In 2002, I was travelling to one of my favourite places in India - Shimla. Viceregal Lodge in Shimla is a beautiful building, housing the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. There is a small book store in the campus. While rummaging through antiquated books, I chanced upon Education and Humanism…
I look forward to Fridays each week. Fridays are for Noesis, our philosophy class. Over the years I have veered more and more towards literature and philosophy embedded in literature. But sometimes, we take up something topical and dive deep in to it. 29th July, Friday was International Tiger Day.…
Aristotle said something to the effect that nature has made all things specifically for the sake of man and that the value of non-human thing in nature is merely instrumental. This line of thinking troubles me. And, it continues till this day. The inherent drive for dominion of man over…
Explorations are the flagship learning experiences at The Northstar School. We spend a lot of time and thought in designing and delivering complex, broad and meaningful learning experiences. Over the last 5 years we have designed dozens of explorations. In the course of designing these explorations, we have learnt the…
कबीरा कुआँ एक है, पानी भरे अनेक भांडे ही में भेद है, पानी सब में एक -Kabir O Kabir, there is but one well And many who draw Difference is the vessel Water stays the same. (my poor translation) Hermann Hesse, like Kabir,…
As we go through the greatest humanitarian crisis of modern times, it is hard to maintain a semblance of sanity. So much suffering, so much pain all around. What can words do to those who have lost the ones they love? All the pent-up anger and pain, where will it…
Imagine you are in a thick forest. The old trees stand guard. The winding river gently invites you deeper. A half-penetrable mist settles over the water. No sound. No birds. Just the gentle trickle of water dropping from the oars. A maddening shriek tears the sky. A primeval scream. Silence.…
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, Today I want to talk about a concept, an idea that is abstract but at the same time can be applied to the concrete. It is at the intersection of education, philosophy and architecture. I will start with something general, apply to the concrete by…