Fairy Tale endings

For the class activity- fairy tale endings with a twist we successfully reinvented Cinderella's fairy tale. I suggested the following two stories for the play:

1. The shoes fits Cinderella, they kiss and turn into frogs. (reverse juxtaposition)
2. The shoe fits two damsels, and it turns out Cinderella had a twin sister. The evil step mother has separated them when they were kids. They thank the prince to help them reunite and they start their own business where they custom make glass slippers! The business makes them very rich.

We decided to go with the version 2 since it tried to creatively introduce a new function of the glass slippers- reunite sisters! We had some interesting props and also came up with some last minute on stage improvisations. It was a fun exercise, we got to leave class early and I was able to witness the fairy tale sunset as I made my way back home.

There sure is a pot of gold hidden somewhere in the sky above. Sometimes the winter sunset gives it away..and against the silhouette of the leafless trees you can catch all the radiance of the shinning doubloons!

Vision to Reality

The project inception can be traced to Eileen's idea to start a summer internship program for University student. It was easy for us to collectively envision the solution that she wanted to create for students to search for a meaningful internship since we had personally encountered similar limitations.

We started with a free flow brainstorming session, where we tried to identify all the components of the problem in hand. We enlisted all the causes and then tried to address each of the components. the following is a snapshot of our brainstorming exercise.

We crystallized our ideas from brainstorming to the following specific objectives.These three objectives us to better divide work and collaborate together to put the final project report and presentation together.

Specific objective(s)

●     Background Research to better understand the landscape:

·        Existing programs and resources at the University of Illinois and other campuses that are related to our project

·        Identify what type of positions students would be interested in

·        Begin communication with potential partner organizations (including what type of interns they would want, logistical requirements, etc.)

●     Create a web-based resource for students that would include:

·        A link to specific internship opportunities (posted on Simplicity)

·        Guided instructions on how to approach an organization and secure an internship

·        Information about the following:

§ Campus career services

§ Skill development resources

§ Strength Finder or similar program

·        Example internships students might hold over the summer

·        Timeline outlining how and when to get a summer internship

●     Promotional Plan

·        We will explore the following options to promote the Summer Internship Initiative across campus- information sessions, flyers, speaking at lectures, booth on quad, etc.  We will also use existing networking events and career fairs to promote this project. 

Identifying these key objectives helped us to better work on our Vision to Reality final project report and presentation.

The Best of You Teach Us

Calligraphy Lesson.

I nominated Haggit's You Teach Us session on creativity as the best of the class. This gave me a chance to participate in the activity twice.
Literally calligraphy translates to beautiful handwriting. It is a skill that one learns through practice and patience. Calligraphy encompasses technique, discipline, focus and a touch of creativity as well.
In some ways holding the felt-tip pen in my hand and drawing the alphabets on the practice sheet was like revisiting the writing lessons from early childhood. I couldn't believe how ugly my letters turned out in the first attempt even after all these years of writing!
Or perhaps it was all these years of experience that was coming in the way. Haggit taught us how we need to  hold the pen at a certain angle, control our movement to give the desired thickness and curve to the characters. I realized something more about calligraphy- it requires the practitioner to be versatile to quickly learn and unlearn new styles. She also showed us how the practitioner could create a serif of his own by developing a new style. I liked the balance of  fluidity and discipline that she highlighted in the exercise. She choose to call it the yin and the yang.

 It was interesting how she improvised her presentation the second time for the bigger group. She showed a small video clip from Steve Job's commencement speech at Stanford where he talks about how the Calligraphy lessons he took in college came to good use later in the user interface design- (fonts, typeface)  for Mac.  I had read about it before as well but it looked like a bigger revelation today.

Its interesting how all our motivations, actions, successes and failures can be interpreted in terms of one lesson in our life which we have truly internalized. Sitting in the class I felt I better understood his
relentless pursuit of perfection. He wowed us with his showmanship in each of  Apple's product launch presentation but behind the scenes he would practice and rehearse to get the act just right. (Just as perfecting a calligraphic serif).
Some life events or learning's become the dynamo that sustain and influence our life's choices and decisions in a much bigger way. Therefore it is a good idea to explore and learn about things that genuinely interest us.
We might not have the foresight to see how we might end up using these skills some day but perhaps it is the best investment that we can make.

City Post Card- Sao Paulo,Brazil

From the city sunbathing, relaxing and basking in all of nature's glory to the world's third largest city boasting of high rises, non-stop traffic, the biggest names and the riches. We were in Sao Paulo and already nostalgic about the beaches in Rio!

