Educated or Skilled

What is the distinction between being Educated and being Skilled?

Do you remember a story we all heard in our childhood? Let me try and narrate it for you

The story is about an educated man who wished to cross a river. On reaching the bank of the river he steps inside a small boat . Boat operator starts rowing him across the river. This Educated man is boastful and pities the boat operator. He ridicules the operator and comments that if the operator had been educated like him , would have led a much dignified life . He goes a step further and comments that the life of the operator was useless.

As they proceed the boat hits a rock and capsizes. The boat operator, who had been silent throughout the earlier banter, instinctively dives in the river and swims across to safety , saving himself. But the educated man unfortunately does not know swimming skills, drowns himself to death.Moral of the story Understand the distinction between Education and Skill.

In today’s world both are equally important. 

I happened to attend a "My Story Session" at a TiE Event last week and listened to the amazing story of The Maverick Brikram Dasgupta Founder and Executive Chairman Globsyn Group. During his speech he mentioned about this distinction between Educated and Skilled and to quote in his words "Education is still for few but Skills are for all ". Bikram further elaborated and prophesied that Education and Skills are going to merge in coming few years.

At this point I would like to ask you :-

Have you heard Bunker Roy’s story Learning from a barefoot movement? He is the founder of Barefoot College. This school, teaches rural women and men many of them illiterate to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists and doctors.  

I urge all to listen to the talk and the difference between Educated and Skilled would be evident.

Thank you Bikram for throwing light on the distinction between Educated and Skilled .

A Seed of Thought

I have developed a belief that communication of Ideas and Problems is beneficial for everybody. These should be scattered like seeds. Many of these seeds would fall on barren ground . However you may never know when one of these seeds would fall on a fertile ground with conducive surrounding to germinate and develop in to a Tree.

I started my entrepreneurial journey in 1996. The story is as under. The Central Railways had published a Corrigendum to a tender about Bird Repellent Gel. My father encouraged me (rather insisted me) to inquire what the matter was all about. When I met the concerned officer, he narrated a unique problem the Railways faced.
Every year during the pre-monsoon period ( April to June )  , birds especially crows start nesting. Due to lack of natural habitat in Big Cities like Mumbai , crows use OHE (Over Head Equipment) structures of Railways for nesting. They not only use twigs but often use waste material found in surrounding areas .  Especially in the suburbs such as Kurla which have lot of slums, these birds use pieces of electrical wires or electrically conducting material found in garbage for nesting. 

This is where the problem started . The conducting material in the nest was a cause of short circuit which lead to costly disruptions in the train schedules . Suburban trains being the life line of Mumbai these disruptions are a calamity.

The Railways sought solutions to avoid electrical failures due to bird nesting. One of the solutions was to avoid birds nesting on OHE structures. This was solved by applying Bird Repellent Gel which the Railways procured through Tenders . So when I understood this problem I started exploring other instances where bird were a pest .  Bird nesting was a menace to Electricity Boards . The investigation into the root cause of problem opened a broad sector of repellents business and comprised of customers such as The Airport, Ware Housing Corporations, Factory Sheds, Heritage Buildings, Hotels and Housing Complexes etc.
My job then was to understand the pain area faced by every customer segment. I realized that some of the customers like the Railways were Institutional Customers where the decision making was decentralized and often more than one department was involved in the Tendering process . This process involved The Consignee, The Accounts Department and The Stores Department. The criteria of each Department for awarding contract would vary . So even if one member objected to a particular product or a supplier the resultant was loosing of Sales Opportunity. In contrast if the customer was an individual flat owner the decision rested on one single individual.
During the passage of time I soon realized that the Repellent Gel was not the only solution which could solve the bird menace problem in the best possible manner. Alternative technologies posed a competitive threat. Besides ,  for application of the Gel a manufacturer had to heavily depend on external agencies for application. The entire success of the product rested on a combination of multiple points some of which were beyond the control of a Gel manufacturer.

Over all my entrepreneurial journey as a Gel manufacturer has been very enriching. It taught me to identify a problem, define this problem, validate that the issue is a problem for many other people, search for the technology to manufacture the product, rope in external agencies to apply the product and thus deliver the expected result . 

Today when I look back, I realise that this journey would not have started if this Railway Officer had not discussed his problem. I am indebted to him discussing his problem .
This "Seed of Thought" helped me embark on my entrepreneurial journey.
I invite you to share your thoughts by filling attached Feed Back

     

General Train Compartments Give Exceptional Memories

How often do we secure a corner seat of a bus or a metro or a local train while commuting ? Many a times we indulge in self conversation perhaps ignoring what the journey has to unfold in transit .

I recollect one such train journey . Some where in 1995 I happened to catch a mail train from Borivali to Ankaleshwar ( Gujarat ). The train was full . It was rush hour and most of the co passengers were returning home on the western suburban route on this mail train . 

As far as I was concerned it was a last minute travel plan . I did not have a reservation ticket so could not enter a decent reserved 2 tier compartment . I had no choice but to go for the General Compartment . While standing in queue at door , I was shoved inside by eager commuters standing behind me . The lucky ones who had already managed to alight earlier , resisted our entry and offered a counter force to abstain us from entering . Some how I managed to squeeze myself in and after about 45 minutes of persistent efforts , managed to slide myself in the pathway , standing on a foot . Now I understand why they call it a foot hold . Needless to say the journey seemed eternal and arduous .

