Holistic Development

There is so much talk about development, be it an individual's or the society's. But then what is development ? What does one need to acquire in order to be 'developed' ? Frankly, these questions are difficult to answer. Does development mean the techno savvy and jet life of today or the quiet and slow life of the past. To keep my views focused, I have kept my discussion about individual's role in self and societal development.

Starting with initial formative years, a child develops so many abilities like mobility, language, emotions, exploration, taste, etc. Supplementing these, the family instills moral values through stories, good habits through routine process and a few tasks to be completed by independently by the child. I remember that my grandmother, who successfully handled children in her creche, would ask all kids to bring some water in a glass across the room. As a kid, I found it amusing but later on I realized its importance in developing concentration. This incident still has me thinking as to how certain playgroup activities influence us in our development. Keeping the footwear in the shoe stand, washing hands and feet after coming home, praying at dinner time, waiting for the entire family at the dinner table, completing assigned chores and homework, sharing with brothers and sisters, caring for others (no matter what species!), doing puja and reciting shlokas with elders and so many more fond memories. These very memories; good or bad, are what make us, define us and channel us towards meeting challenges.

As a teenager, the child displays the off shoots of sudden growth, both physically and psychologically. The confusion about leaving childhood and stepping into adult hood, leaves the child rebellious and in urgent need of being on track. Isn't this the time that most of us took up various activities of our interest, be it hobbies or sports ? The ability to multitask between different activities like study, sports, reading, music, etc combined with the divine presence of friends, indeed helped in the adolescent phase. The involvement in all these was enough to let the teenage identify likes and dislikes. Few demonstrated more focus which turned into success in the form of medals and recognition. And all this on top of all the good habits and morals inculcated during childhood years. The simple act of bringing a glass of 'un-spilt' water as a child, really helped in collecting and nurturing water (read hobbies or interests) as a teenager.

The adult phase of a human is indeed the longest not only in terms of time but also in terms of shouldering responsibility. The qualities acquired as a teenager need to be fine tuned further to complete and complement the education or skill development, as may be the case. The inherent habits (which become a part of daily routine) along with the morals learnt as a child and experiences gained as a teenager / adult; aid in identifying the person's area of interest to pursue career. It is during the good and bad times, that a person shows his character, which in course invites friendships and love for more years to come. A person undergoing these develops so many traits desired in so many roles that after more wear and tear, there is need to turn to meditation, yoga or self reflection. Such developments indeed alleviate the person for better thinking and behavior and promote for a healthy body, healthy soul, healthy family, healthy society. Live and let live.

The society development starts at the basic unit ie family, a close knit family is a micro reflection of healthy society that provides the cocoon for the new generation. The village with its nature and hardships; the city with its amenities and problems; the country with its strengths and challenges; all provide ample security in growth and development even in the face of adversity. 

Holistic development is all about developing appropriately at the relevant time along with bringing contentment and peace to individual and society. A healthy mind and body reflects on the society too. Life has become more positive too due to modern facilities. Life expectancy and cures to many illnesses has all been possible due to development. Communication and reach-ability has become possible along with equality among the humans. Mankind has gone beyond the provision of food-shelter-clothing. The need is to go beyond the self holistic development towards the nurturing of environment too.

Chanakya Vs The Modern Parent

                                    

My childhood memories fondly recall the voracious reading of story books and especially 'Amar Chitra Katha' which still presents the central characters in a very engrossing way to the child. One such story on Chanakya, fascinated me. I, as a parent also ensured that my daughter got to read a series of books by the same publication house. Their illustrations and story telling has a profound impact on the young readers imagination that ensures development of good vocabulary and thought orientation. 

With these memories and an inclination towards teaching, I always have great respect for Chanakya was an ancient Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power. He is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire. His recognition as a teacher comes from the fact that he chiseled a young simple boy into a great king. At the same time, due admiration for the boy who displayed his potential and ruled just and wise as a king. 

This situation demands a thought for three things : 1) the teacher 2) the student and 3 ) the situation. The exceptional qualities displayed by the teacher in identifying the boy with potential was the first in a series to writing the history. His next task of channeling the young mind and training the body and soul for challenges and difficulties; proved that he had to plan and get things done with an iron hand and wisdom. On the part of the student, he had to get his potential and strength channelized in a way to achieve greatness and as well as strive for a position that he was not his birth right for a patriarchal society. The greatness of the two men may probably as a result of the situation prevailing during the era which eagerly welcomed the change brought about by the two.