I would say its unfair to compare the two cities because they represent two different social, cultural and business dimensions. In all developing countries if you look closely at the cities you can sense their aspiration to grow into the 'Chicago's' and 'Beijing's of the world! And many a times in their pursuit to grow big, they become immensely chaotic. Sao Paulo was big but it looked sublime and beautiful as the roots still looked intact. The occasional regal Portuguese building reminded of the history, the ancient clock towers, the graffiti on the walls conspicuous and uninhibited, the local shops and shopping complex. It wasn't a sold out city copying the west, it held its own.

I would say unless you take a public transport and go around the city by your own, you haven't really experienced the city. By this parameter I'll marginally make the cut, as I took the subway once. Raising the bar higher, I would say unless you get lost and have to ask around to find your way back you haven't really seen the city. Unfortunately I cannot get past this caveat, and so I can make an honest admission that I don't feel I experienced the city to its fullest.

We went around a little in the business circles in Sao Paulo, did the customary visit to the stock exchange(MBA students!), went for a tree planting exercise at IPE (forest-wildlife research center). Had social events every single night of our stay there, which is again a good way to get to know people in an informal setting. So we visited the most fancy bar, and sat there dry mouthed after the first few wows! The last night bar-crawl was crazy fun. Sitting in my hometown nestled in the hills, I would have never imagined myself to walk in that crowd but then there I was. Somehow the idea of enjoying life is slightly restricted in our Indian society when compared to western society. I am sure this statement is bound to raise eyebrows, but you have to experience the intoxication of 'the freedom to do things as you want'- to sing, to dance, to talk, to laugh without caring of any judgement. Its 'another side of happiness'. Temporal happiness is not immoral- there has to be a good vibe to it! 'Good vibe' is essential, trees need that even more than the technical skill of planting- we learnt this lesson while planting trees in the reserve. Nature wired us in such a way that we can unmistakably perceive the good old vibe!

Time for a little detour and from Sao Paulo, we visited the city of Belo Horizonte for our client presentation. It was wonderful to have a dialogue instead of a formal presentation. We were sitting and talking, I absolutely loved the frank openness and the hospitality. The city again had its own flavor, it could transfigure to host the business circles, it had hills and waters to lure the free spirited adventure lovers, it had beautiful old style buildings for history lovers and it was poised to host the biggest sporting extravaganza come 2014!

There was the soccer museum in Sao Paulo, the Havaianas shopping, the Arabica bean coffee, a lot of things that I remember and love about the city. But then its time to move again and as I wheeled along my stroller for baggage check in, a funny thought came to my mind. I thought of the one thing that has been a constant in my life, traveled continents with me and has been with me so far..yes its my black stroller!
Cheers to all the journey's so far and to the journey's ahead :)

City Post Card- Rio,Brazil

A country is like a big canvass with different colors sometimes splashed pompously on the foreground or playing gently in the background. Its an intricate gossamer of people, traditions, food, language, religion, culture. A traveler catches fleetingly the different hues to paint a picture of his own. Or rather in the digital world, aim his camera to shoot the moment and with a satisfied grin admire his 'good shot'- a picture of his own. Each picture is an individual version of images captured, experiences and anecdotes, traditions and customs observed. We humans are masters of generalizations and we try to distill the observations, pick out the similarities and come up with a ‘general perception’, a ‘general character’! Whether these general perceptions reflect the true ‘identity’ in someway is debatable. I bring with me different impressions of Brazil after spending a week there, and here I have my own story of Brazil- the one i saw, i heard, i experienced! Not a general impression of the cities I visited but a personal account of them :)

The strongest impression will have to be Brazil's striking resemblance with India. As we drove in from Rio De Janeiro airport to our Hotel, the sights, the roads, the houses, the small shops, the two wheelers, the 4 wheelers shared a kinship with sights in Indian cities. One of my fellow Indian friends could see striking similarities with Vizag. I haven't been to Vizag, but then I myself was misty eyed when we hovered over the hills of Rio before landing, they reminded me of the hills of my hometown. The city had its own way to establish a familiarity, yet again it had its own distinct flavor. The hotel was just 5 minutes walk from Ipanema beach and as I stepped down from the bus, I flinched at the strong smell of the ocean and fishes. Surprisingly it was just these first five minutes, for the remaining three days that we were in the city, I wasn't conscious of it at all. I had succumbed to the city, the sights, the smell. I wasn't an alien there for long. Food was next on the agenda and I knew this was going to be tough, given my vegetarianism. I had to make my peace with salad and margarita cheese pizza for the rest of the stay. Fortunately there were beans without meat at some places. My non-veggie friends were in for a treat for a week, relishing all the delicacies. I am pretty sure some of my friends back in India would have happily traded places with me for nothing else but to experience the food!

