http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/37997 Next morning, the villagers found her slipper and her silver necklace lying on the dust beside the wall. The villagers also found an empty jug lying on the dust road. The jug had had water which was used to cleanse blood, her blood.
Later ‘they’ gave villagers her dead body.
The villagers were angry. The villagers wanted explanation. The villagers in 3-400 went to ‘them’. ‘They’ opened fire. 6 villagers died and 5 are still missing.


My day had been hectic. I had attended one of those lab classes. My friend wanted to catch a cup of coffee and maybe chat a bit over the coffee. I wanted to go to the library after the coffee and she wanted to go to the dorm. We checked out in the hospital canteen. The hospital canteen is just beside the emergency, maybe made for privilege of those medical professional who work in the emergency round the clock.
Me and my friend reached there when already 22 of the villagers who had suffered bullet injuries had been brought. The canteen and the emergency premises were overflowing with people, with medical professionals, with human rights activist and of course the press. We understood the story from the canteen owner. We were sipping coffee when the red cross van arrived. We watched with coffee in our hands as they brought in a women with her hand fractured and injured neck, a man with his legs soaked in blood and an unconscious woman.
These women, were women like my mom, of my mom’s age, in their late 30’s or early 40’s. These were women who would be the last ones to be involved in any kinda violent activities. These were women with husbands and kids they loved. These were women who had cooked afternoon lunch for their families and most probably were worrying about their evening meal when they decided to protest against what they felt very strongly to be wrong.

My friend couldn’t bear it. She left. I walked to the library to search for some friend to talk too. I couldn’t bear to stay there. However after around 15 minutes, I found myself walking back to emergency. A bunch of my friends were already there. None of us were speaking much. There was just a lull, an intense sadness that escapes words. I could see there the jolly faces of my friends overshadowed by greyness, their minds raging with anger, with a sense of unjust, their hearts with love… I could see their eyes reddening… And, yes there was that incredible, incredible sense of helplessness that we all felt.

We stayed around, heard the same story of pain again and again. We talked to a woman who had her 17 year old daughter in the emergency with 8 bullet shots. We talked to some human right activist. The bright sunny afternoon had given way to rosy rosy evening, an evening as beautiful as any other. And yet that immense sense of sadness and unjust this beauty could not nullify…

I wonder about that 7 year old daughter. I wonder what explanation her family gives to her. I wonder if the kid can ever believe in fairy stories. I wonder if the kid can ever develop a sense of trust. I wonder if she can ever escape the scream. I wonder if she can ever forgive ‘them’… I wonder if she can ever sleep in the bed she shared with her mom without remembering the night ‘they took her’…

As I scribble this, strong winds are blowing… winds that might have witnessed that night, winds that might have witnessed murder and injustice, winds that might have witnessed those amazing people who cared for those injured, I whisper my prayers to this wind…
]]> Fri, 28 Apr 2006 07:19:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/37997 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/30672 September in college and stuff. Now I am having my 13 days vacation to celebrate Dasain, one of the major Hindu festival signifying the victory of good over evil. Well fortunatly we had my sister's wedding during this vacation. The picture is of my sister dressed in her bridal dress, with all the traditional ornaments... Hope u enjoy!]]> Wed, 12 Oct 2005 12:17:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/30672 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/29305
For last so many months I had almost given up reading national news! Most of them was like counting how many people died every day! It has been so terrible! I hope we will get respite from this dance of destruction and just pray and pray and pray that it lasts forever!]]> Sat, 03 Sep 2005 23:06:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/29305 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/28767
But, I am thinking about rains… I have no idea why it rains every year in this place on this day! Maybe a mere’ coincidence!! Rain is considered a good omen! But, I know rains are bothersome when one has to walk around, and esp. in the place I live, people generally tend to walk around as everything necessary is near enough! And, it is rather easy to sit in the city, walk on paved roads with nice clothes and curse the rain coz one steps on those little puddles on the sidewalks, or suddenly discovers that ones dress has been splattered with little muddy blobs making it look like some modern art. But, then rain also means food. How?? Well much of our agriculture depends solely on rain water for irrigation, and rains means wet soaked paddy fields promising food for the year! I remember the farmers were anxious this year coz the monsoons came late. But, now I guess the paddy fields are all wet and green and people are a bit happy! With monsoons, things are scary, heavy rains somewhere would mean drought elsewhere! And, esp. since my country is landlocked and agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, monsoons are so very important!

