Farm Visit Monsoon Delight

Come rains and Ghumakkad can't stay indoors. When a friend offered a drive and a visit to his farm, Ghumakkad jumped at it. Even though it clashed with early morning golf, Ghumakkad managed both. After a quick 9-holes, a cold shower and Idli Vada at Waghmare's food van, we headed 63 kms north of Secunderabad to DK Ahuja's farm. Weather was perfect. Slight drizzle, cool breeze and greenery all around.

Sharing below few pictures taken at the farm. It shows different types of fruits and vegetables grown along with their key nutritional value.

Here is a short video clip showing the panorama of the farm. Isn't it a heaven on earth?

Sharing below the location of the farm in Pedda Shivnoor, 63 kms from Yapral in Secunderabad. Maps courtesy Google.

Garlic Harvest

Do you know how garlic is preserved after harvesting? See the picture below.

It is hung on a rod with its leaves. It keeps it fresh for months together. No need of energy-sapping cold storage! Another example of rural wisdom.

Similarly, onions are spread on a floor (sometimes under a bed). It can be stored and preserved for months like this. Only condition being there should be no humidity. Ghumakkad had seen the onions being stored like this in Rajasthan many decades ago. And it was heartening to see the same practice in Telangana as well.

Friendly Calf

It was a delight to cuddle a two-month old calf at the farm. See the picture below.

Earlier Visit

Ghumakkad had visited the same farm two years ago. We had written an exclusive story linked below.

White Jamun - Yes, Ahuja Farm cultivates White Jamun (apart from the black jamuns). Browse the picture story.

Thanks DK for a lovely day in the lap of Nature. So refreshing and therapeutic. Hope the readers too got a taste of the greenery. 

On our return drive, it was drizzling a bit. After a highway toll, we pulled up on a side to have freshly barbecued bhutta भुट्टा  or corn. How can you miss such a yummy bite on a highway in India?

We end with an anonymous quote "Rain makes everything beautiful". See the PQ- picturesque quote below.

Enjoy the rains and stay connected. Do leave a comment, few words are enough to encourage us.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with DK Ahuja/ 25th July 2026/ Secunderabad

#AhujaFarm #Calf #Cheeku #Farming #FruitPreservation #Garlic #JackFruit #Mangoes #Onion #Sandalwood #Toparan #WhiteJamun #RuralWisdom #Rains #Therapeutic# Monsoon #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Op Sindoor - Pride Without Prejudice

Shershah
Uri The Surgical Strike
Lagaan
Ain't these the titles of Hindi feature films?

Yes.

What about them?

These films make excellent teaching and learning aids.

How?

We let the students watch the film and then select few clips/instances for discussions in the class.

What do you discuss?

The lessons that can be drawn from the story. The correlation with relevant concept or theory being taught otherwise.

How does it help?

It helps in understanding the concepts and how is it useful in real life. It helps in internalisation of the concepts and theories as applicable. It makes the learning more experiential.

Sounds cool.

Add to the above list real life incidents or events in real-time. Such real-life events also help in experiential learning. And if done in real-time (immediately after the event), it generates a lot of debate and excitement in the class.

This story is based on a real-life event, Operation Sindoor. Although it happened in 2025, yet it re-surfaced few weeks ago. While teaching a one-semester core course on Project Management(PM), we chose Op Sindoor to bring out many concepts of PM. Sharing below some of the takeaways from the case discussions.

Was Op Sindoor a Project?

In simple terms, a project is one-off, not repeated, has a start and end, a well defined objective and outcome, which demand resources. The MBA class unanimously said yes it was a Project. Any reader who thinks otherwise, your views are welcome in the comment field.

Similarly, the discussion on following topics saw active participation from the students:

Who was the Project Manager?

What was the Objective of the Project?

How was it achieved?

How was Project Planning done? What were the options?

Who executed the Project?

Were multiple agencies involved in execution? How were they monitored and controlled?

What was the outcome? How was it measured?

Who were the stakeholders?

How was the communication to the stakeholders managed? Was it effective?

What were the risks? How was risk mitigation done?

Was it just a Military Operation? If not, what else and why?

