We’ve had a breakthrough of sorts. Nanda ma’am wasn’t answering the calls that we were trying to make for the past couple of days. However, Roabin managed to get across yesterday and had a long and enlightening conversation with her. We had realized that something wasn’t right when all communication with her had come to a momentary stand still. She was obviously facing an internal struggle of some kind and was, as a result, showing resistance. (We took that as a good sign - her resistance was symptomatic of the advent of changes in her life)
It turns out that societal scrutiny wasn’t the only thing boggling her mind. She revealed other underlying troubles as well. One fact was that she believed Nilesh lacked confidence to meet me by himself. Initially I was taken aback at hearing this. However, considering how edgy I myself get while meeting new people, I deemed it understandable. Nanda ma’am was of the opinion that if Nilesh were to meet me in the future it would have to be in her company. The fact that she said all of this showed that there was deep thought and understanding on her part with regard to the entire situation. She went on to say that this inference posed other bigger problems for her. Being a single parent, and the sole bread-winner, her work took up most of her time and came second to nothing. She really couldn’t take repeated breaks from her work just to accompany Nilesh in our meetings. That would mean risking losing her job.
We had already seen problems with regard to Nanda maam’s work. We’d seen how the constant requirement for her to attend to work had led to inattention towards Nilesh. It’s something she really couldn’t help. So while she was at work there was no one playing the role of the disciplining hand in Nilesh’s life. The little time she had with him she used to pamper him (after all he is her only child). With no one to watch over him in these his young impressionable years, things had already begun to go wrong. He was showing anger and refusal to listen to his mother. He was also exhibiting all the signs of being spoilt. This was leading to other problems. Nanda ma’am felt forced to be stricter. However, slapping and other such methods aren’t really any good because it is this disciplinary style of beating children that advocates violence in all the youth that come from slums.
The added problem was that she didn’t know what to choose. There wasn’t any choice really. Work had to be priority. Leaving work for the child’s sake was out of the question. This brings to light so many of the differences in the way of life in different strata of society. Here we learn about the difficulty of raising a child in a slum but also of doing so by playing the role of a single parent. In a more complete family the parents can communicate and share the responsibility of helping their child. Work needn’t or may not come in the way.
So then our brick wall has taken newer dimensions. Clambering up this one may be a lot more arduous. Any Suggestions?
Hey there! I apologise for not posting anything on the blog for a little while. I’m posting this now because I wanted to update readers about what is going on, on the Nanda ma’am and Nilesh front. After Nilesh’s second disappearance it was decided that I would try and connect with Nanda ma’am and pay no attention to Nilesh. We assumed that in doing so Nilesh would later desire attention and voluntarily join our meetings and as such the whole experience would be fruitful for not only Nilesh and me, but Nanda ma’am as well.
Here too certain problems arose. I was to meet Nanda ma’am during the time of Navratri but somehow she always had a reason not to participate. I was getting the hint, so I probed further and she revealed to me her worries about what people would say about this young man who was coming to meet her almost everyday. She was afraid of the questions people in the slum would ask. After all, however much we may proclaim our own independence, we are all afflicted (to a certain degree) with society’s constant gaze and policing. Why should the case be any different for her?
And so Nanda ma’am displayed resistance to our efforts- a resistance to change. Change is indeed a very difficult thing, but absolutely necessary. So then we’ve reached a Brick Wall. However, as Randy Pausch (lecturer from Carnegie Melon famous for "The Last Lecture") once said - "Brick walls are there for a reason. They help us prove (and learn) how badly we want something."
Hope we can clamber up this brick wall and move forward.
Once again, as I had expected, Nilesh was there waiting for me even before I had arrived. This only happened on those rare occasions when he expected something fun in store for him. Also, as I had expected, he brought Raymond and Vishal along with him. I was wrought by confusion the moment I saw the three of them. Questions riddled my mind. The major uncertainty was whether I would be breaching all protocol by taking these kids to my home. I did promise them a video and a car ride, so doing nothing was really not an option. And then there was the glimmer of hope that Nilesh just might get interested and stay interested.
So then I got them seated in the car and we were off. They seemed to love the drive and were also quite eager to see the video once we got home (I’m referring to the video that I have embedded on the blog post “My First Meeting with Nilesh”). Once that was done they wanted to play a few computer games (Unfortunately I had very few of those having lost interest in them quite some time ago). They had fun nonetheless playing Last Bronx and Roadrash. Once all this was done it was time to take them home.
