Each One Teach One

Aditya, a student of fourth standard while reading a lesson of his textbook, encountered with a difficult word. Generally, it was his mother who always helped him to learn, read and understand new words, with correct pronunciation and its meaning, unfortunately, she was away. Hence, Aditya got stuck. Well, at his home, there are three helpers who help his mother to carry the day-to-day household work.

Aditya, without any hesitation, went to Sravan Bhaiya and asked him the word which was difficult for him to utter. Sravan, with dropped jaws, looked into the innocent eyes of Aditya, and replied, "Aditya Babu, I don't know to read and write. I am an illiterate person and that is why I am working as a helper in your house."

Aditya could not understand. He struggled to read on his own...

Sravan had the tough time. He recalled his childhood days. Cold sweat covered his brow. It was not pleasant and he hardly recalled his school days. He remembered his mother behind him with a thin cane of bamboo and chasing him, shouting at him, forcing him to go to school. 

Tears rolled out, he had no control over his emotions. 22 years, he had wasted his precious life bestowed by God. He wanted to go back to his yesteryears and take corrective steps so that He too could have the better career, a hope for a different future. 

Meanwhile Aditya's parents they have reached home. Aditya shared what had happened. His mother took this as her task to help Sravan. Her son had given some food for thought to improve their helpers who had been so sincerely, with dedication served them over years.

Sravan, when he met Aditya's mother in the morning, shared the incident that had happened the last evening. Aditya's mother asked him, whether he would like to continue his studies. Will he take some time out so that the primary education could be delivered and taught by her personally and later, he can think of his higher studies.

Sravan was quite delighted... It is now more than five months. Sravan knows the English Alphabet, he can identify numbers and can add, subtract, multiply and divide. He has the latest smartphone which is used by him to listen to the lessons and to give his tests.

Well, we have many number of Sravan's in and around us. Let us all pick one of each and teach them so that knowledge and wisdom illuminate everywhere.

Willingness to Learn

Where there is a will, there will be a way...

Many unsung and known heroes have proven this statement. Among them is Kanak from a remote village of Bihar, named Vishnupur. His teacher had praised him right from his primary classes for his dedication and willingness to learn. Kanak had to travel every day 18 miles from his hometown to attend his secondary school and this he did with great enthusiasm. The school did not have transportation facility. And to reach school on time via road transport vehicle, will be the toughest challenge. His father was thoughtful and bought a bicycle. Kanak was too excited about his new school, new friends and in particular, his new bicycle.

Time passed by. Years flew, Kanak was doing good in his studies and thought of pursuing his career in Management. He did his BBA from one of the renowned universities of Bihar. He started dreaming big. He wanted to achieve something relevant and valuable in his life. He wished to move from tire-III city and wanted to explore new things. Hence, he decided to pursue his Masters from Delhi.

His mother was little skeptical and pleaded her son to rethink his decision. She said that in their neighborhood, there was a boy who after his graduation, had got through certain competitive exams and got appointed as a clerk in a government bank. His life is secure. What else one would need in life. A well-settled job, government quarters to reside that too, near to their hometown.

Kanak said that he wants to do something different. He wants to continue his studies and probably after two years, he wishes to see himself at a better position than his well-settled friends. His father could sense the anxiety that his son had. He had to borrow money for his son's further studies. When Kanak was boarding the train, his father said, "I believe you and I know that you will never let me down. You will definitely face many problems in Delhi. It is a very big city. You should remember that life is another name of challenge. The more you wish to enjoy your life, the most complicated and challenging it becomes. Face the challenges and learn to get through them."

Kanak joined one of the best private management institutes in Delhi. Unlike other students who generally got attracted by the luxuries of this city, Kanak was pretty aware of his responsibilities, expectation that his father had, and his dream. In the initial stages, there were two major issues which were faced by Kanak.

He had studied from Hindi medium school and college. The management studies were completely in English. He had used the internet for browsing some information but was a novice to MS-Office. Assignments, Projects were to be drafted by using Ms-Office. He never thought that Laptop will be his basic requirement. 

Unlike other students who reach out their parents instantly when in the problem, Kanak knew his father's financial condition. He thought of part time job. He got his CV prepared and went for a walk-in-interview. It was a courier agency where they were in need of someone who can collate the complete data in excel. Kanak was honest and in his interview, he told the interviewer that he hardly knows anything about Excel, but he is keen to learn and if given an opportunity, he is ready to pick the job on the spot. 

Honesty in his eyes and in his voice caught the attention of the interviewer. He said, "Let me explain to you what you have to do. If you can finish today's entry within an hour, then you consider it as a confirmation."

Kanak wanted to encash this opportunity. He observed everything that was told to him and started typing with keen interest and care. There were twenty entries for which he took 40 minutes to finish. Though he was too slow, he got selected. His boss stepped into the shoes of his computer teacher. He taught him the basics of MS-Office. How to create PowerPoint presentations, use excel and its common functions. Kanak after finishing the given task started using the desktop for his college work.

English still remained his problem. he wanted to read correctly, pronounce the words aptly, but he lacked a teacher. While browsing, he came across a website, where English Pronunciation practice sessions were uploaded. He started regular sessions. Reading newspaper loudly was one of his daily routines. He even recorded the class lectures on his mobile, and at home he tried to copy his faculty mentors.