An opeartion like Sindoor has lessons in many other subjects and areas like, Strategy, Leadership, Decision Making under Uncertainty, Team Work, Goal Setting, Contingency Planning, Resource Mobilisation, Technology Adaptation, Media Management, International Relations etc. But we had restricted our discussions to the lessons in Project Management to keep the story short.

Corporate Lessons

While discussing the above questions, we also brought out the corresponding lessons for the corporate world. The whole exercise appeared very meaningful. The students seem to have internalised the Project Management topics with clarity and ease. Thank you the PGDM Class of 2027 at VVISM Hyderabad for your wholehearted participation.

Question for the Reader

Whether you are an MBA grad, student, working professional in any field, home maker, parent, grandparent, veteran or any other netizen, what was the most significant outcome of Op Sindoor? Mail your response to hbindia@gmail.com or leave a comment. Selected responses with names will be included as Postscript.

The Title

Did you like the title of this story? The credit for suggesting the title goes to Padma Ramesh, an accomplished journalist and former Dean of a PG Institution of Media Studies. In her own words:

"I thought of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's novel! (When I saw the word) --a Literary echo.

There is pride in what we achieved with Op Sindoor. The phrase "without prejudice" implies pride that isn't driven by bias or hatred."

Thanks Padma for creating such a befitting title for our story.

Experiential Learning - Some More

Ghumakkad has been a strong proponent of experiential learning. As a child, most of our learning has been experiential. Learning by doing, simple yet effective. But as we go up the 'education' ladder, experiential learning takes a back seat. It is more of lecturing. Sharing below some of my endeavours at experiential learning for my MBA students. You may click the link to browse the corresponding story.

Uri The Surgical Strike - Many lessons in Management from a feature film

Shershah Beyond The Movie - Based on the real-life story of Capt Batra of Kargil fame, the movie brings out many lessons in Leadership, Team Work, Task Orientation etc

Teachers Also Love Outdoors - Real learning happens outside the classroom.

Real-Time Cases for MBA Teaching - How to design and conduct the classes for enhanced experiential learning. Faculties are free to reach me for details.

Thanks for browsing. Do share your experience of making the teaching and learning more experiential.

We firmly believe that knowledge gets multiplied when shared.

Stay connected.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad/ 18th July 2026/ hbindia@gmail.com 

Postscript:

21 July: Vinay Bhargava, an experienced marketeer wrote; "Indeed military operations are very inspirational as it involves clear aim, astute planning, dedicated research, inputs, execution etc.

In our marketing campaigns to inspire sales team we based many on wars and used terms as pincer movement in strategies. Excellent!"

#learning #teaching #ExperientialLearning #VideoCases #CaseMethod #MBA #PGDM #VVISMHyderabad #OpSindoor #Shershah #UriTheSurgicalStrike #LearningFromMovies #ManagementEducation #RealLife #RealTime #PahalgamAttack #ProjectManagement

Swayamkrushi A Beacon of Hope

The morning sun cast a warm, golden glow over the five-acre campus of Swayamkrushi in Secunderabad. Inside the gates, the air filled with the familiar, comforting sounds of a brand-new day.

Anand (names changed for reasons of privacy) stood by the activity table, his fingers gently tracing the smooth edge of a brightly coloured wooden puzzle piece. Anand had Down syndrome, and the world outside often felt too fast, too loud, and entirely too impatient. But here, time moved differently. Here, every small victory was celebrated like a monumental achievement.

Across another room, Priya was carefully arranging a set of hand-made paper bags into a neat pile. Priya lived with autism. In her early days at Swayamkrushi, the sensory overload of everyday life would often cause her to retreat into silence. Today, however, her focus was absolute. Her repetitive movements, once a mechanism to cope with anxiety, had been channeled into a beautiful, productive skill. She looked at her finished pile of paper bags, a rare, radiant smile lighting up her face.

Swayamkrushi is more than just a care centre. It is a sanctuary of self-reliance. Founded by Dr Manjula Kalyan on the profound belief that every individual deserves dignity, the centre provides vocational training and life skills to adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities

In the corner of a workshop, a dedicated trainer named Radha guided the hands of a young man named Rahul, who had cerebral palsy. Rahul’s movements were often restricted by muscle spasticity, making tasks that others took for granted an immense physical challenge. Yet, with Radha’s gentle encouragement and specialized adaptive tools, Rahul was learning to print patterns onto cloth bags.

