If it's not for money, then why do you write?

 

A friend asked me, "If it's not for money then why do you write?"

It would be foolish to say that 'money is not important' but can that and should that be, the only reason for doing anything? 

Writing I suppose is like playing golf. 

One really doesn't play for money or against an opponent, but for oneself against oneself. Attempting to improve oneself from the previous day. Meaning that one should write for one's own sake and for oneself, improving with each piece in clarity, brevity, impact and pleasure.

If I write something nice, correct or agreeable, I get a decent number of replies providing me some new learning.

If I wish to learn something more, I have to only make or plant an error. Then I am bombarded with criticism, corrections and different perspective.

I suppose like men can usually never resist a bad girl, it is difficult for readers to resist a writer who in their opinion needs correcting and learning.

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Because of my writing, I have found several teachers, discovered some students, and befriended many, in this insanely wonderful world.

Every day offers an opportunity to share good wishes. Today is special because it is the new year day for the vast majority of Indians. I send you greetings and good wishes.

Knowledge and Wisdom, what’s the difference?

We need more education, less schooling.

India boasts of a Human Resources dividend because of a young working population in the present times and in the foreseeable future. Actually going by present trends India is heading towards a Human Resources disaster. Here is why.

Surveys have always confirmed what I have experienced in recruiting employees. Our schooling system is out of sync with the needs of our society and our humanity.

As per ASER (Annual Survey of Education Report) India 25 per cent of Class 8 students can't read Class II text.
Another statistic, 56% of Class 8 students cannot do simple basic math


As regards college graduates one survey revealed that [47 Percent graduates in India are unemployable for any job.
Another report reveals that, over 80% Indian engineers are unemployable, lack new-age technology skills

The causes are numerous and blunders of historical past cannot be undone. However with understanding and commitment, transferred into action the future can be created.
The sure sign of an impending disaster is that in spite of knowing that the situation is very bad, we are unable to or unwilling to act.

Though Schooling and Education are terms often used interchangeably, there is a big difference.

Schooling is the pushing out of facts, figures, data, instructions, and the regimentation of the student, by instructors but called teachers so as to get students to think and behave in a reliably predictable manner. 

Society has evolved and changed dramatically but the approach to learning remains mostly unchanged. Mandated by government bureaucrats and effected by various boards, schooling as is currently effected is damaging if not disastrous to society.

Schools nowadays may have modern infrastructure but their soul has mostly been lost. Schools currently do only two things, they babysit students and deliver curriculum.

At the end of their schooling, an intelligent, innocent and pure child will in all probability be converted into an indoctrinated arrogant creature lacking values. Will possess at best a lot of facts and figures and unlikely to live a wholesome, happy and successful life.

Most schools now focus entirely on ensuring that students pursue and achieve high marks in various mandated board examinations, so that the student can join the next level of rote learning and progress to being further dumbed down in colleges.

Only a small percentage of students with the guidance and support of their parents and some committed teachers be able to escape the trap. They will join select institutions and rise to become something. 

Anyone or anything that provides a lesson is a teacher.  In the schooling system of today, the teacher only transfers the information from a syllabus to the student so that the student can pass an examination based on his or her memory.

Education is the creation of an environment which stimulates the student to thirst for information and knowledge, which they will find exciting, relevant and useful. Education is a pulling of knowledge from formal and informal sources.  Education is also experiential learning while schooling provides only rote learning. 

Schooling significantly disregards the numerous natural intelligences, and natural inclination of individual students, so as to produce identical products which will be considered normal. While education excites human intelligence and therefore inspires, schooling tends to deaden and degrade human intelligence. 

Schooling certainly enhances intellect and memory, but it is not the same as enhancing intelligence and creativity which comes only from education. Schooling is a top down approach whereas education is multidirectional. Education can come from ones research and experiences, from public sources, internet, libraries, peers, seniors, juniors, colleagues, associates and even strangers. One of the most impactful source of education are parents and family. 

Demotivated by school managements running as businesses or as ineffective and inefficient government  bureaucracies, overworked and distracted by excessive regulations, and curriculum, intimidated by aggressive parents, teachers in schools have little or no room to really facilitate student learning. 

As a result the student receives information in such an insipid manner, and without understanding its relevance and application, that, whatever is taught is crammed and quickly forgotten after the examinations. Most schools at best convert ignorance into arrogance by providing vast amount of information.

Many of my friends are men of extraordinary character and capabilities. We owe much of our achievements and happiness to the great education we received from our parents, companions and teachers. Pursuing education and not mere schooling made all the difference.

The only way to build a better society and a better humanity is to provide more education understanding and awakening and less of schooling and testing.

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Interesting References:

Annual Status of Education Report - ACER 2018

India's demographic dividend - BBC news

The Education Prison

Image by Ben Heine

In a country with a population of over 1,200 million people it is astounding to hear from almost all employers, "We can't get the people we need".  

India has one of the youngest populations in the world, and this represents a fantastic asset, if the people are productive. However a majority of these young and middle aged people are currently unemployable. If this situation is not corrected soon then India is indeed sitting on a gigantic human resources time bomb. 

Compared to earlier generations the opportunity to acquire knowledge was a great boon for the preceding two generations, with literacy rates and job skills being greatly enhanced. 

To meet the growing demand education institutions have mushroomed mainly owned and managed by politicians. With a focus only on maximization of short term profit  most of these institutions are providing education which is often hopelessly out of sync with current requirements of employers and society in general.

