Masterclass

I attended a seminar on quality in school education last week. The opening address of the seminar was given by Dr. Karan Singh. To be honest I have to admit (sheepishly) that I knew very little of the gent before. It was a name I'd heard but that was about it. What followed was something that could have been straight out of a lecture at the Kennedy School.

Dr. Singh spoke for over 30 minutes and elucidated his views on education. Through his speech, he quoted in Hindi & Urdu; recited sayings from the Vedas, the Gita and the Bible; referenced his points with poems from Yeats and Frost and the Mahabharata.

Never in all the seminars and conferences I've attended have I witnessed something similar. For those 30 odd minutes, it wasn't a conference but a classroom. A classroom with one of the finest teachers talking about one among two of the most critical issues facing mankind today I.E. education. (The other one I believe being the Environment)

His fluency, eloquence and comfort throughout left me feeling very small, insignificant and overwhelmed. A couple of things he touched upon, I shall share here:

According to the good Doctor, every education framework should broadly address the following values: that of family, society, inter-faith values, environmental values and what he called the values of a global society. He of course referenced each point with illustrative examples, poems, sufi messages and the lot. I cannot and will not attempt to recreate them here. However, one little quote among the many he recited which caught my attention was the one from the Mahabharatha:

Dhritarashtra, King of Kings tells his wife thus when confronted on his failings:
" I know what is right but I am not attracted to it
I know what is wrong but I am attracted to it"

He quoted the above in Sanskrit and then translated it but the meaning of the words ring true and deep. I came away from his speech awed and shaken...its been a while since something has left such a deep impression and it also goes to show how far and long we still have to go before we can aspire to tread the boards that he has done many times over...in education, literature, music, politics, the environment, philosophy and inter faith harmony. He warmed my heart by reciting from memory with the eloquence again that even the best Oxford Dons would be hard pressed to match, an entire poem by Robert Frost..." I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:..."

You can read more about his work & life here.

Challenge

I've been talking about this for over a year now and it looks like I'm finally giving it an earnest shot. My dream of running a full marathon will remain just that for now: a dream. However, I am trying to get half way there by running the half marathon in Bombay. January is not so far away and the training routines, diet advice, injury prevention methods and general discipline and assimilation of information is overwhelming.

Daunting. That's the word....daunting. I have another 2 months and 2 weeks to go. I don't doubt that I will get over that finish line...but I am determined to do it in a way where I won't let myself down doing it. Staggering over the finish in 3 1/2 hours is not something I want to do...what the final time will be only time will tell. But what is most exciting...nerve tingling...adrenaline pumping about this whole thing is the challenge. The sheer challenge of pushing yourself to the limit. And then beyond. Like in cricket, this feeling is unparalleled.

On the bright side, I am using this run (like I did last year) to raise money for 2 charities that work with marginalized and disadvantaged children in Bangalore and Bombay. Dream A Dream and Atma, Mumbai. Both are organizations headed by inspiring and incredible people and my aim is to raise 100,000 rupees or $2500 USD in total through this effort. And yes you can contribute too. I'll put up details on how you can contribute on this blog soon. Meanwhile, if you have any words of wisdom on how to finish a half marathon, do tell.