School means leisure!!

The title says "mother knows best" but this article is about schooling - not the conventional one. It is about how some parents adopt different ways to educate their children.

From the article,

"People see their children suffering in various ways, bored with school, being bullied, insulted and demeaned by teachers. My feeling, based on my interaction with the online group over the past seven years, is that probably more people are turning to home education. I do know that about six people have joined the group every week—mostly those who are home-educating their children or are seeking the courage to do so."

"The Motwanis walk down to the Gateway of India every day. Whatever catches Mahuli’s (their four-and-a-half-year-old daughter) fancy becomes a lesson. A question on why the rocks are visible at certain times of the day and go underwater at others leads to a discussion on tides; an observation of various kinds of animal poop on the Colaba pavements triggers a conversation on scatology."

"It might seem ironical that a home-educated child would find it thrilling to top a competition—antithetical to the very concept of home schooling—but Nadisha (a home educated girl) is quick to point out her priority wasn’t so much to beat 175 others, as it was to give her best."

"Children need a sense of belonging. So, unless it becomes common enough in India, parents need to focus hard on peer interaction. In fact, I think the plus points of regular schools are the break-time or the bus journeys. Without adequate interaction with the outside world, there may be too much of the parents, even a danger of claustrophobia."

"It’s not for every child. Nor is it, obviously, for every parent. But for those for whom it works, it is the most meaningful thing in the world."

Links mentioned in the article

1. The National Institute of Open Schooling
2. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
3. You can download NCERT Books
4. The Singapore government site that details curricula for almost all core subjects
5. California department of education site
6. California tests
7. Texas tests
8. Florida tests
9. Massachusetts tests
10. Alternative Education in India

_______________________________

Dilemma of Dichotomy

Fritjof Capra was asked,

Can you tell us about a unique experience that changed or shaped your spiritual beliefs?

And Capra's answer,

I have been through many such experiences, but one I would mention was my meeting with Krishnamurti, early on in my career. I had read him extensively, and he was both very convincing and fascinating to me. As I was moving to California after two years of post-doctoral work, I was facing a real problem: how could I embark on a career as a physicist and pursue science, which is about seeking knowledge, while abiding by Krishnamurti’s injunction to free oneself from the known, to go beyond rational teaching? He happened then to come to the University of Santa-Cruz where I was teaching. He was not keen on meeting people beyond his lecture, but as luck would have it, his assistant turned out to be French. I was married to a French woman at the time who befriended him and sure enough, we had an audience with the Master. I told him about my dilemma and without even blinking an eye he said "you are first a human being, only then a scientist". As a human being, we have to go beyond the known in order to deal with our existential problems. Then of course, as a scientist I could pursue knowledge in a more restricted environment. From then on the problem was gone, he had solved my dilemma. I have had that experience several times --- being ready to hear something and someone with a lot of personality and charisma shows up carrying that message, saying the right thing, at the right time.

You may read his full interview at Indian Express website.

________________________

After a long gap ...

I am posting this after a long gap. Hope no one missed my posts. I did not post the things I had written due to connectivity problems, unwillingness, and various other reasons. Those problems still exist. I could see the grin on my well-wishers' expressive faces which would form a crescent only if all those countenances are placed next to each other. Ugh... Guh... Uhg... Hug... I will slowly initiate my postings again; will nudge my posts here and there to enter the world of web.

Hug. Hug. Hug the post. There comes Capra with Jiddu Krishnamurti.

"Sujatha" is no more ...

Sujatha passed away few hours back. Here is the news.

Seaside Riffles - 1

Those buildings seem to be quite close. You cannot walk directly. There is sea between you and the concrete. You can reach there only through a necklace-curvature that turns away and then turns in, thus increasing the span. Those buildings are not close. They are quite far. The sea between us hides the depth of chasm. The curvature hides the drift. No, those buildings are too far. Some hearts and minds are also like these in creating the effects of far-yet-close and close-but-far. The tragedy of the reality is the danger of not being able to see the abyss and the curved relationship. But the breeze, that touches those buildings, now flows through me. The breeze, which comes from the other part of sea, brings me freshness and joy that transcends the deep sea and the curvature. The cool and divine morning air is just good enough to create a feel that forms a bridge with me as a bead.