I want to avoid using the word, 'strong' as I have already used it twice in the above paragraph but I am afraid anything else would just sound weak, when I am talking about the 'joie de vivre' of Brazilian people. Right from the hospitality of the person serving your table to the person surf boarding on the rough waters, there is an energy that is hard to miss. You can establish an instant comradeship because you can sense a frank openness and a certain warmth. I feel such a comradeship comes only when there is an underlying feeling of trust and equality. I am afraid i'm contradicting my own rant against 'generalizations' but every country has a perceptible culture of its own. In US i have sensed a culture of professionalism and personal integrity, in Brazil it was a comfortable informality in the society and an energetic vibrancy in people. The people looked so comfortable on the beaches playing, relaxing, swimming, surfboarding. One glance around and you could understand 'comfortable informality' & 'energetic vibrancy', the rough Atlantic waters provide the perfect backdrop to put things into perspective. 

We did the touristy things of visiting the 'Christ the redeemer' and the 'Sugar Loaf mountain'. It was good to feel the green mountains around. They work as charm for me, and feeling them around makes me strong and connected. We visited the Favela's ( slums in Brazil). A city always lives with its contrasts and the Favela's represent the alternative reality of Brazil. Meandering through the narrow lanes of the Favela an Indian and a Pakistani can find a common topic to talk . But then a 'favela' is just an incidental similarity when there is so much else that is common culturally. 

One of the social activity was to visit a very famous bar in Rio, it was a magical world all together. A small place from outside which was huge inside, with three floors filled with people, music, food, drinks,dancing, random bric-a-brak. There was a vibe around which was distinctly 'Rio' relaxed and comfortable soaking in life with all the music and dancing around, & some drunk dancing too! 

The fun things now would take a back seat for a while as we go about the business circles, with presentations and lectures. The business atmosphere in Rio also had the same relaxed informality and we in our business suits stood apart as jarring outsiders. This was a financial services company that we visited and they had their own company songs for morale boosting. The offices were small with people sitting together in close proximity, perhaps that's how things work there people really enjoy working in close company :) (reminded me of certain awkward sitting arrangements back in Deloitte). They had there own team songs as well!!! (again recalling- pyar baat te chalo). This incidentally means that I have experienced certain amount of Brazil in the people around me even before coming to this country :)

I will have to talk about Sao Paulo in the next blog. Its a different city with a different feel to it. For now its-

I love Rio!

You teach us-Organizing Creativity

I branched off from the idea of ‘Where is your pencil’ chapter in Twyla Tharp’s where she talks about always having a pencil handy to record your thoughts ideas inspiration. This repository is the place which you can later dig into to create new compositions.

Having the bulk of ideas to play around is the first thing but there has to be a method to madness.

Thus the learning objective of the YTU was: Creativity needs as unlikely ally-‘Organization’.

I introduced the group to Evernote, a software application that one can use to organize their thoughts, ideas from different touch points. This application helps you create a note. A "note" can be

—  Typing

—  Handwriting

—  Spoken word

—  Snap a picture

—  Drawings

—  Clip a portion of a web page

—  Clip an entire web page

Thus it provides the flexibility to catalog and organize your ideas irrespective of the medium in one centralized location. I gave a demo of few applications, and then talked about how I intend to use the tool (very new to its use)

—  To collect all the pieces of information

—  Create a system of tags-'book', 'note', 'idea'

—  Allow for easy search- folders, tags, search

—  Create a kind of wiki of everything I learn and crosslink ideas

 The main theme of the presentation was: 'Creativity needs an unlikely ally-Organization to deal with different ideas and realize projects'.

You teach us-People & Cultures

 I was sitting in a bar and the Korean song, Gangnam style started playing. People immediately started dancing and copying the dance move of South Korean pop artist PSY. It made me think of how a video going viral brings an entire nation into greater focus. There is so much more about the world that we can understand if we try to understand people from different cultures. Be more involved than just ‘Gangnam’ style.

When I filled out my application for the MBA program, I wrote how an international class would be a cultural learning for me.  I am not entirely sure how much effort I have invested to really learn about the different countries, cultures and people I take my classes with.