Now consider the modern society. Are parents not the first teachers to their child ? Are they not responsible in developing their child's potential or abilities ? A parent may not be as great a teacher as Chanakya but let us also not forget that children learn from parents. The fast paced life has put a dent in this parental responsibility. The pressures of pursuing career, managing home, keeping up with social life etc has ensured that kids become independent at a very young age and the lack of a role model further ensures that they remain ensconced with electronic gadgets or a cocoon of their own. In turn parents lack the mindset to channelize the young mind to achieve greatness. The whole idea of story telling about role models through generations gets lost somewhere in the pressures of the modern world. What we see today is a world that needs to tackle so many global issues related to environment, pollution, health etc but who would want to give away their worldly luxuries to be in tune with the nature? Let us not forget that mother nature is our greatest teacher only if we are an equally disciplined student.

Entrepreneurs are finding solutions to garbage and cleaning but as a parent, tell me - would you want your child to think about garbage ? What nature needs is not what we want. Our education system provides literacy to masses but needs to educate the classes to achieve great feats. The third aspect ie situation is what demands and identifies the needs which along with the first two ie student and teacher will provide a successful solution. A parent has a lot of obligations towards the family and the most important amongst them is to develop or let a good teacher develop the young generation.

Chanakya was always known as a great teacher and a guru to Chandragupt but not as a parent to his exceptional disciple. Their success is in fact due to them being a true teacher and a true disciple. Indeed, it is very difficult to identify and promote such greatness without the pitfalls of societal or political interference. I strongly believe that a situation will prevail to ensure the birth of a right teacher and a right student that will make a difference.    

Zombie Apocalypse

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival in Maharashtra which brings all together for welcoming Lord Ganesha, the God of success. During His stay of maximum ten days, people celebrate with conduction of extra curricular activities for children, performing aarti twice a day, socializing etc. After the ten day period, people bid adieu to Lord Ganesha on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The festivities witness the traditional 'dhol tasha', elaborate rangoli designs, flower decorations and a large procession.

Our small society of four buildings is no exception to this. The small number of children and youngsters, followed by an even smaller number of adults; too were a part of the society's Ganpati Visarjan procession. My daughter too was smartly dressed for the occasion and among her friends, was trying to observe the puja and proceedings. The elders were concentrating on the puja and the procession, the kids were trying to follow the elders and the teenagers were trying to look proper. With this observation, my daughter found herself in a group of people right from the movie titled 'zombie apocalypse'. She quipped that indeed, the whole procession looked straight out of the zombie apocalypse movie with all silently and solemnly marching in the procession and clapping their hands. Her comparison of Ganesh Chaturthi to the movie, makes me laugh even today and I wonder at my daughter's sense of humour ! 

Person With Ability ?

The use of the acronym 'PWD' - Person With Disability, for the physically challenged person in government and education sector is quite common; all with good intentions and inclusions of the not so privileged in the society at large. It was during the preparation for the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) visit to the college that I, as one of the teachers got to know of the acronym and what a boon the facility for a PWD. There are reservations, concessions and facilities to make such a person self dependent and self reliant in the family and society.

Accordingly, for the NAAC peer team visit, our college had invited all PWDs so that the college facts and adherence to education norms could be corroborated . Even the parents of PWDs were sent special invitation for interacting with the NAAC Peer Team. While all care was taken to show the financial and administrative facilities for the PWDs, on the other hand, there were invitations for the students who had shown excellence in curricular, co-curricular, sports and extra curricular activities. I remember a few talented and deserving students who had come with a big haul of medals and certificates from recognized bodies. These were the students who had exceptional abilities in their respective areas. There were other students too who were also working under the 'Earn and Learn' scheme  so as to take care of their financial part, themselves. I respect and admire all these students (PWDs, bright students and responsible students) who either try to cope with their circumstances or excel in their areas of choice or are understanding and responsible towards their family.

Education sector addresses a varied number of issues and cases to see justice and equality for all; successfully (or not is debatable).  There are scholarships and recognition for students to promote the culture of excellence to bring forth quality in young generation and motivate all for progress. 