"Slow and steady, Rahul," Radha murmured, her voice steady and warm. "You've got this."

Rahul took a deep breath, focusing every ounce of his energy. With a triumphant grin, he pressed the stamp down. A perfect, crisp leaf pattern appeared on the cloth. Anand clapped his hands in delight from across the room, and even Priya nodded in quiet approval.

As the afternoon sun began to dip, the buses arrived to take the trainees back to their families. Anand packed his bag, proud of the puzzle he had completed. Priya neatly stacked her paper bags, ready for the upcoming craft bazaar. Rahul looked at his row of beautifully stamped cloth bags, his hands tired but his spirit soaring.

They walked out of the gates not as passive recipients of charity, but as empowered individuals stepping confidently into the world, carrying the light of self-reliance that Swayamkrushi had ignited within them.

The above picture story is based on our visit to Swayamkrushi recently. We were a group of Veterans and spouses from Army, Navy and Air Force. It was such an inspirational visit. Special thanks are due to Gp Capt Suresh Veteran who has been volunteering at Swayamkrushi for the last 11 years! Kudos Suresh. 

We are sharing some more pictures and video clips below.

Recognising the parts of our body- see the video below:

See the video clip below, how patient the teacher is.

Adult classes continue... see the video clips below.

Memory recall is easy for us, but so tough for the challenged. See the picture and corresponding video below.

Enhancing the cognitive abilities through activities. See the short video clip below.

Holding a pencil and writing their name is a challenge for such children. See one attempt in the picture below.

Dedicated Teachers
Another thing which stood out was the dedication of the teachers. Coming from different walks of life (one teacher is a former DRDO scientist), they travel long distances to be with the special children everyday. One teacher attends to a maximum of five children. Each child has an IEP- Individual Education Program. See the pictures and video below.

Stars

The time table showed an hour marked 'Stars' at the end of the day. On querying, we came to know that the stars meant assessing their daily progress and awarding stars to the children as a means of encouragement. Very innovative idea indeed.

Group Homes

Swayamkrushi pioneered India's first-of-its-kind Group Homes model to transition individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities into dignified, independent community living.

* Family Structure: Small, close-knit groups of around six to eight trainees live together like a family inside standard residential neighbourhoods.

* Blended Inclusion: The homes intentionally match the surrounding community architecture to break social taboos and bridge societal gaps.

* Independent Living: Residents actively manage their own household, sharing chores like cooking, cleaning, and laundry to build self-reliance.

* Supervised Freedom: A full-time resident staff member provides essential supervision and emotional support while allowing trainees autonomy.

* Real-World Integration: Trainees mirror standard societal rhythms by living in one space and taking public transit to work or vocational training elsewhere.

Such homes are located in the gated communities. These children have shown self confidence and have been accepted very well by the residents of the gated communities. Although we could not visit a Group Home, yet the concept deserved a special place in our story.

Kitchen

The kitchen and the dining area impressed us with the cleanliness. 

Location

Those interested, may access Swayamkrushi's website here. The map below shows their location with reference to RSI Secunderabad.

Swayamkrushi is indeed a beacon of hope for 180-odd children and adults who were orphaned or abandoned by their families. The Centre has around 80 resident girls and women. The rest are day-scholars. Special buses transport the children with special needs.

At Swayamkrushi, there are no labels ('Oh, she has a handicapped child!'), no judgments, and no limitations based on medical diagnoses. The children are not defined by their conditions. They are artists, creators, friends, and peers.

The tailoring workshop also showcased their creativity. See the short clip below.

We thank Ramani Chitta for sharing the pictures and videos shot by her.

We end with a quote on disability by Jordan Christian.

Thanks for browsing. Do leave a comment, even a word will suffice to encourage the children, their educators and us..

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 10th July 2026/ Secunderabad

#Specialeducation #mentallychallenged #Intellectuallychallenged #autism #spastics #downsyndrome #cerebralpalsy #swayamkrushi #Beaconofhope #Manjulakalyan #intellectualdisability #dignity #selfesteem #selfconfidence #inclusion #grouphomes #mainstream #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #selfreliance