9.Padmanabha Swami Temple Musings

Originally published in  www.ArticlesBase.com

http://www.articlesbase.com/culture-articles/padmanabha-swamy-temple-musings-5190209.html

I m a serf, slave and more

Dust under your feet

Held captive not in chains

But in beloved bondage

Of truth eternal.

…

I seek no rights, demand no claims

But beg the bounty

Of your love

Oh Sire! Sree Padmnabha!

These are lines from a verse on Sree Padmanabha   by Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, a member of the Royal  Family of the former princely State of Travancore  and  the niece of HH Sree Chithira Thirunal Rama Varma, the last ruler of the State.

A poet and a writer, the Princess in her work entitled  Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple (2000) in the concluding chapter writes about the institution of Sree Padmanabha Dasas. [ In rough translation ‘Dasa’ means a slave]:

“As the scrolls of history unravel, the Sree Padmahabha Swamy Temple and the Throne of Travancore came to be more and more interlinked, sharing a common fortune. If in the course of its evolution Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple was initially owned by the State and its sovereign,  with the Thrippati Danam of Marthanda Varma the Great, this Temple, and its presiding Deity Sree Padmanabha Perumal, came to own the State. The historic Deed of  Dedication which was an epoch-making event took place under the asterism  Revathi on Wednesday the 5^th of the Malayalam month of Makaram in the year  925 ME corresponding to the 18^th or 19^th  of January 1750 AD. With this, all the lands falling within Travancore including future additions, all rights and privileges enjoyed by the rulers  and the status of Supreme Monarch of the State came to be vested in ‘Sree Padmanabha  Swamy’. So also the personal insignia ‘Sree Padmanabha Dasa’ enjoyed  by the Travancore Royalty became converted to the official designation of all the male members of the family as the  cherished title of the highest honour. It continues as an unbroken, ongoing tradition.”

The temple shot to fame with the stock taking of the Lord’s wealth!... Lord’s wealth? YES… because the rulers  of the land  were only  ‘dasas’ and the wealth belongs  to the Lord. This includes gems,  over one thousand necklaces, crowns,  gold coins- some of Napoleon’s age and much more…

When India became independent, monarchy was replaced by democratic rule. The royal family became commoners and were given  a pension.  Early this year (2011), I had to visit the palace  as a member of the Centenary Celebrations Committee of  my college which was set up a century ago by the then  ruler of Travancore state.  I was quick to notice that the present royal family doesn’t lead a luxurious life nor do they flaunt wealth. They  don’t  even lead the kind of life Super Stars of the film industry and business magnates of God’s Own Country  today lead!

Had the rulers of the State of Travancore during the transfer of power, grabbed enough wealth and spent it little by little unnoticed by nosey democratic leaders, they too could have lead a cushy life! It naturally appears that they dared not touch the Lord’s wealth. The lines quoted in the beginning of this write-up by a member of the royal family  gives a hint of this.

Some disgusting debates

The Media in the state of Kerala, saw in the stock taking of the Lord’s wealth the news scoop of a life time. Now everyone in the street is asking  the question: To whom should the wealth go? To the people…? To the government…? To the royal family…? Wealth, which none knew the existence of for nearly six decades is now  under  the gaze  of prying eyes!

What is in store?

God’s Own Country, Kerala has a strange precedence of disappearing artifacts. Rare treasures in museums get replaced by duplicate artifacts. Some get stolen and will never get traced. Though the security of the temple has been beefed up,  who knows one day some crooks might dig up a tunnel and lay their hands on the wealth.

Oh Padmanabha

Thousands have started pouring into your temple now deemed the richest temple on planet earth. Will you relax in peace in your ‘shayana’ posture anymore? Will the presence of the ‘invisible lion’ in the temple, protect your  wealth? I conclude with  a few lines from the  verse quoted  in the beginning:

If I be yours

Your mantle of grace

Needs must descend

It is your right to care

For your own.

8.The Semiotics of Twigs and Leaves

The author of this article narrates an incident which exposes the failure of a scholar   to fully comprehend  meaning despite being trained in the scientific ways of observation.