Mythology, I am reading a lot of mythology now-a-days. And, it is fun! Strangely the immortal mythological stories are about the same themes that novels today are about. The same conflicts, the same feelings are addressed sometimes subtly and other times not. But it gives me stuffs to dream about, magnificent palaces, brave warriors, magical lands, wise sages etc. etc. Ha ha! Crazy me!
]]> Fri, 26 Aug 2005 08:20:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/28767 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/28412
10 days to go… and I shall be shifting to a college hostel. The hostel actually is very near to my home, just few minutes away, but somehow the college rules make it mandatory for the med school students to stay in a hostel. It is a bit strange but then that is the way it is…

I finally managed to get admitted in a med school. For last few years I have often wondered about my career. I was interested in so many things... psychology, philosophy, journalism, literature, mass communication, law, nursing and lately and crazily into education. Just about a month back, I was actually thinking of taking a year off and doing little stuff like volunteer work, teaching kids etc. and taking time to discover myself and my ‘true’ interest.

The desire for med school was always there in the back of my mind but I was a bit scared by the commitment it would require. Lately there has been a kind of mad craze in my country for medical profession. Almost everybody wants to be a doc. It is not just about the students but also there are a lot of parents who would like their kids to be in med school. I guess the attraction is there because of the respect and money people associate with the profession. And, due to these reasons, medical education has become a sort of business at some institutions. Somewhere I just wanted to make sure with myself that I would not enter into this profession just because my parents would wish me to be in it, or because of the money or the respect!!! And, of course on the practical side, I also had to clear the entrance for the med school. I guess with time I became clearer on some respects about myself. And somehow I managed to clear the college entrance too and the college accepted me. And, now only 10 days left before the college starts…

I am kinda confused and again a bit scared, as I dunno how the college education system works esp. since the one I am enrolled in boasts about an innovative approach to health education which includes self directed learning and in papers also says that there shall be no lecture and that all classes would be Structured Interactive Sessions (SIS). Well I guess it shall be interesting!!! Also my class shall be having a total of 100 students. And, I next to HATE classrooms with more than 20-30 students and I really wonder how SIS shall work in 100 students. And, yes soon I shall be overwhelmed by the huge piles of books and numerous examinations!!! I just hope the cadaver won’t faint me!!! Also, I shall have to improve my incredibly messy time management which presently runs basically on instincts.

I wonder the fate of my other interests after being enrolled in what seems to be rather rigorous program. I would still love to write a book at some point of time and be actively involved in teaching/ learning and in improving education system in general. I would not like to give up reading books on philosophy!!! And, I still want to go for a long walk through the hills and mountains of Nepal and open a children’s home too.
I guess I am too dreamy!!!

All from me today!!!
]]> Sun, 21 Aug 2005 23:03:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/28412 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/27739 I was simply playing with the camera just right after it rained yesterday and simply found it nice. ]]> Sat, 13 Aug 2005 05:10:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/27739 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/27406
So, I just met this one lady few days back and as we chatted away, we started discussing about the education system. Her kid is of my age but we were educated in different schools and while we were discussing about schools or rather about education institutions, she stated that 'if the system with which the institution/organization begins is nice one, then the institution continues to function well even in future coz all the members who join fall into the system and everything works out well!'

Well something about the statement she made, I simply could not agree with it completely. Well I do agree that the the vision and the system with which an educational instititution starts should definitely be good and efficient. But, just having a good system to begin with, is that enough??? With rapidly changing time, technology and ideas, don't we need to constantly update the system?? If we do not update, and allow everyone to fall back into what the system has been initially, will not there be some kind of stagnation, some kind of resistance to flow with time which would definitely hurt the intentions of the institution and the future of the children??

I really wished I could have discussed all these with her, somehow her visit was quite short and I guess I did not think fast enough to interrupt her.

I was just checking out the WYC webpage. The blogging done by the members are simply cool! I just felt like I was there with them and I could connect to how they felt. It was so much like how I felt during NECC and MSOF!! ]]> Sun, 07 Aug 2005 14:51:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/27406 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26503
It’s crazy, things we do with our frens. We were actually boasting on how much we have not studied! And, then we were dreaming of going somewhere with Rs.50 and turning it into 50 million sometime in future! Or being an engineer and opening a showroom of LG electronics and then turning into a fat shopkeeper. Crazy imaginations!!! And, laughing out loud at our own crazy thoughts!

Lord! I wonder what a life it would be without friends. These people make life so liv-able and so much fun. Gosh! And I seem to take most of them for granted!

Thank you guys for being around, for caring, for sharing and for all the laughters!

And, I am so much looking forward to see Paroma(one of my beeest friend) next week. And, yeah! Next week I am going to meet my teachers too, there is so much to share with them and thank them for. They mean so much more now!