Who was I kidding anyway?? What I’d just done was that I’d given a kid a chocolate and was simply happy too see him come running. How else could this be interpreted? This wasn’t going to have any long term effect.
My worries were not baseless. He did arrive the next day to meet me. However, I can attribute that to the after-effects of chocolate consumption. The days that followed showed absolutely no signs of Nilesh. We were back to square one.
Still eagerly awaiting suggestions. Haven’t lost hope yet.
Hope you’re doing well! Since you are the only person at the Saathi office who I can even remotely refer to as my “go-to” person, I’m begging you for help. I am facing a dilemma of sorts. Actually I'm facing dilemmas of many sorts. There is the problem with Nilesh. He just refuses to try. Then there is the fact that I'm getting rebuffed, rebuked and repudiated by every new person I meet, every step of the way. Well, maybe thats an exaggeration. As you can guess from the tone of my words, I'm groveling here.
Could you please, please ask people at the Saathi office to take a look at the blog (I sent you the link in an earlier email). Maybe they could read what I've written about Nilesh and suggest something. I'm sure I'd get brilliant ideas on how to help Nilesh.
Also there is another thing. I keep getting the feeling that I'm over-burdening you. If so please let me know. I'll understand completely. How can I not understand. I've seen how hard you work. Its just that its a little strange, not having gotten a response from you for so long.
Hoping that you will reply soon,
Thanks,
Nishant
P.S. - I’d like to put this letter, and your response to it, on my blog, along with any written communication between us that is to follow. I've done the same with Roabin. Thanks again.
Now there’s just one word for this, and racking my brain really won’t do me any good here. It’s plain and simple COOL. Most people, often very busy with their own professional lives, don’t have the time to put into action their thoughts about “giving”. There are lots of people out there who most certainly want to help but just don’t know how. That is the reason why The Joy of Giving Week is such a brilliant thing. It’s an excellent platform for everyone to connect and contribute in their own personal way. And by that I really do mean everyone, not just corporates and NGOs but children, youth and individuals too. One thing, however, must be understood here. No contribution is small. So if you think you have something worthy of giving, just get up, go out there and do it! If you need details just visit the following link -
You can also do your own thing, just like the site says - organising a clothes collection drive in your building or college, volunteering 3-4 hours a week to an NGO and many other things. Its all about the power of the individual to make a difference.
The Joy of Giving Week Starts on Sep 27th and continues till Oct 3rd. So go out and experience the JOY. P.S. - Remember, it doesn't just have to be a week...
I realize that you have visited my blog. Firstly, thank you for doing so. Did you find it interesting? I’d love some feedback from you. I sent you an invite to contribute to the blog because I thought it would make the blog all the more worthy of note and also because anything on the blog that comes from you would surely be of great help.
As you already know, I have been interning with Roabin, and thereby with Saathi, since the beginning of September. I wanted to request Saathi to help me complete all the formalities required to make my internship with them official.
Thanks,
Nishant Philip
P.S. - I’d like to put this letter, and your response to it, on my blog, along with any written communication between us that is to follow. Thanks again.
What is Nilesh thinking? Why the sudden desire to throw away all that which he said he desired so much? Why does WYSIWYG not holding true here? The only bases for analysis are my three meetings with Nilesh and my conversation with Nanda ma’am.
One thing I can gauge is that Nilesh may have felt embarrassed by how fast his younger friends were picking up what I wanted him to learn, while he was struggling to do so. I did, however, try to reassure him that it would take time and that we were in no hurry.
Another point could be that all the interest he displayed was actually a symptom of camera craze. Maybe his interest lay only in the camera, his newest toy. In the manner characteristic of children, once his interest in the camera waned so did his attention. This raises a number of problems as it shows disinterest on Nilesh’s part to grab hold of opportunities or take things seriously (however, I do need to remind myself that he is an eleven year from time to time)
Or maybe it’s the company he keeps, as his mother tells me, all his friends have shown no interest in education, and some have even dropped out at a very young age. They’re probably encouraging him to avoid all of this and go have fun! (the thing here is that I’ve told Nilesh that we need only meet 5 days a week, for an hour a day. I’ve made it clear that he can still go play with his friends because play is important.)
