Shaheen Mistry- A Personality Truly #madeofgreat

When I joined Teach For India (TFI) in 2011 because of my personal inspiration to serve the nation and do something about one of the most pressing challenges that we are faced with, I didn't know about the leader behind this movement. It was only during our training when I not only got to meet her and learn about her remarkable story, but felt truly passionate about starting this life-long journey as an educational equity spokesperson. Shaheen Mistri, the Founder and CEO of TFI, is truly #madeofgreat and her story is even greater.

Settled abroad, Shaheen came to Mumbai with her family when she was 18 years old and it was then that she decided to stay back in India and lead her life serving a cause that was bigger than herself. She had the courage to give up a life of luxury and comfort, all to see a million Indian children transform their lives by experiencing excellence in education. She founded Akanksha Foundation, an NGO that provided after-school educational support to slum children, which later became a chain of schools for the underprivileged, without any compromise on the quality of education provided. In 2007, Shaheen founded Teach For India, a movement of young leaders working day in and day out towards a common vision- One day, all children in India will receive an excellent education. 

What I admire the most about Shaheen is her enormous sense of possibility. Despite all the challenges she has faced, and continues to face, in her professional and personal life, she has never lost hope and the belief in the work that she does. She has a sparkling smile and she smiles very often. Her positive aura is so palpable; you notice her presence the moment she walks into a room. She is also very reflective and has internalized the habit of looking back on one’s own actions and constantly working towards improving oneself. An amazing writer, her words can inspire anyone. As a TFI alumni, I still have access to my TFI mailbox and I sometimes go back to some of her mails whenever I feel bogged down or uninspired. I distinctly remember a note she had once shared with us all fellows, which really made a difference to me and would like to feature an excerpt from her note in this post: 

"Remember you always have the choice :

· To plan or not to plan

· To develop those incredibly strong bonds with your kids. Or to be just another teacher

· To treat your children with respect, and care. Or to do something that humiliates them

· To transform you classroom into a beautiful, magical place. Or to have it continue to be the unclean, uninspiring place that won't inspire change

· To rise above mediocrity and strive for excellence. Or to be a little better than the alternative

· To solve the problems that you have. Or to complain about them

· To focus on the good. Or to get bogged down by what isn't working"

It's been two years since my journey with TFI ended but the bond that I built with my kids and their parents, my co-workers at school and colleagues at TFI are still extremely special to me. More importantly, the lessons I learned during the fellowship will always stay with me. Whenever I look back at my TFI days, I silently thank Shaheen and salute her for her courage, grit, determination and faith.

Check out this website for knowing about many other #madeofgreat personalities: http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/

Hang on, there.

When You Are Alone

Sometimes,
When you're alone,
When there's no one
To talk to on the phone
When there isn't any
Shoulder to rest your head on
Nor a back to lean on
Not even a hand to hold on
Just remember...
You are all who's needed
To know the things you need to know
You are all who's needed
To go to the places you need to go

Too Many Thoughts

I was meant to do unconventional things in life. I had always felt attracted towards roads less taken, inspired by their cleanness. I do not prefer walking the path of least resistance. I prefer surrounding myself, but surrounding myself completely, with few people, positive people. I used to believe that there are certain things which I will never be able to do or learn in this lifetime. I was wrong; I can do anything I put my heart and soul into. But is it always worth taking the effort to turn your weaknesses into strengths? How about leveraging on your strengths, not one but all of them, while you set out in life? Life is precious; today is a gift. While we plan to succeed, sometimes we succeed without having any plans.

Happiness- Then and Now

I was going through some articles written by me a couple of years back. I was pleasantly surprised to read an article I wrote on a topic which is very close to my heart: happiness. I am sharing an excerpt from that article. 

"It always amuses me how people spend so much time and money on finding happiness. Some say happiness lies in giving; some others say it is all about pampering yourself. Happiness isn't elusive. You can find it in a cup of coffee, a bar of chocolate, in the arms of your lover, in the company of your friends, over a conversation with somebody, and even in solitude. All you have to do is find what makes you happy. And then life becomes beautiful."

This definition still holds true for me. If I had to make an alteration, I'd replace the last sentence with this one: All you have to do is choose to be happy- in all situations and circumstances. Happiness is nothing but a choice. 

Your Attitude in Life

Seek pleasure out of every little experience in life,
Breathe in joy. Breathe out joy.
And life will give you just that.
Pleasure. Joy. Peace. 

Find faults in every little thing in the world,
Complain till your heart's content. 
And your world would seem to you
As nothing, but a fault.

As Long As...

As long as You have You
There's no reason to feel blue

As long as You have You
There's someone who sees your point of view

As long as You have You

There's always someone to hold on to

As long as You have You

All your dreams can come true

A Christmas Wish

For many of us, Christmas will be spent having a good time with people we value and love. Many of us will indulge, sing and dance, and make merry. On the other side, a lot of people will spend this day feeling unhappy and miserable- for the lack of resources to buy their kids the gifts they so badly wished for, for not being able to see their family members at all, for being all alone on Christmas; for having no one to celebrate the day with. So while we should not forget to wish everyone we meet Merry Christmas, we should also not forget to pray for everybody's happiness this Christmas.

Om Sarvamangalam

Four Months. Four Lessons.

A thousand miles away from my home town, I stand here, in the heart of Bangalore, looking outside the window of my shared apartment, reminiscing about my new life. It's hard to believe that I have completed four fabulous months in the garden city of India. So, in this blog post, I'd be sharing four life lessons that living away from home has taught me in these four months.

