Sadgati Bandari Anjaneya. One of the early team members of APCNF State Team. The start-up phase of APCNF. Alumnus of Sagar Pariwar. Succumbed to Brainstroke.
The US introduces innovation tax of USD 100,000 per entry; and per renewal every year on H-1B visa. This is more than the average H-1B base salary. The clarification is that this is applicable to only new entrants. What does it mean to the US? What does it mean to India? Will we have more talent staying back in India? Will we find migration to other countries? Or will the US start paying more to them so that this is absorbed, with no cost to the person? Indian start-ups in the US may slow down; new start-ups may take more time to happen – may be some lull for some time. Many may return. Where will they join, are there any takers? Do we also see the employment situation worsening in India?
Padma Bhushan Mohanlal, actor, director, producer, in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi, gets Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023. 400+ films.
Access Livelihoods, 20, celebrates its foundation day. They called me their ‘adviser’ or ‘mentor’. Krshnagopal, Satyadev, Madhu Murthy – my 10 year younger junior, KV Raju taught, alumni from IRMA joined Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty, combined/united AP, SERP, to be in the livelihoods and community investment team(s). On moving out, they continued with Akshara, before the launch of Access Livelihoods. Madhusudan Rao, with CDF and SERP background, also joined them. Here at Akshara, I was called mentor – Chief Mentor. Taru, their batchmate, who worked in the same team, joined in Access, may be slightly later. Vijay Switha, another younger IRMAN, came into Akshara for a while before she moved forward to launch Chitrika. Gratitude to the universe that the ones seeded with us, in our gurukulam, could launch Access, Chitrika; emerge into ‘Access Group’; could mature into a 20-year adult, graduate. Now, they have a full life ahead – a life deepened, scaled, diversified portfolio. And whatever little we could offer, we could do in this, we continue to do. Our two cents in our journey(s), so far and ahead!
Thanks to Meenesh Shah, Chairman, Dairy Board, Apurva Rathod, Chief Sustainability Officer, L&T Finance, for sharing a few moments with us on this occasion.
The occasion lets me reflect/reminisce 6-7 years of being, journeying with them, before Access launch. I was an unlikely and unorthodox teacher in an engineering college teaching computers and society, exploring the way forward in the development domain. This took me to Kurien’s school at Anand – IRMA, Dairy Board, IRMA, including working directly with K, at the apex level. Then, I moved to be with tribal communities, collectives, commons, participation, inclusion and giving back. This triggered Akshara, to develop and offer support through livelihoods supporting individuals, organizations, enterprises. Particularly to the poor, vulnerable and marginalized. At the same time, I got hooked on the self-help movement beginning with women. In SERP as their livelihoods adviser/lead. These young professionals have joined in our livelihoods pursuits. They came into Akshara for a while in taking self-help and livelihoods forward, into civil society on one hand and beyond AP in several states through Governments. We were referred to as ‘livelihoods people’. 4-arrow, 6-capital Livelihoods framework got further fine-tuned. Then, it was time for Access Livelihoods to come into being. In 2005. Jeevika LSO emerged in Jabalpur. In due course, more LSOs, LSEs and LSIs emerged.
Akshara’s livelihoods updates through ‘livelihoods today and tomorrow’ continue. Self-help movement accelerated through National Rural and Urban Livelihoods Missions. Self-help transcended women to include elders, disabled, youth et al. 20+ batches of Livelihoods/ Development Management Professionals have come out through NIRD. We have more institutes, more courses across the country now. Livelihoods framework improved to include Tribal, rural, urban, and emerging ‘TRUE’ livelihoods. LEAPs, Value-chains, Subsector Analyses and plans based on them have become universal with 1000s of LEAPs, 100s of Value-chains, and 10s of subsectors available as examples. Million-plus livelihoods lifeworkers, professionals, and resource persons are servicing PVM. Our two cents included 100,000+ of them. Natural farming food system, natural living is coming to the centre stage; emerging as a global movement at local levels to avert/delay the impending civilizational crises. We are embedded into this movement. Together with this, we are in four coexisting movements of TRUE livelihoods – collectives, enterprises, self-help, natural farming-food-living.
This year marks the Golden Jubilee Year of Andhra Pradesh Residential Junior College, APRJC, Nagarjunasagar. My alma mater. The celebrations are ON. It has made the greatest impact on my life, although my student tenure may be the shortest of all. It gave me the people ‘who directed me to be useful and relevant’ and become a livelihoods lifeworker. Later, when I went to Sagar, with my family, I could show them my name on the roll of honour, still preserved.
I studied Classes 8-10 in Sarvail Gurukulam during 1976-79. After SSC exams we left the school, to be back in the village, Gundrampally. Went to Nalgonda once to write the National Talent Search, NTS, Examination. In some time, typhoid hit me in a bad way, and on recovery, the last date for application for APRJC Entrance was over. With Sarvail Principal’s recommendation, I went with my father to the APREIS Society at Hyderabad. The Secretary concluded – ‘if you are so much interested in going to School, apply next year’. I cried a lot. My father consoled – ‘it is their loss etc. etc.’.
I got admissions in Hyderabad colleges wherever I applied. I opted to join a Government Junior College, Aliya. This was/is opposite Nizam College. In MPC, English Medium. Staying in a room where a father’s friend’s son offered to share. Meanwhile, I was awarded a National Talent Search Scholarship; received a Mathematical Olympiad award from the Hon’ble Governor. T Venka Reddy sir, who returned as the Secretary of the APREI Society saw me and enquired, why I was not in Sagar. And he insisted that I should be there. Moving the system, as an exception, I was offered to join, and was taken in a vehicle to join in Second year at Sagar. Sagar, the teachers and students welcomed me whole heartedly. It gave me the most joyous year of my life, to-date. With lasting relationships/friendships, with a variety of nuances, during the year and across the batches after leaving Sagar.
We could walk holding hands on the dam for several nights. Including when the dam was with water to the brim. We could have tea near the dam, on the right bank, and near Sagar Matha. We could get drenched in the water drops falling when gates were opened. We could feel ‘Nagarjuna’ teaching. We could swim in the reservoir. We could sit on its banks studying and catching-up. We could see the tiger valley. We could venture into the forest. We could visit the gudems. We could see movies in the three halls in Sagar. We could enact ‘mock parliament’. We could nurture ourselves towards moving in the direction of realizing our potential. We are living that now.
As it was the year of Krishna Pushkar, I could take Pushkar bath several times; and may parents too.
We continue to network to give back to the Gurukul community and Gurukulams, in our own ways, through Sagurwa, Visionary Gurukulam Alumni Association, and Sagar Pariwar.
Can we pay back, give back? Can we make education joyful? Can we let our schools and colleges be Gurukulams? Can we ready us and our next Gen useful, relevant, and purposeful in various realms?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, flowing. Finding the Guru(s) to give Deeksha. In N? dakshinayoga for 7L.