And, looking forward to give my entrance exam too for which generally people prepare for years and I shall have prepared for in 10 days! It shall be a miracle if I qualify!! Ha ha!
]]> Mon, 25 Jul 2005 21:52:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26503 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26359 Thu, 21 Jul 2005 13:16:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26359 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26213 This morning, as I woke up, I just had a crazy urge to visit a temple, Pashupati to be precise. Don’t mistake me for supra-religious human being. I am not even close to being one. And, except Pashupati I rarely visit any temple. It is just that something about Pashupati attracts me towards it every time I am in Kathmandu. Maybe it is about the diversity of people I tend to see in Pashupati. One gets to see all kinds of people there, people wishing good wives, good husbands, good sons, good daughters, good son-in.-laws, good daughter-in-laws, success in job, examination and what not! Basically everything under the sun!!! So many desires we humans tend to have and how we wish we all had a magic wand! And yes, some come without desire, just for love of God.

Well I visit Pashupati because somewhere between these conflicting wishes that people come with, between the yogis who sit around the temple, between the music and chanting that seems to be always there when I go, between the pelting of the bells, between the fragrance of the sticks, between the screams and between the crowd of unknown humanity, I feel somewhere that the place is center point of culmination of a lot of our hopes, our wishes, our devotion, our fears and our love for that Omnipotent, Omniscient source of Energy, Power, Creation and Destruction. Somewhere between those crowds, I sense peace, contentment, creation and energy.

So, there I was at Pashupati, observing all those around me, observing the birds, listening to the music and smelling the fragrance. I am a bit surprised to see so many people around. After all, today is Tuesday and is not supposed to be a very busy day. And, also I am surprised to see a different male and female line which was not so the last time I visited. I stand at the end of the female line. As time passes our line moves forward and women start pouring in. I allow some old women to stand in front of me. I am in no hurry. I am filled with awe at the carvings on the doors and wall of the temple. Each leaf, each flower, each little bird and beast seem to have signature of perfection over it. For people who carved them, it must have been a ‘labor of love’. I am also filled with pride on the creativity, perfection and sense of devotion our ancestors had.

Though I was in the female line, there were some male members in the line, either accompanying their middle-age wives or just assisting their old mothers make the pilgrimage of their lives. I was lost in my own little world as we approached the main entrance of the temple. My reverie was broken by a shrill scream of man-ly policewoman. She was tall, huge, and looked strong and angry. I was actually a bit scared. She started screaming at every male member in the female line.

Her point was that just the earlier day an old man who regularly visited the temple and was standing the female line actually pinched a young girl who ended up crying for hours! I was shell-shocked on hearing that!!! People visit temple with all kinds of desires within them, but somebody visiting Pashupati with such a pervert intention was beyond my wildest dream!

Why, why is it that women, young women everywhere always have to deal with all these??? Why don’t any of these perpetrators ever even think of how their little mischief, how their momentary pleasure can bring huge suffering, trauma and pain for their victim??? We are human beings because of our intelligence, because of our ability to empathy, compassion and love. Where in the good earth does the whole sensitivity of being a human goes when one commits such act?? And, is not there a bit hesitance, a bit of reluctance, a bit of doubt or restrain??? And, for someone who regularly visits a temple, is it not a ‘sin’(if the word exists!) to even bring such an idea to ones mind, let alone commit it??? If the word ‘sin’ exists, I firmly believe that it is a sin against humanity, against all the sensitivity, compassion and love that we inherit as a right, being a human.

My search for peace, for solace that brought me to the doors of this huge ‘holy’ temple goes crashing down. No more can I concentrate on anything other than the pain, the humiliation and the trauma that girl must have felt. I wonder how she feels today! I wonder if she is still proud to be a woman! I wonder if she is confident enough to visit this temple again alone! I wonder if I can again stand in this queue without eyeing every next male member around me with suspicion. I even wonder if I will ever be able to get the feeling of solace in this temple without the cry of the girl haunting me!

I remember the words from the song of Ani Choyang,
’ in the eyes of flower, the world is filled with flowers,
in the eyes of thorn, the world is filled with thorns,’
But today, I visited the temple with the eyes of flowers and came out seeing the world of thorns!
]]> Sat, 16 Jul 2005 14:54:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26213 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26212
We had a nice breakfast. It was hard telling good-bye to Jen. Some 4 days with her was enough for me to remember her for the rest of my life. Well, first everybody from TIG left. And then all 4 of us checked out. Beth was our guide for the day. She took us for shopping, to the park, to the ice cream parlor and to Barnes and Nobles where I bought 2 wonderful books, one of which called Siddharth by Herman Hesse which I always had wanted.

Then we all went to the Philly terminal and found out that all our flights were delayed. Mike and Luke were still there in the terminal coz their flight too had been delayed and now they would not be there to receive us at Seattle. Instead they would join us the next day. Our flight was delayed by 3 hours.

And, somehow my mood went from bad to worse! I started reading one of the books I had bought earlier in the day. I guess I had too much of the city. Being brought up in suburbia with trees, hills, flowers, wide expanse of the green fields always around me, I guess I was feeling very uncomfortable at Philadelphia, where none of these things existed. Somehow I was getting crankier with time. I guess it was getting very difficult for Beth, Cherrie and Dilmurod to understand me. I am so grateful to them for tolerating me in one my worst mood swing ever. And, I also I apologize for being such a trouble when things were not working well. Who likes to wait 3 hours in the terminal???

