Teenagers Of A Different Kind

Teenagers who love to collect metal scrap, or like to live on a tree in the wilderness? Sounds weird? No, not at all! Ghumakkad shares a short story of three teenaged siblings having such varied interests. They live in California. I was with them after their school yesterday.

Who?

The three teenagers pictured above will be seen in the video interview below. Their brief intros follow in ascending order of age.

Maana- A thirteen-year-old who loves all animals. She says her neighbour's black cat awaits her return from school everyday. The cat senses Maana's arrival and scurries into the back yard. See the picture below.

Syon- The only brother among two sisters, Syon loves working with waste material and scraps and loves to create a thing or two. Be it a copper wire or discarded screws, he collects it all. See the stockpile under his bed in the video. He is also an enthusiastic 15-year-old Boy Scout.

Sachi- The eldest of the three siblings, Sachi loves to climb trees or jump into a river in the wilderness. As an 18-year-old she is very sensitive about the environment and its preservation.

No more writing or talking, let us hear them live in the video below.

Was it not admirable? Ghumakkad sure got inspired by the three siblings. Hat tip not only to all the three teenagers but also to their parents Anchita and Satyam. 

You may like to read our earlier story about the trio linked below.

Who Says Children Don't Read Books? A story for the children by the children who love reading books.

Even as a toddler, Maana led us all in a hiking trail. Click the link below to browse the picture story.

Toddler On A Trail - How a toddler leads a trail around a lake in California.

As we say children are our true assets. They will take the world farther. It is our duty to be with them, understand their thinking and ignite the young minds. Sachi, Syon, Maana and all the teenagers of the world- more power to you guys! Rock on.

Thanks for browsing and stay connected.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with inputs from Anchita Nidhindra/ Fremont, California/ 21st Aug 2025

#teenagers #futurecitizens #youngminds #shapingyoungminds #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Covid Couldn't Deter Us: Teachers' Day 2020

 'Covid couldn't deter us'- am saying this on behalf of all the teachers of the world.

Pre-schools, schools, colleges, universities- teachers boldly accepted the challenge posed by Covid lockdown and continued teaching. Both students and teachers being forced to stay home, the teaching had to go on-line. Not the best way to learn and teach, but we had no option. 

This Teachers' Day is thus different. We can't meet and greet our students and colleagues physically. For readers outside India, 5th september is celebrated as the Teachers' Day. It commemorates the birth anniversary of Dr S Radhakrishnan, a renowned teacher and  former President of India.

Harsh-the-Ghumakkad is also a teacher. I firmly believe that real learning happens outside the classroom. 

Be it summer internship, shorter field projects involving a survey and analysis, organising and attending a professional event- every activity outside the classroom helps in transforming the students. Even extra curricular activities help in personality development as well as gaining self confidence. Am sharing few pictures of outdoor activities with my students during the year.

You may browse a story titled 'Management Lessons from Visit to a Forest'. Some of the pictures from the story reproduced for you below.

Get a glimpse of the Farewell Function for the outgoing Class of 2020 organised by the junior batch.

See the five-second video clip below and feel the energy of the graduating students!

As teachers, we learn from each other as well. The faculty team at VVISM Hyderabad.

From last Teachers' Day in Sep-19 till Feb-20, it was teaching in physical mode. However, Mar-20 onwards it had to be on-line. Sharing some of the pictures/experiences of the year gone by.

Teacher Continues Learning

As I have always said, teacher continues to learn. He/she learns from the students, fellow teachers and the world at large. In Google-driven world of today, teachers have to go beyond Google. We as teachers thrive on innovation and by igniting the young minds. You may browse what I wrote earlier in the stories titled A Teacher Keeps Learning (2018) and Who Inspires A Teacher (2017).

FDPs

Govt of India utilised the Covid lockdown to conduct numerous Faculty Development Programs for teachers across India. I was invited to conduct 'Case based teaching for Rural Entrepreneurship' in few of the FDPs conducted by Mahatma Gandhi National Council for Rural Education (MGNCRE). Sharing a picture of an online FDP workshop below.

Ghumakkad also mentored the 33rd cohort of Social Entrepreneurship program conducted by CSIM Hyderabad.

Webinars

The pandemic saw a spurt in Webinars (web based seminars) on various topics. In fact, people started suffering from webinar-fatigue! I too participated in few webinars. The webinar titled 'Pandemic The Unwanted Companion But A Great Teacher' had a large viewership of 3000+ views. See the poster below.

A Teacher's Joy

What is the biggest joy for a teacher? Simple. It is when their former students excel in life! One such joyful moment happened when I chanced to meet a former student at her place of work! She was part of the marketing team of a gated villas-cum-resort in Vapi, Gujarat. And I happened to travel all the way from Hyderabad for this surprise encounter! Picture below.

Similarly, when students get placed as a direct result of a teacher's course, there can't be a better proof of the pudding! See the picture of two of my former students of Startup Management course who joined a Startup!

It is the youth of the world who will make the earth a better place to live. Please view my short video message to all my former students to continue to do well. That is the ultimate joy for me as a teacher!

Gratitude

On teachers day, I thank all my students, former students, fellow teachers, my teachers, parents (both were teachers) and family for enriching my life as a teacher. Sincere gratitude to all.

Special thanks to the 'naughty' students for making the classes interesting! No names but all the 'naughty' types will connect with this, am sure. You guys rock!

Am also recounting some of the previous years' Teachers' Day stories below. Just click to browse.

Inculcating the Spirit of Enquiry (2019)

The Fun is about to Begin (2016)

Teachers Open the Door.. (2015)

Teacher Goes Beyond the Classroom (2012) - My IBS experience

I must thank VVISM Hyderabad for providing me with the platform for continued learning with my students.

We end with a quote by Mark Van Doren (Poet, writer and critic. 1894-1972) who said that "The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery".

Thanks for browsing.

Stay safe and stay connected.

    - Harsh-the-Teacher/ 5th Sept 2020/ Secunderabad

#DrSRadhakrishnan #Gratitude #Learning #Learningfromstudents #Spiritofenquiry #TeachersDay #Thankingteachers #ignitingyoungminds #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #students #joyforteachers #webinars #pandemicateacher #teachersalsolearn #fdps