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Showing posts with the label Education

Ākāśāt Patitaṃ: Many Forms, One Reality

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Adi Shankara: The image that's stayed with me forever Sanskrit and shlokas have always fascinated me. The sheer vastness of Sanskrit literature is humbling. There are enough verses, texts, commentaries and traditions to occupy many lifetimes, and still leave one feeling that one has barely scratched the surface. But I didn't think much about any of this when I was growing up. I would recite shlokas in the morning and evening without fail. They were simply part of life. The words were there, the rituals were there, the temples were there—but much of it happened in the background. I was busy with academics. There was no time for Sanskrit or Vedanta. At least, that is what I used to tell myself. Of course, time was never really the problem. I could spend five days watching a Test match from morning to evening and somehow consider that perfectly legitimate use of my time! The truth was simpler: Sanskrit and Vedanta had not yet become priorities. Gr...

Why vernacular?

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The latest court verdict in Karnataka concerns the 2000 odd schools in the state to switch to Kannada as the medium of instruction bypassing English. English is the global medium of communication and it is imperative that we get a good grasp of the language that would aid us in the development process. Here, it is not the question of promoting your local language, but you are effectively terminating the ability of the children to come up in a competitive environment. In India, every state has a language of its own along with the national language, Hindi. Being born and brought up in India, there is no doubt that it is important to learn your local language as well as the national language. But that doesn't mean that you should shun English. India is emerging as a major global power and we are dependent on our western allies to work in close co-ordination and improve the economy. As long as a person has the basic knowledge to speak, read and write in the local language, it should mo...

What is General Merit?

The hottest topic right now in India is fortunately about education, but unfortunately about reservation in the top technological and management institutions. The IITs and IIMs have bracketed themselves with the elite in the world and it is a student's dream to find a place here. High end ambitions, cherished dreams, endless hours of slogging, physical and mental strength are tested to no limits when a student decides to compete in the entrance exams of these institutions. IIT entrance exam is the toughest exam at that level for a college student to clear and IIM entrance exam is similarly demanding for MBA aspirants. What happens when politics is mixed with education? The net result is nothing but total chaos. India is definitely a place of unequal proportions. There is a large section of the society which is struggling to cope up with the basic needs. Truly, everybody empathises with this situation. There is an overpowering need to improve the below-poverty section of the ...

A Blog on C

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Quite some time did I write something on my page. What do you feel about the two fellas in the picture with the happy faces? Things are not as rosy as the picture suggests. It is the story of two brave individuals, who defied all odds and took up Linear Control Systems. But the odds had to catch up with them as a grade of C resulted at the end of the course. It is pretty disappointing and frustrating to get that grade after putting maximum efforts in that course. But then life takes its course and we just have to toe its line. Praveen and Pravin cannot get anymore luckier with the choiciest selection of the toughest course!! Pravin was shattered a day before me. Obviously! Who in the world asked him to go and check up the scores so soon. But the worst part was, he spoilt my happiness. Because, I knew that if he got that grade, I had no chance in the world to better his performance. Both of us were sailing in the same rudderless boat in a turbulent sea and in the midst of a storm you...