Learning which should be an exciting phenomenon has become a dreary and boring affair for students. So bad is the situation that the students are forced to attend classes which they would prefer not sit in. The system has come to represent a prison of sorts.

Indian educational institutes from school to universities have mandated that every student must attend a minimum of 80% of all classes to be eligible to be examined or tested at the end of each term.

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Why was the rule created and why is it sustained?

•   Parents do not have the time, energy or inclination to police or engage their children, they expect the educational institute to do that.  The system keeps children somewhat occupied with each other if not with their teachers and their subjects.

•   When education becomes a drudgery, because of overflowing classrooms, poor quality of content, falling teaching standards, and indifferent or overworked teachers, the children will rebel.  The education institutions see it as an opportunity to earn more fees by imposing penalties, repetitive collections of fees from detained students, etc.

This makes everyone happy except the student, because they have to endure, long boring sessions with drudgery. No prisoner is happy, even if the attempts of teaching are claimed to be for the student's benefit.

 "You can take the horse to the water but you cannot make it drink", goes a well known saying. It is possible to force the student to sit in a class but it is impossible to force them to learn.  You don't have to be a genius to know that any kind of forced action always has unpleasant or problematic results.

Instead of treating the student as a lamp to be lit, our system now considers them to be vessels to be filled.

The situation is indeed alarming but can still be rectified. We need to restructure the way we ourselves and our children learn and acquire skills more suited to meet the challenges of the 22nd century. 

Readers are invited to respond with their thoughts and suggestions.

If sincere, great men like Yogi Uncle will come to your assistance.

What is the difference between a Politician and statesman?
The politician has his eye on the next election. The statesman has his eye on the next generation.

What is the difference between a businessman and an Industrialist?
The businessman has his eye on the current year's balance sheet. The industrialist has his eye on building a great institution.

If this be the case then Uncle Yogiraj Makar deservedly is a great Industrialist and a remarkable statesman.

Yogi uncle and his brother Uncle Surindernath Makar, with their sheer hard work, can-do spirit and charisma created one of India's legendary forging companies Hakimrai Jaichand Forgings Company Private Limited (HJ). Initially starting in Bhandup Mumbai, they eventually had several plants in Pune, Chakan, and Faridabad (later the name was changed to Amforge).

In 1981 my brothers and I took the helm as second generation entreprenuers of our family business manufacturing steel forgings. Compared to HJ we were a little company and quite inexperienced in many matters.

When a company is small and budding it needs answers to address many concerns. As is the case with many small to medium organisations we appreciated the need for mentors, to honestly guide us, be it marketing, legal, procurement, management or technology.

We were fortunate to have Yogi Uncle. His knowledge and stature was appreciated by one and all. He was also President of our Industry association at that time. Yogi uncle's noble nature made him our natural choice for guidance and moral support.

When Bajaj Auto the manufacturer of scooters , three wheeled auto-rickshaws and motorcycles started it's meteoric rise, Hakimrai Jaichand (HJ) was supplying all their materials from their Bombay plant at Bhandup. As was the case demand for forgings far exceeded supply. This represented an opportunity for little companies like us to grow rapidly. In a sense we were taking business away from HJ.

An incident will serve to illustrate the statesmanship of Mr. Yogiraj Makar.

Die making in our business was crucial for making good and consistent products. This was an area in which we were weak. We wanted to learn about a certain die making technology being used by HJ and having learnt that that they had invested in a 'state of art' Japanese die making machine.
My brother Parvinder and I thought about several ways to learn about this technology. We deliberated hard and long and even considered various espionage options. Finally we decided that let's try the honourable way and approach Yogi Uncle directly for his guidance.

We took an appointment, and went to meet him at Bombay. Inspite of his busy schedule and senior stature he met us at the appointed time with courtesy and warmth.

We greeted him and touched his feet respectfully as is the customary manner for greeting our elders whom we hold in high respect. He hugged us and made us comfortable, asked about our father and uncle.

He asked, "What is it that you wanted to see me about?"
Then we told him bluntly that we would like to study the new machine that he had imported from Japan to evaluate it and learn what to do.

He broke out into uncontrollable laughter. He calmed down after a while and summoned his secretary and asked him to fetch the General Manager of the plant.
He introduced us to the GM and then instructed him to show us not only the Japanese die making machine but to show us around the facility. He further added that "These are my nephews, be honest with them and answer all the doubts they they may have on on what we do here at HJ."

Overwhelmed and grateful for his magnanimity we looked around. We learnt a lot from that visit and that helped us to shape our thinking and formulate our strategies..

While leaving he placed his hand on our shoulders and said " I like your approach. One day you guys are going to be a headache for us. However courage and hard work must be respected. Good Luck and may God bless you."

This was not the only time that Mr. Yogiraj Makar helped us.
Learning on the job can be frighteningly expensive, on both the pocket and mind.Time and again he would go out of the way to guide and help us and many others like us. Thus bringing solace and knowledge to us all who were struggling in a very tough business. It is the few stalwarts like him that have helped to shape many good things in Indian industry and the Steel Forging industry in particular.

The Panjabi people have a zest for life and magnanimity beyond belief. Uncle Yogiraj Makar is a supreme example of all that is good and wonderful in a Panjabi, in a great Industrialist and a giant of a man. Yogi Uncle we salute you.