Anirudh Chandrakant

Jun 3

'Nother Brick In The Wall

The Right To Education Act (full text) was passed recently and has been widely lauded. There are 3 ways of looking at this, in increasing order of optimism:

1. Chaos ensues

Redefining illiteracy

If all goes according to plan, in about 20 years, we would have produced nearly 350 million graduates which is almost doubling the current work force of the country. Since the number of opportunities would not have doubled in 20 years, this would mean that we raise the bar for getting a job. Literacy would no longer be the ability to read and write but would be the ability to procure as many degrees as possible. An undergraduate would be looked down upon and the race for better grades, higher education, admissions into reputed institutes would worsen significantly.

Chasing unrest

Take a dollop of insufficient jobs, add a pinch of reverse brain drain and mix well with a false sense of entitlement. As it comes to a boil, sprinkle a generous dose of discrimination based on educational institute and add economic uncertainty according to taste. Finally, garnish with a little mob mentality and you have the perfect recipe for widespread riots and internal conflict.

Learning from the past

Our education system is based on what was the need of the industrial age: a focus on math and science. We live in a completely different world today and what's worse, it's a rapidly changing one. Hundreds of millions of people educated in an archiac system are going to be woefully out of place in the new world.

And I haven't even spoken about the quality of education, the lack of teachers, the abysmal infrastructure or the lack of accountability.

2. Nothing really changes

To be fair, the act is quite well intentioned and noble and it will be a good deterrent to child labor and child marriages. It is great to have the law on your side when you are growing up and it is great to not be forced into doing something you don't want to. The promise of building more schools and training millions of teachers will probably not come through fully, not all children will actually go to school and nothing of any real note will actually change. Things will remain more or less the same or probably a shade better.

3. A dent in formed in the universe

This is a fantastic chance to revolutionize education in a simple 2-step program - First, change what is being taught and how it is being taught. And second, make it accessible to every single child in the country. This is probably one of the few times in history that lets us start with a complete clean slate, re-imagine all our preconceived thoughts about education and design a framework for the future. This is one of those times when we can dream big and be assured that the tools to realize the dream exist.

Personally, the worst case scenario would be the 2nd option, though i fear that the 1st is most likely. Having said that, our generation has the gift of being in the right place at the right time and wouldn't it be wonderful to leave behind a legacy.

May 25

Infovore: An Idea

in·fo·vore, [noun]: A person who devours information and knowledge. A person who is curious about the world around him/her.

Sometime back, i was curious about some aspect of Greek mythology (about Prometheus, if you really must know) and then ventured into other aspects. Soon, i was looking for courses that teach Greek mythology. I began to think that there would surely be someone in Bangalore who would knows enough about the subject to give me an introduction and point me to further resources. I have always found learning better when someone talks about it and i am able to have a conversation with that person. If there's a group discussion, it probably gets better.

What's the idea?

What if there was a forum where a bunch of people could get together to listen to a talk by one or more local experts on a topic. This could then lead to a healthy discussion followed, of course, by a good meal. Wouldn't it be a nice way to spend a Sunday morning?

The topics could be anything anyone wants to learn about as long as there is someone who knows a little bit about that topic. The topics are driven by what a bunch of people want to know more about rather than what someone wants to talk about.
The topic could be something as broad as, 'how to start a company' or something as narrow as 'metaprogramming in ruby 1.9', and everything in between.
Every talk would last for a maximum of about an hour and would be videotaped and made available for general public consumption.
Everything, right from the topic, to the presenter and the audience would be completely voluntary.

Why would anyone do this?

I think all of us want to learn something or want to know more about some topic. Most of the information is available online, but hyper-local content (like, say, 'teaching underprivileged children in malleshwaram') or real-time topics cannot be easily found. Further learning from real people and getting one's questions answered immediately is more attractive than reading off the internet.
The talk being in the real world means that there can be real-world interaction. Imagine a talk about 'flowering trees in lalbagh' where the participants take a walk around lalbagh or think about a night-time terrace talk on constellations.
Everyone of us knows a little bit about something and would love to share this information with more people. Such a forum feeds this innate desire in everyone of us.
This will also provide a great platform to network with people with similar interests. It will be a wonderful opportunity to make new friends and establish new groups.
The free food at the end of the discussion doesn't hurt.

When and where?

This would happen periodically and as frequently as once a week, depending on the interest. It could happen anywhere: in a coffee shop, in a park, at someone's house or in your backyard. It would also depend on the topic or on the speakers.

