Vinod Narayan

Happen to see an excellent talk by Kiran Bir Sethi, at TED.com. She is the founder of Riverside Schools in Ahmadabad

Its so true that we often forget what we can learn from kids as we are always busy teaching them to be like us. The fact that our life was shaped by the child in us reinstates that we can learn now from the children around us. What the world needs is that unadulterated, unbiased and honest solutions to common problems. Who else can give that but the Children

As I was watching I remembered the saying “Child is father to the man” from Wordsworth’s Rainbow

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

And then I decided to commit a grave crime to pen a few lines of my own and add them here below

When the child in us could bring us here
The child of Today can take us forward
What we need for the problems of the day
Are solutions of heart and not of the head

We are often forced to choose from ideas
Polluted by profits, power and prejudice
At least for once let us change our being
From teachers of children to being learners of childhood

Enjoy the Video and pardon my crime

Interesting to note someone say that there is an Indian way to things and that it is very similar to the ways in other places, but built from the myth and believes in India.

People visiting India both for fun and business both have seen the diversity from cultural traits with which they could never relate properly to mannerisms, accent and attire, that make them more at home.

My take is they find it tough to put one face to the India they see and this presentation and a slighter dive into the Mythology will help them understand the land, the culture and the people better.

Finally its all about stories, if you can relate to the stories of a land, you can relate to the people of the land. Or else you are just seeing a fabricated caricature of the underlying soul

This Talk not available for Embedding but can watch it here Devdutt Pattanaik TED Talk

My expectation on Tharoor’s talk was too high I guess. More over there was a lot of twitterola on the same. He is with no doubt a great speaker and a refreshing addition to the Indian politics.

His talk lights up these thoughts in my mind

1. The bricks that hold the diversity of India are very strong
2. India has so many more stories that can engross the world easily for another century
3. in a short time every Indian in India will be connected with each other
4. Those who connect with India will always live in an advantage
5. It was the world for India till yesterday and now its India for the world
6. India’s rise is not be feared by any as we don’t bring a history of invasion

Good talk but, not one of his best, but strong values conveyed with confidence.

For Some reason this talk is not available for embedding

Check the link here Tharoor’s TED Talk