So I thought of doing my presentation on Brazil, a country I visited in spring and believe to have experienced it in a slightly deeper way. I looked up some interesting facts about Brazil and I was glad to know that I could speak about them with some authority or understand some of the underlying reasons. I have attached the slide deck for quick reference.

At the end of the presentation, I tried to get the group to talk about their cultural experiences. We tried to look at the similarities and the differences of the cultures that we come from.  I feel this dialogue is important for us not just to be aware of global events but even to understand the world and the people around us in a better way. Every culture has something new and enriching to offer and we need to be curious to learn and creative in applying it.

Learning Objectives: 

1. How can we make an attempt to learn about people and cultures?

2. Why is it important to learn about different cultures?

3. How does cultural learning enhance our creativity?

Being receptive, observant and appreciative people and cultures can enrich our lives in a unique ways. Be open and accepting!

You teach us-Little Prince

Learning Objectives: The following are the points that I liked about the book, ‘Little Prince’ and attempted to highlight through my presentation

1. There is a child in every adult: I purposefully used a ‘children’s book’ to get this point across.
2. Be young, be curious: Tried to show the contrast between the young prince who goes out to explore the universe and the adult stereotypes that lived in their own shell, living their own maladies.
3. Connecting the dots: I used the background research about the author to highlight how the book was actually a beautifully concealed autobiography.  

4. Use of imagery as a means of expression and also as memory aids: The author hand painted sketches to convey the story. I realized that the vivid images stayed with my mind longer. Traditionally flashcards have been used as memory aids; with their new avatar as mobile apps they can be used on the move to captures any thought, impressions which can be later expanded.



5. Read a children’s book once in a while, they will challenge you to think in many different levels and you will also enjoy reading them!- It’s a change of perspective

I

BIOC-The Antelligent Networks

This is a concept, which draws both from my work experience with a Big data analytic database company at the research park and the impressions of observing ant behavior during the entomology lab visit as part of the bio-creativity class.

The ant colonies have always interested me; they are millions of ants living together communicating effectively to fulfill all the different activities. Work specialization and communication are the prime attributes of their social behavior.

These two themes made me think of how we can design intelligent networks that can route data packets, load balance and conserve energy by exchanging information via signaling. All the stimuli that ants typically use to communicate can be mimicked in the form of data signals. These signals can be analyzed in real time by using big data (machine data) analytics technology. The overlying logical layer can help make real time decisions.

 Starting with this idea of machine to machine communication modeled along the line of communication in ant societies I tried to look for existing research in this space. I came across the idea of studying ant behavior to make social networks better. A new study from the University of Madrid suggests that the behavior of real-life ants could inspire developers to improve the way these sites function. By constructing an algorithm modeled off the foraging behavior of ants, researchers are hoping to accelerate the way relationships are established in social networks.

Ants have evolved extremely sophisticated behaviors when it comes to looking for food. Their foraging techniques have been delicately refined through the processes of natural selection — and now, researchers want to tap into that biological insight in an effort to develop an algorithm that could vastly improve the efficiency of any kind of software that needs to make quick associations between related elements.

 Biologists know that ants utilize a kind of biological algorithm to perform a similar task when they're looking for food. Specifically, ants are capable of finding the path between the anthill and the source of food by secreting and following a chemical trail, called a pheromone, which is deposited on the ground. In the ant world, ants catch a sniff of other scented trails, allowing them to follow both the pheromone as well as the scent of food helping them to find the food more quickly.

In the true vein of improvisation, during our group discussion in class, we discussed the concept of food networks. An integrated network of producers each specialized in an area of production with a strong communication network which can provide real time feedback and hence help mitigate any food shortage risks. However unlike ant colonies which are fiercely competitive between themselves, the human food networks could depart from this behavior and be more collaborative.

I understand that we already have some really intelligent networks in existence which imbibe the attributes that I have discussed in my paper. However I found it interesting to draw parallels between the human networks and the ant colonies. I feel that ant colonies are like a bio-model and a better understanding of them can help us refine our network solutions. I am excited about the idea of using ant wisdom in the design of both our machine to machine networks, social networks and networks that furnish our daily needs-(food, water) to usher in a more intelligent networking space.

References:

How Studying Ant Behavior Can Make Social Networks Better

http://io9.com/5915832/how-studying-ant-behavior-can-make-social-networks-better

The Behavior of Ants

http://biology.arizona.edu/sciconn/lessons2/shindelman/background.html

The benefits of boredom..

