Innovative Teachers

Bridging the Gap between Online and Offline

1. Jagadish Kude is a primary teacher from Jalna, Maharashtra. During the lockdown period (because of COVID-19), he couldn't reach out to students in his school. They lived in Shriram Tanda area and most of the parents did not own a smartphone. Jagadish sir approached the youth that had returned to the villages from cities due to lockdown. They had smartphones with internet connection. Sir requested the youth to help at least one student each, living in the same area. The youth responded positively. None of the students in this area is left out now. The youth would visit the students on a stipulated date and time. The homework is communicated to students personally. Students take down notes in their notebooks. The youth would take photos of previous homework completed by the students, to be shared with Jagadish sir.

2. Keshav Pawar is a teacher from Vanisangam, Taluka Sonpeth, District Parbhani. He knew that some parents could not join the school Whatsapp group due to lack of resources. Worried about the students, Keshav sir approached the owner of a xerox (photocopier) shop in the village. Sir started sending photos of homework to the shop owner, who would make multiple photocopies of it and keep them available at the shop. Parents would visit the shop at different times during the day, to collect the copies. Keshav sir also prepares audio clips for students whose parents do not own a smartphone but use a simple phone. Teachers returned to the village due to lockdown are also helping in this activity, along with the member of local School Management Committee, Mr. Sandipan Zirape.

3. Prakash Chavan is a teacher from Karanjwan, Taluka Dindori, District Nashik. His self-discipline of preparing notes for further lessons and next month's activities has helped during lockdown period. The notes are laminated and distributed among students for self-study. Since the distribution took place before lockdown, the students already had worksheets with them during the lockdown period. The laminated sheets were rotated among the students in the village, so that entire homework was covered by all the students, without attending the school. Prakash sir cannot enter the village due to current restrictions, but he has collaborated with the health workers visiting the village for a health survey. The homework is distributed among the parents through the health workers. Previous sheets are also collected at the same time. Considering the huge cost of laminating sheets for every lesson, Prakash sir purchased a lamination machine on his own. The shops are closed during the lockdown period, baut Prakash sir is able to continue his work with the help of this machine at home.

(As reported by Vandana Dhaneshwar for Daily Divya Marathi, May 2020)

Innovative Teachers

Contemporary Art

Contemporary art is actually the documentation of concurrent objects and incidences. Be it in the form of paintings, stories, sculptures, buildings, and so on.

Many times I wonder what'll future historians conclude about architecture or art in our times? We're just making (substandard) copies of ancient and folk art/literary forms.

Temples built in the 21st century imitate the 12th or 16th century architecture. Wall paintings in the year 2020 demonstrate natural landscapes of imaginary forests and mountains, which we have destroyed decades ago. Even our clothes are full of Buddha and Durga prints (irrespective of religious affiliations). No contemporary motifs such as cars and bikes and machines are found in cloth print. Don't we have enough ideas about this? Or don't we feel these objects as our own creation? Or we're so overwhelmed with the past that we don't want to look around when we need inspiration for art...

We need deliberate efforts in creating something that would be called 'our own art' in the future history books. Is someone reading this? I hope you are.

- Mandar Shinde

Contemporary Art

MMS on Credible Policy Reforms

Important views on policy reforms by Dr. Manmohan Singh. We cannot afford to ignore such knowledgeable persons.

(Click on image to read)

MMS on Credible Policy Reforms

The Great Indian Labour Crisis 2020

Shivam Vij has written an important and detailed article on the migrant labour crisis (The Print, May 11, 2020). https://theprint.in/opinion/indias-heartless-capitalists-deserve-the-labour-shortages-they-are-about-to-be-hit-with/418845/

As mentioned in the article, the labourers are not being paid at this hour of crisis, but it's unlikely to think of a revolt simply because they cannot afford to feel emotionally hurt and seek revenge against the heartless capitalists who've betrayed them today. They'll have to give in and return to work, thanks to our social security assurance, and I'm afraid there'll be increased scope for exploitation, since the labourers will be desperately in need of a job, in the absence of any concrete policy or support coming from the government.

Working hours have been increased from 8 to 12 per day, which is a significant example of the state facilitating further exploitation of the labourers. We need, without delay, a concrete policy about labour welfare and survival, with specific focus on the issues arising out of migration.