Finally we boarded our flight and arrived Seattle at some 3:00 am. Beth practically had to take care of all of us. So grateful to her coz she did not complain a bit and was in high spirit all the time. The landscape of Seattle made me feel much much better. It was like being home!
]]> Sat, 16 Jul 2005 14:53:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26212 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26211
By 11:30 or 12:00 we were all at the hall of the Convention Center where we were supposed to meet Luke, Mike and Jen. We were supposed to have lunch with Bruce, from Microsoft but somehow he was late and we were all in the exhibition hall trying to figure out some crazy game to play. Jen suggested us to go to some individual stalls and tell them about TIG and if they could collaborate with TIG. I and Dilmurod went for Scholastic and Cannon. It was quite crazy because I had been so shy that I would not go and ask anybody anything about their product. And, there I was asking them to collaborate with IIG. I was going far beyond my own comfort zone and strangely enough I was enjoying the feeling! It felt like being Alice in Wonderland, every step was new and the desire to explore was there. Beth and Cherrie went for Adobe and some other. Folks at Adobe were really interested and they were ready to give free CD’s etc. to TIG which was wonderful.

By then, we realized Bruce was not joining us and we all went to the hard-rock café’ for our lunch. Well, TIG bought each of us a souvenir of our choice from the café’. We then decided to walk up Philly and visit the Liberty bell.

Then we decided for a movie, “War of the Worlds”. Walking through Penn. State University was cool. Being very truthful I did not like the movie much. I guess, I am a bore with no fascination for aliens, or for destruction of the world etc. In fact I find it very ironical to even think about aliens affecting out lives and bringing us to the edge of destruction when so many things in the real world are much more pressing, REAL and have the potential to bring us to our end like the nuclear weapons, poverty, illiteracy, discontentment, religious intolerance, terrorism, hunger and the list goes on! I guess I would prefer movies that would be more real!

After the movie we realize that we are supposed to attend a dinner by Bruce. It was a very busy place and there was almost no table. So, we had to wait. We could see that Jen was very tired by then. During dinner we were seated in 2 different tables with Mike, Jen, Bruce and a young lady in one and Luke, Cherrie, Beth, Dilmurod and myself in next. Well, we enjoyed the dinner, laughed a lot together on some crazy jokes and shared bits and pieces of our lives over the food.

By the time, dinner was over, we were very very tired as usual and still Jen was thinking of some project of TIG, I guess it was about the new section for the teachers. She wanted to know how the website could be made more useful for teachers. Well, I was unable to think anything right there and Cherrie who was also walking along with us, was in the same state.

We decide to meet everybody at the breakfast next morning! After all this was our last night at Philly!
]]> Sat, 16 Jul 2005 14:51:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26211 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26210
Never in my life, I have been so happy to be late!!!

Erin Gruwell, a woman, a teacher unknown to most of us till yet, but soon she would capture our hearts with the story she had to tell. It started with a passion, an intense love for children and the desire to do something for them. She chose a profession of her heart- teaching!

A fresh graduate from the university, she was assigned as her first class, a rowdy classroom of 150 odd students from the inner city. Her classroom had amazing diversity, but her students till yet had never tried to explore the domain beyond their own, most of them had witnessed violence at very early age and some of them had adopted violence as their culture, as their means of survival in the hard world of streets. Most of them were never expected to finish their high-school, let alone attend college. Most of them hated books!!!

Erin had no idea as what to do with her class. However she decided to ‘listen’ to her students. Nobody, let alone a teacher had ever shown any interest in the lives of these students, no one ever had time to hear them. The stories were the ones that could bring tears to ones eyes.

Try imagining the world from the eyes of 3 year old girl, who sees her 18 year old cousin being shot right in front of her, as the cousin returns home after enjoying her vacation with the child!!! Or, from the eyes of a little boy who witnesses his best friend being shot and the brain splattered right across him! Or, the girl whose father, who is himself a con-man teaches her that the only way to survive in the world is by being tough, which means basically by violence!!!
The world would not be of flowers and bees, of dreams and hopes, of sunny days for these children, for them it is simply one mad struggle for survival, where life has no value, neither has love, nor acceptance or tolerance!!!

Erin was touched! She knew she had to do something for these kids, coz they too had right to dream! So, she bought a bunch of book, “the story of Anne Frank”. Somewhere she felt these kids could identify themselves with all that Anne went through! These were group of kids, who almost never touched books, but somehow she made them go through the book. Her kids identified themselves with the character of the book. They could relate their lives, their pains with that of Anne Frank.