I should have realized that things were moving forward all too smoothly. No journey in life is ever that smooth. There are bound to be hiccups and road-blocks all along the way. And guess what?? I recently met my very first road-block! So let me state my problem --
For two consecutive days I made my way to the park and on both days Nilesh did not arrive. I spent almost an hour at the park in waiting each day, only to end up feeling ever so slightly snubbed. Nanda ma’am told me that Nilesh wasn’t feeling well. However, a day or too later that reason transformed into an outright refusal to come and meet me. As most anyone can guess, I was a little shocked, and for a person who tends to take things at a very personal level, I was a little hurt as well. Be that as it may, there was no time to be wasted. This problem had to be tackled sooner than later. In that spirit (and with a little advice from Roabin) I arranged a meeting with Nanda ma’am.
When she arrived at the park, she brought Nilesh along with her (something that I had expected might happen). We sat down together and I tried to have a conversation with Nilesh. But this wasn’t the Nilesh I knew. This seemed to be some other kid. The Nilesh I met had always been sweet and had always listened. That was not what he was doing now! He refused to look at me as I talked and refused to respond. His “Yes I want to learn English” turned into an out-and-out “NO I DO NOT”. At one point he stormed out of the park with an outburst of anger, and so, a little stunned, I turned my attention towards Nanda ma’am.
She was quite frank and didn’t seem wary about laying all her problems bare in front of me. She relayed her fears regarding Nilesh and what he might become as he grows up. I could see the worry in her eyes. And she could see similar emotions in mine. Here I was, supposedly the mentor, and all this was turning out to be the perfect mood dampener. I was not playing my role well in the least bit. The situation Nilesh was facing was quite upsetting. To me he seemed a victim of his circumstances. Here in the slum, his idols, the teenage boys, were telling him to do the exact opposite of what he was being told by his mother or by me. And as an eleven year old he, like his friends, believed that fun was more important than work and opportunity. It seemed like everything around him was asking him to fail, was begging him to fall into the rut that the others he knew were falling into…
I was in a fix and as a result I resorted to something I later realized was sheer bribery. I showed Nilesh the car I had arrived in that day and offered to take him for a ride and show him the video of our first meeting on the internet to regain his interest….having made this promise I left for the day…remembering only how his face had lit up at the prospect of a car ride…
Once again I beg for your comments & suggestions. Bye for now.Tschüß.Auf Wiedersehen.
After our first meeting and the trouble I had making Nilesh understand a few words in English, I had a conversation with Roabin. He suggested that I could try and teach Nilesh English by talking to him only in English thereby compelling him to learn; a method tried and tested by many a foreign language institute teaching basic levels of a foreign language (I’ve been learning German quite well in this manner from Inlingua). My mother, a lady of vast teaching experience, gave me an idea as to how I could help Nilesh start a project of sorts. I was to hand him the digi-cam and ask him to go camera-happy all around the park. I told him we would do the same at his house the next day and we would make a scrap book of the pictures that I would later hand over to him.
So our meeting on this day involved a lot of photography and games. This was the approach I had chosen i.e., to have fun with Nilesh, keep him interested and thus gain his trust. After this connection was established I could attempt to give him a few lessons. Towards the latter half of our meeting I sat him down again and spoke to him in English. I made an effort to speak slowly & clearly with signs as an aid to convey the meanings. At times I had to break in to Hindi because the conversation wouldn’t get anywhere. An interesting fact was that one of Nilesh’s friends, who was much younger than Nilesh, was answering my questions and picking up words at a more brisk pace. Nilesh on the other hand wasn’t able to catch on. That did get me a little worried. Once again not wanting to strain the newly developed connection I decided that we could resume our attempts the next day.
Our third day was by far the most interesting. I’d promised Nilesh the day before that I would go to his home for my next visit. Nilesh arrived at the park before me for the very first time, looking very eager and excited. This time too he brought along a string of friends. Once at the slum, the kids took me around to every nook and cranny that held any importance to them. They showed me the play area near the rail tracks behind the slum, the gymnasium, the common idol room, and even their adopted kittens. Another favorite spot was the make-shift “Parallel Bars” that the children used, where Nilesh and Raymond showed me their gymnastic skills worthy of the Olympic Games. Nilesh and Vishal also proudly displayed their photography skill to all their friends and we were able to take some really good photos.
One of the most wonderful things about this experience was how happy he seemed when we arrived at his home. Nilesh’s home was extremely small- a single very compact room. It was about the size of a bathroom of most any middle-class family house, with a small bed forced into one corner, a television and cabinet with pictures of Gods and Goddesses in another corner. Just next to that was a little rack with all the plates followed by a small gas burner which constituted the kitchen.