- Mandar Shinde

The Great Indian Labour Crisis 2020

Cooperation is the key!

There is certainly no sense of love among the middle class and the general public about corporate and industry. But we have all come to the conclusion that there's no other choice if we wish to become a global superpower or don't want to miss the bus to prosperity.

There's an alternative to corporate industry, for sure. The co-operative movement. Cooperation has been the foundation of prosperity in Western Maharashtra. Co-operative societies can be set up and run in huge profits in all sectors like sugar industry, cotton mills, agricultural products and processes, education, banking, and so on. This isn't just a dream; it's our collective experience!

Industrialization promotes structure of one master and many servants / workers, which is a model complementary to capitalism. In co-operative societies, ownership of resources, profit, loss, liability, and risk is shared among the members.

It is not good for the industry if profit or resources are distributed among a lot of people (members). Because on the one hand, all the profits are less likely to return to the industry. Secondly, the more people are allowed to participate in decision making, the more time it takes, the more confusion it grows.

But the benefits of cooperation are far greater than the losses. As one compares the advantages and disadvantages of a dictatorship versus a democracy, one quickly comments as, "Our people need a dictator to set things right (pun intended)!" Nevertheless, listening to examples of dictatorships in history does not leave us unfrightened.

That's why cooperation seems to be the only cohesive, convincing, and profitable product/service model for us. A case study of the successful and unsuccessful organizations of the past can certainly be helpful in improving on this model according to today's technology and market demand. But if we leave the alchemy of co-op and choose to go for the white elephant of the corporate, would there be anything more unfortunate for us?

Remember, we cannot achieve prosperity without cooperation among the community!

- Mandar Shinde

9822401246

Cooperation is the key!

Cooperation is the key! (Marathi)

कॉर्पोरेट कारखानदारीबद्दल मध्यमवर्ग आणि सर्वसामान्य लोकांमधे प्रेमाची भावना नक्कीच नाही. पण जागतिक महासत्ता बनण्यासाठी किंवा प्रगतीच्या स्पर्धेत मागं पडू नये यासाठी आपल्याकडं दुसरा कुठला पर्यायच नाही, अशी आपण सगळ्यांनी समजूत करून घेतलेली आहे.

कॉर्पोरेट कारखानदारीला पर्याय आहे - सहकार चळवळ. पश्चिम महाराष्ट्राच्या सुबत्तेचा पाया सहकारच आहे. साखर उद्योग, सूत गिरणी, कृषी उत्पादने व प्रक्रिया, शिक्षण, बँकींग, अशा सगळ्या क्षेत्रांमधे सहकारी संस्था उभ्या करता येतात आणि प्रचंड फायद्यात चालवता येतात, हे स्वप्न नसून अनुभव आहे!

औद्यिगिकीकरणामधे एक मालक आणि अनेक नोकर/कामगार ही भांडवलशाहीला पूरक रचना असते. सहकारी संस्थांमधे संसाधनांची मालकी, नफा, तोटा, जबाबदारी, जोखीम या सगळ्याची सभासदांमधे वाटणी होते.

खूप लोकांमधे (सभासदांमधे) प्रॉफीट किंवा रिसोर्सेस वाटले जाणं इंडस्ट्रीसाठी चांगलं नसतं. कारण एक तर, सगळं प्रॉफीट पुन्हा इंडस्ट्रीत यायची शक्यता कमी होते. दुसरं म्हणजे, निर्णय घ्यायला जितकी डोकी जास्त लावली जातील, तितके जास्त फाटे फुटत जातात, वेळ लागतो, गोंधळ वाढतो.

पण तोट्यांच्या तुलनेत सहकाराचे फायदे नक्कीच कितीतरी जास्त आहेत. जसं लोकशाही विरुद्ध एकाधिकारशाही यांच्या फायदे आणि तोट्यांची तुलना करताना कुणीही पटकन म्हणून जातो, "आपल्या लोकांना वठणीवर आणायला हुकूम-शहाच पाहिजे (पन इन्टेन्डेड)!" असं असलं तरी, इतिहासातली हुकुमशाहीची उदाहरणं ऐकूनच आपल्या अंगावर काटे आल्याशिवाय रहात नाहीत.

