Blog me...curiosity redefined

      "Love the way she sketches", that was my first thought few years ago when I saw a short video on how a pencil sketch was done. It was during Covid time and was locked in my four walls. For many Covid times were hard, am sorry for their loss. But to me, it helped me introspect and find many a hobbies.     I enjoyed the cooking, blogging and stuff like that. But one thing that stood out was my pencil sketch. Then I regained the touch of stroking and shading, couple of months back. Each time I start a sketch, I get so engrossed in to it, that I loose track of time.     Every stroke and every shade, makes me feel am still learning and yearning to do better. However there are certain things that it definitely teaches us. To name a few : a) importance of the shades with white spaces around it.  b) importance of erasing  part of the deep shade to make the contrast stand out. c) importance of depth of pencil re-strokes that highlights the curve...

    I happen to see an Instagram post on 'The Human Library' in Denmark where you get people to hear you out or rent you out like books. Isn't it interesting?  On the darker side of it, has humanity reached a point where you have to rent out people like books?       In the midst of this AI revolution that is trendy now a days, we have been on the verge of major transition. Particularly, we (Humans) have become addicted to technology and have been so dependent on it that we spend on an average 141 minutes (i.e. 2 hours 21mins) on social media across the globe.  That also means the average human attention span has reduced from 12 seconds in 2000 to 7 seconds in 2024.  What does that mean?            Its adding a little bit of impatience, stress, anxiety, self obsession etc. to our mind. Is that fine?  Image credit - Freepik     Yeah on a short term basis, if you can deal with it with alternatives to ...

     I just happen to watch a good speech by Andrew Ng on youtube on AI & how it can empower businesses of any scale. Please watch it before you read my blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reUZRyXxUs4     All due respect to him, we don't need democratization of AI, but democratization of sustainable villages (like Auroville experimental village in India) as we are impacting the environment/natural resources in the name of AI. Humans don't need more education but rather less of it. We need more of wisdom & values than education.     Man is known for his 'constructive destruction' nature...and we call this as evolving. Being an Indian, I believe in ancient wisdom of ours. Even the bell curve applied to a human life tells us once you reach a certain height of gaining information or knowledge, the next step is to let go of it. After all, wisdom comes only with let go.     We are on the wrong path by giving aw...

  "Design isn’t just what it looks like — it’s what it makes you feel." "Posters that don’t just speak — they shout with purpose." "Turning messages into moments through visual design." "Every great poster tells a story without saying a word." "Good design stops you. Great design moves you." "Crafting clarity out of creativity, one poster at a time." "Designs that connect, inspire, and leave a lasting mark." "Where ideas meet impact — through posters that work." "Speak visually. Inspire boldly. Design fearlessly." "A well-designed poster is more than art — it’s a voice." P.S. - ChatGPT provided inspiring quotes Creativity oozes when I start designing posters. I can tell a story, gives me clarity, puts life in to a message and transforms me. How about using it as an art therapy? Yes, it helps me relax and boosts the moral. Why not? Always enjoyed my Canva creations as it helped ...

        "Are you happy? Is this what you wanted to do in life?" my inner voice rings the bell.           It does not matter what these folks in the outside world look for in you. It is ultimately the inner YOU that needs to be fulfilled at the last. Probably at my age (45+), yes this is what matters!        The goal isn't to competitive with others, but YOURSELF. The agenda is not materialistic pleasures anymore but SERVICE or CONTRIBUTE. With that being said, after all some of us are in the rat race to either earn money or build a career, only to realize is that all they wanted?  I see a lot of young folks following this race to make quick buck to retire early. It's their choice...no comments on it.       Do what you like and most importantly ENJOY...because YOLO. :)            

     A couple of years ago, I was a instructor/mentor/coach for an alternative school in Bangalore. I was supposed to teach them Canva tool as a design tool. Yes, it was a simple task. But I thought of make it more interesting.       The challenge, I put myself was how can we embed 4Cs (Communication, Creativity, Collaboration & Critical thinking) into their learning of Canva tool. The brain gave me some suggestions to use PBL (project based learning) methodology for giving freedom to implement anything under the sun with the Canva tool.      Firstly they came up with their own ideas of what they will be implementing on the Canva within 2 or 3 days. Bingo. Freedom empowered them to own their projects. A buzz created across the school that they are now involved in a project. A curious mind which owns their idea can be a deadly combination. Yes couple of students struggled with to come up with an idea. I asked them what are their hobbi...

     I stumbled upon a job opportunity with an NGO EdTech recently and the expectation was how to monitor and evaluate teachers/educators in Govt. schools at a scale that is across India. Yes I agree it is quiet a challenge when we hardly take a sample size of sessions to monitor. It will be easily skewed towards that particular session's performance and not really going to be a true judge of all sessions.     Nevertheless, if we are to go ahead with this sample size sessions, I was on the thought process of how to approach this problem. Here is my two cents:    (i) Let me first define what indicators to look for in a teaching/facilitating sessions. Different category of indicators are involved here -  (a) Instructor/Teacher   (b) Learner/student  (c) Tools utilized  (d) Teaching methodologies applied.   But ultimately the bottom line questions are -                   ...