In between all this, the student with ability which is a quality, is forgotten or not promoted at all. With ability, I would like to specify the qualities or morals that children are taught at a young age. These morals include speaking the truth, inculcating good habits, practicing hygiene, respecting elders, caring for others, loving nature etc. I am in fact amazed by the variety of stories in 'Panchtantra' that address all these morals through mundane characters and simplicity of story telling. Indeed, if a person is to practice all these morals, wouldn't it lead to all desirable quality(ies) in and as a person, as a professional, in the culture & society and finally the world ?

Hats off to Indian Prime Minister who has practiced and promoted ideas like 'Swachchh Bharat Abhiyaan', 'International Yoga Day', etc., which are in tune with the inculcation of good habits and morals. It is onto the society to imbibe them and pass it to the coming generation. A well aware person has the potential to be a just person and accordingly becomes  the start of the greater change in society. It causes a revolution when the society abides by the rules and regulations.

A person with such qualities is desirable to the family for his caring attitude; to the society as a good citizen; to the company for his amicable behavior etc. His qualities are because of his ability to think of the larger good. The transition from 'quality' to 'ability' is because of recognition by family and friends and encouragement from elders and teachers. No wonder children show progress in certain areas like debates, team spirit, arts, crafts, music, story telling, spinning tall tales, oration etc; which consequently also define the attitude towards work. But the abilities that I talk of are hardly rewarded later on because the competitive world is busy judging the intelligence of person, never his 'qualities'. India as a country does have awards and recognition for citizens who do good to society but is there fairness in the process ? Are there not hundreds of anonymous citizens who did greater good, selflessly ? Is it not the time for the country to reward and recognize such citizens at village / city / state level ? Why do we have laws only to punish the guilty ? Why not have provisions to acknowledge the good behavior too ? Will this process not generate more positivity?

Our education system solely relies on numbers and no matter how stringent we make the laws, there are bound to be loopholes. One must admit that awareness among the parents is on the increase and they show courage in defying norms by encouraging their child to pursue their hobbies and interests. Even the modern companies are promoting employees to work as per their interests and aptitude rather than follow staid patterns of job / work culture. 'A person with ability' becomes desirable to the progress of the company. A child who excelled in giving speeches has good prospects with apt companies. The educational qualification that he had slogged for are only for getting a job, whereas for excelling in the job, all an employee needs is the strength and potential of his ability.

I would like to make a few observations as follows :

1. Let children between age group 2-8 be channeled for inculcating good habits to make them good and responsible citizens. Their efforts in adapting to healthy habits will teach them that everything has to be learned through hard work. Our education system teaches this aspect but does not practice it. Family system is also unable to accomplish the task due to problems of urbanization.

2. Children in the age group of 6-18 should be promoted for identifying and pursuing their interest so as to make them aware that developing and skills. Schools are highly successful in implementing various activities for the all round development of the children and channeling them for the competitive world. So what is lacking then ? Is it the lack of rewards ? No ! It is basically the lack of quantifying these qualities for higher studies. There need to be identification of skills required for the modern world and accordingly their promotion in obtaining recognition. So many qualities of a person are not recognized solely due to the lacking system and its parameters.

3. Youngsters in graduation and post graduation need to be made aware of the requirements of the world and allowed to choose their subjects, possible through the liberal education. This is a concept that is in its nascent stage but fast catching up.

4. Professionals who make it to the corporate ladder, should be allowed to pursue or develop their skills for  few hours in a month. The corporate social responsibility is not only about the society, it also must be inclusive of its employees. A happy employee is the one to contribute in the happiness quotient of the society. The increasing graph lines that indicate the progress of a company, need to remember that it is one of the reasons of decreasing social activity and enthusiasm among the society.

All in one, one in all ! A person with ability needs his due place. Instead of newspapers and news channels blaring 'Breaking News', let there be a time for 'Happy News' where good contributions from citizens are applauded.

Punching in the dark ...

Nothing is as restricted and effervescent as the boxers punching each other in a boxing ring and nothing is more charged and verbal as the audience watching the boxing match. Pity goes to the boxing referee who needs to be constantly alert and on his toes to avoid getting unintended punches. Protocols are strictly practiced to ensure that the match stays restricted to the boxing ring only. But, life is no boxing ring; it has no boundary; nor does it have well defined opponents; neither does a referee step in to give oneself a breather; nor are friends and family to run to. One has to forge through the difficult and exult in triumph, with the heart and soul of the pure hard worked mind. 

