share, are capable of even displacing boys in just competitions. They definitely have space of their own where they can unleash all the fun. Here their shortcomings, all mistakes, all achievements have no trace of divinity, they all are human.

     “Sir!” peon called me. I came to my senses. The girls have had all the fun, reached to parking.  I took my bike, left for home. The images splashing water were following me vividly.  I realized they were zooming out. It was dark but I could now see images of my two sweet little daughters splashing water around.

Mission 10X

Mission 10X

     It all started two weeks back when I was told by the HOD that I had to go for the training programme Mission10X. The first reaction was, OMG, apprehension was  whether I would be able to withstand the intense training, I say intense for it was to last for 5 days from 9.00am to 5.00pm. For so many years I have not sat on the other side of the dais in the classroom. The fear of sitting for 5 days gripped me. It was just difficult to imagine listening to some trainers from mission10X. The only optimism was that it was a WIPRO initiative and that was the only thing that made me curious. As it turned out to be it was a wonderful experience being part of this training programme. The programme was divided into different  modules, one for the high impact teaching skills and another for the teaching approach. It takes into account the multiple roles the  teacher has to play. If a teacher can make an impact in the classroom by his appearance and expression, the effectiveness multiplies. The strength of the teacher is the faith and bond that exists between him and his students. This in fact makes his job as someone who has to deliver, imbibe knowledge, easier. But the question remains how to make an impact while teaching.      

    The  module was taken by Prof. Muthukumar Swami. He was brilliant professional.  His communication skills, the ability to capture the audience was amazing. Right from the beginning he was very comfortable with the teachers senior to him and some junior  as well. He was very good at making all of us extremely relaxed and interested in the training. Since the training involved less lecturing and more activity like presentation, doing some kind of group work, we could retain our interest. The presentations we gave, four such, two minutes each were shot and then were analysed on the basis of verbal. vocal, visual skills on one to one basis. It is at this point I came to know about the way in which we can analyze our presentation. The analysis and tips given by Prof. Muthu in the first presentation helped us in improving every time we stood in front of camera for the recording.  

   The next part was  understanding the learner centric approach. I was a good teacher in my own right before the programme but in this training I  got an insight in to the teaching from the student’s point of view. Every teacher does his best to complete the syllabus but question is whether the students have understood this or not.  Use of various techniques to improve the learning ability, their participation was given prime importance. It was amazing to see how he took us from the comfort zone of teacher centric teaching to learner centric zone. His entire sesson was strewn with experiences from real life. I later had a discussion with him, he was consultant to various IT companies for recruitment, training students and he had a degree in psychology,  MBA. A thorough  professional and a nice fellow ready to share his wisdom. Prof. Muthukumar was a man you would be privileged to train under.

    Last two days we had the privilege of having Dr. Sujata  Jagannath, Banglore. She belongs to the core group of mission10x team. She was basically an electronics engineer having 10 experience of teaching. In this field as a trainer she joined out of sheer interest. The session covered actually implementing the learner centric teaching approach. Preparing a session plan that properly elaborates in specfic details, the roles, the teacher or learner will be in, the teaching aid and the methodology and the outcome from the learner's perspective. Her knowledge of the field, clarity of thought was highly impressive. The way in which she analysed different session plans, first inviting appreciation and then suggestion and finally explaining her views showcasing in minute details the possible areas of improvement, gave us the glimpses of her intellect that must have precipitated after deep study and thought.

    Right from the first session that she conducted, with an innovative approach to introduction that associated a person's name with a dish starting from first letter. As it turned out to be, all of started having a lot of fun in calling the dish associated rather than the name. She was a lady with a huge smile that she could maintain even when some unruly elements in us succumbed to the temptation of  use of mobiles, chat during the session. The manner, in which she firmly but very politely tried to control these unwanted and unwarranted practices by us, epitomizes the procedure to respond, not react, in awkward situations. When a friend participant said to me that she embodies an affectionate elder sister, I just felt to have been revealed to the correct description of the lady who was very kind and sincere to all of us. Her every action presented to us how we should be to our students, an approach full of kindness and affection. That she could transcend the barriers of professionalism and knowledge, showed us the way.

  In all it was a fantastic experience. The focus was how we can deliver through teaching the intelligence that a  student must possess to become employable. I am sure we had a lot in this training to study, learn, implement and above all it has given us a path to walk upon to improve teaching-learning process. It gave us a direction as to how we should orient our methods and innovate to facilitate not the transfer of knowledge but the learning process where the student learns, teacher facilitates.

 Thank you WIPRO.

DEBATE: We understand the importance of our independence

Against

      Come every 15^th of August we almost ritualistically gather for  flag   hosting, listen to the patriotic songs after a gap of 7 months and to hear again after 5 months. Our definition of independence starts and ends at 15^th August. If independence is what we do on 15^th August and worse if it is a holiday for many or an opportunity to grab independence  day sales offers  then surely we don’t  understand what it means  to be independent. Rampant corruption, fanaticism, collapsed  public healthcare, unruly mobs, directionless  youth, those who have direction  are driven by money but are not inspired by  ethics, lethargic  and insensitive bureaucracy, questionable character of many political leaders, sacrifice of human values for material gains, use of icons of freedom struggle  for serving political  ends, exploitative  political culture, social discrimination, terrorism if this what we have done with  independence then are we any different from  the British? We certainly have failed to understand its importance.

       All the talk of freedom, independence is an urban phenomenon. Ask a tribal from the remote area of Gadchiroli or Bastar district about it, it will lead to many questions than answers. He is still there where he was 64 years ago. For him only the colour of administration has changed and not the sensitivity. Worse he often finds himself in the crossfire of protectors and saviors. Irrespective of the tag of development the atrocities on the voiceless people, discriminated on the basis of cast, creed and religion, in different states, are common. Those who wield power know how to flex muscle others either succumb or aspire to wield it but only a few exceptional gain moral authority.

