Orientation Workshops 2018

In the last two years I have conducted more than twenty orientation workshops. The basic idea is that a new class when it starts in college is not a team yet, students do not know each other and some times to create magic the class takes more than a year. Some classes just don't seem to click together leading to group-ism and division among the students

An orientation should ideally

• break the ice
• instill a sense of self belief
• appreciate the diversity of the group
• team building
• leadership should emerge

Classes don't function in isolation, they are part of a department with a certain philosophy, part of larger institution with a certain set of values, mission and vision. How do students align to the same.

Truth is, as much as the management may want this to happen, unless the students are motivated and see a direct advantage and purpose in this it just cannot happen. Do the students themselves know where they are headed, what are their core values, goals and aspiration. 

Some core sessions in these workshops are

• Sociometry
• Ice Breakers
• Self Introspection
• Games which make them uncomfortable
• Games which make them comfortable
• Games which divide them
• Games which unite them
• Team Work
• Leadership
• Mission, Vision and Values
• Goal Setting

If you think you are alone, you are!

If you think you are scared, you are!

If you think you are sad, you are!

But the moment

you decide you are not,

You are not!

Students should be treated with utmost respect, their dreams and aspiration should not be scorned upon and trampled on. Each child is gem only if we are ready to give them a ear. Each child is like a seed, a catterpillar ready to sprout and ready to fly. I am happy I have been instrumental in enabling some of them to start their academic journey in their college with a gusto and passion they had long forgotten in their childhood.

Stand up O reluctant warrior,

You have a fight on hand.

Don't let mind play the barrier,

Utilise every grain of sand.

.......

There is an Arjun inside you

Don't you now clearly see!

Is he the reluctant one? Or

the warrior you were meant to be

I use a mix of expressive art like Theatre, Music, Dance and Poetry in this creative journey. Batch Size is usually around 50 students and have a two day and a one day variation of the same workshop. Most sessions have activity lead by the trainer and some which are planned and lead by the students themselves.

Conducted for History, Economics, Engineering, Law, Computer Science,MBA, MCA, Psychology, Business Administration, Performing Arts, Theater Studies, Music, Maths, Electronics, Travel & Tourism and Pre University.

Credit for these workshop goes to college/university management who are willing to invite me for such paid orientation right at the beginning of the academic year. Some Directors and Deans trusted me to impart the Vision and Mission of their esteemed institutions. Many HOD and teachers took a very active interest in customizing the workshop for the specific challenges faced in the departments. The list of names is long and I will not mention it here but each catalyst, mentor, professor I have encountered knows and takes pride when their students take a leap of faith, a sincere initiative to make a difference in the world around them.

I believe I can make a difference
I believe I can touch the lives of some
I believe strongly that so can you.

Feedback

"Thank you so much for coming today and having such wonderful time with us. I thoroughly enjoyed the session and i really did not wanted the day to end. I feel like rewinding the time back till 9 am and again play it from then. ❣

I can feel that today i was really very happy after a long back. I smiled a lot more, i learned a lot more, i believed in myself and i got to know all my classmates who are beautiful souls with fun loving hearts. Once again, Thank you sir"     Bhabna

"Extremely grateful to a lot of people an this universe for this wonderful day. Today I realize the value of the opportunities I have. I will continue my (hopefully) ever growing journey with zeal and kindness towards my friends"

Shubhada

"The orientation session was the best I have ever attended.. usually everybody thinks "orientation" mehh it will be boring.. but sir today was the best time I have ever spent in an orientation! I learnt so many things like teamwork.. about how my classmates are and how talented they are.. can't stop appreciating about my classmates.. I am really lucky to have this course and really lucky to have an opportunity to have an orientation with you and you are really a great teacher." Aditi Kulkarni

Myself Sneha pursuing my degree at Christ University. Yesterday you had come to take some interesting sessions for us, I was seriously amazed by the little things you taught us. We as humans always tries to complain or feel feel stingy about things. But the way you made us realise, life is all about hand to hand it's all about give and take. The one best thing which inspired me is never complain about things but make use of the little things you've and how a team have to be more productive in nature. I'm glad I attended and met a person like you. My best wishes are with you sir. I'll keep you in my prayers. May your life inspire others too."   Sneha.S

"Sir this is Ashwathy from Christ 1st PEP ..... Yesterday's experience was something mind blowing .... We got to be whole as a class and got to know everyone better.... Personally I feel that it's very hard to make one happy.... And you've accomplished a huge task by making all of us happy ....  thank you very much sir... Each of us are looking forward to do more of these kind of workshops within these 3 yrs at Christ"

A Trip to Delhi

(Article on recent Delhi Trip)
A trip to Delhi is full of nostalgia.
Dripping like the woolen sweater taken out of a bucketful of water.
My school to college days
My childhood to teen
Adventures in my youth
The games we played
The streets we stayed

The land of gold gappas
Aloo Tikki,  Bhalle Papadi,
Shahi Paneer, Chole Bhature
Rasmalai, Rabadi Faluda
And much much more

Most importantly it's my home.
 My mom, dad, Bro and Sisters reside in different parts of Delhi.
Summer scorching heat, dust storms or rising pollution
could not deter me in this life

Fond memories just keep popping out like the condensation which collects around a chilled coke.