Nanda ma’am politely offered me sweet tea and pohe. Eating with Nilesh and his friends at his home was a unique experience for me, having never been in a slum before, let alone eat a meal in one. This certainly was an experience to remember.
Will write again. Bye for now. Tschüß. Auf Wiedersehen.
When Roabin informed me that I was to mentor an 11 year old child, Nilesh, the entire thing came as a bit of a surprise to me. Up till then I was doing a lot of soul searching, writing about my experience at the Saathi office, and venturing, as a learner, into the field of video editing. I never expected that I would be doing something like this so soon. Unfortunately I didn’t look at it as an opportunity immediately. No. I was my usual apprehensive self. Being a self-proclaimed introvert, I had absolutely no clue as to what I would do when I met Nilesh and his mother. Roabin delivered to me a set of very basic instructions, regarding sensitivity and respect (I would’ve been glad if it hadn’t been so very basic. Even though I oppose the idea of a rigid structure or strict protocol, in contradiction to that fact, I am also someone who revels in being told what to do. Maybe that’s because the former involves quick decision making, which is something that requires a lot of gumption). I was to refer to Nilesh’s mother, Nanda, as Nanda ma’am at all times. I was told that the object of this endeavor was to gain the trust of Nilesh and his mother. It was by gaining their trust that I could allow them to lower their guard against me and truly understand them. And by understanding I myself would be able to figure out what I could do to help Nilesh. This process is as complex and intricate as it sounds.
After being given these details by Roabin, I was left to ponder what I was going to plan for our first meeting. Pondering took me nowhere and I finally decided I would just meet Nilesh and Nanda ma’am, introduce myself and just have a conversation. As per instruction I also took my camera along. I was initially wary of doing so, unwilling to create unfounded suspicions, but Roabin was of the opinion that the camera would play a role of an object of interest for Nilesh and would help me connect with him. And he was right.
I reached the designated area, a park, on time. Nilesh wished to see me at the park to create a better first impression than he believed he could achieve at his home. The fact that this kid was already trying impressed me deeply. He had, quite cleverly, brought along a friend, a peer, to keep him company while he tried to get to know this strange new guy. Once Nanda ma’am gave me the “go ahead”, I brought out the camera, and started filming. He was initially embarrassed to answer questions in front of the camera, but once I told him to pretend he was an actor he overcame his embarrassment marginally. I involved both Nilesh and his friend Vishal in the filming of their introductions. Vishal, having studied in an English medium school and being 2 years older, was quite confident speaking about himself and his ambitions. His desire was to become a pilot. Nilesh, on the other hand was undecided as to what he wanted to become. Hopefully he was reassured once I told him I faced a similar dilemma and that as long as we gave the issue sincere thought there was nothing to worry about.
The camera turned out to be a great way to connect with the children and keep them interested. Initially they were all too glad to pose, but were before long captivated by the functioning of the camera, and as children to, they picked up its functioning and use rapidly. It was at this point that I tried to teach him 2 basic introductory lines. While he could say “My name is Nilesh” perfectly, the sentence “My age is eleven” proved to be too difficult. We made an attempted to say the sentences repeatedly. I later learnt the follies of this method were manifold. Not only was it getting us nowhere, he was also learning by rote and I wasn’t keeping things interesting. Not wishing to overburden him I called it a day. Nilesh seemed to be quite pleased with our meeting and as we said our goodbyes I decided tomorrow would be a new day, and another chance for another attempt.
P.S: I would to be grateful to receive suggestions as to how I could help Nilesh learn English and also attempt to help him understand the things he could achieve in his future.
What does one expect to encounter on their first day at a Non-Governmental Organization? For someone who has had absolutely no interaction with the world of activists, of social workers and that of NGOs, the virgin NGO experience can be expected to cause much bewilderment. With the hustle and bustle of purposeful individuals going about their work with determination, the “new guy” cannot expect to be given much import. Saathi turned out to be a little bit of the expected and a lot of the unexpected. The very first thing I learnt in my attempt to get to Saathi was enlightening and does deserve mention - NGOs are no longer charitable organizations. Now that’s something I didn’t know. In the work of an NGO, there are no givers separate from receivers. It is a natural human tendency for an individual, who gives to someone in need, to feel a conscious or subconscious sense of superiority; after all he/she is the one who gives while the other, the needy, receives. However, in Saathi it is well understood that the givers are also receivers, and I am to experience that first hand in the days to come.