Heraclitus said centuries ago :

“Whosoever wishes to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details.
 Knowledge is not intelligence.
In searching for the truth be ready for the unexpected…” Heraklietos of Ephesos

The following incident  is supposed to have happened in Australia :

A scholar with a brilliant university education, for her post doctoral research had gone to Australia. As part of her research she was expected to teach the aborigine children the  concept of classification of items. 

The scholar thought it appropriate to teach classification using objects found in nature. So she took the children to the country side and made them pick up twigs and leaves.

Then, the scholar had the children sit  in a small circle. She made them place the collected objects in the centre. And as they watched, she began to classify them as twigs and leaves.  Next, the leaves itself was classified into two: green leaves and  dry leaves. After drawing her attention to the classified objects she made the children mix it up and directed them to classify them  as she had done. The children classified them  in three groups but each group contained both twigs and leaves. Realizing that the aborigine children failed to understand the concept of classification correctly, she repeated her classification strategy. But even after repeated demonstrations the children classified them as three groups each containing both twigs and leaves.

Naturally the university educated scholar concluded that the aborigine children are incapable of grasping the concept of ‘classification’!

 The local guide who had accompanied the ‘scholar’ in her study had a faint knowledge of the dialect spoken by the aborigines. So he made some inquires and came up with a startling revelation. He found that there was ’rhyme and reason’ in the classification system followed by the aborigine children. They had classified the twigs and leaves according to their ‘smell’- very strong smelling ones, faint smelling ones and those with no smell.

Unfortunately, the post doctoral fellow with a  brilliant educational background, failed  in inferring  such a strategy for classification

This story of the semiotics of  twigs and leaves tells us that there exist knowledge beyond   what is gained from  professors, journals, research articles, text books and thousands of educational sites… Even if the five senses and the ‘common sense’ is activated through cognitive or  constructivist principles, there is no guarantee that one might arrive at the truth/ real meaning of  things! Let me conclude with a quote from Mark Twain:

“All schools, all colleges, have two great functions: to confer, and to conceal, valuable knowledge. The theological knowledge which they conceal cannot justly be regarded as less valuable than that which they reveal. That is, when a man is buying a basket of strawberries it can profit him to know that the bottom half of it is rotten.”

1908, notebook

7.The Educational Implications of Theories of Punishment

The three theories of punishment – retributive, reform and deterrent-attempt at classifying the outcome  expected through punishment. It is also a kind of justification for the infliction of punishment.

Educational implications : Retribution and Reform

* Retributive punishment responsibly given and responsibly received is likely to be a kind of catharsis.

* There is  however  the possibility that in the case of a bully ( a maladjusted child) the efficacy of retributive punishment  could be lost. The bully  may misinterpret the moral mentor’s resentment as a mere personal attack by a bigger man. This would then block the way for real reform.

* Sometimes retributive punishment which is intended as an expression of moral indignation may not convey anything to the guilty person if he strongly believes that  he  was always  in the right. Here  retributive punishment given by a teacher without a careful consideration  of the ‘deed’ could produce negative results.

* There is also a kind of illogicality in retributive punishment . One may  throw acid on the face of  another and may be punished. But is it possible to proportion the suffering of punishment to the wrong done? Further can the facial disfiguration of the injured party be lessened in any way by punishing? This implies  that the selection of the right  punishment as retribution becomes very difficult for the teacher.

* The ultimate purpose of retribution is to make the child understand  that punishment is given to  make him reform and repent. Here  one may be tempted to ask: “ Why not try some other  way  out  than inflict pain? Wouldn’t it be better if the teacher  advices the child and gives extra learning task  which has an utility value?”

Educational implication: Deterrent Punishment

 * Deterrent punishment appears simple and utilitarian and could  be used  by the  teacher to ensure punctuality, tidiness etc.

* It is possible for the  teacher to justify the use of  deterrent punishment if his ultimate aim is to get nuisances out of the way and develop in the child a  sense of personal responsibility.

* However the teacher has to  be discreet in the use of deterrent punishment on individuals who are prone  to question authority. If the teacher  persists in conditioning fear, such  individuals may  turn  cynics adept at avoiding detection. They may even  put  on a false show of virtuousness and become  undisciplined  the moment  control is removed.

* Deterrent punishment even emphases that if a boy  is  caught  telling a lie, he must  be punished  so  that   other  boys  may  not  tell lies in the future . Here one could very well

 ask : “Is it right to  punish one boy in order  that  the morals of others may be improved?”

