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2.5: "India jan 2003" - Page 11-12   |
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Message 9 Dear EQ Europe networkers. (from the diary of Usha Gowri) Jan 15th: I am in Hyderabad, and in the afternoon we leave for Chirala, with a ton of questions in my mind. The train reaches Chirala at night 11.30. We wait for Mr Innayath and Babu and then we are in the school by midnight. Lots of people and noise and dinner - and I see Dhyan first time: the moment we had been waiting for three months! And we wait for things to start... The next morning Dhyan’s report will fill in those details, so I fast forward to the evening of 17th: Mr. Murahari Rao had had already invited Dhyan over to the Ashram in the morning, and she was getting ready to go... And in my mind I thought: there goes another day with all learning/sharing -opportunity going gone!! What shall I do that night. We shall go to sleep? And then Jyotsna runs up and says we are also invited. I can't believe my eyes: WE????? (and Dhyan shares a secret with me: She had told them to ask us also to be there, wow!!!) Amidst all that shock, we pack as quickly as possible and charge out... The car breaks down and so we wait in the same car for things to happen, our spirits were so high the breakdown caused no tension, and the learning process began... We go to an Ashram - at Gudavalli-Academy of Rural Development and Research - a 10 acre historically rich - very Indian village - a living proof that we in India are capable of balancing the old and the new. If only we could do this more often - a research laboratory for seed study and technological applications for agriculture in the lush village surroundings - what we couldn’t miss was the influence of education in these parts. Great dinner - a fantastic place to spend - we are back and talk around 11 we decide we are ready to mind map and for me the experience shall remain forever... For here was Dhyan - from a different part of the world - someone I knew for a year remotely, quite well for three months, and now someone with whom I had spent 36 hrs, putting down ideas as if we had discussed everything beforehand, on the same wavelength, having very similar visions and ideas and thoughts... Jyotsna gets in to the mood quickly, and the mind mapping goes on till nearly 1pm in the night!!! Exhilarating experience!!! The morning began early, a walk in the farm to the anganvadi and ITI and back and to the women’s self help group and experience after experience... A different world from my every day life and Dhyan brings in the concept of joy, something we in India have forgotten, and she brings hope: talking of exchange programmes and knowledge sharing and percolation of these to everyone who needs it... More important and to me the most beautiful moment is when she praises them for the wonderful work they were doing and told them that they had a role to play in bringing in change and in the development of the country. Again something we have forgotten in India: to praise to motivate... The deadline of 1 in the afternoon to return to Chirala, yet the need to tell and show us more was untill we all hurry back…and back to Chirala. To me the experience will remain forever! For the moments of joy and pride and the wonderful learning that just happened. The thanks go to Dhyan for reminding me that we are born to appreciate and be joyous... Warm regards, Usha, Dhyan, Jyotsna Equality and EQ education Questions and answers. by: Usha Gowri My question (from Joshua) to the India contingent: - As you envision yourselves pursuing equity in India, what do you see yourselves doing and changing? Introduction. I have always believed the system can do very little for anyone - The task is so multi dimensional-for we are fighting for equality in caste, class and gender but as individuals in the society we can become catalysts for change. I also believe change can come only from within. I personally believe that what is lacking now in India is awareness-and that a very 'aware' nation will know what to ask and more importantly how to ask and pursue it till it is given. Awareness in the people will also make a system more committed and accountable. The tools for this change lies in education and hence the focus on better education and economic independence & the empowerment of women. To me the first need, therefore, is to raise awareness and to start right with the child - a whole generation has lost its will. My mission/vision is to bring it back to the next generation. I raised two daughters to believe in themselves. I see around me a lot of women trying the same and succeeding - a long way to go but we are on the right track - I propose to keep it there! The crisis in this country is a corrupt government and an even more corrupt legal system. A system that would prefer women did not know their rights - and the legal system is what I would like to target first by raising awareness among woman of their rights. The self-help groups, few but present, are my models: to help women help themselves - Do you want to increase awareness around the whole country? No, the diversity in culture is so enormous that I can't/won't be able to see many common factors. We have a very open society in many parts, where women are treated with respect and then we have areas like Rajasthan in North India, with many cruel practices still in place. So I would prefer to work locally. - Do you want to develop new practices and models? Yes and no. We have many wonderful practices that I want preserved, like the love and respect children have for their parents. I look with horror when this is disappearing and is being replaced by what they see in the west - and then we have lonely old people fending for themselves! Yes, to give education to the women and the girl-child, to bring back the awareness among men that women are the other half and need to be treated well, to remind people we had some very good practices in society we have traded for materialism! To keep some of the practices in education too, like the mathematical tables learnt by heart. Many of us multiply numbers like so few others in the world can. I know of situations where in the US they were asked what the secret of not using a calculator for simple calculations was!!!! Yes, to bring back joy of/in schooling. - Do you want to test the concepts in one city? Yes, and then to write it in the media. For we first have to prove that it works and I am sure it will spread by its sheer power to other parts of the country. - How big is your vision, resources, time? My vision - very big - I believe in thinking big and starting small. My resources -minimal - but right now we don't need much and when I do, I am learning to ask!! Time, I have given up my job as a lecturer in the university to focus on this issue and am aware of my ability to network, as a very empowered and emancipated and forward thinking woman myself, I am the living proof that it is possible. It is not going to be easy but I know I will be there... Three possible action ideas to share: I went through 'self-science'- on 6 seconds.com I must thank Dhyan for introducing me to it, and found ideas that were so apt and adaptable to our environment. esp 'the negative fuelling negative' in India we have created a vicious circle: the woman who suffered in her in-laws house on becoming a motehr-in-law, suddenly develops behaviour bordering on the inhuman, and every woman thereafter perpetuates it. "The Six-Second model gave them a tool to pause, reflect and develop solutions to solve the source of their emotional conflict. This is a powerful tool for all students. As emotions are forever being challenged, this is a healthy way for children to learn to pause and identify what they are feeling and discover two solutions to change a situation. ". "Were the negative emotions more powerful that the positive as far as recalling emotional descriptions or cognitive data? In both instances, yes. Not only were the negative comments recalled first, they were also the most numerous." The above taken form the site inspired me to try it out ,not only in schools but with women groups, we plan to read up on the material collectively on Saturday,Feb 1st: I shall definitely share the outcome with the group. - Creating is going to be difficult, but adapting it is definitely possible. *What would you want in your hands if you were walking into a meeting with leaders of a school? I need to carry with me work done elsewhere to show it works-and Indian schools and groups are rightly poised to experiment-I think the first thing I need to carry is faith in myself and the belief that change is possible. Thereafter, the resources to sustain the change process we have set in place by bringing in the power of the network. "I believe emotional intelligence offer us tools to raise a generation liberated, powerful, and responsible people able to live a life of conscious choice, of caring, and of connectedness -- and to do so, I know we must each start by committing to increase caring and integrity in our daily lives. And, that our feelings and emotions provide the compass that can guide this aware and compassionate living." Regards, Usha 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 European Network on Emotional Quality © 2002-2008 |