1) It's okay- best, in fact- to be just the way you are.

2) No matter how busy you get, finding time for your loved ones back home is an absolute must.

3) You can't choose your classmates or co-workers, but you can choose your attitude in the classroom or the cubicle.

4) Everybody is fighting a battle they don't want to lose. Sometimes they may behave badly. But that doesn't mean they are bad.

The Happy Poem

You are wiser than you think you are And there is no reason for you to ever believe That serenity and peace is a dream too far

For, peace of mind is a thing you need Same for joy, and grace indeed And let us not forget, the power of love The green of a leaf and the white of a dove And the magic of being the way you want to be This world, my child, has many great sights to see So put on your shoes and trek around I wish you thrill and kicks abound Love your life, love the way it goes And keep on grasping the many lessons it shows Find your bliss in the warmth of your kin But be sure and strong, develop a hard skin And don't ever lose the wonder in your eyes The red of the sun and the blue of the skies Ride on your faith, give it a fair chance As the famous song goes, I hope you dance

The Journey of Life

Let not the journey of others Be the road map for you to follow Let your journey be a journey of love, Of discovery and explorations Not of material things, so shallow

Be grateful for what you receive And stay happy, meditative and kind And if ever you get befuddled and sad I hope you'd be able to calm yourself down By exercising your mindful mind

For, towards the end of your life, you'd realise That it doesn't matter how much you earned, But who you met and the lives you touched And the days and the nights that were spent in joy, In love and in peace; and the lessons you learned

On Friendship

Friendship is not about having a group of people to sing songs on your birthday or graduation parties, and clicking photos to be uploaded later on facebook. It is not about one friendship day a year; it's not about sending friendship day wishes to everyone in your contact list, including those you would otherwise ignore. Friendship is not about hanging out with your colleagues post-work. 

Friendship is about having some very special people in your lives who listen to understand, don't judge your thoughts, actions and beliefs, always wish well for you, care immensely, stand by you through thick and thin, and correct you when you are treading towards the wrong path. Friendship is about being curious and concerned. It's about undivided attention. It's about unconditional love. 

A Funny Take on Life

Didn't you know
Life's not fair?
Did you ever
go missing in the fair?
Would you say
They don't really care?
In that classic race,
Are you the hare?

Do you feel you talk more
Than your friends ever share?
Have you still not found
Your ideal pair?
Do you often find yourself
Giving them a cold stare?

Tell you what, 
You just need some fresh air
Or maybe grow back your hair
Or, if you are wild, have an affair!
This life's like one big bubble,
Before it bursts, go out there
And dare!

The Writer- II

Sometimes, he writes without a purpose
No plans in his head
No stories to be told
And yet he can feel it in his chest
The "urge"
To scribble it all away,
Whatever's there on his mind

Sometimes, he is confused
He doesn't know what to write
And when to write it
And why should it matter
For them to read what he's written

Sometimes, he struggles,
Struggles to resist
The urge to say it all
Struggles to take the risk
Of penning down
What must be shared


*Also read: The Writer

The Mirror and The Magnifying Glass

Most people I know lead their lives holding a magnifying glass in their hands. They are always looking through it in order to find faults in other people, things, institutions, and the world in general. The magnifying glass-holder is quick to judge and finger-point. The magnifying glass feels nice to hold and I must confess that sometimes, I too use it. The mirror-holders, on the other hand, think and act differently. Every time they are faced with a problem, they take out their mirrors, work out what's causing them to suffer, and find a great solution. For the mirror-holder, the problem ends and begins with the self. They are not afraid to own up to their mistakes. They are willing to rectify their mistakes and move on. They believe life is a gift and they want to get the best out of it.

Tiny Tidbits-2

Good and bad,
Rich and poor,
Smart and dumb
Thinkers and doers,
Dark and fair,
Young and senile.
They all look the same,
When they smile.

On Making Decisions

Life is a constant struggle between this and that, if and but, why and why not. It's always tough to make decisions with long-lasting consequences. But I've realized that growing-up has a lot to do with being able to take sensible decisions. Even if we end up taking a wrong decision, it is better to accept it, make peace with it and do the best that we can instead of constantly regretting it. So when it's too hard to decide, just listen to your hunches, follow the signs and take a leap of faith. And don't forget, no matter where you go, let your conscience be your guide.

Those Special Songs

You heard the most beautiful songs back when you were in high school; or even before. Now you've grown out of that phase and you don't listen to those songs anymore. Your playlist gets modified every season and you cannot say who is your current favourite band or singer. But every now and then, once in a blue moon, you happen to find yourself gawking at that old, old playlist of yours. Or you spot that familiar-looking video on Youtube. You press the play button.

Literally, takes you back in time. Like it's yesterday once more.

Tiny Tidbits-1

The other night I couldn't sleep a wink and stayed up reading books and feeding my belly till the wee hours of the morning. It was depressing to be in a bed room which wouldn't provide me a night full of rest. I decided to go for a walk. As I was walking down the street towards the community park, I noticed some daily-wage earners sleeping peacefully under a tree, with no A.C. to chill them, no mattresses or memory foam pillows to comfort them and no mosquito repellents to save them from the mosquito bites. I am also sure that they don't listen to any soothing music or count sheep or guzzle down green tea to get a good night's rest. How incredibly jealous I felt at that time! 

A Thought Worth Sharing

We spend too much time talking about other people, analyzing their views and actions, appreciating or criticizing them for no reason. If we could all just focus more on ourselves, work a little extra hard on improving ourselves, the world will be a better place to thrive in.