I can think of no better way to write this post than to use the words and images of people I took refuge in when I was really bored and aimlessly scouting for just anything under the sun and hidden somewhere in thin air .. Although technically that wouldn't qualify as being bored because i was reading interesting stuff and not really doing 'nothing'. 

(source:The heady thrill of having nothing to do)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903454504576486412642177904.html

For me the '2003' milieu extended till 2008 (maybe) because I read the following article on a boring lazy winter Sunday morning in Kolkata. I don't remember if it was TOI or Telegraph because we got either depending on the newspaper dada's whim. I couldn't agree less with the article so i took my pen and diary and wrote the damn thing down. Reproducing it here so that I have a electronic version with me (Google didn't show up anything when i tried searching) and sharing it across with the few loyal readers I have!

'Boredom's doldrums are unavoidable, yet also a primordial soup for some of life's most quintessentially human moments..

 A long drive home after a frustrating day could force ruminations. A pang of homesickness at the start of a plane ride might put a journey in perspective. Increasingly these empty moments are being saturated with productivity, communication and the digital distractions offered by an ever-expanding array of slick mobile devices.

We are most human when we feel dull. Lolling around in a state of restlessness is one of life's greatest luxuries- one not available to creatures that spend all their time pursuing something (can't figure out the actual word). To be bored is to stop reacting to the external world and to explore the internal one. It is in these times of reflection that people often discover something new, whether it is an epiphany about a relationship or a new theory about the way the universe works. Granted many people emerge from boredom feeling that they have accomplished nothing. But is accomplishment really the point of life?

There is a strong argument that boredom-so often parodied as a glass-eyed drooling state of nothingness is an essential human emotion that underlies art, literature, philosophy, science and even love...'

This breezy read was followed by a philosophical entry from a book, 'The unbearable lightness of being' that I read in Hyderabad, 2010. The book did not talk of commonplace boredom that we experience in short spells of idleness. It talked about a chronic aimlessness, emptiness, ‘lightness’. I felt that the following extract beautifully captures the whole essence of the book 

“The heaviest of burdens crushes us, we sink beneath it, it pins us to the ground. But in love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man's body. The heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously an image of life's most intense fulfillment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?”-Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being.

This is the thing with philosophers they can use dense arguments in the opening and the middle only to leave it open ended in the end... I love to do the same sometimes when I post a blog at 1:39 am.

Lets Dance creatively!

We talked about creativity as practiced by choreographer Twla Tharp.We tried to experience her creative mantra to interpret space and movements to script our own dance act.

"An arrow from the quiver hit the dainty mortal, who hit the ground and the soul took flight"
From four random words we pieced together this metaphor. As Marianne  guided the group through various dance steps and tried to help us experience Twla Tharp book, I felt a stronger comradeship with the small group. So the book, the instructor and the group together created something extraordinary in the class!

As we discussed various aspects of the book, I was wondering about the two schools of creativity. Creativity as interpreted by Twla Tharp is a structured exercise. She has a routine that she follows, she plans, gets things done speedily, she has mastered the art of translating ambiguity into measured and structured dance acts.
The rock-n-roll cult music graduates from the other school of creativity. It is a different lifestyle one which espouses freedom over structure. The science here is ambiguous and no rock artist can explain the process in a book, or teach it in a class.

To each his own!
Every time I read a book where some one shares his experiences at mastering some skill of life I feel that not everything espoused in the book can be directly applicable to any individual. I look around for pieces that resonate with me and that I can adapt in my own life. During my reading of the book, I liked the idea of Where's Your Pencil?, the equivalent of observing and registering everything around you so that you can crystallize it into something purposeful. She also delves in detail over the entire process of first scratching for ideas, finding the spine of your work, and getting out of ruts and into productive grooves.

Hopefully I should be able to adapt some parts of the book in my life or at-least in my dance!

Seeing Art

I like to imagine myself as not some one who is very artsy but I can appreciate art. Encounters with works of art are unique because everyone connects, relates and interprets a work of art in his unique ways. Art is intrinsically a different viewpoint or a different vantage point to look at the ways of life. History museums offer a view into the lives of people who lived before us, they provide structural pieces that can be put together to understand the cultures, societies, traditions, politics and economics of the world, as we know it. Then there is another variety of art, one that is more fluid, it simultaneously evokes a set of questions or a complete blank, it is open to interpretation. The Krannert Art museum was interesting as it offered both artifacts, the ones that answer questions and the ones that raise questions!

