Engaging Hearts and Minds!

L&T's Leadership Development Academy

I spent a weekend a few days ago in a lovely campus in the hilly town of Lonavala attending one of the most beautiful conferences that I have ever attended in my official avatar. Organised by a bunch of professionals who call themselves "facilitators", the two day event lived up to the several definitions that go for the work of facilitation. For the uninitiated, facilitation involves a highly structured process in which the facilitator guides the participants through a series of pre-defined steps to arrive at a result that is created, understood and accepted by all participants. 

A session in progress

The process of Facilitation, one of the pillars of the Conference, was evident through all the activities that were planned. The fact that each of the sessions was designed as a "Facilitated Process" was in itself truly amazing and the oft repeated mantra, "trust the process", came alive in every one of the sessions - big or small group based - that I attended. Right from the start, whether it was a moment of silence or the charming introduction of the conference and the attendees, the power of effective facilitation was in evidence.

Another group discussion

The conference was without a dull moment for me. In addition to bumping into new faces all the time, the sessions were designed in such a way that the engagement levels were high and everyone got an opportunity to participate in some way or the other, if they chose to. Besides, no two activities or sessions used the same method, bringing in variety and newness to the proceedings. The organisers did full justice to the second pillar of the conference, Engagement.

Fun and camaraderie all over

The event itself was a confluence of 150+ seasoned, budding and curious facilitation practitioners from across India and a few from outside too. The sense of Community, another pillar of the Conference, among the attendees was equally in evidence. In the real world most of the organisers and participants at the conference are competitors, vying for the same business. However, there was none of that competitiveness or one-upmanship on obvious display at the conference. There was an open sharing of methods, techniques and ideas throughout the sessions and the learning quotient was really very high.  

Using visual graphics to tell a story!

How do facilitators who work so much with paper even think of making a conference eco-friendly? Well, ask the organizers of this one. With a delegate kit that had many sustainable ideas to activities that focused on Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, the green message in the conference and in small measure, for our lives, was loud and clear. 

Colourful tools for facilitation

Most professional conferences are platforms for networking and business development. I stay away from most conferences for that reason. For the largest part, this conference was "pure" in that there was no overt attempts at getting connected to get business, which for me was a big positive. Also, most conferences offer little learning but this one was very different. In line with the conference objective of Engaging Hearts and Minds, this well designed and neatly executed event left me energized and happy, eager for more.

Reason for my being at the Conference

For me, the lasting sentiment from the conference could be summed up as a definition of facilitation, in the words of Viv McWaters:

Let go of control

Step away from everyday

Discover the new

Pictures courtesy: Krishna Prasad, Ford

Musings on news and views in a crisis

So, we are planning our drive to Tellicherry. The rains are definitely going to make the journey difficult. We read newspaper reports about gushing rivers, overflowing reservoirs, broken bridges and blocked ghat roads. 

Just as we are driving down the Ooty - Gudalur road, my phone beeps and I see a WhatsApp message from my sardarji neighbour, who is the first to know and spread every news that matters - "landslide on Ooty - Gudalur road!" I am a bit shaken, don't want to break a bad news and so we carry on our drive.....yes, there are signs of a landslide but the efficient authorities have cleared the roads a couple of days ago. His information is from an old WhatsApp message, probably from an earlier rainy season, making its appearance again. 

We take advice from a cousin who suggests the Vythiri route from Sultan's Battery. Someone else asks us to check the ground situation before proceeding any further. Enquiring with locals, we are advised to avoid the said route and instead re-routed to Mananthavady. So, off we go through a maze of roads only to find that they all lead to gushing waters, shoulder height. We call the cousin for help who is annoyed that we did not heed his advice. And, we are left to fend for ourselves. Most people offer help eagerly but rarely based on genuine or real time information. 

Then another text message pops in. This is from Uncleji, enquiring about my family in Kerala. So good of him to think of my relatives, I think to myself. I tell him that I am on my way there. He warns me about the raging flood waters, wants me to change my plans, advising me to take a U-turn right away. I want to tell him that Kerala is a longish state, I am headed for Tellicherry and there is a sea of difference between Cannannore and Chengannur, especially in the context of the deluge.

My younger friends are smart. They believe that it is their right to be helpful, showing off how savvy they are with technology. I see them post location pins on their Facebook timeline - am unable to understand these posts but don't want to ask lest I sound foolish. I soon realise that they pinning locations of individuals who are looking to be rescued from the rising waters. And, in many cases, those individuals have already been rescued. An annoyed Chief Minister of Kerala himself releases a public communication asking people to recheck before asking for help.

Such is our world today! Lots of news to share, lots of ways to share news, lots of people sharing news but need to deal with every piece of communication with utmost care so that one is not carried away or misled.

The Temple of Arts - Kalakshetra!

A surprise call this morning prompted me to fish out these pictures for my blog. I had the chance to join a conducted tour of Kalakshetra a few years ago.

Despite having lived in the vicinity of the Temple of Arts for most of my life, I remember it being full of surprises for me. And, there was something spiritual about the campus for me.

The Banyan Tree which came as a sapling from the original home of Kalakshetra in the Theosophical Society and is now the nerve centre of the campus

Dance classes in progress under the banyan tree

Open classroom

Entrance to one of the many dance cottages on the campus where classes are conducted

Some more  of the cottages - simple yet beautiful!

A guest house on the campus

A bust of Rabindranath Tagore, who founded a similar institution in Shantiniketan

Mahavishnu

The campus notice board - how neat!

A campus pet too!

Padmapushkarini - the lotus pond! Revived recently to host music concerts 

The Koothamabalam - an auditorium built in the style of Kerala theatre, has been in the renovation mode for a while now. Attending performances in this theatre is a wonderful experience. 

