Social networking- too close for real closeness!

A typical chat conversation between two friends living halfway across the world from each other goes like this:

Friend in NY (A): Hey, what’s up?

Friend in India (B): Hi, NYguy, I’m in Mumbai, just moved. Busy setting up home!

A: Oh yeah, read your status update on FB. Andheri,eh?

B: Yeah, and you just got a new car? Cool.

A: Yup J. And mutual friend C is in NY too

B : Read that on his last tweet

A: I guess you know I’m going on vacation next week

B: Hmm, Turkey… caught that update too

A: Cool, gtg now… bfn

B: Cheers, tc

Some people might read this transcript and marvel at how social networking has made it so easy to be in sync with our friends' lives.
Zoom in, take a second, closer look and compare it with your idea of a how a normal human conversation is apt to flow... and you may actually conclude that what's happened here is a preemption of a potentially warmer, more natural conversation between friends.

I have heard people rave about how social networking has changed the way we connect with our friends, making us more "connected" that we ever imagined we could be… I take that with a pinch, no, a huge ladleful of salt. You tell me you feel thrilled that you know so much about your friends' lives. You find it simply awesome that you can find a friend through Facebook who lives in the city you are going to for the first time. You may even say that reading updates is entertaining. But start claiming that  you feel closer to your friends because of the overload of minutiae, and that's when I'll back off!

I'm not against social networking as a concept... it's a fantastic tool that you can summon at will to instantly connect with people whom you've been away from. What worries me is the way it's misconstrued as a tool that actually bridges all barriers and forges or enhances relationships. Often, people fall into the trap of thinking that they are strengthening their bonds with friends by means of  a never-ending stream of updates. By letting yourself be lulled into a false sense of proximity, you might end up causing relationships to suffer! All of us need to use our better sense, and be careful not to let the Wall of posts wall us off from meaningful interactions!

May 21st, 2010

Education (Through and not despite, schooling)

Yesterday, I noticed a huge advertisement hoarding at a busy intersection in Bangalore. It related to a school, and had an image of a father saying, “After ten years, all my daughter is good at is writing exams? No, I wanted more from her school!” I stopped in my tracks for a split second, reflecting on what was simultaneously, the boon and bane of the typical Indian student.


In my graduate training class at my workplace, I realized that my colleagues from across the world were in awe of the practiced ease with which we Indians prepared for tests and our evident skill in attacking (especially) the multiple-choice test format. (Eliminate the wrong ones first, narrow down your choices and use intelligent guesstimates – takes me back to the mantras for cracking the CAT and other competitive exams that dominate the mindspace of Indians) At the same time, I’m keenly aware of our sad shortcomings in several other key areas. The Indian student lacks unshakeable confidence, the enthusiasm not to be daunted by open problems that require divergent thinking, the fearlessness to explore novel ideas without fear of failure, to name a few. As I look back at my twenty-one years of education, while I’m thankful to have been schooled in institutions that valued and honed various skills (apart from the art of succeeding in exams), I’m struck by how much broader the focus could have been, and how much more we students could have been prepared to tackle the tests of life.

Through the course of our studies, we have been made to place inordinate focus on examinations, on integrated thinking, on arriving at that “one correct answer”. I have come across very few classrooms where creative thinking takes precedence over mindless application of formulae, where imminent exams do not constrain exploration of new topics, where active engagement with fundamental principles is not brushed away in order to stick to the “typical question format”. Such classrooms should shift from being the feature of isolated pockets, to being the standard in our country.

It is a testimony to Indian determination and spirit that so many of our fellow Indians have emerged as influential thinkers, and as leaders in the corporate world, in spite of these initial, system-bred handicaps. However, that very success is detrimental in some sense, as it takes away the critical, pressing need to review the manner in which education is imparted in our country. It is all too easy to rest on our (scarce) laurels, to cite a few lone achievers to comfort ourselves as to the quality of our system. It’s important to understand that our system can go from producing a few black swans to one where excellence is a matter of course, where outstanding achievement becomes a habit. How can this change come to pass?

Some progressive steps in this direction have already come about. The CBSE’s decision to migrate to a letter-grade based system can prove to be salubrious if it is implemented in such a way as to shift from a narrow focus on examination scores to a system where students are given enough opportunities to develop other skills. When students no longer need to grasp at each fraction of a mark like a drowning man gasps for air, the classroom atmosphere is conducive to change…only if schools streamline their energies to explore creative avenues of problem solving, clarifying first principles-level concepts amongst others. I’m not against competition or ranking… in certain types of jobs, it’s important to be competitive, it’s just that I think it’s wholly unnecessary to turn 14 year olds into super-competitive robots – there’s still enough time in their lives for that, for those who choose to take that path. 