Kanak hardly had time to participate into any fun-loving activities. After a year, during his summer internship, he got an opportunity to work as an intern for an e-commerce company. He understood the importance of online business. 

During his summer internship, his mentor taught him the basic nuances of Online Industry. How in the future years, the role of the online industry will change the lives of the common man?

Kanak was a keen learner. His faculty started observing changes in him. His dedication, sincerity and willingness to learn was admired by all. Kanak who fumbled to give his introduction a year ago was emceeing the major events at his institute, was confident of speaking and communicating in English.

The question that clicks to my mind was...Who was Kanak's teacher?

Willingness to learn, self-introspection and taking the right action at the right time...these three were Kanak's teacher. Kanak had the appetite to learn from his mistakes. He never overlooked at his mistake. He knew his shortcomings and started working over them so that he could get rid of them.

Kanak did perform well and is currently employed at one of the leading e-commerce companies. His parents are proud of him. In fact, the institute is proud to have students like Kanak who are true mentors for their peer group.

Kanak's willingness drove him from a small village of Bihar to the capital of India. It can create wonders if you have the willingness to learn.

A True Leader

Tanish is a student of the 12th standard. He loves dancing, acting, singing and playing Guitar. He keeps himself busy throughout his day. Apart from studies, he manages all his hobby classes intact and never misses any of them. When he talks about his academic results after the end of term-I, he scored 82% and he was quite satisfied with his performance.

But his mother was unhappy after seeing his results. She wanted him to excel in his academics. She started her inquiry by calling her friends about their children performance. Out of many when one of her friends quoted that she is feeling proud of her daughter who has scored 95%, she could not control her wrath. 

She immediately rang up to the dancing institute where Tanish was taking his dancing class. She told the instructor to relieve Tanish. This boy was bit nervous. His mother hardly bothered about his hobby classes. On receiving the call from home, all kinds of evil thoughts began to float in his mind. He rushed to reach home as quickly as possible.

When he reached home, he was panting for breath. His mother slapped him and started shouting at his negligence that he had shown towards his studies. She made him count the total money that she had spent on him for his schooling as well as paying to tuition teachers for his tutorial classes.

Tanish did not speak anything and kept listening to his mother. After an hour, when the family assembled for dinner, Tanish greeted his father and said that there is a surprise that he wished to share. His father was excited to know, so he asked to reveal the fact. Then, Tanish said that he has secured the highest percentage in his class. His teacher had congratulated him and told him to keep up the spirit high. 

Also, Tanish was chosen to represent his school in the mega-play event which was supposedly organized by a renowned Art School. In this competition over 50 schools were participating. He Art’s teacher was pretty sure that Tanish is an all-rounder. He can definitely lead his team and at least be the top ten lists.

When his mother heard this conversation, she felt sorry for her son. She repented at her mistake. After dinner, she went into his room and asked why didn’t he say all these to her when she was scolding him?

The boy smiled and said, Maa, you were very angry. You were not ready to listen to anything from me. If I would have said all these to you at that time, you might think it another way. But I do know, the scores can be much better so I promise to work harder and to fulfill your dreams.

There is Tanish in every family. Though his experiences could not be humongous yet he can be more sensible than many adults. You don’t mature by your age rather by learning through day-to-day activities. Each and every day, different instances of your life will teach you something new. Often have seen adults offending and proving their superiority based on their age and experience.

You need to remember, your experience is of huge significance for your personal and professional life, but these experiences can hardly matter to others. Even if you empathize, the pain that the bearer has cannot be foregone.

As a parent, you have certain dreams and when you fail to achieve them, you make them as the dream of your child. The child who did not dream the same thing, if he is asked to struggle and achieve the same, will he be able to do justice to his parents or to himself?

This question remains unaddressed many times.

Students with great caliber and potential, will still be observed toiling and struggling while making their career successful. All those who had the liberty to taste rejection, discouragement and had met failure in their life, do learn quicker than the one blessed with the golden spoon.

Tanish, I believed was a leader. He knew what to do and how to handle things in his life. He was an expert in managing work-life balance. He handled stress efficiently. Even when the situation was not in his favor, he kept himself calm.

Looking at the leadership quality that Tanish had, I started asking a question to myself, whether a leader is born or is made?

I leave it to the readers to answer this question…If they are the born leaders or have got certain training to enhance their leadership skills, in order to lead and be a leader.

Revolution - A Dream As A Teacher

5th September 2015, the day started with a buzz on my mobile. Shagun, a student of mine had sent a lovely message. Thanking me for the efforts put in order to enhance her knowledge and skills. A quick glimpse of 2007 flashed in my memory, recalling the classes and the students I taught along with Shagun.

I remembered my first day as a School Teacher at Hyderabad way back in 1999. My first set of students who enjoyed talking and sharing their miseries with me. The games that I learned by playing along with them. How can I forget those days? My students were my real time teachers, who made me learn the new thing every day through my experiences. Though I was strong in my knowledge but my students taught me that ignorance can't be bliss, to gain knowledge same practice of teaching with every buddy can fail. They taught me, how the needs of the students’ community differ, etc.

My students’ community, whom I consider as my mentor, still remembers those names: Neeraj, Girish, Ramakrishna, Bindupriya. The list is enormous and the things that I have learned from them are priceless. They made me a better person, a teacher, and a trainer.

