Just when you thought that in the frenzied scramble for the good life, urban Indians had pushed aside all distractions from the path to the pot of gold, comes a rather pleasant discovery. In a move that the recent blockbuster, 3 Idiots, would thoroughly approve of, many Indians are stepping off the treadmill to pursue interests or hobbies they had set aside for career or family.
These born-again learners are willing to invest considerable energy and money in acquiring knowledge or picking up a new skill. But there’s a catch — it’s got to be quick.
So those who step in to fill in these learning gaps are offering bite-size nuggets for those who have the inclination but not too much time.
For instance, the Essar Foundation, the Essar group’s arm for corporate social responsibility, has launched AVID — a school for continuous learning.
Loosely modeled on The New School in New York that has a ‘student-directed curriculum’ and The School of Life in London that offers programmes and services on how to live wisely and well, AVID has introduced short-term courses ranging from one-day workshops to a few hours over weekends, to slightly longer courses spread over a few weeks.
The foundation had kicked off with two programmes — Understanding Vedas and Western Music Appreciation, attended by 30 and 110 participants respectively. In 2010, there will be courses on the Art of DJing and Digital Photography as well.
{{/usCountry}}The foundation had kicked off with two programmes — Understanding Vedas and Western Music Appreciation, attended by 30 and 110 participants respectively. In 2010, there will be courses on the Art of DJing and Digital Photography as well.
{{/usCountry}}A whole new world
The students of such courses are not scrambling for degrees. Or trying to get ahead in their careers. They are simply satisfying a yearning to learn.
Says Gautam Chandran (30), an employee of Barclays Bank, “I listen to a lot of western classical music, but did not understand its nuances. Zane Dalal, who conducted the Western Music Appreciation course, has opened up a whole new world of music for me.” Adds Habib Fatehally (65), an electronic engineer who completed the same course: “It’s nice to know something more about the music that I love to listen to.”
Some courses, like those on Pet Parenting, are partly need-driven. In many families, a pet enters the home on a child’s insistence though the family knows little about pet care.
As ace photographer Rafique Sayed realised when he brought home a German Shepherd pup on his son’s pleas. “A few days after we got our pup, I saw a three-year-old German Shep-herd and realised how huge our little Joey would grow up to be. Also, that I had no clue what to expect,” says Sayed.
He was one of the 14 people who registered for a day-long Pet Parenting course organised earlier this month by Pooja Sathe-Gawande of Crazy K9 Campers. Says Sayed, “I want a social dog. So I need to learn how to bring it up.”
Mangesh Kote (48), an inspector in Mumbai’s anti-corruption bureau, who took up a course in graphology, has yet to use his newfound knowledge at work. But, he smiles, “My daughter can no longer keep secrets from me.”
Usha Suryavanshi, an assistant inspector in Mumbai’s cyber crime unit and a mother of two, who took the same course, attests to its benefits too. “It’s made me a better mother because I understand my children a lot better now. I can tell from their handwriting if they are restless or disturbed.”
The obvious question is: Why, when there is so much information available on the Net at the click of a button, do people find the time, make the effort and spend the money to take up such courses? “Because, if you were to try and understand western classical music on your own, you would not know where to start,” explains Zane Dalal.
Dalal’s nine-session course takes participants through the history and evolution of western classical music, the different musical instruments that are used, and a live performance at the end of the course. Some 60-odd people, aged 18 to 82, attended the London-based music conductor’s concluding lecture.
Evidence that the joy of learning, with no material strings attached, survives even in an intensely competitive world.