And, then they dreamt of writing a book about their stories and called themselves ‘The Freedom Writers’.

I am sorry that I don’t remember the details of this wonderful story of journey of a teacher and her group of students from hopelessness to hope. All her students made through the high school and entered the college. In fact they even ended up advocating for the students like themselves and thus helped in bringing about a change.

This story somehow had a huge impact on me. I personally knew lot of people, one being my best friend whose story was never heard. I could relate lot of characters I knew in my life to the students of Erin’s story. I somehow at that point understood ‘the power of listening and believing the students’. I felt extremely unhappy for my friend, who though blessed with intelligence, humor, creativity and an immense potential could not realize all she had simply because no teacher would hear her story. As a matter of fact of fact, I felt very guilty because I too was unable to help her much. It was quite sad and traumatic because this friend was and is very dear to me!!

I really wish we had more teachers like Erin! If only some day in life, I could do with 1 student, what Erin did to her 150 students, I guess for me, my life shall be blessed.


]]> Sat, 16 Jul 2005 14:48:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26210 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26209
So, at 6:00 I manage to fall asleep to wake up at 8:00 am. We ( myself, Dema, Luke, Mike) visit the exhibition. Jen was too tired to join us. Mike told us that TIG did manage to get a grant from Microsoft which was cool. Luke went to the airport to pick Cherrie up. The exhibition was quite cool and there were lot of free stuff. I saw a real tablet for the first time. It was one of the coolest stuff I ever saw. The basic purpose was of course advertisement and the exhibition was dedicated mainly towards teachers.

By the end of one hour, we manage to round up the exhibition and then in the hall, we met Luke and Cherrie. Well, Cherrie basically was another bundle of energy. To have such a crazy day before flight getting her passport and stuff and then flying some 11 hours( it might be 9), with a stop at LA terminal for some hours, she still had the energy to join us on the exhibition in high spirits. We again rounded up the exhibition, picked up some free pens for her, a flash drive etc. And, then time to eat.

I don’t remember where we ate but I liked it coz it was light and totally vegetarian with beans, raw spinach and fruits. Then we went for the panel discussion of
“celebrating 10 years of Web in Education”. The hall was huge and there were little no. of people. But it was wonderful. These were a group of people who had been working hard since a decade or longer in trying to put technology in education, esp. the internet technology. They were I guess pioneers in the field, the ones who first saw the potential of technology when it came to education. They were people with vision and contagious enthusiasm.
I remember Edwin Gragert from i-EARN talking about a project in Nepal, which really got me interested. After the discussion we informally met the panelists. One of them had been to Nepal to play a game of basketball against the Russians when the Cold war was still on. It was an interesting story to hear. Patsy Wang who worked for the improvement of Maths and Science education was an amazing person to be around. She had an amazing sense of humor which ‘lighted’ the whole event. She also had amazing passion in whatever she was doing.

Back to the hotel, we had a little discussion for our project and finally we decided on its format. It would begin with our introduction followed by a real discussion where Luke and Jen would ask us questions that we discussed in our 5 weeks. And, each of us would answer the question supporting our answer with a story which would point out how we reached the conclusion. Also, the story would make us more convinced and passionate about what we were speaking. Since each of us would be having a bit different answer for the same question, we would be trying to include all the major points put in by everybody during the discussion.

Then, we realize that we had a dinner to attend at 6:00 pm. We were late. And, Jen did not really like the idea of being late. We practically rushed to a dinner that Patsy had invited us to. Being with Patsy was sheer joy. I remember laughing or chuckling all the time. By 8:00 Mike, Luke and Jen leave us to attend the Microsoft Reception.

We were supposed to attend the Student Film Festival but we missed it. Instead we attended a session on pod-casting again with Patsy! To be very very truthful, I didn’t understand avthing about pod-casting. Well, i-pods are very new to me. I did not even know they existed! All I got was that one could hear programs and music and download lot of interesting stuff to listen from internet with i-pods. I don’t know if what I understand is true.

I was very very tired by now. The fact that I did not sleep much in the morning was taking its toll. And all I wanted to do was to return to the hotel and drop to bed. I wanted to do that since 6:00 pm. I had tried to convince Beth on not-attending the pod-casting session, but I guess everybody else was interested and I somehow did not have the heart to go to the hotel alone. And, also knowing that Cherrie after having such a crazy time was still there and was not tired, actually made me feel very ashamed of myself. By some 9:30 pm Luke came to pick us up and we all went to the hotel where we all gathered in Mike and Jen’s room to have another round of discussion on our presentation.

I think Jen’s presence refreshed me and I was on one of my good energetic mood. Beth was having a headache and I guess Cherrie was a bit tired. Dilmurod was I guess a bit drowsy. Beth was fine after having some medicine. We all started our discussion. We all had numerous stories to tell. Beth’s story of how she related music and maths was amazing. The points made my Cherrie and Beth were extremely mature and comprehensive. So, basically we managed to create a rough skeleton of what we would be doing the next evening by 12:00 midnight. I guess everybody was tired and ready to sleep by then.

