Prof. A

I know K since 2006 when he joint IRMA as a PRM participant. My early interactions with him were in the capacity as his statistics instructor. As a student, K came across as one who wanted to go beyond the written word in the textbook - one who wanted to understand the inherent philosophy behind a concept or a method. As a teacher, I felt quite often challenged by Kapil’s attitude which enabled me to go deeper into the discipline. During his second year at IRMA he chose my elective on Multivariate Data Analysis, which indicated that he was willing to go deep into mathematics and modelling and not only that, wanted to internalize them truly.

However, classroom interaction was but a small part of my relationship with K. He used to visit me quite often and we used to have a great time chatting about various issues, particularly those concerning development and our role therein. He was never the one to shy away from an argument though I must hasten to add, conducted himself meticulously in one. He was never wary of being the lone voice in a crowd and I know for sure that he hates the mob mentality. He has the ability to articulate his thoughts well and present lucidly.

To a potential employer I have the following suggestion based on interactions with K in several capacities, including a good friend which we are today - throw challenges to him and you will get the best out of him. Give him drudgery and you have lost a potential winner for good. If he can find a person in his workplace who enables him to dream while keeping his feet grounded, the sky is the limit for him.

Prof. M

I have taught K at IRMA in the PGDRM. He was in my class for the course on “Theories of Collective Action and Cooperation” and for a module in “Strategic Management”. I have had several interactions with him outside the classroom when he had questions beyond the ken of the average student. He has remained in touch, sharing his intellectual journeys and his career choices, giving me an opportunity to judge his calibre, character and commitment.

K is the kind of student who is every teacher’s delight, not in the sense of being “just a good student”, which he is. He belongs to the rare breed of students that a teacher wants to keep track of, knowing that he has the potential to break barriers and make paths in wilderness, given the right opportunity and support. He is one of the most committed, bright, creative, engaging students that I have had. He is passionate about learning and can extract the best that a teacher has to offer. He has an endlessly curious and restless mind that constantly questions and seeks answers, an essential for anyone aspiring to become a good researcher and academic.

He is a seeker of knowledge and is equally devoted to sharing it, which explains his passion for education. He is not afraid to experiment and has given up a job that could have seen him rising fast and earning well, for a career in school education. His training in engineering, development and management coupled with his love for science and school education should help him make a difference to the field of science education. Your program will be just the kind of guidance that can help him put together all the disparate strands that he is holding and innovate something. If you enrol him in the program you will have no cause to regret unless you try to straight jacket his learning and experimenting.

Prof. R

K was a student of mine. He attended an elective course entitled “Creative Response to Change” that I taught at IRMA. K was one amongst a half dozen students who became a friend over the course of that year. Even before commenting on my experience of K as a student, may I point to an aspect in his career record - K had the best of opportunities, as a software engineer in Hexaware. At a time when software was still the most premium career track and the fastest growing industry, with compensations several multiples of other tracks (before the global financial meltdown). Many software engineers sign out of their jobs or take leave mid-career in order to complete an MBA program, which is a regular way to accelerate such a career. A few arrive at a stage of ennui and begin to question this artificial dollar income livelihood and its significance to the social realities around them.

K belongs to this rare latter category. His conscious choice of post-graduation at IRMA implies that he has faced and addressed this question, and is attempting to find an honest personal answer. This is pretty rare amongst elite Indian youth. It might count for ‘basic intelligence’ depending on how you construct this concept. It certainly ought to count for motivation – beyond individualistic greed (that is often confused for intelligence and drives most institutionally rewarded human effort currently).

So, to my mind, K is thoughtful, sensitive, and motivated to think about larger issues. He would often bounce up to me with some new idea, question or stimulus and engage in exploration. My course was clearly and explicitly an elective offering that only counted for the learning - it did not count for final programme grades or offer quick money skill sense to prospective employers. Many students came for the novelty and the fun - it involved art, theatre and out of the classroom for the better part. Only a few engaged abidingly with the fresh perspectives and questions thrown up. K was amongst those who brought a truly serious and original approach to engaging with the issues raised. There was sustained energy in that. K was also systematic and logical in his passionate explorations of big questions. I would heartily commend him to a research programme or a programme of higher studies.

His integrity was also evident to me from one small but telling incident. As part of my course, I offer an (optional) human process laboratory. In directly exploring the question of personal power and authority conflicts, K entered seriously into a theatre exercise in the laboratory. This led to a moment of deep catharsis for him: a realization that the exercise of personal choices and power in life do not come for free: in reality it can be linked to a blood price. He spent a night in some agony of an altered emotional state before integrating this experience. He does have that kind of courage; only he still seems to be seeking further preparation; or some kind of overarching answer in the intellectual realm. I eagerly await the time when his talent will begin to apply to the extraordinary social problems in our country.