Talking of competition, and competitive exams, it is to be noted that the kind of skills that are actually required to be successful in life and in the workplace are not the ones that are tested in these exams. An article by an eminent Professor that I read a few days ago in a national daily had some great ideas about how the power of these exams can be tapped to enhance the skills of students. It is a well-known fact that students leave no stone unturned in preparing for these exams. Why then, should these exams not be structured to test a different set of skills than the ones they currently test? The focus of these tests can be realigned with the new values that are identified as critical. Move away from tests of abstract theory to tests of creative problem solving. This will result in whole batches of aspirants reschooling themselves in these values and will improve the quality of Indian scholarship.

It is disheartening that some universities have done away with rigorous selection methods, and are subjected to pressure and undue influence in the admissions process. Independence of education systems cannot be emphasized enough. The job of designing the selection process should be left to the discretion of the professors and should not be allowed to slip to the hands of administrators with vested interests.  

It is certainly not for lack of ideas that our systems continues to be found wanting. What’s needed is for the collective will of society, students, statesmen and educators to come to the fore, to commit to and deliver a system that is best suited to tap the enormous reservoir of scholarship in this country. And it is the duty of each one of us, not just to demand the right to a better system for students to come, but also to contribute our mite – in the form of ideas in public forums, volunteering to work with those who are willing to implement our ideas and by encouraging, even actively helping students in our family/friends circle to rise to the levels of scholarship that we know Indian students are capable of.

What are the other values and skills that ought to be developed in a student? How can our system be designed to impart these values and skills?

Change

Ah Change! Thou silent storm!

You give hope to the mind forlorn

And then in your invisible embrace,

With uncertainies, you bedaze

Trapped in your bubble, I implore:

Let me break free, leave me to soar!





6 May, 2010

The canvas in the sky

The sun lowered itself into the twilight sky, spreading a warm glow around it. Colours I had never seen before revealed themselves; shades of orange and grey emerged high in the sky, and the shimmering red of the land-kissed reaches seemed to blend into the darkening background.

I watched the picture unfold; it was akin to a tastefully splattered canvas on a master’s easel- a canvas of riotous colours, breathtaking in its calculated carelessness. The vibrant shades in the sky morphed into their lighter counterparts until the change of guard from daytime gaiety to the soothing shades of the night was complete.

I sat back in my seat by the window on my flight back to Mumbai, and returned to my musing. As tiny blobs of life in this grand universe, we’re all fascinated by its mysterious workings, and are drawn as if by magic to those amazing sights of nature changing form in gentle abandon. Be it a riot of colours splashed across the sky as the day changes its raiment, or the magic of waves as they romp about. And then, it struck me...that it becomes even more meaningful when one finds a way of actively engaging with nature, and expressing the joy therefrom. Some do this by setting it out in words, some by speech, still others in the form of visual (painting, photography) or performing art (music, dance).

Such expression will unlock the doors to a new world, where everything you witness has a lot more to teach you, where every mute spectacle takes on deeper meaning, and paves the way to share the joy with others around you...

And the puzzle falls into place

There is a special joy in discovering the origin of a tune that has been ringing in your ears.. and when you've been unable to place the tune. The orphaned tune floats in your mind, frustrating your best efforts at trying to place it…. until one day you catch the tune in a song when you’re walking by! And then the tune has its happy reunion with the song… and the world is at peace again!

Or in a phrase that you read, which keeps popping up in your mind again and again. And the way it comes back to you with the suddenness of lightning, like a particularly difficult part of a jigsaw puzzle that falls into place finally.

Or the way something that's bamboozled you completely comes to you in a flash of insight.

The mind is a vast storehouse of forgotten thoughts, thoughts waiting to be reclaimed and relished. Maybe the joy of rediscovery is worth all the frustration that precedes the retrieval of the elusive thought.. or phrase... or song.

Thoughts... on thoughts

Thoughts are like soap bubbles in a bath. They emerge in an invigorating flush, ballooning inside of your mind… you can play with them, mull over them… and then if you’re not careful..poof! they’re gone in a flash, at times the very pressure of the thought causing it to explode, to vanish forever. How strange! The tiny pin prick of another pressing thought, or a momentary lapse of attention is all it takes to make that fragile, concentrated bubble of thought to disappear, to merge with the millions of other lost thoughts, forgotten ideas of a million people.

I think about a million things all the time, all day long. There are resolutions I make, ideas that emerge.. and then in a flash, they’re all gone… products of the human mind, so sublime, they vanish into thin air, many a time never to be thought of again.

