May 19the joy of mastering the granny square and turning a cornerthe crochet bug bit me some time ago. i loved the effortless ease with which my friends worked on different patterns. …Crochet2 min read
May 19Adieu ChachenThere are some losses which are inevitable, even expected, and yet, when it happens, it leaves one grappling with a bundle of emotions. Chachen was fading slowly over the last two years, and in the last few weeks we knew the end was near. …Memories4 min read
Apr 20Birds and II have been making my acquaintance with birds for a few years now. I felt the connection with birds more acutely during the pandemic. The silences, as it were, accentuated my senses and I listened carefully to the different birdsounds around me. …Birds3 min read
Feb 10Beyond Board Assessments — preparing children for ‘life’…So ICSE and ISC bit the bullet and released the results for the first time ever MCQ based and bifurcated Board Exams. CBSE is playing the wait and watch game… A bunch of students are relilved that they’ve cleared the nightmare. Another bunch are upset that the scores have been…Exam Oriented Education1 min read
Jan 23Silence is not an optionThere are times when silence is not an option. As Sabika Abbas Naqvi reminds us: To all those who chose to stay silent remember: “Iss zulm mein jo khamosh rahe, Zalim bhi wahi, qatil bhi wahi” (If you stay a mere silent spectator in the face of this oppression, You…Womens Rights2 min read
Dec 11, 2021A mirror to education in our timesWhere is the life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? T.S.Eliot in “The Rock” Two men who held a mirror to the education system were born in May. This year, May 7 marked…Education8 min read
Oct 25, 2021Killing them softly with MCQs — How the Board assessments in India are failing children“I enjoy learning.” “I am curious about learning new things.” “As I am growing, I find I am interested in learning more about some things than others.” My teen daughter said this with quiet conviction some months ago. Nothing would gladden the heart of a parent and teacher more than…Education4 min read
May 29, 2021US tales: New York in the Spring of 2018!“Don’t post my pictures on social media” instructed the daughter, throwing an immediate spanner on my intention to publish a picture story on our three weeks ‘all girls’ holiday which had me and my daughter exploring New York City and its it surrounds, together with my sister who has made…New York5 min read
May 29, 2021Connecting with nature in a virtual learning modeI work with a school. Switching to the online mode of learning last year was made all the more inadequate because it gave such an incomplete experience of what our school is about. …Bird Watching7 min read
Feb 5, 2021Seeking Achyut PatwardhanA peepal tree and banyan tree grow closely interlocked, along to the banks of Varuna river near Rajghat. The spot marks the place where ashes of Achyut Patwardhan were placed on his death on 5th August 1992. The trees are stately and striking, but you will know the spot only…Socialism8 min read