Somehow after returning back to the room that I and Beth shared, I found that I was not even close to sleep. I was extremely excited about the presentation, about all the ideas that we shared, about everybody’s stories and I guess I was absorbing everybody’s energy and enthusiasm. So, I stayed up for next 2 and a half hours till some 2:30 at night jotting down things for presentation. I realize that for the 1st time in my whole life, I had slept about only 2 hours in 24 hour span. That was crazy!!!

So good night Philly!


]]> Sat, 16 Jul 2005 14:46:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26209 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26196

No! I don't expect to be taught universalism waiting for my flight back to Kathmandu on Bangkok Int' Airport. But, life does not happen the way one wants it! Surprises are beautiful!!!

So, there I was, jet-lagged, tired and reading through Herman Hesse's Siddhartha for the 2nd time coz I like the way, the book being so simple is so complex. So, people have started boarding the flight. I am in no mood to stand in that long line. So, I am still sitting with my eyes in the book and my mind roaming the streets of India while Buddha walked in the streets with his disciples begging food, and preaching about life, pain, peace and tolerance. And, suddenly somebody breaks my reverie,

'Do you like that book' the voice says

I look up to notice a middle age guy right in front of me with a heavy back pack.

'Yes, I do, that's why I am reading it for the 2nd time'.

' I read it long time back,'

' I see, did you like it???'

' Yes, now I am reading this', he shows me a book. ' what would Buddha do?' .

I walk up to him, take the book and flip through it. It is about application of Buddha's teachings in real life.
He says, it is not as philosophical, but is light hearted! I don't find it much light hearted, in fact I find it quite complex esp. the language. But, then what appears complex is generally simple and what appears simple is generally complex!!! There goes my piece of Zen wisdom!

I ask him, ' Are you interested in Buddhism???' I just had an idea that perhaps he is visiting Kathmandu to know about Buddhism.

' No, I am interested in everything in the world!!' he answers back.

' What do you do?' I ask him, happy to find someone to talk at last.

' Well I teach astronomy to college students, occasionally honors students.'

Now, I am scared. Physics, astronomy, those are subject for nerds; this is something that my teachers and my friends have managed to coax me to believe. Ok, I like physics but I would never tell that, coz I am not a nerd, not even close to one. So, I want to move out, coz he may be a supra-intelligent guy and I may end up making a fool of myself.

I blurt out, ' I am scared of you'

Surprised he questions, 'Why???'

I say, ' You are physicist, and I guess you are nerd and I am scared of physics ( not true all the time!)'

He says, ' No, I am somebody with dyslexia. It's just that I can put stars and their location in sky in mind' His gestures explain stars in sky, as he sees them.

I understand he is fascinated by stars and dearly loves his subject.

Then he goes on, ' My students are generally are from the field of performing arts, I teach the ballerinas the physics of their dance, I teach the player the physics of their game, I teach them physics to improve their skills, to help them relate physics to their lives and enjoy it. Numbers come at last!'

I am impressed!! Many more times he would impress me! So I tell him about our conference and about how we thought education would be better if we could only relate it to our lives, just as he taught his students to do.

By this time, we both decide to line up for boarding for the flight.

Suddenly he questions me, ' Why do you like studying so much???'

'So much', when did I like studying 'so much'. I question to myself. I look into his face, right into his eyes, trying to understand what he means, and what does he expect. I cannot make much of the expression!

So, I say something, the only thing I can think of when I am tired, when in the back of my mind the dusty streets of India still exists and somewhere I am filled with awe for this wonderful teacher who teaches physics as a way of life.

I say, ' Well, I study because I am fascinated by life. I am fascinated by its simplicity and its complexity. From universe to atoms, everything fascinates me. It surprises me that in that little cell, or even that little cell organelle that we would not even see without super powerful electronic microscopes there is so much complexity that all our 'superior' human intelligence cannot understand or comprehend.'

What I told him was in fact very true, coz that's how I have felt in last 2 years of my life, as my teachers unraveled to me, the complex physiology of human body, or the crazy reactions of chemistry, or the ways the complex molecules behave, or about electric and magnetic fields and their behavior. I have been dazed and have spent hours wondering the beauty and complexity of this universe.

Now, I look into his eyes. Still I cannot make out anything of it. Well he simply makes some kind of noise as a response. Probably he is still trying to understanding me.

Then he questions again, 'How old are you??'

Wow! That's easy! I don't even wait for him to finish the question. I blurt, '18'

'No, you are not', I look at him,
' The atoms in your body are as old as universe, as old at that primeval mass before the big bang took place. You are old as universe.'

