As we grow older the mind requires the ‘me’ space and ‘me’ time. In the early 40s, there arises a deep craving for the ‘me’ space in our family set-up and in our houses. A ‘me’ time where we wake- up earlier than the rest of the household, spend time staring into space, reflecting and contemplating.

A ‘me’ space – or I would rather say a private den – for us to pen our private thoughts, draw or paint – somewhere where we can stretch our legs, sprawl on the floor and read books. In those pockets of isolation, we find comfort – comfort from the maddening world.

One of the things I dread most in life is shifting. Dismantling the things we took pains to put up and bringing it down after a careful process of sieving once every 2 years looked welcome, enjoyable and fun when I was a kid.

As an adult, the responsibility to supervise the packing, unpacking in the new house, putting the things in the right place, arranging and re-arranging till the house looks organized is no longer enthusiastic but tiring and back breaking.

It’s only during the shifting process we realize the amount of clutter that we have been hanging too in the name of safe-keeping.

Shifting, as we grow older is about de-cluttering – our physical space as well as our mental space. Along with the shift to a new home, a new environment it is shift in the mindset that makes all the difference.

One of the terrible ordeal of online teaching as a teacher, I experience is sitting coped in a chair for hours together and peering into the screen. The result : Knee pain and back ache. In one of those terrible days , I met a colleague of mine through gmeet happily squatting on the floor with a table and teaching. Memories flooded and I remembered the rambling house of my grandparents made of cemented flooring.

The floor served many purposes – it was both a dinning table and served as a bed for the noon nap. The floor never heated up during summers and was warm during winters. Every morning after it was swept and mopped it looked fresh and inviting for us cousins to sit together – play, read and chat merrily. Sitting crossed legged on the floor was also a good exercise for our thighs and for our spine. Squatting together as a family at dusk – gossiping about events and neighbors – bonding with friends and relatives – had brought us closer then. When we visited each other’s house, the house and heart of the host had enough space for everyone – there was no hierarchy when we sat together cross-legged on the floor – there were minimal furniture- so there was enough space for everyone of us to sit comfortably- there was a sense of togetherness. Infact, everyone was so comfortable sitting cross legged on the floor that we never judged each other on the material comforts we had – like sofa, modular kitchens. Women squatted on the floor of the kitchen carrying out their duties , talking and laughing that created a sense of belongingness and togetherness in the families.

Sad, that we have now, transitioned to marbles and tiles to beautify our homes and these are not user-friendly. To walk on these kind of flooring and avoid skidding, we need slippers/walking stick and what not. Though our new, chic, modern homes are lavish and petit – the flooring has made our harder lives even harder.

The joy of sitting on a cool , cemented floor, cross -legged – reading, chatting and having a cuppa is a lost legacy.

No- especially students who have learning difficulty and tactile learners – they are the ones who suffer most. Most of these students take time to understand key terms / theories/ concepts taught in specialized subjects like Economics / Accountancy and Sociology. In online classes, thy struggle to match the speed of the tutor. In remote learning, pair activity or group activity cannot be organized to aid easy understanding of theories ; hence these students suffer the most.

How Netflix re-invented HR by Patty Mc Cord is an interesting case-study which has been ‘viewed more than 5 million times on the web’ to quote the author precisely. And, true it is worth viewing. The case-study touches on Key HR issues like motivating employee, staff separation, cost-cutting through austerity measures and leave policies. A case-study which can be used to teach high school Business Studies / Business and Management students as the language is lucid.

I happend to watch the YouTube video shared by the Krishnamurti Foundation India’s Centre for Continuing Dialogue 2021 Talk : Dr Vandana Shiva. A friend of mine messaged – profound words – after watching the video and I would definitely agree with her.

Her thoughts on technological Barons who rule our lives through data and her concern regarding the data mining that has eventually handicapped us from understanding our own sensibilities and our consciousness got me thinking seriously about the truth behind those words.

Her references to the landslides in India across different time periods and the reason for landlines being hydroelectric projects were interesting. She touched on burning issues like the patenting of seeds by corporates, organic farmer, Punjab revolution of 1984 against Green Revolution and the aftermath of the revolution. She gently pointed out the similarities between the farmer protest in Delhi to the 1857 peasant movement against the East India Company. Finally,her parting words : De- industrialize and thrive – are not to be missed.

So, don’t miss this too.