 So far I have  focused on  retributive/reform punishment and deterrent punishment by  emphasizing  the irrationality involved in punishing the child. Incidentally, the  Behaviourists  believe that  “…. Punishment should not be employed  by teachers because students will soon learn to avoid the sources of punishment and may generate anger and fear reactions to people, places or things associated with punishment”

[Harold E. Mitzel (ed) Encyclopaedia of Educational Research (1941) Macmillan Publishing Company, New York: 1982 Vol 2 P 904]

But if the teacher  still persists on making use of any of the three types of punishment it may do  him good  if he follows a simple formula PUNISH

P- Personal History  … Is the offender one prone to mischief?

U- Utility Value of punishment…Will it reform the offender?

N-Is  it really Necessary…. ( It could be circumstances that made the child commit

       the offence)

I  - The teacher should be Impartial

S- Select the type of punishment from a wide range

H- Be Humane in administering. Ultimate good of the offending individual should

        be kept in view.

6.Reflection: Tales Trainees Tell

“During  Phase-II,  20 teaching practice lessons (minimum) using different instructional strategies conduct Reflections sessions on all Saturdays”. This is the direction  to teacher trainees undergoing the Bachelor of Education (BEd.) Degree Course offered by the  University of Kerala ( Restructured -2004). See  P.102 ‘Teaching Practice in School’ (Item 4)

As per the above directions,  every Saturday a majority of the 200 trainees of the college  where I teach, ‘promptly’ return to college from their schools  for a common  Reflection Session in  the General Lecture Hall, followed by an Optional-based (the college offers  eleven different subjects)  Reflection session in their respective departments.

During the Common Reflection sessions, all  the teacher educators of  the college are expected to be present (though as per UGC Norms, Saturday is not a working day) . Then in their presence  a representative, one each from the twenty-odd Practice Teaching support schools reflect on the experiences the trainees in each school had during the week. The sessions vary from 60 minutes to 150 minutes or even more.

It does happen that  during Common Reflection Sessions, trainees do present issues not in any way directly related to  classroom transactions or matters related to teaching skills. The following are some such observations made by the trainees of my college on 31^st July 2010, which to many present was  something quite startling, if not shocking:

* There is this particular boy in class who is seen as a problem child by all teachers in the school. The other day, while teaching, I found him making page after page of  sketches of houses  in his Notesbook. When I ordered him to be attentive, he broke down and in tears told me that in the previous day’s heavy downpour, his house had collapsed and  now  he has no roof to call his house!

* There is a boy in class who has a maimed leg and though he needs plenty of help and support, I have found him always confined to the corner. Even his classmates shun him! On inquiry I found that the boy is a cancer patient and his leg is cancer affected.

 * The following  is more or less the verbatim reproduction of what  a trainee had to say about a school,  which has the ‘Free Noon Meal Programme’:

“ Sometimes  there would be excess food (the pupils refuse to eat) . So we, the trainees  are directed  by the Head of  the institution, to have the meals prepared for the children to avoid wastage.  But we found the food highly unpalatable. The rice served didn’t appear  to be properly washed and it had a foul smell!  Eating the meal creates a nauseating feeling . When we asked the pupils why they don’t eat the food they said that their stomach would eject the food no sooner that they consume it.  When the trainees made some discreet inquiries to the cook, they found that it is cooked  improperly because no remuneration is paid to the cook  for cooking!

*  In some schools it invariably happens that  the trainees succeed in drawing the respect and affection of the pupils, much to the chagrin of the regular teachers in the school. One day it so happened  that the regular teacher of the school had not turned up even after the bell  had gone for the classes to commence. So, the pupils invited  the trainee whom they adored to engage the class. As  the trainee was engaging the class, the regular teacher arrived… and all hell broke loose. The trainee was kicked out of  the class  and  blows were showered on the buttocks of the pupils who had invited the trainee- a  message which was so painful, that the  pupils couldn’t attend class for a couple of days!