BroSisCo

J Krishnamurthi: In our relationship with children and young people, we are not dealing with mechanical devices that can be quickly repaired, but with living beings who are impressionable, volatile, sensitive, afraid, affectionate; and to deal with them we have to have great understanding, the strength of patience and love.

Rudolf Steiner: Our highest endeavour must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility - these three forces are the very nerve of education.

Maria Montessori: We cannot know the consequences of suppressing a child's spontaneity when it is just beginning to be active. We may even suffocate life itself. That humanity that is revealed in all its intellectual splendor during the sweet and tender age of childhood should be respected with a kind of religious veneration. It is like the sun which appears at dawn or a flower just beginning to bloom. Education cannot be effective unless it helps a child to open up itself to life.

Mahatma Gandhi: Love requires that true education should be easily accessible to all and should be of use to every villager in his daily life. The emphasis laid on the principle of spending every minute of one's life usefully, is the best education.

Swami Vivekananda: Education, Education, Education alone! Traveling through many cities of europe and observing in them the comforts and education of even the poor people, there was brought to my mind the state of our own poor people and I used to shed tears. What made the difference? Education was the answer I got. Through education comes faith in one's own self and through faith in one's own self the inherent bhraman is waking up in them.

Atharva Veda: Children should grow in the awareness of the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of god. If no provision is made for this atmosphere and this teaching, we are denying them their due. Faith in man, involves faith in god. Faith in god creates faith in man. Without faith, man is a creature bereft of roots and he dries and withers quickly.

• How do humans develop understanding?
• How may an adult treat a child with patience and love?
• How do we help children give wings to their imagination?
• How do we pass on responsibilities to children?
• How can we help children maintain their sense for truth?

BroSisCo is a Seed,
It was found while working with school drop-outs,
Despite training in Engineering and Management,
There was a desire to understand Education,
When I began to Teach,
I dove into understanding Phenomena,
Texts by European and Russian Scientists,
Returning to Experiment,
My senses Opened,
Realization HIT,
Our current education is DEAD,
Our education is killing US,
Concepts devoid of History, Evolution and Heart,
Leading NoWhere,
Reception . Inception . Perception . Conception,
Our SENSES need ReCalibration.

Living is becoming costly,
Education is the thin line between Life and Death,
Education has always been based on Food Systems,
Currently there is heavy input at the Primary level,
The Chain is UnSustainable
Life is becoming a DEBT,
To Whom, it's UnKnown,
Instead of broadening minds,
It's hardening hearts,
Down the Cliff,
Up the Wall.

This is not New,
We stand on the Shoulders of Giants,
Packaging Old Wine in new bottles,
Hence -

• CopyLeft
• Gift-Economy
• Low Cost, Multi-Use, Local Production
• Sharing Designs and Logic, Not Content
• Enabling Transformation
• Self-Learning

True education is Organic,
Slow,
Seeping into the Bones,
Soon Forgotten,
Always Active!

Taruna

It all began roughly 9 months before 8th May 1982. The details in between are hazy and subconscious. However it is now certain that there was and is a higher purpose behind the unfolding of events. The earliest memories I have of myself are of me sitting and playing with my dad’s screw driver set opening up my toy car or playing imaginary games with empty cardboard boxes. As a child (even today) I was extremely curious and would constantly ask questions to people around me. This would often irritate people, but i would keep chattering on, answering my own questions or jumping to other questions. Their silence would only egg me further to observe and discover answers for myself. I would often spend hours standing and watching various people (carpenters, masons, plumbers, milkman, grocer, vegetable vendor etc) working around me and would go into a kind of trance where I would forget myself and get totally observed into the task they were carrying out. To this day I get goose bumps when I observe someone at work.

I generally lose patience when too many instructions are given before a task, preferring to observe in silence and learn on my own. Imitation has become my prefered learning style. Another eccentricity I had as a child (the impulses still exist today, but are somewhat mellowed by social considerations) was to verbalize the vowel sounds while I was engaged in any activity that required my focus and attention. I would be busy chopping vegetables, sawing a piece of wood or painting and my mother at the other end of the house would know that I was safe and busy by the continuous sound of ‘Aaaa’ flowing in rhythm to the motion of my hands.

As I grew older I realized there was something different about me than other children. I would rarely if ever get involved in fights, arguments or general boyish behavior. during adolescence where my friends were getting hooked onto video games, I would prefer to ride my bicycle or play basketball. I disliked (still do) sitting idle and gossiping about events and people. Living by the sea had its advantages. I would go for morning walks with my grandmother and evening walks with my father often discovering small pools that had formed between the rocks where I could see sea creatures like sea anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish, clams etc. I would often hunt around for shellfish hoping to find one with a pearl inside. This was all before the city drainage became excessively toxic and polluted the sea water killing most flora and fauna. I was also encouraged by my parents to develop other creative abilities and went for Indian vocal singing on the ‘Harmonium’, guitar classes and piano lessons. Unfortunately due to my temperament and lack of practice I was unable to develop the ability to play any of these instruments; however they did help to develop an overall artistic personality. Recently when I started reading about temperaments, I realized that wind instruments would have been ideal for me and that is why I seem to love playing the recorder.