My 16 years of experience into teaching and training was always delightful. I believe the challenges that I have encountered by being in this professional kept me on my toes always. It helped me to endure patience, the art of empathizing and listening to others patiently. 

Instead of counting the bounties, let me pen down today my dream as a Teacher. I represent that state of India from where the world embraced wisdom, peace, and meditation. But today, when I move across in the interior regions of this state i.e. Bihar, my heart laments viewing at the situation of the schools. I believe that the knowledge imparted by the teachers to their students should help them to stand strong, steadfast even in difficult situations. It should teach the students to learn the art of leading life as a successful human being.

The dedication shown by the teachers compared to yesteryears and present day will prove that as teachers we are only imparting syllabus that is to be covered for the examinations or to get graded for. The true education is missing from present day schools. It can be any school be reputed or a newly established one. The significance of school teaching is dwindling.

The question is, whom do we blame? Is it the education system, the board or the society?

Well, even I don’t have an appropriate answer for this question but certainly I will blame myself as a Teacher. I need to do justice to my students who firmly believe in the knowledge that I impart to them, will certainly help in caricaturing better future.

I recall the journey from 2011 to 2013, to over 100 odd schools in Bihar in over 8 districts, it made me realize that the methodology that is applied by government schools is outdated and the private or trust governed schools are more into making money and strengthening their financial position in the society.

I met the Principals of few good schools. They were on the same page. They knew the drawback of their school but still their arms were tied and lips stitched by the management of the school.  They agreed to the point that Schools in Bihar, particularly the well-established and renowned ones were into the education business. 

The quota pertained to Economically Weaker Section is only meant on the records. Religiously, very few school management thinks of reaching and catering to the needy people.

The month of May 2012, in the district of Begusarai, I still recall my visit to a government school. The condition of the school building was dilapidated yet the zeal of the teacher to teach was so high, even in the worst situation, he managed to conduct his class of 48 students under one single roof head. The students were of different grades. They were engaged into different subjects by the same teacher. He went on hopping from one group to the other, teaching them their portion of the subject that was to be taught for that day.

After five hours of struggle with a single break of 15 minutes, the teacher was low at his physical energy but nowhere there was an ounce reduction in his passion. I was shocked to see that after the tiring teaching session, he had to help his wife in serving the mid-day meal which is offered to every student on school working days. There was no one to assist him except his wife.

And this was not the case with only one school. I witnessed this in many schools where the teachers were really dedicated and were toiling hard to make the future of their students better.

These teachers have inspired me and have put a dream in my open eyes, to serve those who need the service utmost.

I wish to open a School in the remote areas of Bihar with all latest equipment and technology. Where knowledge will be free, and where education will not be just a source of earning huge return on investment.

A school where students will learn by doing, they will get education for better life and to form a better society. I don’t know, when this dream of mine will come true but the support that I have from my students, will always motivate me to work hard and put my best foot forward every day with the goal of setting ‘THE SCHOOL’.

Mushrooming Thoughts

Meahul was quite excited after reading the Letter of Joining from Google. The first thing that he did is took his phone and typed a message to one of his teachers who had taught him English Communication. It said, “I fulfilled my promise. The dream that you made me see with my open eyes, has come true and I am hired by Google – My dream company. Thanks for the dream. ”

The teacher read the message. In the span of four years, she had taught many students. She could hardly recall the face of her dear student who had sent the text. Still, she replied – “Though I made you see the dream but it was solely your efforts and endurance that made you fulfill your dream. If you don’t mind do send me your picture.”

Within few seconds, there was a message with an image. On seeing the picture Teacher could not resist and passed a beautiful smile.

Mushrooming thoughts took her back to 2011. It was the month of July. On dry humid evening at Delhi she received a call from Mr. Amit. He wanted to check her availability for a week. There was a requirement of a Soft Skills trainer at University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES). She instantly agreed because she had heard a lot about the beauty of Dehradun but had never been to this place before.

It was Monday. She reached to the campus and the view was awesome. The valley covered by clouds. Pleasant air filled the environment with positive energy. Things looked so clean and serene. Mesmerized at the view, she prepared for her first session. She was supposed to take Personality Enhance Program for the B .Tech students of Computer Science Students.

With great amount of excitement, she stepped into Block – I Room – 1004. There were 45 students, all well dressed and seemed serious towards their career. In the midst of this huge lot, there was a single student who was not in the college uniform. She asked the reason for improper uniform the student counter questioned the trainer – By being in his formals will it be a detriment for him?

The trainer smiled and said nothing. She sensed the negative approach that the student had. Rather correcting the student instantly she said, “I want to thank you. As such students’ in the class looks alike and I in my formals appear to be an alien. But that feeling of mine is wiped off because I do have a Co-trainer who can assist me.”

As a trainer, let me not talk much about the sessions taken at UPES. What is pivotal here is the attitude of Meahul which marked and had left deep impression on my memory. 

(Let me pen down the emotions and feelings of the trainer in first person form)

Meahul after completing his higher secondary education tried his best to clear his IIT entrance test. Unfortunately he could not score better marks hence had to land up at UPES. He was demotivated and was depressed. He sat on the last desk. He hardly interacted with any student on the first day of PEP. Even when he had to involve and participate into any team activity, he did as I insisted him to participate. Though he did not do things whole-heartedly still, his ideas were liked by the team members. Straightaway he gained attention of his team members also his comments or feedback shared on other participating team was positive one which was commendable.