One thing that I sought to do ever since I participated in conversations that led to my commitment with Saathi, was to compare the experience of working for an NGO with that of working for a large multi-national corporation. My basis for comparison lay in the fact that I was about to commence working for the former and have had an opportunity to work through 5 months for the latter (in the field of hospitality). What was evident on that very first day was the difference in the basic operational structure of the organizations. Operations in a large corporation were bound by a rigid skeleton i.e. any and every event called for action as per strict protocol laid down by the heads of the organization. This may be attributed to the sheer numbers that these large corporations were dealing with and their profit driven policies. These companies couldn’t risk giving their employees a little leeway to express themselves through their work, for fear that it would lead to non-uniformity in brand standards and eventually cause large scale problems. This notion is considered by some as erroneous as it causes individuals to conform with pre-conceived ideas and hence become just another block in the grand structure of the organization (any one trying to understand what I’m saying here should listen to the song “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds or Pete Seeger - I've embedded the video from youtube) -
I am told that I can expect the Saathi experience to be diametrically opposite to that in a large corporation. And I did see an example of this on my very first day. The surprising fact was that the day I was to arrive at Saathi would also be the day when the organization would take important decisions regarding the course of its future. The decisions that were being taken were indeed of paramount importance. The interesting thing was how the organization wasaccepting, understandingandeducatingthe opinions of each of its members, taking all factors into consideration and moving forward to make the crucial decisions. This may be because of Saathi’s smaller numbers in terms of staff, but I do hope that in the future even after this NGO expands to wider and greater horizons this part of its character does not change. That is going to be a task of herculean proportions, but worthy of the effort.
I was given to understand that, while in a corporation I would have to mould myself to fit in the organizational framework, in Saathi the organization would mould itself to embrace my qualities and abilities. And thus came about the tasks for my first day - writing. Most of the day required me to take pictures around the Saathi office to convey a variety of messages. Photography, though not really something I claim to be skilled at, was enjoyable. It did involve my meeting many of the project members and coordinators. They were very welcoming of this stranger who was filming them once they were informed that the reasons were quite innocent. My rescuer, in this respect, happened to be Ruth. If I am going to write about the people who work at Saathi, I guess I should start with her. Ruth did a marvelous job of clarifying the doubts of questioning eyes, thereby protecting me from any admonishment. Being the first person that I met at the Saathi office, she created the first and most lasting impression about the organization. She was friendly, welcoming and very considerate, though always quite busy. Since my first day also happened to be an important day of meetings, she told me I wasn’t to get a formal orientation and that my initiation was to be a unique experience as the members didn’t really have the time to put their guard up against me.
When the meeting began, I attempted to film the crucial moments i.e. the discussions that involved the transfer of power. No sooner did all this happen, than an objection was brought up. A well spoken, confident and quite stern lady questioned the purpose of the filming and remained dissatisfied with the response given. Although there was a momentary feeling that I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing, these thoughts soon gave way to a feeling of being disconnected with the essence of the objection raised. The filming was halted from that moment on and only resumed after Roabin arrived. It was at this point that I met Brijesh. Roabin asked both me and Ruth to advise him on how he could announce to the rest of the Saathi group that he would like to take Saathi forward into the political arena and convince them all that this was indeed a good idea. Suddenly being asked to handle something like this without any prior intimation was like being asked to dive off the deep end or like being left to flail in the sea. Ruth, being more accustomed to such methods handled the situation better and told me it would take a little getting used to. The crux of the meeting was that Roabin, recently appointed CEO of Saathi, desired to be relieved of the post and to appoint someone else in that position. Initially the age-old debate about power in the hands of a group and power in the hands of an individual was carried out. Thereafter a new CEO, viz. Valerie, was chosen and a process involving gradual succession was discussed.
At the end of the day, many of the questions I had hoped to ask remain half-answered. But then again, this journey has just started. It is only by going forward that I can truly understand the dynamics of an NGO like Saathi and the people who work in it. One thing I feel I can expect - that’s serendipity.
After that letter and many more conversation, I decided to commit to Saathi for a period of 3 months. It must be understood that a commitment made to an NGO is singly important as it involves gaining the trust of underpriviliged people. Once a commitment is broken , it results in causing the underpriviliged person to distrust further contact with individuals from the NGO.
Once the commitment was made, I was called to visit the Saathi office in Mumbai.