In my late teens, tough I was fascinated by the natural world, artistic world (winning many awards for painting in school) and sometimes thought of studying medicine to become and doctor and help others; I was influenced by my father who was an engineer and took up its study myself. Despite the lack of direction I had in life at the point, the varied interests and rebellious reactions that were building up towards my father, I had the basic aptitude that allowed me to be successful in my studies. Whether it was a boon or not, this success and aptitude hid the fact that it was not my true calling or inner desire to study or work as an engineer. Hence oblivious of deeper impulses I trudged on successfully and after graduation took up an employment offer with a good IT company. This was the start of many life altering events. At my job, the HR must have seen some potential that was a blind spot for me at the moment, but I was put under the wings of the vice-president of the company. His personal attention, the demands he made on me all had a positive impact on my character. I flourished in terms of personality, responsibility, sociability, enthusiasm and involvement in life. I would work 12 – 14 hours a day, often staying back late evening to discuss and talk with my mentor. I spent a year in this manner moving between different projects, expanding my learning, gaining valuable experience albeit ignoring of the inner turmoil that I was experiencing. I was unable to spend quality time with my family and friends, I was sitting 8 – 10 hours in front of a computer and I was becoming a mechanical being. I then participated in a life altering program called the Landmark Forum. For me it was first meeting with my true self – the self that wanted to work with others, work for society and make a difference in the world – a self that was not just interested in success as defined by others but one that would define success on its own terms.

That was the 1st defining moment of my life. After this I continued to work at my job with increased awareness and conscientiousness. I initiated few organization wide initiatives to reduce our environmental impact. In my communities I started to work with children and volunteering with NGO’s. During the same time I met a few alumni of an educational institute by the name of Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). That was the first time that a city boy like me had even heard about a term like rural and more importantly that it's management was a topic of research. I was intrigued and inspired by the work they were doing. I don’t know but I must definitely have been guided, I decided I want to learn more about rural India. I gave the entrance exam and appeared confidently for the interview and was selected as one of the 110 young people from different parts of India that were to spend the next 2 years together in a small town called Anand. this was the first time that I had been away from home for any duration of time longer than a week. it was even more challenging given the fact that I was required to be with students of different cultures, world views and languages. For the first time I truly realized the diversity of India and hence the world. It opened up my eyes to domains I had never even dreamed of. Topics like society and polity, cooperation, change management, psychology, rural development, etc. Continuously challenged the world views and biases I held. It forced me to learn to look at the world through another's eyes and accept them for what they desired. The design of the program of study was such that we were required to spend a total of 7 months out of a 21 month course off campus in rural locations across India working with marginalized communities, farmers and other socially disadvantaged groups. My first such visit was to Kerala – god’s own country. Little was I to know that this was to be my 2nd life altering event.

Not only did I experience total alienation from others and myself for 2 months because the language was unknown to me (this helped me delve deeper into myself and my inner desires) but here I had my first tryst with Anthroposophy in August 2006. In a second hand book shop I came across a book by A.C Harwood called ‘The Recovery of Man in Childhood’. It was as if someone had compiled by entire life experiences and given them explanation and meaning. I immediately wanted to learn more about Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education. I searched on the internet for some sort of links in India. At the time I found none. Dejected I continued with the experiences and challenges my current program was throwing at me. One experience of this program that I would count as my 3rd life altering one would be a theatre workshop that was organized by one of my professors who was taking a course on ‘Creative Response to Change’. During this workshop I had an experience of catharsis and spent a number of days in altered emotional states. Sometimes I was extremely happy, sometimes extremely sad. There was a heightened sensitivity and connection with nature. I felt one with the environment around me and could sense humanness in the forms and expressions of nature. This experience absolutely upturned my entire conception of life, spirit, consciousness and god. After completing the program I was clear I wanted to work in education, but was uncertain where to start. I volunteered and travelled for 6 months, before I realized I wanted to teach children and gain fundamental experience of learning at the earliest level before I could even contemplate solutions to larger social issues.

The pathways that have been written in higher realms have unique confluences. I had heard about Tridha (a Waldorf school) in 2005 from a friend who was teaching there. At the moment I had thought I would love to work at the school. Then in 2006, I met anthroposophy, in 2009 my intention of meeting Anthroposophy finally bore fruit when I joined Tridha as a science faculty. Further proofs of higher design, my wife and I were both contemplating opportunities to study anthroposophy abroad and we happened to meet a couple from New Zealand who spoke to us about Taruna. It was then we decided that all the indicators seem to be pointing in the same direction and it is now time to put our dreams into action. Now, I want to develop a deeper understanding of the human being and hence myself, the inter-relationships between human needs and the social forms that are appropriate for the fulfillment of these needs, relate to my previous education in new light and finally I wish to further the anthroposophy movement in India.