The full day session winded up with a Karaoke. I identified that my class comprised of creative, smart and talented young budding engineers. Meahul who was in my mind was among good singers.

At 6.00 pm, while I was enjoying my pleasant evening in the core of beautiful valleys, I noticed Meahul sitting silently on a bench. His ears plugged with ear phones. Without disturbing him, I surpassed him. But I heard him calling my name with greetings. I turned back and asked him if I could sit for a while with him.

After exchanging certain pleasantries I inquired as such what holds him back from interacting with his classmates. He took a while to open up. But he did. He could not stop tears from falling off his eyes. He voice choked and said that how he failed to fulfill the dream of his parents. His father was an IITian and was working with Infosys. He wanted his son to walk onto his footsteps and to secure a better career.

In fact the story that I heard was not a new one. Generally parents try to dream and fulfill it by enforcing the same on their kith and kin. I knew now that Meahul is living life but without any dreams. The dreams are the ones of his parents. I said, “Well Meahul, if you believe me I assessed you during today’s PEP session and trust me I found a very talented and creative person hidden in you. What you need to do is you need to set your own pathway. It is you who should see for a dream and then work hard persistently to fulfill your dream.”

The moment I stopped, He said that from his childhood days, he wished to work for Google.

I said Meahul don’t think much about the past that cannot be reprimanded. Rather you need to focus on future. I made him talk to one of my students luckily who was working with Google at Hyderabad. That had boosted his morale and I could observe the spark in his eyes. The other three days were quite satisfying. Meahul was in his uniform. I asked him, why was he in the uniform, he said, “Ma’am I am the part of this class and UPES. Though we come from different backgrounds, yet it the uniform which makes us look alike. WE need to work in team. Uniform reminds us always about our team. How can I isolate myself from the team?”

Class listened to his words with absolute silence and rewarded it with loud applauds. For a year, I was in regular touch with Meahul. I knew that he was doing extremely well and had always put his best foot front.

Day when I saw him and his message, I took his achievement as my accomplishment. I must thank Meahul for being honest to himself and for his firm determination.

The half-an-hour spent with Meahul and his short interaction with one of students cleared the haziness that he had over his performance and he excelled ultimately. Thoughts mushroomed and it got connected with the right cord which helped Meahul to taste the sweet fruit of success.

As a trainer my journey is still on…

  

To Be Responsible Is An Art

It was rejoicing moment for Mr. Madhukar who got promoted from Area Sales Manager to Country head of a reputed IT firm. His excitement had no limits. Tears of joy rolled out of his eyes and he thought of sharing this news with his dearest friend, life partner and his inspiration – his wife Ms. Parvati.

On hearing the sweet voice from other end of the phone call, Madhukar voice choked. He cleared his throat and shared the reason for making the call to his wife. Parvati congratulated but Madhukar felt the dryness in her congratulation. He felt the cold sweat on his brow. He had nothing more to say so had disconnected the call. I rang him and reminded him about the meeting at coffee shop at 7 pm, which he confirmed and said that there is a good news which he is going to share when we meet.

Over three months Madhukar was in my regular contact. He felt that though he is performing extremely well in his professional career, still he feels there is something that is missing in his life. He is getting deprived of his true happiness. He always gets irritated while in company of his friends. He enjoys his loneliness and has started to avoid even interaction with other family friends or relatives.

To know more about the change in Madhukar’s behavior, I fixed up my appointment with his wife after taking his consent. Before giving any further suggestion, I thought to know the root cause of the problem. I met Parvati who looked absolutely dejected. There was no sign of charm. On inquiring, she shared with me the schedule which was followed by Madhukar.

Due to the pressure of work and demand of his position, Madhukar often had restless nights. He often had to work till late night, foregoing the mental peace and had never cared of his health. Being his better-half, Parvati has taken ample care of her husband and also was struggling to keep the cord tight and in harmony with other family friends and relatives. She had to attend the family functions, different ceremonies either with her two kids or sometimes alone, when her children were bit occupied due to their exams or activities of their school.

With huge tear drops in her eyes, I could sense the hidden pain that was whirling in her heart. She recalled and said that Madhukar has turned such a work-alcoholic that he stopped sharing anything with her. There was a huge silence which disturbed my mind. I knew that if Madhukar fails to understand his wife’s problem, very soon, he will be left alone. He may lose his best friend and his life partner for ever.

It was time for me to talk to Madhukar. We planned to meet in a coffee shop at 7 pm. Like other times, he got stuck with his work so badly that my meeting time had to shift from 7 pm to 9 pm. With three cups of coffee, in the past two hours, I made up my mind to listen to Madhukar and explore for the right way out for his problem.

My mind questioned my heart, “Is it so necessary for anyone to work so hard?” and “What is the significance of all this turmoil in our life?”

Well, I believed we all live our life with certain aspirations and work hard dexterously to fulfill our dreams and desires. When someone supports us, we feel, he or she will stand beside me for every time and will render his or her support which can aid in facing challenges with more vigor and power. What we tend to forget is, we think only about self. We have failed to focus on other dimensions and even have neglected others whom we actually consider as a part of our journey, but in fact they are not.

