As someone interested in ancient history, I have often noticed – and marveled – at the similarities and differences between the many ancient civilizations. The Maya Civilization, ancient Egyptian Civilization, ancient Indian Civilization, ancient Chinese Civilization, as well as the ancient Greek and Roman Civilizations (though similar at some basic […]
KathaVana is a Children’s Literature Festival organised annually by the Azim Premji University, Bangalore since 2012. This year, in 2014, it is being held between September 10th and 13th. As the event brochure notes: The emergence of contemporary children’s literature in India as a genre of significance to publishers, authors and […]
While pictures and videos can sometimes over-simplify and fail to capture the nuances, this simplicity can at times convey a point more effectively and be more hard-hitting than dozens of belaboring books on the subject. This short animation tries to present the absurdity of humans and their lives, in relation […]
Vir, in Latin, refers to a man and virilis to being manly or worthy of a man. This root later evolved into virile and virility in English, which has come to refer to ‘masculine characteristics’ such as strength and vigour (esp sexual) and is now also sometimes used in expressions such as a […]
Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences concerned with the study of planets, stars, galaxies & other celestial objects and phenomena. From time immemorial the night sky has fascinated many cultures in the past including the Indians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Chinese & the Greeks and it continues to fascinate us even […]
Some words, as a friend recently remarked, are delicately descriptive – they do not merely carry a ‘meaning’ but a lot more. Unfortunately, it becomes nigh impossible for someone who has not grown-up in the particular cultural milieu in which those words originated and were originally used, to understand them […]
Some parents really struggle. Like, “All the other kids have the terrible thing. So my kid has to have…No, let your kid go and be a better example to the other %^$# kids. Just because other stupid kids have phone doesn’t mean – “Well okay my kid has to be stupid otherwise she […]
The Living Corporation Reflections on a new corporate philosophy Azim Premji Last week, there was debate on whether for-profit businesses should be allowed to establish schools. During the debate, I was surprised by the strongly negative view that many people in the social sector have of corporates. Since these opinions […]
Elizabeth Rata is an Associate Professor in the School of Critical Studies in Education, University of Auckland. She was invited earlier this year, by the Azim Premji Foundation and University to present a paper titled Epistemic Knowledge and Democratic Politics in the 2nd International Seminar on Philosophy of Education, as well as to […]
The two years that I spent at the Azim Premji University were challenging and satisfying – and are fondly remembered. I was asked to speak to the batch of 2013 on their first day; and continue to receive queries about the university from prospective and new students. Below is the […]
While Joseph Rudyard Kipling is often remembered for his two Jungle Books and his poems, not many know that he also published a delightful collection of pourquoi stories titled, Just So Stories for Little Children. Kipling is said to have invented these stories as ingenious explanations of questions such as ‘How the […]
Everything’s amazing right now and nobody is happy. In my life-time the changes in the world have been incredible. When I was a kid we had a rotary phone. We had a phone that you had to stand next to. And you had to dial it. Do you realize how primitive (that […]
Progressive educators often lament the ‘culture of rote learning’ that prevail in Indian schools and class-rooms. The National Curriculum Framework, 2005 for instance, notes “Tasks that are…repetitive and mechanical, that are based on recalling the text, that do not permit self-expression and questioning by the child and that depend solely […]
An edited version of this article was published in Teacher Plus magazine (April, 2015 issue) under the title Understanding Peace Through Social Science. The centrality of peace for the present and future of humankind has received wide recognition over the last few decades. The United Nations Resolution 53/25 (1998), […]
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore is most well known as a poet. However, he was also a remarkable short-story writer, dramatist and novelist, author of essays and lectures, philosopher, composer and singer, innovator in education and rural development, actor, director, painter and cultural ambassador. He wrote over 4000 letters between 1878 […]