A multipurpose hall - the simplicity and beauty of the buildings is indeed what makes the campus special

Terracotta guardians of the campus

The Ayyanar horses

More terracotta guardians

Not the terracotta warriors, really!

The guardians in their splendour!

PRIDE not prejudice!

A decade long struggle!

On Sunday June 24, 2018, I participated in my first  PRIDE March. That it had been taking place in conservative Chennai for the last ten years, was an eye opener in itself - I had not heard about the event in Chennai ever. It was also a reflection of the lack of my knowledge and awareness of the LGBTIQA+ scene in Chennai. Organised by the Tamil Nadu Rainbow Collective, this year's March drew crowds in excess of 500, a record of sorts, I believe.

The March itself had a tentative start with permission from the police authorities coming at the nth hour. Starting at the Rajarathnam Stadium in Egmore, the route of the March was through a nondescript bylane filled with abandoned cars and grubby garages, dotted with run down hostels and slum dwellings, along the southern bank of filthy Cooum river. It was most ironical - I felt that it was a reflection of the lives of the LGBTIQA+ - mostly ignored, closeted, alienated, discriminated, victims of hate, violence and harassment. 

Human pin up board!

In contrast, the March was all colour. The bright shades of PRIDE were fully on show with many participants draped in colourful costumes. There was glitter and shine to add to the attraction with flags, umbrellas, banners and pompoms. Many hid their faces behind masks, struggling to come out fearing rejection and discrimination. The mood was festive and felt like a carnival, with participants singing, dancing and enjoying themselves along the way. The banners carried interesting slogans that emphasized the themes of acceptance and inclusion besides spreading love.

Team from Ford - photo courtesy: Sathish Vasudevan

There was heavy police presence for the March and many of the cops that I spoke to were curious to know why I was attending the event and inquired if my family was aware and supported my participation. A few of them wondered aloud if the parents/ family of the March participants "knew" they were there. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code came in for much criticism with slogans calling for repealing the same. Posters and banners also carried messages seeking review of its constitutional validity.

Gay abandon! Photo courtesy: The Hindu

The PRIDE March attempts to build a sense of community while allowing a safe space for members of the LGBTIQA+ fraternity to feel comfortable with their own identities and sexual preferences. 

I must admit that participation in the PRIDE March made me feel a sense of complete acceptance - I felt accepted as I was accepting of the other. What better way than this to drive a message on inclusion.

Navarasas!

In the last fortnight, we have been moving around quite a bit - it has almost been like a brief capsule of real life. I say this because I got to experience all the NAVARASAS - the nine emotions/ essences that were described by Bharata in his treatise, Natyashashtra.

Shringara (love) - Just being with family through most of the last few days, though we had our moments of fights, disagreements and arguments. Whether it was my brother, mother-in-law, niece, nephew, sister-in-law besides my husband and son, the circle of love one's strength and pride and worthy of protection always.

Hasya (laughter) - The millennials are a funny lot. At a convocation ceremony, which in my time was a solemn and heavy function where you had to conduct yourself well, students, soon to be freshly minted graduates, walked up to collect their degrees, suddenly burst into a jig - one did a Dab dance (check out YouTube to know more about this dance!), another blew a heart to the audience while a third got the chief guest to pose for a picture with him - not the other way round. I must give it to them for never losing an opportunity to be themselves :)

Karuna (compassion) - Performing the final rituals for my brother on the first anniversary of his passing away along with several others doing the same for their long gone relatives, it was indeed a humbling experience - the pervasiveness of loss should in fact make us more empathetic and compassionate, because we are all not here forever. The fact that his children stood next to me in the Papanasini stream flowing beside what may be India's oldest temple at Thirunelli in Wayanad was special, truly special.

Raudra (anger) - At every family or social gathering, all the discussions meandered towards BJP, Modi, Congress, Secular, Muslim, Beef, 2019.......everyone had all the facts and figures to support their arguments, not sure if anyone had everything right. The heat generated by the discussions was palpable. People were identifying with people like them. Of course, I mostly withdrew while some others slept. Politics seem to tear right through the middle of family and friends. Is this all that we are destined for? Makes my angry, really angry!

Veera (courage) - Driving through Nagarahole in the hope of spotting that elusive Tiger, one is all courage. So, I never got to test my courage (or the lack of it) since we did not see any, despite many forays into the forests. Disappointed, disappointed, very disappointed......but courage intact!

Bhayanaka (terror) - On a forest trek through thick forests near our resort, the guide brought to our notice the fresh smell of an elephant and the sound of his belly rumblings. The eerie silence of the forest when peppered with these telltale signs of wildlife, with the realisation that you are pretty much at nature's mercy, was really scary.

Bheebhatsya (disgust) - Being routed on landing in Shanghai airport to a line of machines for capturing biometrics - all ten fingers, before immigration clearance. Now, I am not entirely comfortable sharing my unique identity with my own government, why should I do this for another government? Can I refuse? Perhaps yes, but that would mean I turn around and go back home. Catch 22, indeed!

Adbutha (surprise) - Landing in Delhi after a brief trip to China and (for the first time) not cursing "my wretched country" (my own words) for not getting anything right. In fact, everything was perfect - the airport and the efficiency all around, no wait for the luggage, no jostling taxi drivers, clean and neat roads lined with golden showers of laburnum. It helped that it was peak summer and there were few people on the roads.

Shantha (peace or tranquility) - Sitting in our jungle facing deck at our resort, watching flocks of deer, a pair of wild boar, Mr. and Mrs. Peacock, a family of gaurs, a majestic tusker making a grand entrance, all ambling towards the waterhole in the evening.....with the chirping of birds and the indefatigable cricket, in the background. You realise that the Lord God made everything in this world with a perfect sense of balance and order!