Reflections

 Gestalt Psychology is a fascinating school of thought which explains that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. We can see the gestalt principles being applied to various aspects of life. It is this synergy effect which is emphasized in team building. Our delicious Indian chaats have identical effect on our human brain and taste buds. The chaat has a taste which is way more than the sum of the individual items that go into making a chaat at a roadside store (chaat is best had at a roadside stall only). The history of Indian chaat is very interesting. Google it. True Unity in Diversity in our country can be understood by enjoying the piquancy of chaats across India. Just as dialect changes every few kilometers in our country so does the flavour and ingredients of chaats.  The king of all chaats Pani Puri/ Puchka/Pani Batasha/Golgappa is enjoyed differently in every part of the country. The famous Bhelpuri of Mumbai has its special tang in Kolkata under the name of Jhalm...

  A disciple and his teacher were walking through the forest. The disciple was disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest. He asked his teacher: "Why most people's minds are restless, and only a few possess a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind?"   The teacher looked at the disciple, smiled and said: "I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away once more". This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly: "Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?" The fly answered: "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?" The elephant s...

 A few years ago a neighbor who had shifted to Singapore returned back to our neighborhood after a year. The reason he came back to India was that he and his family were  unable to adjust to the excessive orderly and disciplined life of Singapore. They missed the chaos of India. We Indians prefer everything to be complex and chaotic. Just think of all the ceremonies and rituals we practice for every occasion from pre-birth to death. We prefer color, complexity and chaos along with fun, divinity and collectiveness. Geert Hofstede developed the Cultural dimension theory which is a framework for Cross cultural communication. The theory describes the effect of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior. One of the important dimension explained in this theory is individualism versus collectivism. Individualist society has a loosely knit social framework compared to a collectivist society which has a tightly knit social framework. Perso...

 Honourable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi in his 69th edition of the monthly radio address Maan Ki Baat spoke about the importance of story telling and also about family values. As with most other ideas and thoughts of our PM, I agree to this view too. Story telling is one of the most interesting and best method to engage audience of any age group in any forum. Story telling as a teaching pedagogy is very effective for all age groups. So, personally I have used it in every subject I have taught across various academic streams and courses. Students may not remember the textbook points but often remember the story narrated while teaching the chapter. Story telling helps to explore the teacher's creativity and connect at a different level with the students. Values certainly are learnt through the various stories shared. Organizational story telling has become very popular in the last decade. Sharing the growth story of the organization, department, brands etc by the leaders or olde...

  " Food brings people together on many different levels. Its nourishment of the soul and body; its true love." The current pandemic has made us realize many small pleasures of life. Among the many things we all are missing, one important sight am sure all are missing is that of school buses plying early in the morning and  lively students and pretty teachers boarding the same tugging along with them heavy bags. But, the weight of the bags does not bother the students nor the teachers because apart from the books it also contains their lunch boxes which has witnessed the best stories of a school. Some parents demand that a school should have a canteen and must serve nutritious hot food to its students on a daily basis. Somehow, this concept never appealed to me. The joy of sharing lunch from each other's lunch box is probably one of the best memories of school life we all have. Students unconsciously imitate their teachers. So, when they witness the fun and laughter that ...