Deeply engrossed in my thoughts, still my eyes were focused at the door of the coffee shop, waiting for Madhukar. At 9.10 pm, I saw him entering the shop. Though he looked tired, I greeted him loudly and acknowledged him for his seamless work spirit. My sentence hit the right cord. He coldly shared about his position but also added on that the happiness that he felt when he received his first promotion was more valuable than being the country head.

Time management is really very important and critical. Madhukar had always put on priority his professional life. He hardly cared for his personal life. May be, he was running short of time but there are many people on this beautiful planet who are titled as successful but at the same time, have given significance to their social and family relationship. He ultimately realized the fact.

Nothing is too late. I cheered him and said, let us plan for a party on forth coming Sunday. I told him to call every fellow friend, new or old and his relative personally. Share the happy moment and for future plan for a weekend tour - at least every month, so that he can spend gala time with his family. I suggested him to start with family and then to include if possible some friends.

Time passed. Days flied and even months went on.

Madhukar remained busy. After Six months, one Friday night, I received his call. Well, I knew his voice but I could sense the difference in it. Madhukar asked about my schedule for Sunday. I was keen to meet him. I wanted to know, if Madhukar was able to sort his problem and could come out of his depression.

Sunday I met him at his place. I was welcomed with the cheerful smile of Parvati. Her face was glowing with charm. She looked full of life. There was a surprise for me. I met Madhukar, who looked so different now. So happy and said, “You know, I learnt to manage my time.”

I thanked Madhukar for teaching me a wonderful lesson. Because of him, I realized that inner capability are so strong that they can settle the tussle if any faced in life with corrective measures and actions. Also responsibilities are taken to show your capability but no responsibility should hide your qualities or become so burdensome that restricts you from exhibiting your potentiality.

  

Real vs Animated

#Interview – the word has lost its real meaning; rather it is now considered as a word which leads to depression, panic and phobia to few. While training the post-graduate students, of one of the reputed B-Schools in New Delhi, to prepare them with certain dos and don’ts of interview, as a trainer I realized that the real problem is always overlooked due to unawareness. Students have animated some different thoughts which were far-behind the real life situation. Students were not afraid of interaction, instead they felt nervous about their appearance, body language and what not, which do matter but are of least importance when compared to knowledge and the art of communication.

Students failed to realize that life is certainly so colorful with new position, new ideas and vibrant thoughts. In the midst of unseen complexities, you often try to sail across the hindrances and overcome the difficulties. At some instances, you are quick to notice the change within the given situation and you take prompt action to respond and act according to the situation. But this is not possible every time. Then what should be the remedy for such a problem. Here are few of my captured observations:

Steadfast - don't change your character:

Value your character. You are born with an identity and throughout your life you struggle hard to improvise yourself. You take classes and attend school to nurture your knowledge skills, apply some norms to get yourself disciplined and carve your persona by working over your personal skills and traits. The fact is - some are born with you that you might have acquired genetically and you can consider yourself as blessed because of its possession. But there are numerous qualities which you wish to cultivate. You imbibe them learn from your peer group, society or even through your developing sense organs.

To change is not bad. Indeed it can be the demand of time but simply copying certain things without examining its affect over your persona, can certainly be – a matter of caution which needs to be addressed carefully. Behold your character. Do not change just for the sake of others. Try to justify your learning.

Believe in real but not animated:

Emotions play a significant role when you talk about your personality. Whenever you get an opportunity to present your persona, try not to be the part of reel but showcase your real self. Keep the animated life miles away from your thought process because the moment your thinking gets diluted you will lose the authentic color of life. Remember always that your thought will trigger your action. If you highlight and allow the positive thought to flow, you will surely feel the positive impact of the same even in your action otherwise it will be vice-versa.

Know your boons than banes:

Look always at the positive side of yourself. Things can be observed and can be presented through different dimensions. Your perspective may not be the same like that of others. Hence when others disagree or deny admitting consensus with your statement, don’t lose your level of confidence. You should be proud that you can at least put-forth your opinion. This is rather a boon but in general a student considers it as his bane. And such instances could be many which every student should notify and keep in his remembrance which can boost his morale and will propagate his thoughts to flow in rhythm.

Compel self to compete:

Interview is an art which should be learnt. Learning is fun and it demands energy. Anything that is challenging will occupy your mind with some sort of thought process featuring either your success or failure. You should compel your mind to accept the challenge and tread even the difficult ways, leaving behind your doubts and confusion. Don’t let your thought demotivate you. Only you can force yourself to face the situation which could be in your favor and sometimes contradicting your expectation, in adverse situation. Compel self to compete and face the fact as this will in turn creates awareness related to your key strengths areas and the developmental areas, which demands for the extra effort from your end to improvise.

Practice before performance:

Any action that you do should be well rehearsed and practiced before its real-time application. You should not forget that chance lost once is lost forever. You need to be truly accountable. Count every step of your action. See that you reap maximum benefit out of your performance. To practice, try to generate real-life condition, don’t search for the comfort. Get accustomed to discomfort and look for the right guidance that can act as a harbinger and can take you safely through the obstacles led in your path of success due to ignorance.