I had been meaning to visit the museum for past one year but I guess in this case I needed an external reason. I visited the Museum one day in advance to identify a piece of art that I found interesting. Honestly I found it a little difficult to identify some work that really appealed to me. I could admire the diverse collection, small pieces giving me a slice of different cultures and eras. There was a wide range of subjects, different stories but somehow none too compelling.

I finally picked up the Cornwall Kirkpatrick, the “Chicago News Paper directory jug, 1879. The use of a jug as the object for the newspaper directory was interesting for me. I could see a symbolism, the pitcher looked symbolic of how all the news items quench the human thirst for knowledge and information. Further at my workplace we had just released an info-graphic (http://www.infobright.com/tmp270812/ ) on the growing volume of digital data in a technical magazine and the jug made me think of the contrasts on our world in terms of the amount of information that we have around. Interestingly the approximately 1.5 feet tall pitcher can provide enough surface area to encompass all the commercial newspapers in that era in the 19th century. I stood and wondered how the news services today fight to occupy our mind space and no pitcher in the world can hold their names any longer. The digital world has moved on from floppy drives, CD drives, cloud storage and one can only wonder what pitcher would be next! I am guilty of seeing the world through my technical glasses.

The next day group activity helped me to come over my biases, my tendency to look for structures and appreciate the art objects around with a more open mind. Going around looking at the objects, talking aloud our impressions, building up from each others helped me have a more enriching experience of the museum. Once we were done looking at the objects we had picked we started to look around for the pieces that looked really abstract and tried to decipher them. We had taken the assignment to a new level now! As we looked at some of the challenging pieces, we tried to give it our own interpretation. Initially I tried to reconcile the side note and the art object and I could not make much progress. I was not comfortable with the ambiguity and abstractness and then I realized how one person in my group could give a totally new spin to each of the art objects because he didn't try to limit himself with the description. He looked at everything with an open mind without reading any side note and was able to appreciate things in a bigger way. 

I would say that this was the biggest learning for me on that day, to be open and comfortable with abstractness and ambiguity. To not look for accompanying directions right from the onset but to try to take in all the information around and process it gently without any preconceived notions or biases. This approach perhaps gives the most beautiful interpretation to things and is the most enriching of experiences.

One Thing

This blog was partially inspired post the Da-Vinci reading. I was overwhelmed with everything that one individual could accomplish in a lifetime, however on deeper reflection it appeared that to really develop a skill, you just need to really learn, 'One Thing'.

In life all we need to know is 'one thing', as simple as it may sound it is the most honest realization that I have ever had. I cannot claim to have explored an exceptionally wide array of experiences in life. I cannot claim to be the medallion at the end of the race. And I ain't no 'Sir Oracle; when I ope my lips, let no dog bark!”. I guess enough self-depreciating disclaimer, however we do grow wiser about some things as we go along.

When I learnt cycling back in first year in college, I would borrow it from my second year seniors and would try learning by myself in the free open spaces we had within the hostel compound. I took to the road only once I had learnt enough so that I wouldn't 'repeatedly' become the victim of cycle-hazing/ragging by the school kids who couldn't fathom how someone could make it to college without knowing something as basic as cycling. This fear wasn't a figment of my imagination; I learnt the hard way that you take to the road only when you can confidently be decently inconspicuous there! However this learning wasn't the 'one thing' that changed the course of my life. More basic than the fear of taking to the road was the challenge that I couldn't balance my cycle. I would focus on the wheel to make sure I wasn't banking either way and try to adjust the handle only to fall each time. Seeing me struggle 'the oracle doth spoke- child take your eyes off the wheels and look straight ahead...just don't look down.' He was the hostel guard; 'baba-ji' and he just shouted across to me from his watch tower and went back to smoking his bidi. Honestly that was the only fear I had to overcome, I didn't have to fight any rowdies or intimidation. I didn't have to learn to focus and align my eye, hands and feet and the wheel, I just had to learn to look away and look straight ahead. The rest would fall in place.

Yes it was that simple, just one thing to get the wind talking as I rode along in my purple ladybird!