I am forty plus
But still feel like a child
When I come home
Mom would have a sumptuous meal ready and not a word about me being overweight :-)
Papa with his warm handshake
And his immense inner strength
Makes home home.

Sisters so amazing
you can give your life for
Bro in laws so welcoming
Every home is mine!
Shared moments,  recipes,  happiness secrets,  inspirational nuggets.
Conversation over tea,  coffee,  meal,  card game, metro ride or a drive is etched for eternity in the mind's treasure chest
What more can one ask?

Visiting Elder Bro
and listening to his stories
revitalises my leaves,  my roots
and seems to connects me to mother earth. This time I also visited a quaint tea shop with him and grabbed some gourmet tea leaf cartons.

Cracking jokes with nephews and nieces leaves me in splits. Infact this trip I have laughed so much,  that to an external observer,  I must have come across as clearly insane.

Catching up with old friends
is a trip down memory lane
Divergent paths have led us all over the globe but everytime we meet we are able to start from where we left last time.

Delhi is immersed in history
Every walk you take may have been done by some emperor, a princess,  a commander or a freedom fighter.
But frankly all that is secondary,  like millions before me who have walked these dusty streets and millions with me, Dilli hamari hai aur hum dilli ke
(Written by Jibrael Jos)
(Article on recent Delhi Trip)

Kochi: Adrift in Timelessness

I stood on the banks of this shore

Yearning to reach the other shore 

A ferry tempted me to step inside
But a quaint tea stall drew me aside

By the time I finished my tea
Church bells called out to me
Laughter and children's stare
Distracted me from my prayer

I hurried thru the street
In the humid Kerala heat
Making most of my vacation
Clicking pics of my excursions

I stood again on the river shore
Amazed as the light reflected on her floor
I inquired her where does she go?
"Me! It's you who wants to rush for more"

Stunned I sat down beside her
My mind took a dip inside her
Then and only then did I see
River going but yet not going to the sea

Now I saw a dog idling in shade
Ducks gliding thru the glade
Kingfisher sitting on the tree
Sea birds flying free

Now I amble thru the street

In this different Kerala heat!!

Making most of my excursion

By doing NOTHING this vacation

Title Credit : Michael Chandy

Photo Credit : Jibrael Jos

The Invitation by Oriah

An amazing poem by Oriah :: http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/.
 I have used this in my classes many times as a short play, extempore. This is very similar in "spirit" to Rudyard Kiplings IF ( http://zinginurwings.blogspot.in/2011/06/if-by-rudyard-kipling.html )

It doesn’t interest me

what you do for a living.

I want to know

what you ache for

and if you dare to dream

of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me

how old you are.

I want to know 

if you will risk 

looking like a fool

for love

for your dream

for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me

what planets are 

squaring your moon...

I want to know

if you have touched

the centre of your own sorrow

if you have been opened

by life’s betrayals

or have become shrivelled and closed

from fear of further pain.

I want to know

if you can sit with pain

mine or your own

without moving to hide it

or fade it

or fix it.

I want to know

if you can be with joy

mine or your own

if you can dance with wildness

and let the ecstasy fill you 

to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us

to be careful

to be realistic

to remember the limitations

of being human.

It doesn’t interest me

if the story you are telling me

is true.

I want to know if you can

disappoint another

to be true to yourself.

If you can bear

the accusation of betrayal

and not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithless

and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty

even when it is not pretty

every day.

And if you can source your own life

from its presence.

I want to know

if you can live with failure

yours and mine

and still stand at the edge of the lake

and shout to the silver of the full moon,

“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me

to know where you live

or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up

after the night of grief and despair

weary and bruised to the bone

and do what needs to be done

to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me

who you know

or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand

in the centre of the fire

with me

and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me

where or what or with whom

you have studied.

I want to know 

what sustains you

from the inside

when all else falls away.

I want to know

if you can be alone 

with yourself

and if you truly like

the company you keep

in the empty moments.