The present education system has surely adopted new pedagogy. There is huge improvement in its curriculum but let these institutions not forget the fact that they are dealing with human which certainly gets carried away by emotions and feeling. The session on soft skills and life skills are meant to hone the character and develop skills that can make the student fit for the employment.

Session on personality development demands for more activities and involvement. This doesn’t mean that the trainers can have only fun but no learning. As a trainer, let us all understand the importance of our role in building and strengthening the future of our society and nation. Let us impart the session of #Soft Skills and #Life Skills with positive thought, which can infer some learning outcomes for all those students who actually become part of these sessions.

On Rainy Morning

When the morning begins with rain

It’s a pure bliss to see nature in no feign

With bright hues dancing in the thick raindrops

And enticing me to put everything to a stop.

Oh! What a sight to behold

With vital thoughts my dreams began to unfold

Nature seemed fresh and green

Flowers and leaves looked clean and serene

Buzzing bees were eager to suck

Sweet nectar least bothered of muck

Under the willow tree

I saw a boy, who was carefree

Splashing the water

With fun and totter

Croaking frog, hidden birds

Even the animals in herd

Thank God for the pattering rain

Appeared as boon, cutting the bane

My Experience at Teachers' Training

#Passion without any intention to learn and update will certainly be of no use for the teachers to teach in the class. It was a different experience for me. 230 Km away from Delhi, in the state of Punjab there is a small village named Budhlada. I was invited by the Principal of a School to address their school teachers as well as create awareness related to the latest developments in the teaching #pedagogy. The school management has taken due care to update its school with smart class, usage of latest technology and well-furnished computer and language laboratory. I was mesmerized by the view of the school. The class rooms were well-ventilated, school was surrounded by big trees and it was green everywhere.

I thought, how lucky the students are, the one who have enrolled for their education in such well-built and developed schools. Let me confess hear that I did not expect to see such developed school in one of the interiors of Indian village. Their ambience touched my heart. I was asked by the Principal to interact with the teachers for an hour. I started my session.

I congratulated the Principal, School Management who have started such school at Budhlada that too an English medium school where the people spoke Punjabi - as this was their common language. My introductory speech was in English. When I went on speaking for few minutes, I saw principal walking to the dais beside me and he softly said in my ears that all the teachers may not understand English so I better communicate in Hindi (the national language of India).

I was surprised to hear his request. It was an English medium school where teachers were supposed to teach in #English but they failed to understand English. I found it difficult to connect the dots. Well, I realized the reason behind the invitation.

I wanted to know the problem, analyze its root cause and then thought of sharing suggestible solution to address the problem.

While interacting with the teachers I came across certain interesting facts:

• Though the teachers wanted to learn and improve their communication skills, but due to lack of platform or unavailability of proper aid, they still remain deprived of this skill.
• They have studied in English medium school where their teachers have taught them everything in Punjabi or Hindi.
• They had huge appetite to learn but they failed to fulfill their need due to lack of support from the peer group.
• Time remains a big constraint

I thought, this is certainly a common problem faced by all the schools established in the interiors of India.

I considered the given platform as my blessing. Though I was asked to interact for an hour, I pleaded the Management and asked them to spare their teachers for a day. I made them understand the need of various activities, significance of audio-visual aids for the teachers’ as teaching aid and I promised to mentor them and to extend my whole-soul support to nurture the passionate group to learn and excel.

While the teachers were involved into different activities and were performing as per my guidelines, I realized certain basic things which can be applicable to the whole teacher group.

1.   #Unlearn, Learn and Relearn: It is very important for the teachers to follow this rule. Unless as teachers if we do not unlearn the old and outdated methodology, we will not be able to gain and imbibe new things. Our mind has limited capacity to store and retain important things. If this mind will not get rid of useless baggage of information, it will become difficult to learn and with-hold new learning. We need to learn and update ourselves - each and every moment, also should not hesitate to relearn things. The more we practice, better will be its application and will result in positive implication.
2. To #listen is to learn: If you wish to learn then be receptive. Listen carefully whatever you can. Don’t try to be judgmental, what to listen and what not. To listen to others demand for high level of patience. If you wish to gain more information, even then you need to listen and learn.
3. Failure – stepping stone to success: Don’t hesitate to accept the shortcomings that we have in us. You fail because you have tried and then the failure will teach you the difference between the right and wrong approach. Things that you do will always add value to your learning. Sometimes you do it as per the norms and in some instances you may not follow the right methodology, hence you tend to fail. We need to remember that we learn in both the ways.

Let us try to upgrade the standard of teachers and deliver the best teaching practice. We need to remember that teachers are the pioneer. They build the personality of the future citizen which indeed builds the nation. It is desirable that we, the teachers should maintain the pace of learning and unswervingly continue our journey of continual growth and prosperity along with students.

Three People

I was watching an old video of Isabel Allende on the topic Tales of passion (Ted Talk) in which she says…Empowering women will change everything -- more than technology and design and entertainment. I can promise you that women working together -- linked, informed and educated -- can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.

Her words touched my soul. Being a woman, she made me think about three different women who played dominant, prominent and very special role in my life - my mother, my sister and my principal. I believe, it is only because of these three, I have reached to this height in my career and being blessed with a notable name in the society.