The mail train periodically halted at suburban stations but hardly could any one alight the jam packed General compartment . This time I cooperated with my fellow passengers in offering resistance to aspiring travelers from getting an entry into our compartment . This is called a " Local Train Psychology " . Prior to alighting I was fighting against this resistance and now that I was inside the train , I cooperated to offer resistance .

There were variety of fellow commuters . From mothers carrying babies , to the aged . The compartment was filled with people of all age groups . People chatted along the way , babies howled on their mother's lap , while the solitary travelers like me , deeply engrossed in a monologue . Me in specific , cursed myself for choosing to board the General Compartment !

In all this commotion some where down the pathway I heard an anxious lady shouting "સુ સુ આવેચે (su su aweche or the baby is going to relieve himself )" ! Before I could compose myself , the person adjacent to me passed a toddler repeating impatiently " સુ  સુ આવેચે (su su aweche ) " . Without thought , I took the live parcel and passed the buck to the person next to me in the direction of the loo repeating the magic words . The whole chain was so spontaneous and synchronous that soon the toddler was thrust in to the loo . 

After some time we all passed the baby back in the same manner to the anxious mother . To every body's relief the baby did not sprinkle in transit . For all of us in the chain the parcel was like a water bomb which could have burst , had we not cooperated .

By the end of the event the mood in our compartment was more relaxed and jovial . For some of us it helped  to break the ice . No wonder after this incidence the journey though tedious , seemed to pass quickly and bearable . 

What amazed me was the confidence with which the mother started this chain . She could not carry the baby to the loo but imposed full faith in the spirit of cooperation . 

As far as the toddler was concerned , only God knows if it relieved himself inside the loo !

Long live Cooperative Movement ! 

Every journey has a story to tell .

More General the surrounding more Exceptional the story.

Have you ever experienced one ??? I am eager to know your story . 

Collective Consciousness

Consciousness is a characteristic of Living Being . A living being comprises of 2 sets i.e Mind and Body .

The body is  made up of various parts example: the heart , liver , kidney etc. Each in turn is made up of cells which are designed to perform a specific tasks . The cells are living beings and have a consciousness of their own . But do these cells know that they are performing individual tasks synchronous with other cells ? Do they have a consciousness that they are a part of a Living Being ( Some one which is much larger in comparison with their own size ) ?

Do these individual cells know that if they perform asynchronous they might jeopardize the existence of the Living Being of which they are a part of ? For example if the heart cells perform erratically or asynchronous it leads to a cardiac arrest for the Living Being .
To avoid this the Mind which is the master of the Collective Consciousness plays a vital role .  

This Collective Consciousness is fundamental to the existence of a living organism.

I find this has a lot of similarity in the world we live. We exist as Individual Living Beings. Each one of us has an individual consciousness. We feel the world around us with the 5 senses we develop our own likes and dislikes. This form the basis our individual consciousness . We as individuals have our own set of values , beliefs ...

We cannot exist as solitary islands in the ocean of life and so Human Beings are known as Social Beings . We often collectively form groups and these could be on the basis of so many factors. We could be part of a family or part of an alumni network or may be a business group etc ....

Take for example the group based on geographical location . Under this we are a part of a particular City or State or Nation . The society we live in is a network of individuals of which one is a part of . As a citizen we share similar likes , believe in similar faiths or in other words have a Collective Consciousness as a national of a particular Country.

How ever with the advent of Internet , groups or Networks are no longer limited by geographical location . It may be interesting to note that even such a group may then have Collective Consciousness .

So if you are reading this Blog on Linkedin or Blogger or Facebook it is probably because you and me are a part of some sort of a virtual network . 

Are we right now having a Collective Consciousness in this Virtual World ? 

I am eager to know the characteristics of this Network . I solicit your comments about the shared values and beliefs of this network . So let us explore what Collective Consciousness are we a part of  .......

Think Local Act Global !

Indiafrica Business Venture Contest 2014 took place in Accra Ghana.This event was covered today on CNBC TV 18 on Young Turks . By watching the episode I realized how addressing local problems have a global relevance. 

Following is my take on that   

Grammangal is a NGO in India.

One of its achievements is providing quality education for the under privileged tribal and rural children of Maharashtra. Their methodology is based on joyful learning. For example while teaching Marathi Language to the students, they designed a set of books accompanied by flash cards. 

The series teaches Marathi Alphabets illustrated with objects usually found in the surrounding  of these tribal and rural children. It helps the children to place the language in context of the surrounding. The illustrations in the books highlight what the children would see in their day today life. So, after learning the alphabets, when the children need to use language they can verbally experiment using objects around them.  This instills confidence and the children embrace the language quickly. They find utility in learning a language . Language as a tool of expression is embraced more willingly when you can use the language for the environment around you. This is how Grammangal is addressing literacy problem in tribal and rural Maharashtra in a different way.

