Blog me...curiosity redefined

       I was always fascinated with good movies, especially those spine-chilling thrillers. My favorites have always been crime thrillers. Few to quote :  Drishyam - Indian remake (possible remake) of Korean thriller "Perfect Number" Cold eyes - Korean thriller Juror 8 - Korean law film based on the remake of American film '12 Angry Men'     Have you ever wondered what is in such a fictional story? Is it the sudden change in the plot? Or is it the flush of hormones that your brain receives when the plot makes you sit on the edge of the seat? What drives us to such movies? Is it the story, the narration, the direction, the acting or a combo of all these?     Coming back to India, we had our share of luck as a movie-goer in KGF, Bahubali and a few. But comparatively there is a dearth of good movies, that is my opinion. No doubt, there are a lot of releases and some are star-studded while others are hyped. But ultimately the audience does not ca...

          Ever tasted the 'Kimchi', the spicy hot South Korean pickle? No, then you are missing something here. For those who heard it for the first time, consider the Indian version of mango pickle, with cabbage instead of mango in it. I have tried cooking 'Kimchi' at home. It came out nice, except that my 'Kimchi' was not fermented for long days.          By the way, did you hear about the news on 'Kimchi' lately? If you have not heard of it, so far, the manufacturers in South Korea are facing a huge crisis. The shortage of cabbage started the price increase, the Chinese competitors offering a low cost version making it worse. The ultimate damage is that last year almost 1000 odd kimchi makers were shut down or had to shift temporarily their core product to an alternate one. Isn't it surprising?     Kimchi in South Korea, is as popular as Sushi in Japan. The food (kimchi) is a side dish but with innovation creeping into the f...

           Today I was craving to have a 'veg-puff' in the nearby bakery. Yes, it did turn out to be good, tasty and yummy. The realization of my wants and the fulfillment made it all the better. It is at that moment that I felt life is beautiful when you keep it simple.            Extravagant lifestyle may have its own advantages, but nevertheless the simple living is any day better. The icing on the cake is when I was able to feed a hungry dog that was ogling at my veg-puff. Obviously, I wasn't sure if it will eat my puff, so I gave it a bun. The satisfaction of feeding the hungry made my day. The dog was asking for more. I feed it another bun. Simple pleasure indeed.          Have you ever felt that the reason to keep your life simple? If not, try it. There are minimalists at one end, meditators at the other end, but once you are on the true path to your destined place, it is bound to make you happy....

          When I hear the word ‘Game’, it gives me a sense of pleasure. Yes I always loved sports, be it cricket, table tennis, table pool. Isn’t the competitiveness in the game that drives us towards it? The thrill of winning from a losing situation, the character building sportsman spirit, the rising hormones while playing all makes it interesting, yet fun. One part is the outdoor games, but the thrill is totally on the online games, I heard. I honestly am not much into any online gaming. Now, I always wondered what goes into making these online games. Let me start with the basics of any game: a)       Goal – What is the point in playing a game without having a goal? It is after all, the ultimate reach that drives us to succeed or loss. But the secret is not to get entangled in the specifics of the outcome, but to play to our true potential. b)       Rules – Formulation of the rules, and adhering to it,...

 All these are created using elements in Canva. Nature has its own way of expressing the beauty. Only if you have the eye to see it.

      Lately I have been fascinated to know why the EdTech industry is crashing. Isn't that the topic running around in media now a days? This blog is not to assess that question, thou. We all know that EdTech as an industry is maturing itself. It saw its nascent stage, the growth and its consolidation. Time will tell us where does it lead us to. The current job losses in EdTech, the mergers and the hiccups in general will all settle down with time. Those who survive would definitely be the ones that stick to their value addition. It is not the marketing stunt, the cost factors, the current trends that will make a company survive, but the real value add to the customer (learners in this case). As the market consolidates, only few survive. I just hope the market correction leads to a better EdTech companies blooming rather than just surviving. Needless to say, the market correction takes care of it automatically.       Outside the EdTech industry, I believe ...

        I was watching a TEDx talk from Palki Sharma Upadhyay, a news reader from Wion. Yes she is known for her news series called 'Gravitas' and one thing that stuck my mind in her talk was 'Find your flavor'. The world is competitive, no doubt. We are all moving from macro-competition to micro-competition. With that it would mean, we are not bound by industry-specific competition or even company-specific-competition, it is more individuals competition over other w.r.t skills, intelligence, productivity, offerings, value adds etc.      Let me stick to teaching field for now. What makes a teacher find his niche? Is it the art of story telling? Is it the magic he creates on the stage with his performance? Is it the mesmerizing narration? Is it his command over the content? Is it the thought-provoking questions that he ask? Is it making them create something new?  Or is it just his charisma that the students love?    Oh yeah, the ingredie...