Home Home Sweet Home !!! Will I or Will I not miss you??? Only time can say !!!

These are the pictures of my humble abode....a part of my sweet and simple abode in Terrace Garden Bangalore, where I shifted way back in October 2010, when our son Pappu after his undergraduate studies abroad, came back to India, to start his own venture, supercharged with youthful enthusiasm, brimming all over, dreaming of what all he really wanted to do, and the kind of career he wanted to pursue in future, during his playful school days. 

All of us along with Pappu have come a very long way in the last 10 years since 2010, seeing many ups and many downs, many successes and many failures, many gains many losses, that are the common features and part of all entrepreneurial journey, all over the world.

I gave a last look to my sweet home, and all its simple furniture and collections, that have traveled with me, wherever I have moved, along the length and breadth of our vast, expansive Indian subcontinent. Most of my handicrafts collections, that I had collected in different stations, during our nomadic, gypsy-like life, in the Indian Armed Forces, were given away by me, most reluctantly with a heavy heart to our domestic helps, as the space available in the current Retirement Villa, I mean our simple and humble Terrace Garden Apartment, was just enough only for the most essential things.

Sorry for using the words nomadic, gypsy-like life etc, bcoz these words terribly hurt my dear bro Ramana very badly. He says, never ever mention these words Mala, coz you were very fortunate in life, and the kind of life you have had was simply beau....tiful, and most people would just envy that kind of a joyous life. May be Ramana is right. Else, would I have got the opportunity to explore all the hills and dales and mountains and valleys and deserts and uninhabited, glorious snow peaks of this breathtakingly vast Indian subcontinent? Perhaps no. So, as Ramana says, I am indeed extremely fortunate, for having been blessed by the great lord, with this kind of one of its kind joyous and fun-filled life.

I took a few pictures of a part of the living room, and it's limited contents. I have to part with all these possessions very soon. Pappu says, he's going to renovate the house for us soon, replacing all the old-fashioned stuffs with simple and comfortable new ones, and make the house completely clutter-free, and keep it absolutely minimalistic. I have really made a junkyard of the simple apartment, even though I gave away major portion of my arts and crafts collections, collected all through our Army life, when I shifted here.

Pappu said, "Amma either you decide whom you want to give away all the old furniture to, or I will take the quick decision of keeping all the old furniture outside the main door, so that whoever needs them may take them and use them."

I thought, instead of keeping everything outside the main door, why not write to the local Sivanandashram in Sivanandapuram Bangalore, to see if they would like to use them for the 'Homes for Destitutes' and 'Charitable Dispensaries and Hospitals', associated with the Ashram in the garden city of Bangalore. Looks like they would like to use those furniture. But in this season of global pandemic and partial and complete lock-downs everywhere, shifting all the stuffs to the local Sivanandapuram, is perhaps a bit of a tough job. And I am still waiting looking for a favourable time.

The furniture may not look anything great, but they do have sentimental value for me.

Why have attachments for paltry material things, when things far more precious, and far more valuable, than all these mundane possessions, suddenly leave us one day and vanish permanently from sight, never to come back again. Right or Wrong?  is the simple and awkward question I am asking all my social media buddies.

The Future of Education Around the Globe and the Life-Transforming New Role of Existing Brick & Motor Schools, After Covid-19 Pandemic

ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः ॐ श्री शिवानन्दाय नमः ॐ श्री चिदानन्दाय नमः 

Education sector can no longer dream of continuing their business in the same old traditional way after the current global pandemic. 

The way schools colleges and  universities were functioning earlier has to radically change henceforth both during & after Covid 19 Pandemic.

Academic institutions are no longer going to get students and teachers for their existing brick and motor academies as it was happening earlier, continuing with the same old traditional teaching models. This just doesn't mean the existing brick and motor structures of these institutions will go totally waste after the pandemic ends, finding no use. There are myriads of ways to creatively use and beneficially utilize these existing well-equipped academic buildings, perhaps in better and more sensible, meaningful, productive and unprecedented ways, after the pandemic finally comes to an end. The buildings and investments made on school, college infrastructure will bloom in myriads of ways we never imagined even in our wildest dreams.

Therefore, schools colleges and universities around the globe may just chill and need not get panicky brooding over the imaginary loss, as it's happening right now. All the investments made in building the school structure and its facilities & infrastructures can be used in myriads of most creative and unprecedented ways in the days to come & in the years to come. 

Sky is the only limit to our creativity and imagination. eLearning through online class lectures from the comforts of home is going to become hugely popular both among teachers & students, and parents as well. For normal day to day class lectures, we no doubt will have to adopt henceforth eLearning technologies online courses etc, using all kinds of available digital technology and futuristic technologies as well, that will come up in the years ahead. 