Don’t miss reading – ‘Loss of Learning during the Pandemic’. This was a report published by Azim Premji University sometime in Feb 2021. This was shared by a Science teacher in my school and I also happened to read comments about this report when it was posted on LinkedIn. This study was undertaken to test the foundational abilities lost by students in Primary Schools due to prolonged lockdown in Specific subjects like Mathematics and Languages. The study also points out how this learning gap could be shrunk by providing appropriate support by the schools and the community at large.

The research of identifying the loss of foundational abilities in students who have moved from class 1 to class 3 – was carried out in public schools of few specific states. One of the serious concern is about the skills in language acquisition – like not being able to identify a word in print in languages; not being able to frame sentences, tell stories using pictures . Similarly In Mathematics, students seems to have lost their abilities to find numbers (at the primary level) and the ability to perform simple arithmetic computations (at the middle school level). The loss of these abilities is bound to impact learning skills of students as they get promoted and probably, at that point the tutor and the the taught will not have the time to rectify this gap.

The research also highlights some students love for learning in rural areas and how eagerly they are waiting for their schools to re-open. Contrarily, there are students who have taken up odd jobs to support their families and have lost interest in education.

Time to step up and do something about it.

A friend of mine – Science teacher – Ms. Gowri and I were discussing about teacher’s well-being. Our discussion made us acknowledge certain facts like the impact of noise level in the classroom and the negative impact on the teachers health. We felt that it is not the responsibility of the teacher alone but the students responsibility as well; slightly older children, too should learn to wait for each other’s turn to talk and listen to each other’s conversation. Even a sick child in a classroom affects the teachers mental health too – the constant nagging thought in one’s head while teaching if the child is safe, will he/she get through the day – is a major worrying factor for the teacher.

We were also dissecting why we as colleagues or part of management, are less concerned about the teacher’s health. Ms. Gowri felt that adults are expected to take care of themselves and the management, whatever, be the mental or physical health of a teacher expect them to set it aside and focus on productivity when they are at school working.

We were joined in our discussion by an Art teacher and entrepreneur Ms. Sneha. She looked at the teachers mental health with a slight difference. She emphasized that art is a discipline based on emotions and creativity, the teachers focused more on developing skills of the students and hence the emphasis on marks, unlike the other disciplines, do-not add to the pressure of the teacher. She spoke about the plight of the art teachers in many schools who had to fight with the Principals to safeguard their classes from being taken over by Science and Maths teachers. There are Principals and managements in CBSE schools who expect the art teacher to train students to get 90 marks and 100 marks, which leaves art teachers in a fix.

She also spoke about the tag that art teachers generally carry – Art teacher is not smart with other subjects hence they have ended up teaching arts, which affects the teachers mental health. Similarly, teachers teaching other discipline generally feel that art teachers have less workload, they do-not have to make lesson plans; but the reality is way different. Art is the only subject where the lesson plan can be customized as per the students needs and moods.

Such sessions between teachers – impromptu – proves an eye opener.

I happened to watch a you tube video – Theosophy and Krishnamurti by Mr. O.P. Krishna. Mr Krishna, an excellent orator took me through the formation and evolution of Theosophical Society, Annie Besant’s magnanimous persona, young Krishna’s dilemmas, difference between the meaning of the word Secularism from the viewpoint of the east and the west, friendship between Gandhiji and Annie Besant and finally puts in a nutshell all of Krishnamurti’s ideas.

From his speech, I gathered that Annie Besant and Krishnamurti believed and lived for the fact that the truth is the highest religion. The orator referred to a book ‘Buddha’s life’ by Mathew Harold. And, in this book we get to understand the difference between Secularism . According to the West – Secularism meant no religion, it meant belief in science and materialism; Whereas in the East – Secularism meant that all religion is important.

I gathered from the talk that Gandhiji was part of Theosophical Society when he lived in South Africa. And, Annie Besant was good at occultism. Infact, the founder of Theosophical Society was well trained in occultism.

The video highlights the Dual Consciousness Theory and how theosophist who were initially fond of Krishnamurti, asked him to leave later as he stood by his convictions of not wanting to form a new religious order. Krishnamurti’s teachings emphasis about learning from experience, questioning and critical-thinking. He spread the message through all his speeches and talks about taking responsibility for one’s own life and not relying on spiritual guru’s for enlightenment.

The takeaway from this one hour long session – was be a light to yourself.

Donot miss this video.

• G.Meena
• Economics and Business Studies Faculty