My mother, who dwells from an orthodox family from a small village of Bihar, hardly had finished her class tenth when marriage bells rang into her life and she got tied for her life with my ever loving and adorable father. As she was tender, physically and mentally underdeveloped to understand about the crux of running a family, even after her marriage she stayed with her parents for another four years.

To the readers let me tell you all that I am not talking about that period of time, when child marriage was considered as sin nor it was considered as social abuse. My humble father brought her to her new family – of her in law, when she was pretty matured. But the journey did not end here. My father planned to move to a new place in South India, the then Andhra Pradesh, to its capital Hyderabad, where he got the opportunity to work as an accountant for Sriram Engineering group (USHA).

Both my parents were quick at learning the new language. They struggled in the initial stages, but my Maa was quite a quick learner. She picked up Telugu pretty soon. She was blessed with three daughters and a son. My elder sister, the second women whom I will admire throughout my life, was my best friend.

Just a class tenth pass out, my mother is far better than the management students of these days. I appreciate her various skills, particularly her accountability, the way she organized the family and had maintained the decorum of our home and being so helpful and friendly that we have always led our life in peace even when we were surrounded with number of other families and neighbors – who were bit deprived in terms of financial condition.

The lessons taught my Maa:

1. Help the one who are indeed in need of.
2. Care for others
3. Pay respect first and then even if you do not demand, people will respect you
4. Don’t expect anything from others
5. Always be the doer than demanding others to do it for you

Well, these five principles were not only imbibed by me but also my siblings. My elder sister, Di will remain guru for my life. She taught me how to care and respect others. Her dedication for time and work always made me feel low when I compared her personality with mine. She believed that education is certainly important but more than education, values do play significant role in our life.

• Values what others say
• Value what you listen and believe
• Value that you have than cribbing and thinking about those things which are not with you
• Value your time
• Value your health

My first recruiter, the Principal (the place where I took my first job as school teacher) Ms. Seema Saira Ahmed who made me grow, allowed me to think out of box. She was like a mirror into which I could see and find out my shortcomings and then tried to rectify myself. Mistake that I committed were left as mistake rather than turning into my habit. She broadened my vision. She was the torch bearer of my life. Her principles turned into my philosophy:

• Praise loudly, blame softly
• Do work but do not expect anything in return
• Value even the worst
• Learn from time as it teaches a lot
• Live in present, leave past and future

These three women had to struggle hard to make others believe into their potentiality. At many instances when they were demeaned either by family member or by the society, they did not stop their struggle. Rather, it always acted as the catalyst and had ignited the fuming desire with more energy to prove their caliber and overcome the obstacles created in their path of success.

Problems related to anything or I must say everything was handled in a genteel manner. They knew their limitations but did not compromise in their life. Their belief in self, made the toughest turmoil of life, an open page of learning. I owe a lot to them and my words are my gratitude towards their passion and dedication.

Patience Pays

Who says that people cannot change…there can be numerous hurdles in the way, if you have the right attitude and the desire to overcome the hurdle, trust me no one can stop you from reaching to the pinnacle.

I am glad that I could mentor one of my students who succeeded in breaking the cocoon, the old rudiments and free herself from her negative thoughts.

Initially, Shikha felt that she was a slow learner. She always considered herself inferior when she compared herself with her PGDM friends, hostel room-mates or so.

Well, it was in the month of August,five years ago  when I met Shikha for the first time during my training session on Interview Techniques. In the mock interview session, she looked nervous, shy and had covert behavior. I could guess that due to her inferiority complex she was not able to concentrate well over her studies, nor she was able to present her thoughts confidently.

I met Shikha after the session, inquired about her background and she said that she belongs to an orthodox family, a typical Maithil Brahmin from Bihar, where education of girl child is always considered as wastage of money by the parents, (may not be by all). Rather what they believe is, an added expenditure on the girl – generally which increases the amount of dowry that is to be paid to the bride groom before getting married, by the bride’s parent– which  is still persisting and prevailing in our Indian Society.

Let me admit a fact too, that parents always care for their children. Though the society and other family members were not in favor of Shikha’s further studies, yet her mother was determined and with her conviction was able to convince her husband for Shikha’s education. Even when she joined the institute, unfortunately Shikha could not find a suitable friend or must say the perfect environment which could have allowed her to groom her personality. She spent her evenings in her hostel room, doing her assignments and projects.

When her friends were thinking to prepare for big brands and high pay packages, Shikha failed to gather her confidence even in getting registered for any company’s interview process. She always feared to face the interview. In much perplexed state, when she gave her mock interview, I could sense the stress that she was going through.

Let me admit now, that her interview was pathetic. Her statements, sentences were meaningless. But I did not let her sense this. I appreciated her and said that she can do better only if she can write what she said and hand it to me. I told her that she is in fact very brave and confident child she could answer even that question which was not answered by the best of her buddies.

Shikha looked at me in surprise, not believing my words but somehow I convinced her. She wrote the answers and trust me, I could notice that she wasn’t bad. She needed that hand to hold which can show her the right direction and can let her search her own strength areas.

There was another student of mine, who was into his e-commerce business. He was looking for some tele-callers who could help in cleaning the data and in branding his product. I told him about the incidence and requested him, if I can arrange for an interview with Shikha. He agreed instantly and said that he will be able to pay only 3000 rupees per month.

