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Is it an office, is it a business house, is it a charitable institution?

No, Banjara is none of the above

Banjara Academy just happened, and its reach has grown over the decades. It currently touches more lives than it ever did before. The fact that the number of people benefitting from our association is ever increasing is what we would like to claim as our major achievement. The fact that we have made many people sit up and pay attention to many hitherto ignored or misunderstood issues involving human relationships, child upbringing, etc is what we regard as our foremost achievement.

Our efforts have been acknowledged by many organizations over the years. Our online short-term and long-term courses and classroom courses on counselling skills have been appreciated and recognized as very useful and at times indispensable in the understanding of human relations by many academic institutions, corporates, hospitals, etc. It has been very heartening to see that many of our students have been employed for their counselling skills in different organizations around the country, and the world. Here are just a few of them:

Rotary International, Kidwai Institute of Oncology, Institute of Human Resources Development, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, YMCA, Sudatta, Defence Institute of Quality Assurance, Navabharath Trust, the Indian Air Force, Acharya Patashala, Senior Citizen’s Clubs, various centres for disabled, most reputed universities and educational institutions have appreciated our services and have associated with us frequently in the conduct of our many programs. We would like to proudly and humbly acknowledge that some of the most prestigious institutions and organizations invite us frequently to conduct training, provide counseling, or train their trainers.

Mission

Banjara Academy wishes to be known as an institution with a heart. It is committed to improving the quality of life of the people it touches in its journey. We believe that every human being is unique, with immense untapped potential. Our mission is to open the doors for the flow of emotions, energy and release the potential. Do join us on this road less travelled.

We are playing, and we will continue to play, a role in helping human beings understand each other better, thereby helping improve interpersonal relationships. This significantly enriches lives through empowerment.  It is our constant endeavor to help individuals build their self-esteem, again a very crucial element in improving the quality of life.

The doors of the Banjara Academy are – and will always remain open to individuals who seek guidance in child, adolescent, family, and inter-personal emotional issues. We consider ourselves blessed whenever we make a positive difference to the well-being of anyone who comes to us.

We believe in the mission -
“Enriching Life Through Empowerment”

We not only provide free counselling to anyone who walks in, calls us, or writes to us, but also extend our services to nine public hospitals where patients and care givers need emotional support.

We believe that anyone can be trained in the vital fields of psychological counselling, life skills training and career guidance. Hence, we have constantly been endeavoring to train as many people as possible, so that the ripple effect reaches out to people at large. We have very convenient face-to-face part-time programs suiting people of all backgrounds and ages, and for those who cannot come and attend, we also have on-line programs.

Banjara Academy

We are available for you.....

Time has come for exams, tension, anxiety …..and hopefully the end of the academic year.  Then the rush for admissions, entrance exams, confusion of which course to take.

We teach children for 12 years in school, but do not give them any skills to choose their careers.  There is a mad rush for Computer Science Engineering or medicine, and lakhs of students prepare for years and years to crack JEE or NEET, without knowing what they are in for and where it is leading them.

It is the responsibility of all of us to give inputs and familiarize students, and their parents, about which career (out of innumerable lucrative choices) is suitable for any specific child, and to resist the herd mentality.  Please make that effort…..

It is a question of their whole future, they need a little hand-holding.

Learn to Enjoy Stress - By Dr. Ali Khwaja

How often have you felt that you are stressed out the moment you think of studies and exams?  Have you ever felt like just giving up and running away somewhere?  If you have faced or are facing such situations, did you ever stop to think how and why stress accumulates in some of us, while others are carefree and whistling their way through exams and life?

There are answers to these questions.  All we need to do is to take a short break, stop getting stressed out by thinking of exams all the time, and pay attention to a few important facts.  Otherwise we will become like the over-enthusiastic boy who was so happy when he got a contract to cut trees that he just went on chopping with all his might.  He never stopped to sharpen his axe, with the result that all his efforts were in vain.  The blunt axe could not cut, and in his frustration he kept hacking harder and harder till he dropped of exhaustion and lost the contract.  Are you ready to sharpen your mental axe?

The countdown to exams has begun.  You are probably counting days now, and are getting tensed, particularly when you think of those tough and boring subjects that you have begun to hate.  No one can be good at all subjects.  There are at least eight types of intelligence: mathe-logical, linguistic, interpersonal, intra-personal, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, spatial and ecological.  Eventually you will find the right vocation that suits your intelligence, but right now you have to study all subjects from languages to technical ones.  To make the best of it, here are a few tip:

  • Start with relaxing BEFORE you sit down to study. Don’t wait till you are tired and fatigued.  The fresher your mind, the more you will be able to take in, in the least time.  Find out a method of relaxation that suits you, don’t copy what someone else is doing.  A few examples are: Long, brisk walk; Jogging, Tennis, golf, Swimming, Aerobics / dancing, Playing with child/pet, Gardening; Driving into nature, Shouting loudly and freely, Yoga, Meditation, Prayer / discourses, Talking to a friend or counselor, Listening to (or playing) music, Maintaining an informal diary, Thought-provoking books, Punching a pillow, Tearing old newspapers.  Experiment till you hit upon the right one.
  • Take periodic breaks. Never study till you are so tired that nothing is going to your head.  Only you know how long you can study before you need a break, follow your mind.  The duration may vary depending on whether you are studying an interesting or boring subject.  At the same time, keep in mind that your break should be short and relaxing, and not taking your mind away into another activity.
  • Study systematically. List out all the chapters, mark those you have trouble with, keep periodically revising or reviewing.  Don’t get bogged down into one subject the whole day.
  • Keep giving yourself periodic tests, both verbal and written. Do mock exams even at home, they will prepare you for facing the actual exam.
  • Keep track of your biological clock, when you are at peak energy, and when you are down and out. Study difficult subjects when you are feeling energetic.  For boring subjects, allot a fixed time and tell yourself that you will finish as soon as the time is over.

As your exams get nearer, do not cut down on your sleep beyond rational limits.  You can certainly do with 25-30% less sleep than average, but cutting it down to 50% or less can actually add to your strain.  Keep up your hygiene, food habits, get fresh air and clear your mind periodically.  On the day of the exam, don’t cram till the last moment.  Have a healthy meal, go early and check out the place, talk to friends or family to calm down your nerves, and then begin the exam with the clear thought – it is just an exam, it is not going to kill you.

Ali’s Notes:

Technology has advanced immensely. Schools have state-of-the-art facilities in every aspect of child requirements, and millions are spent for providing all comforts and amenities to the students. Yet a survey by Banjara showed that 95% of all children, including those in high-end schools, still carry a water bottle in addition to the already heavy bag. Is it not possible to provide purified drinking water to the students in their classrooms? If we really cared for our children, we can think of these (and many similar) small steps to make life convenient to them.
We have still not managed to reduce the size (and weight) of the school bag in today’s e-learning era. We continue to give all our attention to home work, completion of portions, innumerable tests and exams, and rote learning.
If we wish to create a better world around us as the next generation takes over, it is high time we took some initiatives.