When I was in pre-university (Grade 11), I remember plodding through scores of differentiation and integration exercises. I was able to perform most problems in the textbook mechanistically and did well on tests and exams. While my procedural grasp of…
Avoid giving unsolicited advice and draw boundaries when receiving it, to protect your “psychological space” Be it a well-meaning uncle, a do-gooder neighbour or a paternalistic boss, most of us have received unsolicited advice on a range of matters. You…
Astudent receives two job offers — one at a prestigious behemoth and the other at a local start-up with promising prospects. To most students, the choice is obvious. Why would you forsake a job at an elite multinational for an unknown, unpredictable…
Right from a young age, Parul was commended for her fearlessness. When a fierce dog pounced on her, she barely flinched. When the van driver failed to show up, she put her group into an auto and dropped each one…
As India stands devastated in the face of the second Covid wave, many corporates have stepped up to offer support to the families of staff who die of the dreaded virus. From compensating the full salary of the deceased for…
Just as we were limping back to normalcy, our lives were again put on pause. As the brutal second wave of Covid-19 engulfed India, a collective malaise spread across the country. While many people have had to contend with illness and…
Rejuvenate yourself, mentally and physically, at the end of each day with at least seven hours of rest. As deadlines for project submissions or exam time loom near, students are known to stay up past their usual bedtimes and force…
For education to be impactful, children need to appreciate the value of the tasks they engage in, for their own sake. Rather than embracing a utilitarian outlook, wherein schooling is prized only as a means to get admitted into college…
Minal works in a high-powered corporate law firm. Though she is competent and doing well on the job, she doesn’t share the gung-ho excitement that her colleagues feel whenever their firm clinches another client or closes a lucrative deal. She…
As the second wave of COVID-19 engulfs the country, anxiety and unease suffuse the air. Instead of doom-scrolling the Net and giving in to hopelessness, I turn to books for succour. What lessons can we glean from lives that catapulted…
Aruna Sankaranarayanan is the author of Zero Limits: Things Every 20 Something Should Know. She was the Founder & Director of PRAYATNA, a centre for children with learning difficulties in Bengaluru & Chennai for 22 years.