--------------------------------

Waves whisper

Waves are today more active. I could hear them speaking with rocks. There are high-rise buildings on the other side which can only see those waves from a distance – just like me. When I sat here for the first time, I was moved by the misty air that had encompassed the buildings, sea, people, cars, buses, etc. Water had been still then. No conversation was there between the rocks and waves. But today is a different day. They are talking. I could hear their whispers. Imagine you have a big sack of rice. You open it and turn upside down on a floor. You hear some sound, right? Waves and rocks are whispering similarly. Once in two minutes. I had to first concentrate to hear their whispers amidst the sound of honks and chats. No. I need not concentrate. Whispers come from this side just like how the noise comes from the other side. The pleasant of those two touch my heart. Whispers. A pair of lovers sits on this side – immersed in their world. An old man in rags is lying. A girl talks loudly to her mother. Few dogs bark at other roaming dogs. Few dogs bark at a small girl with no clothes. Waves still talk to the rocks – wetting them with their words. I have to leave now. When I am about to get up, it suddenly dawns on me - waves are trying to talk to me. Ah! How could I have missed this! Observation too often leads to distraction and inattention. I sit again. Waves tell me the stories of abyss where human existence, survival and extinction become the sound produced by a single rice grain in the turned sack full of rice. They now ask me to get up and leave. I just follow their words.

________________________

This is Lakshman ...

Here is the photograph of Lakshman.

I have been trying to get a photo with his trademark smile but could not obtain. You can still see a smile in his eyes. Please read these posts, to find out a bit more about Lakshman and his tragic end, written by Guru, Abi, and Shencottah.

_______________________________

Laa. Sa. Raa Writings

Thinnai has few Laa. Sa. Raa pieces (in Tamil).

1. அம்முலு (ammulu)
2. கண்ணன் (kannan)
3. நெற்றிக்கண் (netrikkan)
4. வரிகள் (varigal)
5. இவளோ? (ivalo)

Frontline published the english translation of his story in 2001 - Mud

___________________________

Laa. Sa. Raa ---- Melted, Vanished, and Now Flows Forever

Laalgudi Saptarishi Ramamirtham (Laa. Sa. Raa.) is no more. No more in the form which we always like him to be. He chooses the form which he always likes to present himself - abstract, simple, mysterious, magical, esoteric, loving, affectionate, strong, supple, beautiful, orphic, silent and invisible.

He passed away on October 30, 2007 at the age of 91 (on his 92nd birthday). I came to know about this from Thinnai. It is a shame that I came to know after so many days. I do not know if I have to blame myself for not reading the news with enough attention or the present state of media. It is a personal literary loss to me. I always wanted to meet him. I even called up his home few years back and checked with one of his family members if it was possible to meet him. I was told about his fragile health and asked if it would become an interview. I said it could never become an interview. It might rather become a visit with not even one question asked or one sentence exchanged. But.. But.. the visit never materialised. Meeting Laa. Sa. Raa has joined the list of things-not-done-and-cannot-do-anymore.

But wait!!!

Meeting Laa. Sa. Raa is meeting his words!!

No!

Meeting Laa. Sa. Raa is meeting his words and going beyond them to see what he conveys.

Going beyond them to see what he communicates.

Going beyond them to meet ourselves finally.

______________________________________

1. Dhalavai Sundaram's interview with Laa. Sa. Raa in 2002 (in Tamil)
2. Photo courtesy: Thinnai and Dhalavai Sundaram's Blog

British Petroleum Fined

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that BP's (British Petroleum) US subsidiaries has agreed to pay $303 million in fines to settle charges that it manipulated propane markets. Moreover, the other US subsidiaries of the multinational company will pay a record $50 million in criminal fines to settle Clean Air Act requirement (passed in 1990 following the explosion at Union Carbide's chemical plant in Bhopal) charges stemming from fire and explosion at its Texas refinery, and $20 million in criminal fines and restitution for violation of the Clean Water Act relating to oil pipeline leaks in Alaska.

Robert A. Malone, BP America chairman and president, said,

"If our approach to process safety and risk management had been more disciplined and comprehensive, this tragedy could have been prevented. We did not provide our people with systems and processes that would have enabled them to appreciate the risk of a catastrophic release from the F20 blowdown stack and understand the danger of placing occupied trailers so close to it. We deeply regret the loss of life, the injuries, and the community disruption caused by the explosion."

Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said,

"Let's hope these criminal fines wake up BP's management and force the company to clean up its refineries. BP spends a lot of money advertising itself as a 'green' corporation. Some of that money would be better spent protecting BP's workers and neighbors from the company's own pollution,"

Why should Indian regulators and environmental agencies take note of these?

BP holds 71% holdings in Castrol India Limited. It has a 51% joint venture with Tata Group to participate in the Indian solar energy market. It also trades crude oil, bulk chemicals, and petroleum products in India.

_________________________