These days, most people organize life around their job; not job as part of life. Career or job and family have lopsided equations, with jobs consuming major chunk of time and energy. No wonder the ill effects of fast life has decelerated the human species. Though, wise people have succeeded in balancing both aspects and managed to maintain an equilibrium to ensure peace and contentment. 

My pity to those who are clueless about their own aspirations, requirements and wants. The struggles at ones workplace and the need to constantly outdo the peers, toppled with their egos and compounded by family issues, makes one wonder, "who am I fighting ?".  Ain't I sapping my energy and effort in struggling with unseen forces. The problems faced by my friends and colleagues and their expectations; are a constant reminder of how power is misconstrued. 'With power comes great responsibility', so goes the saying; but what about the uncertainty and unforeseen situations?; ain't it to be concerned about.

The scenario with superiors is no different; with their interests more in getting things done and accomplished. Their need to perceive the bigger picture, has no place for small personal issues and petty problems. Their perception about various cultures, people and personality; is as firm and strong as a mountain. The mountain is not easy to move or budge. So grudge, a worker must. It gives rise to the need for compromising power and position with peace and presence. An article in The Times of India on 'why women have jobs not careers'; confirmed this thinking.

A woman has a lot to balance, home, husband, children, pets, grocery, jobs, peers, superiors; and gets immense satisfaction in small things such as a clean home, happy talkative children, involved partners, playful pets, beauty treatments, informal discussions with peers, appreciation from superiors; who needs to keep on struggling with proving oneself at work and progress up the corporate ladder at the cost of losing out on so much happiness? Who would enjoy punching in the dark, not knowing when the other's fist hits you? The suspense and fear of being hit, is not much to look forward to. 

Pinocchio and The Avengers

                           

Pinocchio is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian writer Carlo Collodi.

Marvel's The Avengers or simply The Avengers, is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name.

Weaving a story and reading books go hand in hand. The story and the book, both take the author and the reader to a different world of fantasy and imagination. The digital era has brought with itself the blog concept which equally fascinates as per the theme. As a reader of this blog, you may well agree that Pinocchio and the Avengers; are both very famous in their own right and situation. While Pinocchio is known for his long nose associated with lying; the avengers are more so known for their super power to protect the mankind. While one character is all about humane characteristics and nature to educate children with good habits, the other characters are imaginary with human emotions added as a dressing to their technicality to let children visualize the advanced thinking of man. Both thoughts are progressive in their own right. And although Pinocchio has lost his popularity compared to the Avengers, there are quite a few traits that interest me to carry his story forward.

I grew up with reading lot of story books on mythological characters, fictional characters, romantic novels, sci-fi novels etc. Few of the characters took shape and voice on television, cinema or other such multi media. It interests me to see the characters from books come to life on screen. Though, as a child, I had problems distinguishing reality from cinema. I always wondered as a child that how could this actor be in this cinema when he had already been killed in the previous story that I had seen ?! This confusion made me wonder as to what we as a generation are imprinting on the young minds of today's generation? 

The incessant stream of Marvel and Disney characters with their super powers and time and space travel; is a perfect way to blind the young child of the reality that exists in the world. The small little joys of family, siblings, pets, nature, friends etc as well as mundane problems of people, digitization, industrialization, environment etc are nowhere in focus to deal with. The far reach-ability of films and television remains yet to be exploited to address social, environmental and geographical issues. A few animation films did make a mark on the importance of nature and society. A few did shed light on the psychological and health problems of today's generation caused due to modernization. Most of these efforts got blinded by the fictional and sci-fi movies. These movies did explain scientific facts in an interesting and innovating way. The children and grown ups had a glimpse into scientific complexity in the simplest way for the juvenile mind to fathom.


Curiously, a young mind is very impressionable. A child might indeed get the wrong impression of super heroes and space travel with time travel. In such a case, aliens visiting earth and staying with the family might not be imagination but a psychological problem which escalates even more due to the attachment of children with the electronic gadgets. It becomes a challenge to distinguish fantasy from reality, true friends from a crowd, family, real experiences; that matter to individuals.
 
On the other hand, the social media and relevant groups and organizations have the complete onus on themselves to educate the citizens of the world and promote good healthy practices. They have been quite successful in high-lighting the numerous issues and problems faced by society and nature at large, thereby promoting the young generation for a reality check and feeling a sense of involvement. Family bonding and friendly binding are getting prominence through various social groups, out door activities, indoor games etc. Many children are aware of both the instances where human emotions and gadget deliverance; both are treated distinctly.
 