Well, dear reader, how did you find the tales the trainees had to tell?  It is said that “Reflection is intellectual and affective actions in which individual engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciation (Boud etal) and Reflections is a crucial element in professional growth!” (Calderhead and Gates)

How far can you endorse the statements on ‘Reflection’ by educationists  quoted above…Do you think, the Common Reflections sessions do offer something more than what is commonly given to be understood by  the term ‘Reflection’? Please post your valuable comments…

References

Boud.D, Keogh. R, Walker D. Eds.(1985). Promoting reflection in learning : a model. In D.Boud, R Keogh and D. Walker (Eds.)(1985). Reflection: Turning experience into learning. New York: Kogan Page.

Calderhead, J and Gates p.(Eds). (1993) Constancy and change in American Classrooms  1890-1990. New York: Longman

5-Notes on the Role of Research Universities in Developing Countries

The Department of Education, University of Kerala, in association with the Kerala State Higher Education Council, on 14^th  July 2010 organized at Trivandrum,  an Interactive Discourse with Dr. Philip Altbach, Monan Professor of Education & Director, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, USA.

Prof Altbach based his presentation on the key argument that Research Universities are very important  in a  Knowledge economy. He also insisted that developing countries like India, need Research Universities and the state of Kerala with its high levels of literacy definitely require a top class university.

Other arguments provided include the following:

• Establishing Research Universities is  one way of preventing domination by other countries and the  research done  in such universities can actually make a contribution to the local economy.
• In selecting universities, it has to be decided which university should function as a Teaching university and which a Research university.
• It is true that  in India a number of Private Universities are growing, but none of them is a Research university. This is because  for such universities  profit making  is the prime motive and  research  does not necessarily bring profit.
• One has to make a distinction between Public-good and Private-good.  The Public-good idea-based educational  institutions, serve the public and  the people benefit. As per the Private-good idea, the individual benefits the most.  Research Universities are basically public funded and its research contributes to public good. But private research is keen on patents that help make a lot of money.
• Research universities are not usually challenged by competition. They require full time faculty, and they must be research focused. It requires staff with PhD and the ability to do innovative work. The Professors of such universities should be free of corruption and they must be permitted to work free.
• Research Universities must be linked to foreign agencies/ organizations engaged in pursuing research, the faculty must be well paid, and unlike in private universities should not have to go ‘moonlighting’ for additional income. In short a special breed of academics is required whose main commitment should be with the  research undertaken in the university.
• Research universities should not have the inbreeding system where the students of the same university is appointed as faculty in the same university. There should be representation from a number of institutions and background.
• The globalization of science is a challenge and an advantage to universities too. In the context of globalization it is essential that teachers from other universities are invited to India and faculty from India visit and teach for short spells in foreign universities.
• In some developed countries, some universities are set up based on  the contributions  they purport to make. If they fail, such universities are shut down… But, in India, once a University is set up  it  goes on existing without  making any real contributions. At the out set this should change.

4.If Not Love ...What?

The soul of India, I am told lives in the villages and a travel  through  our villages is bound to give one a feel of  the salt of the earth!  You are bound to come across simple country folks  with betelnut scarred teeth, shoddy  clothes, disheveled hair and unwashed bodies, but possessing a  definite set of mores and values that make their lives tick. For the city bred, this might appear nauseating!  From the Media, we learn  that our metros  loom with crooks who loot, rape and kill even as ‘ahimsa’ is being preached to congregations in  Churches, Gurudwaras, Mosques and Temples! And these days, it is not uncommon to come across a ‘literate’ generation of youngsters keen on making  a quick  buck, through hook or by crook to lead a lavish life, even as one tries  to live up to the  dream of  Vision 2020 of  a former President !

Life in India can  also take you thorough an emotional roller coaster…Occasionally  the heartbreaking news of  human suffering perpetrated by a few perverts hits  you and  temporarily freezes your  urge to  do anything good for people. You may even ask yourself  whether it is possible to love  your own  country man…Well, I have asked this myself and soon, I  find myself engrossed in misgivings about the message of  UNIVERSAL LOVE  propagated by Sri  Sri Ravisankar and Mata Amritanandamayee!

Recently,  wrestling  with  such scruples, I came  across this illuminating talk given  by E. M. Forster during the intra-war years:

“…The idea that nations should love one another , or that a man in Portugal should love a man in Peru of whom he has never heard- it is absurd, unreal dangerous. It leads us into perilous and vague sentimentalism. . “ love is what  is needed’ , we chant, and ten sit back and the world goes on as before. The fact is, we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something much less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance…This is the only force which will enable different races and classes and interests to settle down together to the  work of reconstruction.”