How do I keep track of my thoughts? How do I get back to those thoughts that were so beautiful, those ideas that were so creative, those resolutions that were so important… how do I capture everything… keep track of every little thing that I thought of doing, revisit them and work on them?

Sigh… if only my thought bubbles weren’t so fickle, weren't playing truant with the conscious mind. That huge, cumbersome machine, churning out little bubbles of thought every instant we breathe… loses sight of the bubbles only to let them escape, or hide slyly in hidden recesses... to lie forgotten, that there remains no memory that they ever emerged.

How do I befriend my thoughts... make myself the master of them all.. and hold them all in my conscious mind, and pick out the important ones at my bidding?

London Diaries: Windsor Castle

It was a beautiful summer’s day in London. August was ripe into its third week, and the sun felt warmer than it had a few days ago. This, I thought happily, is the stuff that the English novelists used to write about in those timeless classics like Pride and Prejudice!

I was lost in the shoppers' heaven aka Oxford Street when my phone rang. It was one of my co-grads, in her usual excited tone telling me (yet again!) about a new plan that been hatched and was to be put into action right then! This is so typical of her- she’s completely impulsive, lazing about on her sofa posing for crazy pictures one minute and planning a trip to someplace the next! This time, it was Windsor Castle. Did I want to go? Of course!

Off I went to the Oxford Circus Tube station to wait for my friends. They arrived soon after, and we left for Paddington, from where we were to get on to a National Rail train to Windsor.

We emerged from the Windsor station, through a row of small shops to the queue for entry to the Castle itself. To say that the castle and the surrounding structures were breathtakingly beautiful is to understate the case. The timing of our visit couldn’t have been more perfect. It was a pleasant day, and the sun bathed us in its warm glow even as the towering structure seemed to speak to us of its hoary magnificence. Fluffy white clouds provided the perfect foil to the benevolent sun, and little tufts of clouds peeked shyly from behind the turrets, like wisps of cotton that had strayed too far in time from a bygone era. The breeze was gentle, and almost imperceptible, as it rocked the bushes and the boughs of the trees in its silent rhythm.

Our first port of call was St. George’s Chapel; which amongst other things, housed stalls for the order of the garter, an order of chivalry stretching back to the Feudal Ages. Quite different from the Bath Abbey, which has a charming small town church flavour; in this chapel, you can almost feel the echoes of regal footsteps.

The feeling of being in a different age was overpowering in its intensity; perhaps more so owing to the fact that I could relate to the place from the classics that belonged to a different age. An age when guests of royalty rode to the Castle, in the horse-drawn carriages that clip-clopped along. An age when the gallant gentlemen, in their immaculate suits would help the ladies down the carriage. And the ladies themselves, in magnificent flowing gowns and fashionable bonnets.

And so we walked along, as would have the lords and ladies of long ago; into the Castle’s staterooms, ballroom after ballroom, chamber after chamber, where spoils of different battles were displayed in all their grandeur.One has to admire the gall of the British, albeit grudgingly; for their conquests ranging from the Eastern lands of China to the heartland of Africa, and their matter-of-fact pride in displaying the war trophies.

Every single item spoke of wealth of grandiose proportions. Even the little princesses’ collection of dolls, at St.Mary’s dollhouse, stunned us in its splendor. These dolls were a tad shy of lifesize, but were sporting designer clothes and jewels!

We were to go to the very, very pretty Moat Garden next, but weren’t able to make it before it closed for the day. We traced our way back, back through time, back from a fairytale age of old English costumes, from those castles steeped in history, each step taking us closer to the hustle and bustle of modern day England, until we found ourselves in the Windsor Royal Shopping Complex, having lunched at a Greek restaurant. We passed through the near empty passageway between row of shops that had already closed for the day, though it was only 7:30 pm! The British storekeepers have an unshakable sense of work-life balance; stores seldom stay open beyond early evening; strange for one accustomed to 11 pm store closures. We walked back through the famous red telephone booths, stealing some photographs of ourselves on the way.

My thoughts wandered once more to the stately maidens and gallant youth of yore, in all their finery, burdened with royal gifts, being borne along sedately back to their homes. As the train vroomed at high speed carrying us back to London, my thoughts shifted several gears, to settle fleetingly on the prospect of the last set of classes in the coming week. As the four of us got down at Canary Wharf, it was close on midnight, there was a nip in the air as we walked briskly down to Fraser Place, to a good night’s sleep!