There are already so many world-class online classrooms today like Coursera, Khan Academy and a host of others. Through joint collaboration and partnerships these online academies and our traditional brick and motor educational institutions, can develop world-class, customised classroom programs, depending upon the needs of the students, their parents, and the academic & other goals of the schools.

Therefore let our educational sector around the planet just relax. There's a beautiful future waiting ahead for our knowledge hungry students and dedicated teachers throughout the globe; a beautiful future not just for students and teachers, but for the entire new life-transforming learning experience itself. There can be no two opinions on this, as we are bound to realize with the gradual evolution of new teaching methodologies.

We need not have 8-10 hours of rigorous classes daily in school buildings, with students and tiny tots getting tortured carrying unbearable massive loads on their backs like the unusually tired, thought-provokingly laborious porters of Indian railway stations. The school kids need not carry loads of books, notebooks and a host of stationery to school everyday. Instead, they can learn all their usual classroom stuff through world-class online eLearning courses from the comforts of their cosy and friendly homes, and in their own sweet, convenient pace, with timely meals, timely sleep and regular exercise. They may have a short and pleasant visit to their brick and motor schools for 2 or 3 hours everyday with almost free hands, without their heavy overloaded school bags. Or may be, 2 or 3 classes a week, for Science Lab practicals, games, sports, swimming, gardening, pottery, summer camps, breakfast, lunch and tea parties, picnics, practical live Yoga, Pranayama, Meditation classes (In addition to online Yoga classes at home), cultural programs like music, dance, martial arts etc, occasional school exhibitions of the masterpieces of students and of course teachers too, group prayers in school temples ,chapels and other places of worship in the school along with enlightening discourses, basic first aid training, basic training in plumbing and

electrical repairs, and other meaningful practical trainings ( so that the kids are not handicapped later in life for all their minor but most essential day to day domestic needs.

Future of education is truly Great. Through this Covid-19 life-threatening and life-transforming Global Pandemic, The Divine is teaching us and introducing us to absolutely new ways of working, new ways of learning & new techniques of education, new ways of doing business, and myriads of other meaningful new things so far unknown to us. It's going to show or already showing us wise ways to lead a very meaningful & productive life, understanding the very purpose of this human life and human birth, and to go on evolving and evolving till we reach the very Penultimate Goal of life and finally merge with The Divine. And the way to reach such 'Final Beautitude' without a shade of doubt is through meaningful and life-transforming education and education alone, starting from the very playgroup and nursery stage of schooling. And this 21st century education will be an amazing blend of both offline & online education, making a thorough use of existing & futuristic digital technologies.

Online classrooms are great in many ways, no doubt. Many things can be learnt and done remotely, and we have already started gradually moving in that direction since the past few years. But we can not depend 100% on online classrooms for complete education, that is for sure. Human interaction in real life is a must for many of our important learnings, and we will never be able to ignore that aspect of education. And for this, brick and motor structures will indeed be required for many of our learning methodologies. And therefore, the present existing school buildings will never become historical ruins, as most of the schools fear right now, not finding any use for these structures and facilities, after the pandemic comes to a peaceful end. That is NEVER going to happen, we may rest assured.  These structures and centres of knowledge will continue to exist, and will meaningfully offer life-transforming new learning experiences to the baby and growing human souls in the years to come and in the years ahead. That is for sure.

Outside online classes from the comforts of sweet home, as we have already mentioned above, so many amazing things can be  done within the school premises. In addition, outside the school campus, students can be made to be involved in varieties of community services like tree planting, caring for the cleanliness of the environment, caring for the under-priviledged, and so many other forms of Karma Yoga ( Yoga of selfless service without expectation of rewards ). Karma Yoga must become a major part of personality & character building which we right now are completely overlooking. Our focus right now anywhere on the planet is just flashy glamour & building our wealth & business empire, and the great values of life, which give the real joys, bliss and peace of life, have taken a complete back seat in the last one century. Our educators & educational institutions, that are believed to be the builders of nation by producing good citizens, should not let this disastrous thing happen, looking at the low morals of people, unhappiness and inner suppressed frustrations everywhere. Wealth is no doubt an extremely important aspect of life and nothing worthwhile can be done without it, but wealth never at the cost of character and values, and all of us must realize the values of these gems of wisdom of our sages and evolved ancients.

This blog-post will continue growing and evolving in the days to come with more and more eye-opening content. Sky is the only limit to human potential and human creativity. So please stay tuned and keep in touch for more creative ideas on the future of education, from contributors from around the globe, through their meaningful comments, innovative ideas and sensible suggestions.

आ नो भद्राः क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वतः : Aa No Bhadrah Kratavo Yantu Vishwatah : Let noble thoughts come to us from all sides. - Rig Veda ...

Hari Om Tat-Sat