I am dumbstruck, trying to comprehend what he said, trying to identify myself with the universe.

After gaining my senses, I respond back, ' Well I have always been fascinated that there are the same atoms in me, as in you or as in that piece of wood there, but yet we are so different in our consciousness, being so similar we are yet individuals.'

He replies back, ' You see, the gold that we wear, the platinum that we wear, the uranium that we use today, they were all a part of the stars and nebulas in the universe millions of years ago. What is on us, were a part of stars that burst themselves eons ago. And, these have all made their way to earth and that's how we get them.'

I am still dazed. He thinks for a while.

And, he adds,
' REMEMBER, YOU are as huge to an atom, as you are small to the universe.'

I know I shall remember that sentence the whole of my life time.
It's time for me to get the boarding pass.
Our seats are different. As we board the plane we wish each other good-bye. He ends himself with,
' I guess I have given you enough to think, It's just that I am tired and I am rambling. My friends often tell me that I take reality and twist it a bit.'

I walk to my seat, take a deep breath, close my eyes and smile to myself.
I am so grateful to be where I am, who I am. I am so grateful to be alive. In matter of 20 minutes, my awe for universe has multiplied by zillions; my respect for my body, for every object around me has been multiplied by zillions.

I am suddenly, a part of stars, of nebulas, of primeval mass. I have witnessed the universe, its evolution. I am a small part of its multifarious wonder, immense beauty, of this miracle that we call universe.

I remember the words from Krishna from Geeta explaining self,

'This is never born, nor does it die. It is not that, not having been, It again comes into being. This is unborn, eternal, changeless, ever-Itself. It is not killed when the body is killed.

This(self), weapons cut not, This fire burns not; This, water wets not; and This, wind dries not.

Of that which is born, death is certain; of that which is dead, birth is certain.'

And, the word, ancient and powerful fills me, 'Om'


]]> Sat, 16 Jul 2005 05:20:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26196 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26091
Realize her beyond her veils;
Realize her beyond her sindoor*;
Realize her beyond her mangal-sutra*;

See the dreams beyond those eyes;
Hear the words beyond those lips;
Know her for what she is;

She is not a doll;
Not simply an object of beauty;
Not only your wife or daughter;
Not only your sister or mother;
All whom you want to zealously
Guard or protect

She is a woman;
She is a human;
She is a possibility;
She is force and creativity;
She is an individual;

Her desires are different from yours;
Her dreams have colors
That may not be yours;

She is not your pet parrot;
Living in your cage,
Eating your food,
Singing for your entertainment;

Love her for who she is;
And respect her
Coz she deserves it.


*sindoor= a red powder worn in forehead esp. by Hindu married women
*mangal-sutra= a necklace of gold and black-beads, again a symbol of marriage
]]> Thu, 14 Jul 2005 13:15:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26091 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26082

Often I have wondered about the different approach of education that we have in my part of the world and the one I observed while we were at MSOF or NECC. And, this morning, while I was drowning in deep depression over my tortoise-paced internet, my basically useless life and my huge ignorance that is darker than the midnight, denser than diamond and larger than universe, it dawned to me that for me and many like me in this part of the world education basically equates independence.

It is not about goals, it is not about contributing to the community, it is even more basic, it is security, it is independence, it is the assurance of good life, assurance of not being a victim of domestic violence, assurance of not having ones parents drowned in bankruptcy paying for the dowry trying to get one married, it is about respect, dignity and being able to live as a human being.

For a woman in this part of the world, education is about being able to divorce ones sadistic husband, being able to stand against all the norms and cords that tend to bind woman, having the right to question, having the right and ability to save ones children from violence and giving them education, food and shelter, and in some case even the right to ones body, ones life and ones children.

Choices are extreme, often pages are written; “Education or Dowry???”.


This is different time, different place, different value and different choices. When Education and Dowry come as choices, Education equates Independence, life and all the beautiful things in it.


]]> Thu, 14 Jul 2005 05:11:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26082 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26040
What amazed me was that folks with whom we shared our tables were all teachers, policy makers etc. And, they really had a hard time remaining focused. Basically they were behaving like we behave in our classes, expressing random ideas, recollecting some crazy story, simply chatting around etc. However, their insight, experience and maturity fascinated me!

In the afternoon basically we were simply chatting about our presentation and ended up telling stories about education system in our countries. And, yes for the 1st time, I managed to understand the NCLB stuff that educators in US seem to be raging about. Thanks to Beth for that! The system in Uzbekistan as related by Dema seems so strange! He is 19 and has graduated from a college! So cool!!

Next we went to ISTE reception for international attendees. It was nice, but somehow I don’t recollect anything special.