Whether it is Pinocchio (a wooden doll with human nature) or Avengers (human with superpowers), let us enjoy them as stories or movies and appreciate their excellence but at the same time let us try to take the subtle message of human nature, ability and emotions; that they convey.

My Hamsters Intelligence

The truth is that we learn immensely by way of observing nature and in the process accept that certain animals or plants are far more aligned and adapted with nature to make us realize that we have a lot of catching up to do. Nature has its own ways so that one learns and finds amazement and happiness. The way by which communication takes place is different for various species depending on the species' intelligence. The communication between ants, bees, birds, whales, humans etc has been studied and documented; only to realize and accept the fact we need to cross our boundaries of science or human behavior and cognize species' behavior for an in-depth knowledge. The response of few animals before the earth quake, has helped many to wonder about the simple warnings that nature could give. Similarly, my observations about our hamster, 'Michoo' surprise me about its ability to communicate its intentions or needs or moods, as may be the case (along with my ability to decipher them :)).

Every morning, I have to pick up a sleepy Michoo from its cozy corner and feed it with small portions of vegetables, nuts, fruits, rice, roti etc and allow it to roam free for some time. During this time, if he tries to be in search of a place and circles it at least thrice, then it means that it wants to urinate. All I do is pick it up and put in bathroom which ensures no mess or foul smell. I find my hamster intelligent enough to tell me about its urgent need and wait for me to relieve himself in appropriate place. It would at times come to me and tug on my feet so as to attract my attention which usually meant that he wanted me to surprise him with some treats.

During one of our family vacation of 15 days, we asked one of our animal loving family friends to take care of our dear pet. On our return, I went to collect our pet and was chatting with my friends about our trip. Lo and behold ! on hearing my voice, Michoo started looking for me in the well maintained cage and on my opening the door, he very cautiously walked into my palm, smelled it and licked it. I interpreted his behaviour as a display of his love towards me and also the fact that he was glad to be with his family and home even though my friends had been very loving towards our pet. This reflects intelligence on part of the hamsters who know their familiar surroundings and their family.

There are many interpretations of my hamsters behaviour and many that I failed to notice. The intelligence of any animal for that matter needs to be studied and analyzed in context with their natural habitat which questions our interpretative ability too.

News is in the News

Strange but true. The ones briefing the happenings of the day, are in fact - the news. Look at how the channels promote certain news readers or news conductors in order to attract the viewers. No wonder retelling the news is more to do with spinning the news and enticing the audience. The audience tries to keep pace in lapping up the tremendous amount of opinions and polls and masala too. The resulting information pollution that I call news acidity; has affected me to the extent that I only watch news as the last option; once my quota of daily soaps and movies is done. 

I have found that the news that were once categorized as local news, national news, international news, sports news, weather news etc, have now been remodeled respectively as local debate, national berate, international calibrate, sports placate, weather hypothecate. The channel on markets and economy also exists which has its share of discussing the companies and equities. These transitions in the manner in which some information is broadcasted in a neutral and impartial way, has happened due to many reasons like increasing the TRPs, having an edge over others in coming up with the news, publicizing or promoting certain elements and personalities, etc. Many a times the channels broadcasting the news, turn into judges themselves. Though I must add the fact that the reporters do unearth or quite a few scams and bring forth the issues and travails of the common man. Their efforts at times solves a problem or highlights the difficult situations for appropriate actions.

On the other hand, the news reading or conducting debates is also a job that demands attitude and aggression on the part of the news reader or anchor. Their news delivery style or their attire sets conversational and fashion trends. All this comes together with an excellent 'set' and high tech communication equipment and the support of onsite news correspondents. Not to mention the surveys and polls carried out by these television channels that tries to predict events and then discuss the predictions !

The viewer gets to see all the current happenings in 'slo-mo' with various dramatic effects of things and dramatic entries of people and at times the dramatic announcement of some happenings or mishaps. All these cause much time loss for the viewer and for most it leads to a disinterest in the news itself where the bad over shadows the good.

The world needs to see the good side as well. There are so many good people and good happenings that could replace the bad and the ugly so that it sets an example for the citizens and netizens to follow. A concept of 'Happy News' instead of 'Breaking News' would be a welcome change.