त्यामुळं आपल्याला मानवणारी, पटणारी, आणि फायदेशीर उत्पादन/सेवा पद्धत सहकाराचीच आहे. भूतकाळातल्या यशस्वी-अयशस्वी संस्थांचा केस स्टडी करुन आजच्या तंत्रज्ञानानुसार आणि मार्केट डिमांडनुसार या मॉडेलमधे सुधारणा नक्कीच करता येतील. पण सहकाराचा परीस सोडून कॉर्पोरेटचा पांढरा हत्ती दारात बांधायला गेलो तर आपल्यासारखे करंटे आपणच ठरु!

"विना सहकार नही उद्धार"

- मंदार शिंदे

९८२२४०१२४६

Cooperation is the key! (Marathi)

Formatting the life... (Marathi Poem)

मान्य आहे..
मान्य आहे तुम्हीही लिहिली असेल
एखादी फेसबुक पोस्ट
या लॉकडाऊनमध्ये..
काढलं असेल एखादं चित्र
आणि केलं असेल अपडेट स्टेटस..
लाटल्या असतील चपात्या,
उकळला असेल चहा,
किंवा बनवली असेल एखादी
स्पेशल डिश - केक, पिझ्झा, फ्रूट सॅलड वगैरे..
सांगितल्या असतील मुलांना गोष्टी
फेसबुक लाईव्ह, झूम, युट्युब चॅनेल वगैरे..
भांडीसुद्धा घासली असतील आणि
फरशी पुसली असेल लख्ख..
मजा म्हणून, गंमत म्हणून,
क्वचित अभिमानानं,
काढले असतील या सगळ्याचे
फोटो, व्हिडीओ आणि काय काय..
पोस्टसुद्धा केले असतील आणि
मिळवले असतील लाईक्स, शेअर वगैरे..
हरकत नाही..
हरकत नाही, ही वेळच आहे अशी
निराशा, दुःख, भीतीनं भरलेली..
अशावेळी आधार लागतोच,
शाबासकीचा, कौतुकाचा, स्तुतीचा..
पण उद्या जेव्हा परिस्थिती बदलेल,
लॉकडाऊन संपेल, जग पुन्हा धावू लागेल,
तुमची स्वप्नं, तुमच्या आकांक्षा,
तुम्हाला खेचून नेतील तुमच्या घरांमधून..
आणि गळून पडतील तुमच्या हातातले
पेन, ब्रश, पुस्तक, भांडी, झाडू वगैरे..
तेव्हा विसरु नका या गोष्टी,
ज्यांनी तुम्हाला आनंद दिला
निराशेच्या काळात, भीतीच्या अंधारात..
आणि परत कधीच
अडवू नका, चिडवू नका, तुडवू नका, त्यांना -
जे नेहमीच करत आलेत या गोष्टी
तुमच्या आनंदासाठी, तुमच्या मदतीसाठी..
लेखक, चित्रकार, गायक, शेफ वगैरे..
तासन्‌तास उभे राहून
गॅससमोर, बेसिनसमोर, आणि
कोऱ्या कागदांसमोर..
ज्यांनी नेहमीच बनवलं काहीतरी
पूर्वी कधीच अस्तित्वात नसलेलं, आणि
केलं सादर तुमच्यासमोर..
जे तुम्ही वाचलं, ऐकलं, चाखलं, आणि
फेकलंसुद्धा कधी-कधी, कारण
कदाचित तुम्हाला कल्पनाच नव्हती -
प्रत्येकाला आधार लागतोच
शाबासकीचा, कौतुकाचा, स्तुतीचा..
त्यात काय एवढं, म्हणू नका
भिकेचे डोहाळे, म्हणू नका
छंद, टाईमपास, म्हणू नका
प्रत्येकाची किंमत पैशात करु नका..
आजची वेळ लक्षात ठेवा
तुम्हाला पडलेले कष्ट लक्षात ठेवा.
चला, आता फेसबुकवर एखादी पोस्ट लिहा,
कालचं अपूर्ण चित्र पूर्ण करा,
चहा उकळला असेल तर गॅस बंद करा..
व्हायरसनं पोखरलेलं आयुष्य
मुळापासून फॉरमॅट करा..
मुळापासून फॉरमॅट करा...

- अक्षर्मन

(मंदार शिंदे)
१०/०४/२०२०

Formatting the life... (Marathi Poem)