                                                        - E. M. Forster BBC Talk (1941)

Well dear reader, don’t you think Forster’s idea is a common sense approach to the art of  living?

3-Attention Teachers!!! : 101 Qualities Worth Acquiring!!!

The teaching- learning process has the potential to serve as a powerful instrument of social, economic and cultural transformation of society. But…  both ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’  are complex processes. However teacher training institutions are  tirelessly engaged in  pruning effective teachers for tomorrow. How should the new teacher be? What qualities should the teacher of  tomorrow possess?

The author  based on his decade old  experience as a teacher educator , attempts to list down for would-be teachers, 101 Qualities worth acquiring !!!

1. Ability to assign appropriate tasks for the really bright learners
2. Ability to chalk out plans for underachievers
3. Ability to evoke  attention  while teaching
4. Ability to motivate learners
5. Ability to organize classrooms that nourish and reflect the teaching programme
6. Ability to  assign  purposeful individual  learning activities
7. Ability to organize teaching and learning  space
8. Ability to set  relevant  and challenging teaching and learning objectives
9. Ability to use ICT effectively for teaching
10. Ability to design coherent instruction
11. Ability to establish a culture for learning
12. Ability to give constructive feed back to learners
13. Ability to  make learning meaningful
14. Ability to  properly monitor  learning
15. Ability to plan opportunities  to learn in out of institution contexts
16. Adaptable
17. Adept at classroom management during group work
18. Adept at devising appropriate teaching strategies
19. Adept at handling mixed-ability classes
20. Adept at improvising  cost effective aids  for teaching
21. Adept at managing lesson procedures
22. Adept at relating to others
23. Adept at speaking at public functions
24. Adept at time management
25. Adept at  providing suitable anecdotes
26. Adept at giving due praise for learner achievement
27. Approachable for discussing personal and learning difficulties
28. Awareness of ones own short comings and striving  to overcome it
29. Clear framework for classroom discipline
30. Connoisseur  at clarifying values
31. Consideration for the learners’ ethnic background.
32. Consideration for the learners’ linguistic background
33. Concern for disadvantaged learners
34. Consideration for  the  learner’s development
35. Creative
36. Culture specialist
37. Deep consciousness of the sanctity  of the image of  the teaching profession
38. Demonstrating  values worth emulating
39. Dependable
40. Developer of learning materials
41. Drive for  self-evaluation
42. Effective writing skills
43. Efficient organizer of seminars and conferences
44. Expert at providing a range of strategies to promote good behaviour
45. Expert evaluator
46. Familiar with group dynamics
47. Familiar with learning styles
48. Felicitator of learning
49. Flexible
50. Friend and philosopher  for learners
51. Good Communication skills 
52. Good researcher
53. Has  good hobbies
54. High expectations for learner behaviour
55. Histrionic skills
56. Humanist
57. Human relations expert
58. Impartial to learners
59. Information seeking initiative
60. Informed  art critic
61. Knowledgeable
62. Leadership skills
63. Life Skills expert
64. Mastery of basic teaching skills
65. Mission driven and passionate about ones calling as a teacher
66. Mobile Human Resource development agent
67. Not  feeling let down by  frustrating  factors in the society
68. Perpetually identifying and preparing  appropriate teaching resources
69. Perseverance to simplify complex learning tasks
70. Performance booster
71. Practical
72. Providing appropriate counselling  for learners in need.
73. Recognizing and responding effectively to equal opportunities issues as they arise
74. Regard for honesty and integrity
75. Respects  learner’s social background.
76. Respects learner’s cultural background
77. Responsive to learners  and colleagues
78. Responsive to the changing needs of ones profession
79. Skilled at  analytical and conceptual thinking
80. Skilled at drawing smiles through  refined jokes
81. Skilled at fine tuning the learners’ affective domain
82. Skilled at interviewing
83. Skilled at tutoring
84. Skilled Curriculum evaluator
85. Sociable
86. Striving for  professional development 
87. Striving to make learning an interesting experience
88. Supplier of useful and essential learning materials to  needy learners
89. Treating  learners with due respect for their disabilities if any
90. Trustworthy
91. Unaffected by learners’ religious background
92. Undying source of inspiration for learners
93. Urge to attend conferences  and seminars to  draw novel ideas and views
94. Very high Emotional Quotient
95. Willing to contribute to corporate life of ones institution
96. Willing to shoulder responsibilities of  ones institution
97. Willing to support those who are in need of  help in learning
98. Willing to take concrete steps  for the elimination of social evils
99.  Willing to work collaboratively with specialist teachers