Crossroads of Forty

I stand at cross roads of forty
And look down at the years gone by
Was I at the steering wheel
Or was God controlling from the sky

I stood at the cross roads of twenty
And not once did I wonder why
I was blessed so abundantly
Was it God who lifted me high?

I stood at the cross roads of thirty
And felt like a squashed little fly
Somebody carried and revived me
Was it God who helped me cry!!

Twenty Thirty and Forty
With all the ups and downs gone by 
I like to believe that the Almighty 
Does customized settings from the sky

My hand has left the steering wheel
The wind is rushing by
My eyes are enjoying the scenery
And the rainbow in the sky

.... my sister Alfons/Nisha reply is below

Your hand has left the steering wheel
The wind is rushing by
You have no fear in the world
And time is passing by

You will stand at the crossroads of 50
An adrenaline rush u feel, oh my!
You seen to have just started and
Half your life has gone by

You will stand at the crossroads of 60
Your kids will be married by and by
You are the Dean of a university and
Actor of many plays liked by many and I

You will stand at the crossroads of 70
A grandfather u will be then
New relationships blossom
While old ones flick and fade by

50, 60, 70
With all ups and down gone by
Truly God had done customized settings from the sky

Your hand long ago had left the steering wheel
The wind will still rush by
You will enjoy the scenery
While watching the joy in your grand daughter's eye

Rosy Thandkutty Mooken Jos

Daughter of Rosa and Porunju Mooken,

Siblings: Thomas, Varghese, Rosy, Kochannam(Sr. Martina), Jose, Marykutty

Husband: Puthur Chakunny Jos

Children: Michael, Mary, Teresa, Anna, Rita, Alfons , Jibrael, Veronica, Alex, Litty

Thandkutty Porunju Mooken, was born on August 2^nd 1936 in Thrissur, a large temple town in Kerala. Born in a devout Syrian Catholic family, her dad was a wholesale merchant manager and her mom was a very caring and loving homemaker.

She did her early education from Lourde Palli and Sacred Heart School. She did her intermediate in Physics Chemistry and Maths. She went on to do her Bachelor in Arts with a major in Mathematics from St Mary's College Thrissur. She was the first person in her family to complete her graduation way back in the fifties.

Her most cherished memories are of her days in school and college. Her interaction with her sibling and friends, her activities in church and college, laughing with cousins in her quaint little home in Moospet Road.

As a child she played many games like ambasani (hide and seek), kavadi, card games like rummy and twenty eight. She still remembers her brother’s pranks and her ever caring sisters. She liked reading Malayalam detective stories and her hobbies included singing, dancing and theatre. Some highlights of her early days are:

• Acted as a blind person in a play(class 6)
• Comedy Play (class 9)
• Participating with her elder sister in the church functions at St Sebastian
• Dancing, Choreography
• Sodality Group Member
• Prefect for 5 years
• Film Association Secretary

 Her cousin once shared, when she steps on stage, a pin drop silence will be in place and when she sings she would have the audience literally in a spell.

She worked two years as a teacher in a school. An interesting point to note is that she has three elder sisters and all like her were teachers. She got married in 1957 to Puthur Chakunny Jos and hence came to be known as Rosy Jos. They shifted to Delhi in 1958, they were the first Mooken and Puthur to step foot in the capital of free India …. Others later followed their lead.

They raised ten kids with a meager government salary and if I go into detail, it will be a very thick book. The kids went to good schools, were active in the church choir and youth group. All are married and well settled.

Yes she is my mom, a mother who taught me the meaning of unconditional love, a mother who taught me the importance of having core values, the need for integrity, to be confident, self reliant, faith in God.(and not to forget Maths and Hindi Dictation). My earliest memories are of playing at my home in Andrews Ganj and she played an integral part in most of them. Seeing her cook in kitchen, the purchasing of a fridge in 1979, her Usha sewing machine, pressure cookers at home, jealousy when my younger sister took most of her attention, her scolding me for doing something wrong, giving Rs 1 for buying Jet Ice Cream in 1981 (Class I), giving her share of Diwali Burfi in 1982, helping me cook my first ever Maggi in 1983, her concern when I was unwell and many more.

Even as I grew up I had a lot of freedom, to go play with friends, cycling in the neighbourhood(class III), staying back in school for sports(class V), church and youth group activities, staying overnight in my friends place. Many will not believe that I actually told her about my possible girlfriend even before my first date. She wisely warned me, but on the same hand did not stop me, for that I am grateful.

In Delhi she played a pivotal role in keeping the larger Puthur, Mooken and Tharakan families together and well connected. Mummy and Papa made it a point to visit different relatives however far they may be residing and all of them in turn did make a visit to our home. As a result Mayur Vihar, Faridabad and Tamoor Nagar though two hours journey in DTC buses, were always close to our heart. Even in Kerala, we used to visit all our cousins in Parappur, Nimini, Thrissur,  Pervallur and Kochi.