The Song Divine

I was in middle school when I first read the verses of the Bhagavad Gita. At that time, I was taught this holy scripture the way a preschooler is taught the alphabet - by rote, in the form of a rhythmic incantation. Right from the start, I found myself trying to make sense of it from the English translation in my pocket-size copy of the Gita. Translations typically show a predilection for using archaic /heavy words ("transcendental knowledge" is definitely not the kind of concept that would captivate a seventh-grader). I have been trying explain the gist of the Gita to myself; none of my attempts sounded convincing enough. I have also read a variety of attempts by others to do the same, and amazingly, each one is so different. This is the true beauty of the Gita - it encapsulates timeless wisdom in a form that resonates, in different ways, with people of different inclinations.

For some time now, I have wanted to revisit the text, and to ponder over its message. Some may find the ideas to be misplaced for our times, and sadly enough, many are wont to look upon the Gita as too ponderous (I don't find it in too many 20-somethings' reading lists). From what I've read of the Gita, I find it holds deep meaning to us in a variety of ways.

I like to look at the Gita for what it actually is - a logical conversation between a soul in doubt and his counseller. Here he is, the star warrior in your ranks, Arjuna, benumbed by anxiety, overcome with doubt, grief-stricken at the enormity of the action that he has to undertake. Fortunately, you also have in your ranks, an expert counseller Krishna(who better than God incarnate, who has answers to every question, and who can quell every doubt!). The counseller goes to work, starts off by chiding our warrior for his act, which could be construed as cowardice, thereby appealing to Arjuna's sense of pride in his valour - a great starting point to make him see things in perspective. He then goes on to talk about weightier things like the ephemeral nature of the world and that he, Arjuna , being merely an instrument in the larger scheme of things, should not shy away from his action citing his selfish reasons.

Which brings us to the first major theme:

Perform your duty selflessly, do not be attached to or claim ownership over the results.

Of course, once this was said, Arjuna immediately wanted to know how one could stay detached, which brought the discussion round to the "the one of unwavering intellect" - the one who is unaffected by extremes of emotion, a proponent of the yoga by means of knowledge.

(The word yoga has been interpreted in various different ways, the most agreed upon one being the definition of yoga as "excellence or skill in action")

Arjuna, grasping on this to support his argument, questions Krishna, why he, Arjuna cannot be given respite from the war to pursue yoga through knowledge, rather than through action.

Our skilful counseller however, has the answer to that ready too - that seeking to abandon one's duty is not an acceptable solution. Each of us is impelled to a definite course of action by the very nature of one's circumstances, and it is beholden upon us to discharge the duty that arises, and not give it up to follow a different path, even if that alternative were to be one of great sacrifice and devotion.

Further dialogue ensues about the distinction between, and the relative merits of, yoga through action and yoga through knowledge. The theme of detachment is key, as is unlocks the doors to a whole set of fantastic discussions around concentration, meditation, mental predisposition that are very, very valuable to us in everyday life.

One of my favourite verses is from this part of the Gita:

"One's self is one's biggest friend as well as one's biggest enemy. To one who has uplifted oneself by one's own efforts, the self is the biggest friend; else it remains one's sworn enemy."*

How true! Think of the last time you promised yourself that you would quit some really disgusting habit, or that you would learn a new skill; and you just couldn't do it because you couldn't garner the willpower or bring yourself to do it. And think again, of another time when you really managed to pull off something that you resolved to, and the great sense of inner peace that you felt.

Your better self is constantly at war with your lower self (a kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde situation). One wants to set a mission statement for your life, and the other wants to sleep longer instead; one tries to tell you to sign up for the gym and the other tries to tell you that it's OK to gorge on that other guy's chocolate too - it is entirely possible to uplift yourself; it just requires, as Henry Thoreau** says, conscious endeavour. And the way to do it is to control your mind through practice, concentration and focus.

Having explained two of the three yogas, Krishna completes the discussion on ways to attain the Supreme, by touching upon Bhakti Yoga, or the path of devotion to God.

The last few chapters of the Gita are still somewhat of a mystery to me. They speak of the nature of man, and how to subdue aspects of your nature that stop you from greater goals, of the concept of one’s world as an inverted tree, a metaphor well-established in other schools of philosophy too.

I plan to understand the Gita better, and revisit this piece with more ideas to share. I know I can do it; it's all a matter of letting my better self prevail !!!

(P.S.: This is just my small attempt to understand the text, and to share my impressions on ideas I found particularly captivating. I’m no expert on the text, comments/corrections are most welcome)

*Chapter 6: The Science of Self-Realization (verses 4 & 5)

**Henry Thoreau: I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate himself by conscious endeavor.