We always have a choice...whyyyy?

“We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.”-Dumbledore

 My Facebook page asks me 'What's on your mind?': How I wish I could have only a single thought on my mindscape.. so that I could put in one line clean and clear...

With thoughts running like untamed horses driving chariot...my mind is clouded with choices tearing it apart..
As I look back to the time from school to engineering, the clutter has always gone worse...I remember how spot on I was in school.
I remember passionately filing paper cuttings(i still have them), watching space exploration shows and taking notes, reading books and highlighting words with their oxford meanings, playing table tennis at school, chess with father and cricket practice at school and so much including studies and co-curricular activities... yet I had so much time...
I used to imagine myself joining army and being at border in Himalayas (used to play an imaginary mission and always won). I always wanted to work at NASA... but gave up the thought when I realized I cant be an Indian to do that.. I wanted to be a doctor but could not see blood (i still remember the yucccky dissected frog..waack)...I got my computer early on.. and I liked every bit of it.. initially it was all games and paint-brush

During engineering .. see how easy it was to decide then...I always admired Infosys, TCS and L&T as companies that I want to work for due to various reasons
Infosys was a natural choice because of Narayan Murthy(role model), TCS because of the legacy that Jamshedji Tata(i love parsis) left and L&T because of the founders(Larsen and Toubro) who gave everything to India and also because I have grown up watching L&T at Powai...
Among foreign companies.. I still want to work for Google...(no one needs a reason)

A part of me always wanted to work at the grassroots, doing farming, building bio-gas plants, wells...and I still know that I'll end up in a village only.... but that is an eventuality...

I started liking subjects and internet technologies and could see endless possibilities and solutions to problems..And now my mind is so cluttered that I cant even put the confusion in words...

I qualified for TISS rural development programme which would enable me to work directly at grassroots and implement.. here I would be able to test all my imaginary ways of solving problems and if possible provide a technological solution to accelerate change..(no one around me thinks this is the right choice)

I equally love programming, algorithms, data mining, AI, NLP and RFID and know the endless possibilities in which information, services can be organised and delivered..Very few organisations work directly in these areas.. IBM and Google ..I dont know of any....with exception of organisations using them for their application purposes only...

Everyone around me feels that I should be working in a company and gain technology experience and look at rural development at a very later stage...(I already feel I m late)

For the first time.. I m scared...seriously

I imagine working at grassroots and being able to build technology around my areas of interest is a synergy, which is so important if we have to change the world...
We cannot exist as technologists and managers and rural developers in separate baskets... we can exist as rivulets for gaining skills but we have to meet the river to be a part of the big picture.. to make impact.. to make a dent as Jobs says...

I am leaving it at this...I dont have conclusions... but will update definitely... and positively...
In the mean time.. I would appreciate.. your thoughts and feedback in general thanks

My TISS experience

“He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” – Moorish proverb

I learnt and learnt and learnt through reflections, observations and conversations during my journey from 25th June to 30th June...

I have put down my experience with timeline and events. In parts i have explored miscellaneous stuff too.

Indian Institute of Technology

For all your days be prepared, and meet them ever alike.
When you are the anvil bear,when you are the hammer strike

For all those who made it to the coveted institutions, you deserve it completely. For all those who could not make it, remember it was just another set of questions that others answered marginally better.. everything else just being the same.

Enhancing effectiveness of Education Delivery

It is really fantastic, how events align themselves... and I have more evidence of the Secret now than ever..

I also want to quote Paulo Cohelo here in Alchemist

When you want something, all the Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it

Dots connected at Pune Mandi

I salute the education capital of India for supplying her with intellectually, socially nourished distinguished stars from Vinoba Bhave to Baba Amte, to the land that gave birth to India's ever glowing beacon of hope and darling choice of every engineer, Infosys.
Pune has always been special in some way or the other. Pune has this rawness that makes me like it very very much. It is neither too urbanized nor is it too villagish... it has this half raw-half bakedness which woos me always..

Enterpreneurial Education (Mandi-an initiation) Talk-cum-Workshop

"Every single species except human beings make their own food!!!.. What a shame.."

Journeying Mumbai-Pune Expressway has always been fun, 17th April was even more special because coupled with the journey experience, I'd was talking and introducing "entrepreneurial education", a thing that is so badly needed in our Indian education.. oops.. rote-text setups.

I was fortunate to accompany Prof.Prasad.. the architect of Mandi at NITIE to Lotus Business School(LBS) in Pune for this talk-cum-workshop on entrepreneurial education which acts as initiation .. in a similar manner in which it is practiced among Hindus...Mr.Shivprasad, a wonderful and enterprising faculty at LBS was our host for our stay and took all possible troubles to make us feel comfortable. 

This post will talk about the entire days happening at LBS and make an attempt to draw insights from the same. 

Dots at TEDxMumbai

"The more the I learnt, the more I learn about my smallness.

I learnt that I was a dot, and I always will be one.

A line takes two dots. This line is small part of a circle.

Viola!! There is just enough space for me to fit in make a circle"

This post is a way to let the tingling sensations the the back of my mind.. I've put in my diary the things that I learnt at TEDxMumbai, and people whom I met, but I want others to know about them and get connected. As Steve Jobs says "It is all about connecting the dots".

Sonnet

I love you without knowing how, 

or when, or from where.

 I love you straightforwardly, 

without complexities or pride; 

so I love you because I know no other way

                                                              - Pablo Neruda

                                                                               Borrowed 

TEDxMumbai @ Bluefrog Part-3

I think I have attended the TED conference primarily to write as I explained in the previous post...omg!!!.. how melodramatic is that? jokes apart. but I think what happened on Friday at Bluefrog (Club members having problems with Lakshmi and TEDxMumbai entirely walking off) actually showed us mirrors...
However hard we may canvas ourselves as mighty billion ones riding with new vision, new outlook breaking barriers and creating new frontiers some pockets of dirt keep hitting back...They are like those litters of bus/train ticket that remain in our pockets and come out really messy after laundry wash.. they spoil the entire fabric, because the particles have actually become a part of the fabric...

TEDxMumbai @ Bluefrog Part-2

In continuation with the previous post

Prelunch

I wished I could write about Mr.V Raghunathan in context of his book 'Why we are the way we are', which attacks the hypocrisy that is so domineering in the way we interact with and affect the eco-system.. and about the twelve segments that his book is layered into with the Prisoner's Dilemma as the frame of reference...oops I just spoke about his wonderful salesmanship at TEDxMumbai...how many copies sold in the evening? Shriram's listening?... but seriously V R spoke about some of his profound insights about how sheepish we are and how animalish we can get. V R is doing phenomenal work in education, employment at the grassroots and these insights in his book only testify them.

Kishore Rithe, President of Satpuda Foundation followed and spoke about his passion and the need for saving tigers. There are less than 1000 tigers left in India!!! Oye Aircel update your database...

TEDxMumbai @ Bluefrog Part-1

Some days you wish never end. You wish they go on an on and on.
Today TEDxMumbai @Bluefrog was definitely on of them, where I just soaked in everything that I could like a sponge.

Though I will not elaborate much about the speakers and the entire day's happenings, the videos would be uploaded soon on TED page but would put down points that I jotted in my diary. Did somebody check out the live feeds that were available for free???

Morning:
The first session was about "Hopes and Dreams"-- Obama's listening!!!
First speaker for the day, Viren Rasquina started off li'l nervously and shared his insights on India's potential to be Olympic gold winning machine. He captured the audience with this "It takes only 6 grams worth of gold to lift a nation".. still feel my hair standing on end..