BBC World - Visionaries

Was watching the show Visionaries on BBC World. This is a 7 part series comparing, debating about and voting for the greatest classical music composers.

~ Bach vs. Handel
~ Beethoven vs. Mozart
~ Chopin vs. Verdi
~ Shostakovich vs. Takemitsu
~ Glass vs. Boulez
Unfortunately I caught only the last show and that too the last part where Glass won over Boulez. More details about the show are available on the blogs on the website.

This is Metamorphosis by Glass. I love the way the tune changes at 2:21.


Credit Suisse is the sponsor of this show. I've never seen any of the ads for CS before, so was very impressed with their "Thinking new perspectives" tag line.

Some think competition. We think partnership.

Some think two generations. We think succession planning.

Some think bank with tradition. We think more than 150 years of innovation.

Perspective... hmmm! :)

Conscience

Would you go against your conscience?

How about if:
1) You were under pressure
2) A part of your future depended on it
3) Both of the above

Shantaram

Shantaram is the story of Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict, who escaped from Australian prison and came to India. He lived in the Bombay slums, learned Hindi and Marathi, started a free clinic for the slum-dwellers, joined the mafia, procured drugs for foreigners tourists, spent time in Indian prison and fell in love - amongst the others things he did.
It is said that Roberts had to write Shantaram three times because prison guards thrashed the first two versions.

The author's style of writing, is very descriptive - you can actually visualize the sights, smell the scents and feel the change in mood and facial expressions of the characters. Another thing that I like about the book is lines/statements that make you stop and think. Here are a few such lines from what I have jotted down thus far:

• The past reflects eternally between two mirrors - the bright mirror of words and deeds, and the dark one, full of things we didn't do or say.
• Sometimes in love, your heart starts to feel like an over-crowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, and your self-respect and your independence. After a while you start throwing people out - your friends, everyone you used to know. And its still not enough. The life-boat is still sinking, and you know its going to take you down with it.
• The future is like anything else that's important. It has to be earned. If we don't earn it, we don't deserve it, we have to live in the present, more or less for ever. Or worse, we have to live in the past.
• If you could be happy, really happy for a while, but you knew from the start that it would end in sadness, and bring pain afterwards, would you choose to have that happiness or would you avoid it?
• If you have to ask the question, then you don't have the right to the answer.
• Often, you have to surrender, before you win.
• There is another kind of river, the one that runs through every one of us, no matter where we come from, all over the world. It's the river of the heart, and the heart's desire. It's the pure, essential truth of what each one of us is, and can achieve - that is our true nature.
• If fate doesn't make you laugh, then you just don't get the joke.

Don't be put off by the size of the book. Once you start reading, you will just not feel like putting it down, until you're down with the 900 odd pages.

The Movie: With Mira Nair's direction, Johnny Depp playing the lead and the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Irfan Khan slated for the cast, the movie would be an interesting one to wait and watch.

YFS - The introduction, the induction

Continuing with the previous post...

Reached the venue with a few minutes to spare. There were about 60-70 people already waiting in the reception area. No one was too clear what the others were waiting for. "Teach India?" at the entrance, replied by a nod from who ever heard the question, led to the new joiners walking in a forming their own huddle. Just then someone walked up to me with a big bright Hello. It was a guy from the tech team that we worked with. Its always a good thing to sight a familiar face amongst a crowd of aliens :)
The crowd started walking up the stairs nearby and we followed them, chatting about how how and why we each found time to get involved in these activities, how we were in career paths that were so different than what we initially wanted and what more we wanted to do in life.
Software Engineers are just over-rated. In Bangalore, throw a stone, it'll either hit a dog or a software engineer. Hm... that comes from a highly motivated techie who is appearing for CAT this Nov and is currently interested in acturial valuation :)

The volunteers from YFS gave an hour long presentation about their activities. I had read about most part of this on their website and so, thought the time could've been used in a better way. The interesting part came later on with the Q&A session.
What is it that we were required to do? Were we to act as substitute teachers or was this going to be similar to tuition?
Teach India is not just about Teaching, but is about Educating. The targeted children were already attending schools. They needed more than just teachers. They needed a mentor, a coach, a guide, a counsellor. That was the role we were required to play. Help the children out with their studies, counsel them on problems they faced, identify their talents and mentor them to become better individuals. Teaching would have been easy... but shaping someone's life - that is a one big responsibility.

At the end of the presentation, we were each handed out forms to fill in - our qualifications, spoken languages, chosen language of interaction, activities that we were interested in/good at, which we were willing to teach. Collating this information, the group will get back to the volunteers in November with details of where, when and what's to be done.

Walked out of the session, having made a few new friends - a home maker from Kerala who'd recently moved and was new to Bangalore, an engineering student who had time to spare and was willing to help and another home maker who was already involved in various social activities and loved to teach.

Now to wait for more!
Forget about teaching, this is going to be one hell of a learning experience :)

Finally :)

Teach India
After many weeks of waiting after the "Thank you for registering. As we have received an overwhelming response for volunteers for weekend projects, we will get back to you shortly" (Or something to that effect) I received an email today confirming the NGO details.
Youth For Seva
Meeting with the NGO co-ordinator for the induction programme and finalization of teaching schedule happens this Sunday. Am so looking forward to this :)