The context of this problem solution finds relevance somewhere else in the world. The Non Resident Indian Community with Marathi speaking Diaspora is spread far and wide.  This community yearns to remain connected with their roots. And one of the predominant desires of parents is that their children should know their mother tongue namely  "Marathi". They expect children to  at least converse in Marathi if not write it. In an attempt to teach the language they often use text books like Balbharati   and expect the children to pick up their mother tongue. Unfortunately these NRI kids are unable to connect with the illustrations or context in the text books. Learning alphabets would be too much to expect from them. The solution as per me is redesigning such books which illustrate what these NRI kids see around them ( like Grammangal )

So a न wont be illustrated as नमन

 but may be न  as in नट्स 

The point I wish to drive home is, problems solved in local context (Grammangal in this case) may often be a solution to problem faced somewhere else in the world ( the NRI Marathi speaking Diaspora ).
The two places may be diametrically opposite on the globe or as distant as Africa and India but the problems are common and often the solutions may be the same.
What is required is many more such events like Indiafrica initiatives where one can talk about local Problems and seek solutions through each other's learning.

"So why spend time reinventing the wheel? ". It may be wiser  to assemble one's car using a wheel invented by someone else and drive further on the path to success !

Canvas

I visited Waiangani a small fishing hamlet near Vengurla, South Maharashtra in February 2014. Kirat Trust had organized Turtle Festival. The theme was Hatching of Olive Ridley Turtles eggs. 

On the first day the organizers had invited Artist Polaji who demonstrated "Acrylic on Canvas" painting. He had a unique style of painting. His demonstrations started with canvas that were not plain white. All his canvas were smeared with the residual paints, the left over in the pellet during the earlier paintings.

So as shown in the photograph he selected one which was earlier smeared with various shades of yellow and green . As he progressed, the brush strokes brought out this amazing painting in front of us. He used the background of yellow and drew a mama turtle laying eggs on the sea shore. 

None of us spectators imagined this scene when he started the painting. What Artist Polaji did was, he understood the canvas, visualized what he could create on it, connected the dots and sketched out this painting out of an absolute abstract background!

For me the painting  was true depiction of the life of Suhas Tolaskar a Turtle Conservator .

Suhas went to Mumbai in search of career. Unsatisfied in Mumbai he returned home to Waiangani. Here he found the real purpose for his life. Suhas like the artist accepted the canvas of his life. He accepted that Waiangani an obscure fishing hamlet ( and not Mumbai ) was his destiny . He recognized that he was passionate about turtle conservation . What remained was then just connecting the dots and adding colors to the canvas of his life. Suhas accepted this challenge and made it a story of his life. He is devoted to the cause of turtle conservation for over a decade now .
The Turtle Festival as they call it was organized by Kirat Trust for the third year in succession. This year it was visited by about 110 people. The 3 day event not only created awareness for conservation but was a boost to the local economy for the other wise sleepy obscure and otherwise unobtrusive village Waiangany.

Suhas accepted his canvas (like Artist Polaji ) . He understood that his canvas was smeared with limitations of remoteness. He foresaw the greater purpose in his life. Instead of cribbing about how obscure his village was he focused on the greater picture fighting all odds . Connected these dots added colors in the form of conservation efforts and drew a master piece of his life. I am sure his efforts would leave mark on the sands of time.

So the morale of the story , Accept one's canvas. It may not be empty and may have colors from previous paintings. Accept them , visualize what one can paint on this background, connect the dots and draw your master piece! The least you can do in this life is abstain from complicating your existing canvas and try to add meaningful colors to it. You can start by saying ......
"Today is the first day of the rest of my life!"

Change of State

CHANGE OF STATE

My younger son once asked me the reason for formation of bubbles along the wall of utensil when one boils water. I explained to him that this was on account of change of state (Solid State to Liquid State to Gaseous State). On listening he asked me another question. If an egg is also a liquid inside, why does it not change in to Gaseous state when we heat it?

So, both of us conducted an experiment. I took two utensils and filled them with water and put them on heat to boil. In one I put a whole egg without breaking it . Later, I took another egg and broke it open and poured the liquid contents in hot boiling water.

We observed both the utensils. The one in which I poured liquid egg cooked quickly in a fraction of second. I told my son that this is called A Poached Egg.

The other utensil was kept undisturbed and the egg in it boiled over about 20 minutes.

I placed both the dishes in front of Jay and asked him to make a choice for breakfast. Jay chose the boiled egg. He suggested me to give the poached egg to dog.

The boiled egg was presentable; although it took longer time to boil.

The poached egg was lousy in appearance but cooked in a minute.

I told Jay

1. Egg liquid polymerized in water to form poached egg and so the state of matter changed ( Liquid to Solid)

2. I also explained Jay that if one focused on the task ( like boiling an unopened egg in water) the end result is far superior in quality than the haphazard way of cooking a poached egg .

    Focused efforts take longer time to fetch results and the result is often more presentable. I taught him to be focused in life and be patient.

Above was a learning experience for me, as much as it was for Jay.

I realized how small experiments have so much more to teach in life! In demonstrating the experiment, I changed my state.. from a father to a teacher….