Here is the gist of the letter I said I'd display. Have omitted the ending though.
"To Roabin,
You left me with a lot to think about after our final conversation last night. You’d told me about the importance of quality of life and how that takes precedence over most other things in the West. I believe that that is indeed how it should be. So you’ll understand when I say that what you talked about was something that has been driving me crazy for quite some time. I’ve called it the “happiness” factor and what we’re talking about is famously known in the USA as the “Pursuit of Happiness”. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who love doing what they do, so that, to me my work would be my source of happiness. However, I’ve since been told that one can’t really ensure or work towards happiness by flitting from one career option to another, at least not in our country. There is too much competition here. The scope for re-inventing one’s self in our country is low because the moment one thinks of moving on to something else at a later stage in life they’ll find that they’re competing against people younger, fresher and more energetic than themselves. They’ll probably find that there is, essentially, no place for them in this new arena. I’ve been told that one cannot just sit down at some point in his/her life and measure happiness. Happiness is something that can be understood over the long term i.e. by living life and looking back later to see if you’re happy with what you see and whether or not you’re glad you took the decisions you did. And I may not completely disagree.
People in the west can afford to concentrate on achieving that quality of life because, as you said, they have financial freedom. The mature economies of their respective developed countries provide them with economic certainty and thus permit them to do so. I was watching this documentary called Two Million Minutes in which Vivek Paul (former CEO off Wipro technologies) said that students in India, China and the USA were now competing on a level playing field and that while the Indians were motivated to work harder by economic opportunism, the Americans needed to find other motivation because they had economic certainty. Yesterday you told me that this financial freedom is coming here to India as well. I was a little confused by this statement because although economies do support a person’s financial freedom, I always thought financial freedom was finally an individualistic thing. So then if financial freedom is this individual thing then many people do not have it to back them up in their search for quality of life. However great their economy may have been, the USA has always had people who’ve invariably just made ends meet and people who’ve had to slave to do so. They may be fewer in number, but they do exist. In India our gargantuan population gives this problem different dimensions. Our economy is strong and growing. Though recession has shown its effects we continue to march forward. All the same India has large numbers of people motivated by their desire to achieve economic certainty. As a result there isn’t a moment to lose. Some say that life becomes a rat race.
Then there are the things you spoke of- The unique and precious personality traits of every person that the industry tries to omit in an effort to mould them into just another block in their organizational structure. I agree with you there...."
The letter continues a little bit more but the matter that follows would be irrelevant to the blog readers. Hope that was an interesting read.
I considered various ways of moving forward to engage myself in some of the great suggestions made by the Taj regarding pursuits for the next 3 months. It took me considerable time because I do tend to vacillate before committing to something. Finally, I got in touch with Roabin. He was someone who I knew was associated with an NGO. Roabin Mazumdar is a founder member of the NGO known as Saathi as well as a director of The Inheritance India Land Conservation Company. Once we began to talk, we had a series of conversations (which were quite thought provoking). I believe that through our conversations he tried to gauge the kind of person I was and I too, in exchange, learnt quite a bit about the NGO world. We discussed my likes, my abilities, "quality of life" and lots more. Throughout our discussions, Roabin sought no long term commitment from me (until I was ready).
For my next post. I intend to display a letter I wrote to Roabin. It'll bring to light, partially, the substance of our conversations.
Bye for now. Auf Wiedersehen (until we meet again).
Hello. My name is Nishant Philip. I come from India.
Hallo. Mein name ist Nishant Philip. Ich komme aus Indien.
Okay. I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve just started a German language class with Inlingua, and learning a foreign language is pretty exciting. So I just had to do that (introduce myself in German).
Now before I start a whirlwind of blogging, I’d like for the readers to know how exactly this blog came about. For the past three years I’ve been a student in the field of hospitality at the Institute of Hotel Management in Mumbai. Thereafter I was selected, by process of campus placement, in the Taj Management Training Program which was due to commence on 3rd August 2009. However, due to certain unforeseen circumstances the program got delayed and was rescheduled for December 2009.
Although my reaction to the deferment of the Training program was markedly one of discontentment, this view changed completely within time. I received some excellent suggestions from the Training Department of the Taj, which listed pursuits like working for an NGO and learning a foreign language among other things. That is what sparked my association with Saathi and Inheritance India Land Conservation Company Limited.
Comments and suggestion for all forthcoming posts are welcome (in fact they are much needed).