The other anecdote isn't this prehistoric, this one is more recent. As I ran along the beach in Rio, I was jealous of all the people who could get into the waters and play with so much ease and absolutely no care for the world around. At that point swimming didn't just look like a physical activity it looked like a cultural hallmark. In India I felt our relationship with water is ostensibly sanctimonious or a little hypocratic in some ways. I have always loved the waters but I had never experienced this freedom and ease before. I'll have to admit that I have never been to Goa, and everywhere I did go I found myself around people who would walk gingerly along the shore secretly wishing they could throw themselves in the water with no care for the world. As a society we soak in so many inhibitions that we are afraid to be seen all free and wet and frolicking in water! All this critical realization wasn't the one learning that I needed in order to woo the waters when I went swimming this summer. 
I didn't enroll for any professional help and went all cultural. And what a cultural learning it was, my Chinese roommate was kind enough to religiously coach me for the first two days. Her Chinese bunch of friends took me under their wing and I was learning 'frog style' just as all Chinese kids in primary school! The south East Asians were the only persistent swimmers, the Americans loved to take a quick dip and then sloth and float in the summery sun. The learners, the having fun and the lazing crowd all shared the same lane and you could strike instant comradeship with the exchange of few smiles and sheepish grins. I persistently went every alternate day, initially just playing around and then slowly pushing myself a little harder. I observed others swim almost effortlessly but for me the waters were like a strong opponent that I had to fight with my hands, legs and my breathing. I had some what learnt to move my legs and hands which had some resemblance to the swimmers around me, but my breathing was killing me. I couldn't time it, and would end up coughing out or drinking in the water. I knew I was doing something wrong, I was missing something. One fine day after admiring for long a Korean guy who swam past me every time I was gaping for breathe I asked him for a helpful tip. He was caught a little off guard and in that slightly awkward exchange of English sentences mid water I could only pick up the word 'rhythm'. Yes that is the 'one' thing about swimming, following your own rhythm. 

The hands, legs, breathing all need to follow a rhythm and when you get one, the waters sing along.

Ah I feel so inadequate at times, learning to do all the things that most people seem to know since birth. And may be this should be a consolation for me that fundamentally I am just missing out on ‘one thing’ before I can join the elite club. So I tell myself it’s just ‘one thing’ that I really need to know before I can drive someday. Inshallah!

The Da Vinci Code

"The genius of Leonardo resides not just in what he created but in what he can inspire us to create

1) Curiosita: Approaching life with insatiable curiosity and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning

2) Dimostrazione: Committing to test knowledge through experience, persistence and a willingness to learn from mistakes

3) Sensazione: Continually refining the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven  experience

4) Sfumato: Embracing ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty

5) Arte/Scienza: Balancing science and art, logic and imagination - ‘whole-brain thinking’

6) Corporalita: Cultivating grace, ambidexterity, fitness and poise

7) Connessione: Recognizing and appreciating the interconnectedness of all things – ‘systems thinking’"

I saw a certain unity in the seven attributes discussed through the book. I have my own theory of 'One Thing' (http://sk-driftwoodstories.blogspot.com/2012/08/one-thing.html-the link takes to the original post on my public blog)and as  I mulled over the seven key things discussed in the book. I tried to synthesis them into one guiding principle.

As we sat down in a group discussing about the different aspects of the book, we again came back to  putting the message across in one statement. And perhaps that would be 'to immerse in life' and explore each day a new question, a new experience.

Not sleepwalking!

I had 20 minutes before my creativity class and so i just went and sat outside the library to soak in the sun. And I just became a part of the game between the sun and the cloud.
For a brief 10 minutes I was aiming my camera at the shining sun and the clouds floating beautifully at a distance. Perhaps that was just part A of the celestial game. The winds of change soon came over, I felt a cold chill run through. The brightness around disappeared in a fraction of time as a big dark cloud overshadowed the sun. I angrily aimed my phone camera at the arrogant cloud.
They say 'every dark cloud has a silver lining', Thank God for cliches they do come true!
I encouragingly smiled at the sun peeping from between the clouds and walked back for my class.

This post was after the Da-Vinci reading and 'Not sleepwalking' is the takeaway I took from the book and his life. To constantly look out, appreciate, question, explore... that's the pursuit!

Curiosity and Problem Finding

I ended up rushing through my presentation in class because the problem that I had in my head was still sketchy. I had images, videos that revolved around the theme but the idea wasn't crystallized enough as a problem statement. I would like to share here the cues that I had observed and collected over the week.

Starting with the initial problems that I considered.

Good bye Wires: Wireless power transmission
The presence of wires is intensely conspicuous in all three images. I wonder how much of wiring we have installed in the entire physical world. Our work places, housing facilities modern cities are all a mesh of wires. Nature on the contrary seems to be a master of everything wireless. Right from solar energy to rain, everything around is wireless.