The meeting went on very well. Shikha spoke confidently in my presence and agreed to accept the job offer. Her first job offer was in her hand just 3000 INR. Her heart was pounding and I could not stop tears which rolled out of my eyes, seeing Shikha, so happy.

Shikha, started her career. Though it was not the best start, but I wanted her to go with the offer. The change of environment was must for her inner growth. She did perform badly in the initial stages. Even on phone calls, she used to get those panic attacks, when her call was rejected by the other end. I told her that this is very common. I did few calls. The speaker was on and when she heard the negative response even when I tried to convince the listener, she broke the myth of her brain.

Shikha realized that this is not a failure. It will go on she has to overcome these. For next six months I was in regular touch of her, to know more about her difficulties. She shared her problems but she always added a solution to her problem at the end of our conversation.

Shikha joined a big, reputed press house of India. By now, she learnt the art of handling different situations. In the busy go life, she got settled and I got busy with my other training programs related to soft skills.

After five years, I received a call from an unknown number. When I responded to it, I was surprised to know that Shikha now runs her own e-paper. In her career journey, there were number of accolade s and appreciations that Shikha had earned for her work, innovative ideas and application of techniques. She wanted to contact me so that I could train her 7 employees whom she thought, someone like me could help.

Shikha made me feel proud. She will remain in my memoir forever. I went and met her, signed the MoU to help her employees. I could see plethora of changes in Shikha. She has overcome her nature of being timid and shy. She accepted challenges confidently and was ready to challenge others. The confidence could be seen in her bright eyes, which had many number of ambitions.

I don’t know, to how many more will I be able to help but there is one thing, if I meet any Shikha in future, my dedication to bring change in her will be positive as I do have an example who has proven, given an opportunity, no one will be left behind. People look for a push and I will be a factor to give that push to the needed person.

Seven Elements of Employment

Yesterday, in one of the oldest B-Schools at Delhi, I got an opportunity to interact with the new entrants of PGDM program. Well, I have come to know that students in our country, bother more about their degrees than about the accumulation of ASK - Attitude, Skill and Knowledge. Students were pretty sure of what they wished to do, after couple of years.

1. Either to help their family head in strengthening their business which is already well established 

2. Or seek a job in one of the reputed companies - generally in Multi-national Companies.

I was surprised, when I heard youth speaking so. I thought, the youth will dare to accept risk, fly high to expand its vision and surge   to cover an extra mile. The courage to face or handle risk is so limited that they are ready to take any further step with proper calculation of risks.

They wish to grow but without facing challenge. They want to pick up the specialization of Marketing but demand for jobs wherein there are as such no TARGETS.

Also, the understanding of the jobs, its basic requirements, the needed hard skills and soft skills, the present student community is living in dark ignorance.

I am not condemning the present generation of students rather I feel pity for their situation. The education system needs a 360 degree review so that it can bring in clarity in its vision. Instead of putting qualitative value points in their files and faculty meetings, they need to vouch its application in classroom and its affect over student’s perception.

Even the student fraternity, should come out of its comfort zone and try to explore about the latest developments happening in different areas of workplace. There course outline should be developed keeping in view the present demand from the various companies plus our blooming economy.

Strengthening these seven elements of employment becomes must:

1. Accepting Risk

The present generation should like to encounter with the numerous risks. Rather living and expecting about comfort zone, they should be forced to accept risk. It expands their problem solving and decision taking skills. They understand about the problems in depth. Instead of avoiding turmoil, they should learn the art of facing the turmoil and getting out of it with some concrete solution.

2. Focus Target

The main intention of the present education system should be to throw targets at the students. They should be encouraged to pick up targets. Draw a proper road map; develop certain flow charts which can help them to reach to their target. Meeting target in itself is a big achievement. The targets should be designed by the institution in a planned manner. It should be from simple to moderate and then to tough one. 

3. Develop Skills

Whether you work for your own firm or for others, application of skills are the prerequisite for each and every person who has the attitude of go-getter. Among many skills, I sternly believe that communication skills are the utmost important one. 

4. Out of the Box

It is the demand of the time that if you create your own mark and wish to leave a strong impression over others, you will have to think out of the box. As students, your focus should be on honing critical thinking process and in nurturing the skill of lateral thinking. It is damn easy to think like others but to think in a different manner, demands for your added and extra energy.

5. Dream Big

Dream big. Understand that you are born to do things in a different way which can pave your way to success and growth. Put your best foot forward to face the facts and reality. Stepping front, demands for a well-planned strategy. All your strategies will work effectively or will be correct and will work according to your expectation, if you think so, believe me, it can stop your thinking process. Be ready to accept even your failure. 

6.Change is Must

You will have to change. This could be in your style, approach, in your vision and can be in your level of understanding. If you stop to embrace the change, trust me, you have locked the door which opens the room of success. You need to keep your eyes and ears open. Move with rapid pace to compete with growing market and to meet its demand.

7. Know thyself

Though this is put in the last but it is the most important element. Self-introspection will allow you to dream your aspiration. It will help you in enhancing your skills and watchdog the risk factors. You can set your target and face the competition with better preparation. Viewing situation from three dimensions can help you to analyze the concept the other elements diligently.

Well, the education system and the institutions will have to think and develop programs and should see that these common seven elements are reinforced in each and every student.