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Meera

Meera Vikram

Meera Vikram is a Mental Health and Life Skills coach. She has completed her Diploma in  Counseling Skills, (DCS) Life Skills Training and CBT on self healing from Banjara Academy, and has done Art Therapy workshops. She is passionate about spreading awareness on the importance of mental health issues. She strongly believes that helping someone with a friendly non-judgmental attitude, empathy and maintaining confidentiality goes a long way.   She also believes children are an integral part of the society and they are the future that we need to nurture and make mentally strong. She is currently mentoring students of the Certification in Child and Adolescent Development (CCAD) at Banjara Academy and also  guides children how to choose their Career path.  She  coordinates interactive life skills development workshops for children, and takes time out to counsel individuals who seek her support.
jayanthi

Jayanthi S (Gurukul)

Children……bundles of joy and full of surprises!!! Passionate about working with children, she feels it’s a great pleasure being with them & getting an opportunity to understand their little kingdom. She feels they help her discover her passion and has not looked back ever since she took over in Banjara’s Gurukul many years ago. Very hard working, dedicated, and has loads of patience. She has learnt to stay calm & composed in most situations and thoroughly enjoys her work. Since she feels that every child is different and unique in his or her own way, she tries to bring out hidden talent, special abilities, and at the same time has been a perpetual learner, feeling fulfilled and getting a great sense of contentment.
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Venu (Office and Administration Manager)

An all rounder who has grown tremendously in the past 20 years of his working life, steadily rising up the ladder by dint of hard work and commitment. Genuinely interested in seeing the growth of people and willing to help them in different ways. An excellent team player, always willing to learn, take up new type of work and even take the lead spontaneously whenever required. Looks up to knowledgeable people to gain greater insights and learn from their experiences. Very meticulous in fulfilling his responsibilities, does not give up till he has found a solution or brought a task to completion. Absolutely punctual and keeps all tasks in mind with a high sense of responsibility.
anees

Anees Fathima (Human Relations Manager)

An excellent people’s person who has the innate ability to understand others around her. A good team player, she can play both the role of a leader or that of a follower with equal ease. Helpful, smiling and pleasant demeanor. A person with a strong sense of commitment and dedication, backed with the willingness to work hard and diligently. She possesses the natural ability to diffuse crisis situation at most times, and also does not hesitate to ask for help when required. Her greatest strength is to withstand stress with the least distress. Her ability to build rapport with people and understand their needs is also very strong. She has an open mind and is a keen learner, very open to learn both from people and experiences.
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Arun Kumar Jana

From a small village and agricultural background to a competent professional managing the facilities, security and establishment, is one of our senior-most staff members. He has come all the way from West Bengal, and made Bangalore his home for the last Three decades.  He has been completely in charge of the premises, the assets, the housekeeping and the services.  One of the most responsible and committed persons that we can come across.
His colleagues recognize the following sterling qualities in him:
  1. Forgives and forgets, does not bear grudges
  2. Non-interfering
  3. Very diligent in money matters
  4. Guides in distress, helpful
  5. Committed to his work
  6. Fully devoted to Ali and the Academy

“I worked more than 12 hrs a day continuously for office and rest for household activities, slept so very less and missed my time and relationship with my husband and child. The moment of truth reveals itself when I had a conversation with my manager a few months back just before my mid-year review when she mentioned that I was not giving enough and it did not meet her expectation from me! I had given my all in the last two years to scale up squeezing myself to be there where I was today.

“We lost one of our team members suddenly, while his wife cried saying only one thing “wish you spent more time with us than on your office calls / meetings”! Even after this incident there was no sign of empathy in the team; they continued to push for costs/headcount cuts while the existing folks had to do more and more.”

I need not comment on this, you can read between the lines.  My only request to you if you are reading this, is: “Be not so busy making a living that you forget how to live.”

Unhappy with course you selected?

Dr. Ali Khwaja

Some students have very clear goals, lofty ideals and high benchmarks – most common being to get into IIT, National Law School, NDA or MBBS.  The competition being so high, barely 1% of the aspirants actually get a seat.  Even very capable students miss out if they develop stress or are not keeping well on the day of the exam.

Those who have Plan B ready and have made a list of their preferences in descending order, manage to move on to an alternative course. But many students select a particular course in a college they like (often based on what others have recommended), and then realize within a few days or weeks that they have made a wrong choice.  It could be because of the subjects, the teachers, the college ambience, or a fear that that particular course may not get them a good job.

In such a situation, you have three choices (1) continue with the course and somehow complete it even if you do not get very high marks, and plan what you would do after completion, including moving on to a different field through post-graduation or entry-level work experience. A university degree never goes waste, even if you change your field, and a strong foundation would have been laid to move into something which you truly desire (2) continue with your studies planning for entrance exams to get into a better institution next year. In this option if you do not get your favored choice even in the second attempt, you have not lost out and can go through the balance years to acquire the degree you are in (3) drop out, spend the year gaining in-depth knowledge of alternative careers and colleges, doing internship and short on-line courses in the field of your choice, and making a strong effort to get into a very good institution. In the third alternative, you should be very focused and spend the year fruitfully.  I have known students who have dropped out, wasted the year directionless, leading to bigger disappointment in the next academic year.

The essential factor in making choices is to understand and narrow down to your long term career goals, based on not just interest but on a combination of multiple-intelligences, personality traits, specific skills, social and commercial acumen, concentration and attention span, general knowledge and academic capabilities – which taken together determine your aptitude.  Then it becomes much easier to select courses that are most suitable to you and there will be no regret.  I have counseled students who selected a course such as engineering under peer or parental pressure and then felt that they could not cope or are not sustaining interest.  In frustration they dropped out and blindly took up a general course like BBA thinking it will be much easier, without knowing where it is leading them to.  Such students rarely carve out a rewarding or meaningful career in the long run.

Choices in courses and number of colleges and universities have expanded significantly in the past few years, and there are innumerable options in each field including technology, health care, life sciences, social sciences, communication, creativity etc. Detailed and careful selection can ensure that any mistake or wrong decision can still be set right.  The important factor is to select based on your capabilities, and not get influenced by what everyone else is doing, or where there is apparently good ‘scope’.

Completed 10th Standard?

Similarly, those who have completed 10th need to take a decision regarding their academics for the first time in their life i.e. to opt for science, commerce or arts, which combination of subjects, and which Board of study.  Some are very particular about a specific college, but either do not get a seat there, or are disappointed once they start attending classes.  More or less the same principle applies here. Explore whether it is still possible to change optional subjects (which should be done based on your aptitude as mentioned above), change college if admissions are still open, or go through at least one year and explore deeply to determine whether a change is required and for what reason. Taking a year off should be done only as a last resort, and with a clear goal of how that year will be spent meaningfully to ensure you move in the right direction.

One wrong choice need not mean the end of your dreams. If you do not succumb to frustration or depression, immediately start exploring alternatives, and take a calculated decision, you can perhaps move into a better and more rewarding career path.

Ali’s Notes:

In this era of people highly stressed out and frustrated with their jobs, I heard something very nice: The concept of Work as Worship, which translates into “Workship”. We all have different forms of worship, and if we can think of our work (official, domestic, commitments) as a way of worshipping, we will be able to overlook the hurdles caused by bad bosses, work stress, lack of rewards– & actually get engrossed in doing things with a passion & commitment that will keep our minds and bodies occupied, and we will experience serenity and fulfillment.