      The focus of our freedom struggle was common man but he has failed to relocate himself from the front page cartoon to headlines. He is as he was, simple, carrying the burden of past, uncertain future and  insecure  present, running from pillar  to post  to get  his due. He is expected to live on the false promises, unrealistic images  on television, has to survive the rigors of  hard life  and ultimately  meet  unnoticed  demise. If he belongs to an unfortunate lot like small peasantries, he may have to embrace gallows on his own. The packages enter only after body bag count becomes an issue, the worth of a farmer is the compensation for suicide. Was his status any different under British rule, no, but at least we had an alien ruler to blame for. The so called progresses in the field of science, education, economy, social and political empowerment, never seemed to have reached the common man.

       The youth, the future of India has become an instrument of whipping sentiments, unleashing violent demonstrations, damaging public property under the disguise of unruly faceless mob and eventually serving the political masters hell bent on dividing society. The other class simply turns around and walks the mall’s way in to a cafeteria or pub, the life cut from the harsh realities. Socially immature, politically indifferent but with a self claim on moral high ground, they prefer to build and protect the different image. Unaware of the human cost of freedom struggle, the youth allow the sacrifices of freedom fighters to slip into oblivion. Is this what our freedom fighters fought for?

       It is the rule of nature that those who don’t understand the value of the most invaluable thing don’t deserve to hold it. The way we have ruled ourselves for more than 60 years in social, political, economic and above all moral sphere of life, no wonder, we put to question our understanding of the importance of independence. If at all we want to harbor any dream of becoming a superpower it is high time we understand and value the most precious gift we can ever get from previous generation.  

       

For

       There are certain things that are always beyond the scope of debate   and one of such topics is our independence. It is as absurd as to question the existence. That we are born in this country itself gives us divine, human and constitutional right to live in independent India and die with dignity as an Indian, free from the clutches of alien rule. This is how we perceive the notion of being an independent nation. With our nationality comes the right to self rule. Questioning our understanding of priceless freedom is ridiculous as we have paid the human cost to achieve it. We are a nation whose freedom is won by the sacrifices of our freedom fighters. Asking whether we know its importance or not means we are putting to scrutiny the very objective of our freedom struggle, it is as if they fought for those who don’t deserve.

      Many countries became independent after us but we are amongst the selected few that succeeded in nurturing and consolidating seeds of democracy. We are a proud nation with largest democracy in the world. No system  is perfect , so is our democracy but that against all odds we   not only survived as a united democratic nation  but succeeded in carving a place in the world  as a mature democracy, is a wonder for many self proclaimed  visionaries. Against the backdrop of failed democracies in the world our example stands tall for no nation in this world has as many diversities and challenges as we have. Time and again the Indian voter has shown wisdom in electing representatives   so much so that those who took him for granted had to bite the dust. Our right to independence is as much emotional as it is proven by survival and consolidation of our democratic system.

     We were a nation with a struggling economy in 1947, today we have an eye on claiming world position as emerging economic power. We have the best human resources, our younger generation is doing excellent in education which has prompted the leaders of USA to acknowledge as well as warn their people of our rise on horizon. The entire world sees us as a nation with growing market and nation with indigenous technological might. We are a nuclear power, have a strong military with highly professional and dedicated men, have finest educational institutions like IITs and IIMs, have a political system with all the necessary checks and balances to prevent free run to any party,a strong  judiciary, alert media and above all we have achieved this  without compromising and encroaching on rights of an individual. With this achievement is it not preposterous to question whether we understand our independence. We know we could never have achieved this without being a free nation.

      We are a progressing nation and an evolving democracy. We have achieved what only few believed we would but yet we have lot to achieve, we have imperfections as every country has, we have  our share  of  aberrations from the  principles and directives of our constitution  but we also have a political system that  is accountable to people. Our achievements as a nation are exemplary, our progress  is enviable, our goals defined, we are aware of our imperfections and are never short of  efforts to remove them, our professional and  military might is respected, we are  rising, India is shinning, we deserve our independence  not only because of  our divine, human and constitutional right but we have a proven record of it for under its aegis we have directed our potential for the benefit of mankind. Pointing deficiencies and questioning whether we have understood the true meaning of independence is like missing the entire beauty of a picture for focus on couple of dots.

 

A Teacher's Diary - Parag Dhankar

Dear friends,

    It is always a  wonderful feeling to have a space to express yourself. Being in the teaching profession for 19 years and  interacting closely with students all these years I definitely have a plenty  to share. Through this  blog I want to reach to all my students  whose overwhelming support, love and affection  has enriched my emotional  assets. Over the years I evolved as a teacher, learned  from mistakes,  shared and observed changed paradigms, shifted priorities, attitudinal patterns and of course experienced emergence of new relationship between student and teacher.

    The teacher  looks to the socio-political spectrum through a different angle as his job is to show the correct path to walk upon. For me this blog is a forum to express myself  and share my feelings. There can be no better time than the eve of our Independence Day to launch my blog ‘ A Teacher’s Diary ’. Couple of years ago I started  a community  for  discussion on Orkut ‘ Rendezvous’ at the behest of some of my students who were very much keen on having an e-platform for group discussion. But with Orkut not in the vogue and as  I realized that Blog is a better option for all this.

    I owe so much to my students for their affection that I dedicate this Blog to them.

   Hope all of you will like the idea not necessarily each and every word that would be posted here. Your comments favourable  or otherwise are always welcome.

  I am starting this blog with a debate on topic – We understand the importance of our independence

  Happy  Independence Day. Jai Hind.