Over time, I have given several interviews and have spoken at several forums. Each one has been different and taught me several lessons. They have also given me the time and space to reflect on the questions that had been asked and my own life too.… Continue reading
Wake up call for NGOs
The current NGO situation seems to be finding a lot of newspaper space the last few days. While there are several challenges that NGOs around the world are facing, the current COVID crisis only seems to have worsened this. What NGOs need now is to rediscover their relevance to society as much as Societies and Governments need to recognize the work & contribution of good and credible NGOs.… Continue reading
SPB – more than a musical legend…
Hearing the passing away of S P Balasubramaniam yesterday left me with a feeling of emptiness. For me, he was not just a musical legend who sang a world record of more than 40000 songs in 15 languages. … Continue reading
Leadership Crucibles
– Aldous Huxley
One question that people keep asking me is what prompted me to start the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement when I was just 19 years of age.… Continue reading
Celebrating 150 years of the Mahatma
Oct 2, 2019…the Nation celebrates the 150th birth anniversary of a person, difficult to describe in terms reserved for ordinary mortals. An extraordinary person – a politician, saint, philosopher, nationalist, humanist, thinker, strategic visionary and a humble humanist…all this and much more.… Continue reading
Living with Nature, learning from it…
Living amidst nature is something that many of us desire today. While most of us love to enjoy and experience the greenery, we seldom realise that it takes a lot of mindful effort not to lose what we already have.… Continue reading
SVYM’s development paradigm & the mobile vegetable store…
It was nearly 6 years ago that I had first written about Rathnamma, a street vendor who made her living by selling greens and vegetables in Mysuru. One of the actions that emerged from this experience of having spent some time with her was the project of working with street vendors.… Continue reading
SPB – not just a musical legend!
SVYM’s founding was based on the inspirational message of ‘Tyaga’ (Sacrifice) and ‘Seva’ (Service) propounded by Swami Vivekananda. All the work of our last 34 years is based on these foundational principles and our activities are driven by the undercurrent philosophy of ‘Seeing God in man’.… Continue reading
Remembering a Saint…going down memory lane!
Social media and online news today makes it real time for us to get to know what happens in different parts of the world. Whether it is real news or fake, good or bad, all it takes is a moment before the notification on one’s phone tells us what is happening.… Continue reading
So many memories…so many stories…
Laying down office seems so easy when one writes about it without the subjective pressures of emotion and memories. After more than 30 years at the helm, I felt that I had done what needed to be done over the last 30 months to future-proof SVYM.… Continue reading