She was the youngest child and did not do much cooking as a child but over the years she became master class. Most of the recipes cooked at my home in Bangalore are hers. Specially the fish curries and meat dishes, cutlets, dal palak, masoor dal with that crushed garlic thadka, sambhar, avial and saturday morning special “kadla with grated coconut”. This generation may find it hard to believe but in Ravi Nagar along with Vellichechi(my eldest sister) she used to make acchappam, kuriappam, vattapam, murukku, besan ladoo, payasams, halwas, diamond cuts, picham pudi, motta churul(love letter) and most importantly her full range of pickles.

An ardent reader and in spite of her tight schedule she has read all seventy Agatha Christie's and many other novels. She used to join us kids when we played Anthakshiri, Badminton, Cards, Ludo, Chinese Checkers and even Dumb Charades (though it used to be very funny). I still cherish the stories she used to narrate, the Malayalam prayers songs we used to sing together and the way she lead us in prayer.

An actor, a singer, talented to the core,

     An ocean of love, a mother we adore

Grace personified, Confidence in her stride,

     Our childhood, thanks to her, was a wonderful ride

  

An excellent planner

     With an eye for detail

With a tight monthly budget

      Balancing wholesale and retail

Cutting cost with great acumen and skill,

        Stitching our clothes and paying the bills,

Cooking our breakfast and packing tiffins

       Knitting our sweaters and mittens

She is a mother of

    A deputy secretary for Government of India

    A chief manager in State Bank of India

           2 Professors and 2 Teachers

           An HR head in the Australian Embassy

    Russian/Japanese financial geek         

    A Google tech freak

And last but not the least

          A spiritual one, who is almost a priest 

A very loving grandmother and has spent hours taking care of her grandchildren, including my two kids. She till date remembers everybody’s birthday and makes it a point to call each one of them. She is 79 today and has spent the last 12 years taking care of my dad after his stroke. She is a role model when it comes to being a friend, a spouse, a sibling, an aunt, a grand mom and a Christian.

So there you have it my mother in a thousand word blog, but to do justice we would really need Jeffery Archer to write a book, Javed Akthar to write a song and ideally an oil on canvas by Leonardo da Vinci. Rosy Jos is my mom and I am very fortunate to be her son. Her love, prayers and blessings have brought me thus far. Thank you Mummy, you are the best.

Other Perspectives
"I remember the late night look out from Sewa Nagar balcony for appachan's return from office, will sit with me however late as I had my dinner, worked day and night especially before we left for annual Kerala visits. 
Try packing for 10 kids, hungry kids. I don't remember being stranded without food. We all felt the need to pitch in. No coaxing required, her example, her struggle was guidance enough.
Today she single handedly takes care of papa. With total devotion, with total love, with total concern. A friend indeed. Three cheers to our mummy, valia mummy, nani, chechi, kochamma, ammamma, ............" P J Michael (Eldest Son)

“An all-rounder in the truest sense, that’s Mummy. From a homemaker, an artist, a singer to a poised socialite who can converse on any topic. Into every role she fits easily. What really amazed me and what I admire is this variety of talents” Teresa Joseph( Daughter)

"Amazing how she managed ten
I can barely mange two
Was patient and kind with everyone
So honest and true

         Courage perseverance and patience
         She has in abundance
          Loving caring and devoted
          Despite being in situations so dense

Generations are progressing
And so are we
But better mother than my mother
Impossible to be!"  Alfons Madoc(Daughter)

Photosynthesis,Evolution, Divine

 (hanging on my wall at home, painted by Nithya J Rao )

Dear Jibrael Sir,

By tradition, you were never my teacher
Yet, I can boast of learning from you lessons for life
By fellowship, you never stopped at being a team member
You fulfilled every role ascribed to a friend
By ritual, you never walked me through hardships
But you always appreciated with all your heart
By luck, you didn't just stop at that,
You became my first patron
With my first commissioned work of art
To your name
You will always be my version of Sponge Bob
Absorbing the best of the world
And inspiring me to do the same. Always.
Thank you for being who you are. 

Inspired,
SusanRyan

I have sat under many a trees
I am in love with these wonders of nature, as I pursue my research on trees
I never imagined a painting can even come close.
BUT as I sit under this tree I realise human imagination and creativity can do wonders to the heart,mind and soul.
The painting is exquisite and when the stars in it twinkle .... I feel inspired
I can see photosynthesis. .. I can see evolution .....I can see the divine
Thank You
Jibrael