100.Willing  to share and receive expertise of  other colleagues

101.Willingness to keep in touch with former students

2-Can Pedagogic Analysis be anathema?

During the recent secondary level Curriculum revisions  in God’s Own Country,   some Teacher Educators were invited to participate  in a discussion on finalizing the  Secondary Curriculum  transaction.

One of the  representatives of the body of  ‘scholars’ dispatched by the agency assigned the task of Secondary Curriculum revision, during discussions, cut short a participant’s attempt at  discussing  ‘Pedagogic Analysis’. The  gentleman opined that ‘Pedagogic Analysis’ has no place in the Constructivist Curriculum!

A Clinical Psychologist-cum-Teacher Educator present  during the deliberations  immediately gave a justification which was an eye opener to all present.

“ Now… if you give a short story  of the famous  writer Basheer to a dramatist for staging, he would start  analyzing it  in terms of cast, action, lighting and  stage setting.

 If your give the same story to Adoor Gopalakrishnan the noted film maker, he will analyze it in terms of shots, scenes, camera angels etc.

Similarly if you give a short story to a teacher he will analyse it in  terms of moral values, social criticism, class room learning experiences, and identify ways of evaluating teaching of the short story.”

The ‘representative’s ego was severely punctured! Needless to say that the Clinical Psychologist-cum-Teacher Educator was never again invited for  discussions on the Curriculum in God’s Own Country! Can Pedagogic Analysis be anathema?

1-Teaching & Art

[ Originally published on 05 Sep 2007, the day India celebrates Teacher’s Day]

What is Art ?

Art is a skilled exercise of human faculties… It refers to the creation of something aesthetically satisfying. According to an idealistic view, art is only completely expressed when material  is re-formed, re-created, re-fused, by divine afflatus.(Everymans Encyclopaedia)

In the broadest sense art refers to expressions of spiritual as opposed to material, consciousness of perception… deals with what is beyond , or outside the possibility of demonstrating by mechanical or scientific testing… being concerned with the expression of imagination and the translation of emotion.(Practical Knowledge of Art)

 There are , I believe, several things to be considered  before classifying  something as art. Mainly there  are  two  implications of calling something an art- only a few people possesses the skills required to be called ‘artists’, and even the artists find it difficult to describe their artistry and pass it on only by acting as models to imitate.

 Teaching  & Art

In ordinary conversation it is not uncommon for teaching  to be referred to as  art.  Some arrive at this view  after considerable thought and it will invariably be based on a carefully developed  concept of teaching .

 If teaching is considered an art , it goes without saying that it requires long practice for its perfection . Teaching is  complex, if we consider the fact that  the object  in teaching is never static; it is a living process that is coloured by the past experience as well as the present mood of the learner.

In many ways the teacher is a craftsman. But a   true craftsman   must be free to express himself within  the principles which govern his work. Just as the most original painter is governed by laws of perspective, by laws of colour mixture add by laws of colour perception, so the teacher  is governed by the nature of the human material  with which he works, by the nature of the material he teaches, and by the ultimate aim which he accepts  as the goal of his efforts.

What does an artist working on clay or wood do?

He handles dead material and imparts life to it through his work . He gives the shape he likes, expresses his own ideas and makes  the object as he likes. He imposes his will on the material with which he works, and creates an object.

Is  teacher an artist?

Well… the teacher doesn’t use the chisel and hammer…yet he makes an impact felt. He creates learning situations ,motivates, arranges  conditions for the mind and body to grow, introduces changes in the behaviour pattern, and  inspires noble thoughts and feelings.

So… don’t you , dear reader, agree that the teacher is an artist  too…???

   * * * * * *