Jen and Mike arrived by the evening!! I have no words for them. They fascinate me, they amaze me, they inspire me!!! Well, it was Jen’s birthday so we ended up in Swanky Bubbles. There is something about the name ‘Swanky Bubbles’, which phonetically is very nice. When it came to food, basically I knew nothing, everything was new and yet nice. This remained constant during the whole trip. We ended up sharing our food and having it in a family fashion. The discussion, the sharing of ideas, of experiences that we had over the food was for me something that I enjoyed the most. Jen’s ability to listen, to share simply overwhelmed me. The energy that she seemed to be carrying around, the intensity and focus on TIG, on various other global issues, the active desire to do ‘something’, wow! I guess she is one of the most energetic, amazing, versatile person I ever ever met!! If I were to visualize her, I guess it would simply be a radiating bundle of energy constantly changing its forms, constantly exchanging itself with the environment, renewing itself, and having the ability to kindle sparks around itself and also allow the sparks to grow into flames!! I wish her long life and I hope the energy always remains!!!

Now isn’t that too much for 1 day!

]]> Wed, 13 Jul 2005 11:22:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26040 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26039
Traveling all the way to Philly

Traveling alone is basically very very lousy! I had flight of some 15 hours and didn’t talk for more than half an hour. For a chatter-box like me, that is so very difficult! But, I was so busy dreaming of the days to come. However, I did meet a wonderful Thai lady. Unfortunately she did not speak much of English, but then it was comfortable to have her beside me. Also, she helped me log in my suitcase at LA airport. Now who says that there are only bad folks in the world???
It is strange how lot of people think I am Thai and the air-hostess was talking to me in the Thai language. I never knew I looked Thai, in addition to looking Indian!

I am dead tired when I reach Philly airport. And, what more, the United Airlines vanishes my luggage into thin air! And, here goes my idea of US-a perfect land crashing down!!! It is strange how we from developing nations somehow tend to have this idea! Maybe its human nature, whenever we are unhappy, we love to dream that there is some place somewhere where everything is perfect (utopian world???) and then we construct this utopian world either above the clouds or in other end of the globe! However this is not utopia!!!

Thank god! Luke is around! Basically he looks hell tired! Seems like everybody except Dilmurod had flight problems. And, we reach Windham around mid-night. I don’t meet Dilmurod and Cherrie has not arrived, (thanks to the change in the NZ passport rules!!!) All of us are tired and my body is in a highly confused state trying to figure out days and nights! Beth and I were supposed to share rooms, but somehow there was only 1 bed initially, so we had to shift to a different room in different floor! So, good night Philly!
]]> Wed, 13 Jul 2005 11:20:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26039 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26020 ]]> Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:28:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/26020 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/25871
And, sadly I and perhaps most of my frens seem to carry the same tradition of thinking online too. And, perhaps that's why sometimes some of us don't tend to have any hitch in plagiarizing stuffs online!!!

I guess its high time we think of what my friend Beth suggested today about teaching children to respect intellectual freedom from grass-root level i.e. the school itself, i guess that's where everything begins!

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM - A GLOBAL CULTURE]]> Tue, 05 Jul 2005 03:41:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/25871 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/25752 And, at 8:30 somehow we( me and cherry) manage to wake up and check out the "American Breakfast". I honestly can't distinguish between the Breakfast and lunch in this place!
'Sarah', the book is amazing. It is strange that some people equate beauty with joy and sometimes even an immortal beauty cannot quench man's aspiration for joy! It is so strange to see how priorities change with change is age! Something so treasured can be so poisonous! But the story has a feel, I can perhpas never foget. The element of love, of devotion, of independence and yet dependence is surpassing. Wonder how opposites exist together and rooted in one another!!
The Art Museum at Seattle is one of the 1st ones I ever went! It amuses me to see the dimensions of human mind! The same work can connect to so many different ideas, so many different lives, and in so many different ways. And I see our lives, so individual, so unique, so diverse but yet so connected, and so inter-dependent! Again there are opposites together reminding me of the old Zen symbol.
I guess each day is making me so new, like never before, so much to absorb, so much to understand and learn. This place is so beautiful, just like my place would be if we could harmonize the nature with the human skills, or rather "the human intellect".
I guess this mere' wandering of thoughts and idea, a lot incoherent!!!
Off with me! Good night!!]]> Sat, 02 Jul 2005 00:00:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/25752 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/23891
My concern for the future is that quality education should reach these corners of the world and must be able to bring about a change in the life of these children]]> Sat, 16 Apr 2005 05:01:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/23891 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/23890
My concern is that education should touch these people and should be able to bring a difference in the life of these children. ]]> Sat, 16 Apr 2005 04:53:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/23890 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333 http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/23889
My concern is that education should touch these people and should be able to bring a difference in the life of these children. ]]> Sat, 16 Apr 2005 04:47:00 EDT http://maitreeye.tigblog.org/post/23889 26.8166667 87.283333326.816666787.2833333