With the explosion of social networks and our lives being more virtual everyday, this personal contact and exchange of ideas might just help us remain human.

What do you think?

Feb 22

Om Ashram

The last thing i remember him telling me was, "Go to the udupi mess and tell them I'd sent you." He loves eating; he spent half an hour describing the lunch he used to have at the udupi mess every afternoon. On thursdays, they make heavenly chiroti. He is 86 years old, his wife died in a boat mishap 60 years back and he's still in love with her. He used to work for the Karnataka State Transport and Rajnikanth worked for him - "He's a nice boy and is doing well. God bless him."

The sun rises with trepidation here for it knows it can't match her fury. She joined the freedom movement very early in her life and fought alongside the names we read in our history books. She was a brave soldier and a close aide of Indira Gandhi. Everyone clamors to hear her sing and she readily obliges by singing her favorite song - 'Vande Mantaram'. She stopped counting how old she was a long time back because it doesn't really matter. She looks into the distance and her empty eyes reveal the sorrow that's seeped into her life.

Many people at the twilight of their lives stay at Om Ashram, off Bannerghatta Road.

They are as diverse as any other group would be. There are singers, freedom fighters and homemakers. Some can't see properly whereas some cannot walk without help. But it is the commonalities that bind them so closely. They know they have been abandoned by their families, they realize that they are unwanted by the ones they unconditionally loved and they know all they have for the rest of their lives are others like them.

It is easy to spread a little joy in their lives; all they want you to do is listen to them. They look at you with curious child-like eyes and tell you stories like we were all stuck in a time bubble in the 1960s. They regale you with stories from their youth and not once do they complain about their families - "they must have had some difficulty with me. Anyway, i am not dependent on them." Sometimes they ask you if you are treating your grandparents well.

As i was leaving, she who could barely hear, held my hands, came close to my face and whispered, "I'll never forget you."

[Photos from one of my visits]

Oct 3

Twilight

Jul 13

Why Don't We Donate?

[There were too many anchors littering the text; moved all the links to the bottom]

Giving is a neglected industry in the world. The United States is at the forefront and yet, the annual donation is about 0.02% of the GDP[1]; other nations are worse. To put it in perspective, for every Rs.50,000, the most generous amongst us donate Rs.10. Are we inherently uncaring and inhumane? Or is there a deeper problem?

People don't give unless someone asks them to. Inherently, we think about our needs first and most of us are unsure if the money we have will fulfill them. More importantly, it is difficult to seek out an organization that has a cause that we specifically identify with[2] and to which we can donate consistently. So, very few people are proactive about donating - either time or money. Furthermore, only about 4% of the NGO websites talk about what they do with the money that people donate[3]. This lack of clear transparency demotivates a lot of people from contributing to a cause because they are unsure about whether their time and money is actually making any difference.

Think about this - what the last NGO campaign you can remember? I can think of the 'Jaago Re' and the 'Teach India' campaigns[4]. Nothing else stands out or even comes to mind. There are estimated to be nearly 2 million registered NGOs in India alone[5], and almost none of them stand out. To the average person, one is indistinguishable from another. In a recent study[6], a group of people were asked if they donated to the American Cancer Association. 34% of them said that they had, whereas only 14% had actually done it. They weren't lying; they had donated to some cancer association, they just didn't remember which one. An NGO does not think about brand building like a normal corporate does. It is either taboo or there aren't sufficient funds. But, there are many examples[7] of NGOs taking a huge leap by using simple, cost-effective marketing strategies. It only takes a little innovating thinking.

Most NGOs ask for money too early. It is important to first establish a trust relationship with a potential donor before asking for money. Several experiments[8] have confirmed the theory and state that a simple act of asking for time just before asking for money can make a significant difference in perception and in effect, the amount of money donated.

A lot of NGOs lack clear vision or their goals are too small and too insignificant to make any difference in the world. While they believe that they are being nobel, it is hard to convince a huge group of people about it and hence, get any significant time or money in return. It is important to be remarkable[9], have strong leadership, question long held assumptions and set out to make a dent in the universe. Most NGOs think too small and are satiated too soon.

Having said all this, the curious might be wondering why is giving important? It is, of course, a very selfish reason - the most important factor to personal happiness is the act of giving to others[10]. This simple act makes one happier than anything else, and the more we give (either time or money), the happier we are. This is probably why there is so much unhappiness in the world. Also, it doesn't hurt to make someone else happy once in a while.