Monday, 15 February 2016
Saturday, 13 February 2016
ideal sunday
An Ideal Sunday for Mumbai Girls
Ramya Chaturvedi
‘Live life King Size’ has always been my motto and
though one cannot actively practice that everyday, Sunday is the day
when this proverbial thought to take shape. For a teenage girl like me
who loves to laugh with their best(budd)ies, Sunday is our day. Sunday mantras
differ from one gal to another but here is what I do with my gal-pals on my
ideal Sunday.
It is true that a girl and her bed on
Sunday is an endless love affair, so sleep as much as you want to. Start
your morning with an energetic watermelon virgin mojito. Stretch a little bit
and get ready for a spa day. If you are a sporty person and want to start your
day with a workout, try out Zumba classes or go for a swim at Mumbai’s oldest
swimming pool called ‘Mafatlal’. You could also go to your favourite salon and
get a pedicure and manicure done. My personal favourite is Déssange or JCB. Get
the intense cuticle manicure done. Try to run local for sometime. Explore the
Colaba Causeway and Kala Ghoda. Go and buy those cool Indianised print pattern
pants that are so much in fashion these days. Explore the Indian couture
culture by visiting places such as Fab India, West Side or Cottons. One can
find several shoe shops on the street at Colaba Causeway, with shoes starting
INR 100 only. Don’t forget to buy scarfs and local bags out there. There are
several small shops where you can find anything like even a metal purse!
Top up your clothes shopping with antique jewellery with the filter coffee off
the local streets. If you get tired and hungry there are always Theobroma
brownies ready for you. Don’t miss your evening snacks at the Kala Ghoda Café
or the Colaba social. After this busy afternoon go to a spa and get a nice
aromatherapy massage done. In the evening go out with your friends for dinner
and catch up with a rom-com movie. One can even go clubbing with friends at
places like Tryst, Tote on the Turf and Royalty.
Girls and fun in Mumbai truly complement each other
like no other city in the world! Mumbai is safe and the oddest of people are
gallants towards the youth for the times have changed for good. This is my
world and my idea of an ideal Sunday for a girl like me…what is
yours?
Great books summer program - STANFORD
How a summer at Stanford taught me to think
differently …
By Ramya Chaturvedi
I never teach my pupils, I only provide the
conditions in which they can learn.
– Albert Einstein
As students, we are taught day-in and day-out
about subjects such as languages, mathematics, science, social sciences and the
arts. A large part of our schooling lives are filled with attending classes,
listening to the teacher, taking down notes and solving tests (chasing marks!).
This ‘oh so same’ mundane routine was broken for me when I attended the Great
Books Summer Program at Stanford University this summer past.
I distinctly remember that day when I walked
into my Stanford classroom, the atmosphere was so positive and lively. It was
full of students from all over America and the world and I just loved being
there. Professor’s Illan Stevens, Rob Reich and Noah Rosenblum helped break the
ice by introducing themselves and giving each of us a chance to talk about who
we were and where we came from. They were so friendly and made us feel
comfortable and at ease before embarking on the ‘teaching’. Their teaching
style was one that I rarely came across back in India. Everything was taught
using what I later learnt to be called an ‘inquiry based mothodology’ and ‘The
Socratic Method’. The Professor’s encouraged us to read a book every evening
and in class the following morning we held discussions about the meaning of the
written words in an energetic and open minded environment. Every point raised
by a students or a teacher led to a buzzy discussion. Somehow magically, I felt
completely in my zone and as if I was the part of every discussion - this style
of learning really caught my attention.
As other students presented their honest
thoughts and perspectives, I began appreciating how people think about
different things, even when looking at the same thing. This experience dawned
on me how their personalities, backgrounds and attitudes led them to say
different things, even when we were talking about the same sentence. I also felt
that having such open-minded discussions bought all of us together, as we lost
our inhibitions and spoke our minds. It taught me that a good conversation is
integral to having a good relationship. Interestingly, even though we were
encouraged to talk all the time, I think the three weeks made me a better
listener, than a better speaker!
GBSP has helped me evolve into a more confident
person, someone who is more vocal about my ideas and is comfortable putting my
thoughts ‘out there’ for others to discuss. I feel more chirpy, bubbly, smart,
charismatic and energetic at school too! During my three weeks on the lovely
Stanford campus, I felt that I graduated from the old-school spoon-fed student
to someone who was happily applying their learning. The three weeks of
discussion-oriented exercises completely changed my perspective towards
schooling and perhaps even college life.
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