I discussed the idea of wireless transmission with my office colleague who saw me complain about the clutter of wires on my work desk. He introduced me to Tesla.
However it was not until that I accidentally opened the following Oatmeal comic strip forwarded by a friend that I came to realize the genius of Tesla.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla

The next idea that I toyed around can be guessed from the following images:

I thought about jet lag and time difference. I realized that I couldn't possibly do anything for the jet lag as the body clock is the premise of nature's design. However the watch that I wear could definitely be designed with GPS facility and perhaps with some more features to make it smart. 

The whole idea seemed to have a 'James Bond' kind of a feel so I abandoned it for a more  'Planet Earth' scope.

Problem Background:

I am concerned about environmental issues perhaps because I grew up in close proximity to nature-lived in a small hill station and spent my winter break in my farmhouse. As a society we are growing into being more lavish and wasteful of the natural resources and this concerns me. The following Tedx talk highlights the growing risk and problems arising from existing consumption habits. I didn't play this video as part of my presentation, however I have embedded it here for viewing at one's leisure.

The issue of sustainable consumption has become a subject of growing public and government interest; there have been dispersed efforts to promote sustainable consumption but the overall consumption patterns still leave much to be desired. I could start with identifying my own consumption patterns in the past two days that are unsustainable. I am well aware that single-use bags, both paper and plastic, represent a huge threat to the environment. This threat is not only related to the sheer volume of them ending up in landfill, but also to the resources needed to produce, transport and (occasionally) recycle them, and the emissions resulting from these processes. However while buying monthly groceries from Wal-Mart I used over 20 plastic bags when I could reduce the usage by carrying a personal reusable bag.

Another Cue: The fresh stimulus that made me reflect on this question was a video that we watched during a class presentation for new product development. The presentation was on customer creativity and consumption patterns and we saw the following video.

Thought Process:
The belief behind this campaign is that the easiest way to change people's behavior for the better is by making it fun to do- The fun theory. Fun games look like an interesting way to initiate a change I was impressed with the concept however in the next instance I was wondering whether such changes are truly sustainable. What frameworks, incentives, campaigns would prove to be effective over a long term . I have myself never taken any psychology classes so my understanding of this problem is not very clear but I am willing to learn.I do not have the answer to this question but I would like to investigate and analyze this concept further.
To sum up: Looking at the problem I realize that conscious effort is required to reduce our plastic consumption. I cannot aim to discover a breakthrough ecofriendly replacement for plastic but I would like to identify ways in which usage patterns can be altered through creative conditioning exercises (campaigns) and identify models and frameworks that can sustain these changes. 

Scaffolding ideas

The name of the blog is a play on the words 'creativity' and 'travelogue'. I envision the blog as a 'creativelogue' compiling thoughts, ideas, inspirations,insights,understandings as I hike along the new turns and twists of life with an inquisitive soul.
The other purpose of the blog is to serve as my final submission for a Personal Creativity Archive(PCA) assignment for ENG 598-Creativity Innovation & Vision, fall 2012 class.
Since early childhood I have been in the habit of  writing my thoughts in a diary but later I switched to writing a blog so that I could share my scribblings and half baked thoughts with my friends and develop them better. Due to the ease of access and sharing and linking with my already existent blog, I decided to turn in the submission in the form of a blog.
The post title draws from the first concept about creativity that we discussed in the first class. A visual image can help draw the analogy between creativity and scaffolding. As I look at the intricate scaffolding to hoist just a two flight staircase, it makes me see the parallels more clearly!

It takes a conscious effort to move away from the natural process of category recognition that the brain is conditioned to follow.
It takes a conscious effort to step back from jumping to finding solutions and instead try to understand the problem in hand.
It takes a conscious effort to hoist multiple ideas-seemingly unrelated to develop the framework for a truly creative and innovative solution.
And this blog is part of this very conscious effort to develop this alternative approach. Build up a storehouse of ideas which can be juxtaposed to solve real life problems.

The class moves from discussing concepts to in class activities to better develop insights as we listen and talk of the ideas brimming in our heads. The one point that we all seemed to agree upon was to start with 'What is the problem?'
The one thought that stayed with me as I left the class was the 'First Do no harm' principle from doctor's Hippocratic oath. Of all our best intentions we might actually affect more damage than good. The question when and how to help seems to have a philosophical undertone. The question also highlight the need to develop a creative solution that takes into account the context and culture. Solution developing is not about grafting a solution independently of its environment which is bound to create more havoc but to think broadly about the ecosystem at large.

The creative context continues as in the next class we talk about juxtaposition.This is a slightly different blogging experience for me since I have a timeline and a definite source of content for my next blog!