Tryst with an icon

Leadership interaction with Mr. S.D. Shibulal, ex-CEO and Co-founder, Infosys

"S. D. Shibulal better known as Shibulal was the chief executive officer and Managing Director of Infosys."

..boasted the Wikipedia page about the founder of the company whose representatives had flown down to our college for recruiting the best of us into their team. It was the placement season and being a fourth year student, I was trying to feed my tired brain with as much information as possible about the companies that were arriving for recruitment. Infosys was one of the first ones. It was the mother of all companies who caught the fantasy of many a youngster like me. The story of the company that took the IT sector in India by storm and its seven founders was the fairy tale that my generation and the generation before us grew up hearing.

Fast forward three years, life had taken a different trajectory and I chose to be in the education space. During the first few weeks at Mantra4Change, the NGO I work for currently, I discovered the very man I had googled three years ago is the man who is funding the organisation I work with. He however still remained a mysterious figure in the shadows that I could never approach. I mean, how could a twenty something nobody meet a man who led a blue-chip company. 

This was until I saw a Google invite pop up in my mail asking me to either accept or ignore dinner with Mr. S. D. Shibulal & family and Mr. Murali Krishna (ex-CIO, Infosys). "Ignore? Are you joking", I asked out loud to my innocent laptop! I was beyond excited and the several text messages on our team’s Whatsapp group confirmed that, so were my team mates.

Mr. John Prakash and Mr Ansal Scarria, principals of two of our partner schools waited graciously along with us to meet the team. As we trooped our tired yet excited selves into the brightly lit conference room, it was clear that we were at loss for words. I remember Khushboo's voice ringing through the room as she made the initial introduction and a pealing silence that followed. This however lasted for a just a few seconds and then, when Mr. Shibulal had broken the ice himself, Team Mantra (including the school principals) couldn't stop reeling question after question at the man.

The discussion started with challenges in scaling an organisation like Mantra, moving onto policy changes in education and eventually closing off with setting up organisational culture. The man was crisp and to the point, typical characteristics of a CEO.

Here is the wisdom chronicled for the aspirant entrepreneur who happens to read this piece, go ahead the world is at you feet when armed with knowledge and wisdom. Mr. Shibulal spoke about the three hurdles any organisation would face when scaling namely, finding the right talent with commitment to the cause, maintaining consistent quality throughout (Standardise, he said) and finding the right leadership group that can take the organisation forward. To paraphrase Mr. Shibulal,

"For any organisation, especially the one like yours that focus on social impact, three points are of immense significance:

·       Practice your idea. Go to the ground and work damn hard to show the feasibility and impact of your idea.

·      Policy changes can take your idea to every place in the country and make it sustainable. Once you have the proof points, influence the policy makers, get the policy amended.

·       Papers will help you spread your idea. Spread it. Let others use it as a model, for now you have proof and there is policy backing. Nothing stops you now except yourself."

The discussion moved onto various challenges faced by the education sector and the lustre and romance that the field, once held in high regard, has lost. It was rightly pointed out by the team of mentors before us that the respect needs to be brought back to the teaching profession. Once called "the backbone of the country", the typical teacher of this era has to survive a rather thankless society.

As we touched upon the topic of setting up organisational culture, Mr Shibulal was again crisp and short. Here I am, again, quoting the man who brought an entire organisation of thousand odd employees into the company on time every single time.

"The culture has to be penned down and articulated, the leader has to lead by example and finally appreciate the rule advocates and penalise the rule breakers. This induces the network effect which capitalises on the mob mentality of human beings. Nobody would want to be the black sheep and be singled out for being the culture wrecker."

As we took our places at the dinner table, the glutton in me took a break when Mr. Shibulal elaborated on the various endeavours his family had ventured into and how much the family has contributed and continues to contribute to the society at large. On being asked what keeps him going, Mr. Shibulal answered, "When you gain from the society, you need to balance the equation and give as much as you can. When you consume more resources, the bigger is your responsibility to serve the society."

Memorable, indeed that night was with great food, a warm company and wisdom beyond my age and of course the tryst with an icon.

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Amrutha Krishnan, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change.

Why go far to seek inspiration..!

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Amrutha Krishnan, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change.

My thoughts strayed and for a minute or two I was completely unaware of the scene unfolding in front of my eyes. I felt like I was back in Chennai, in my classroom amidst my children. The topic I had thrown at my kids chalked hastily on the black board and I would be armed with a chalk piece in one hand and a white board marker in another, ready to be used once the black board gets filled with their thoughts and ideas. During one of those sessions with my kids I had strayed just as I had now, thinking back to those initial few months when these kids, who were now confidently opining their views, had met my questions with blank stares and shy smiles.

I am sharply tugged back to reality, to that brightly painted room, as Nadiya and Saba – 20 years old girls from the conventional Muslim community- stare at me expectantly. They were waiting for me to throw them the next guiding question that would help them lead the session to conclusion. The evening sun glowed dimly on the faces turned up towards me- the faces of teachers for whom I had been conducting a session on planning and execution of a lesson. Yes, as a project lead at MANTRA, a large part of my work involves teachers’ professional development in schools that cater to low income communities. I remember Khushboo (a colleague) explaining to us, the newly recruited team, about MANTRA's project TARGET (Talent Recognition, Engagement and Training Program) with much excitement. "We train youth from the community to go back into classrooms and teach the children". The excitement was palpable and all of us were pumped up.

The extent of impact that TARGET had on the 'community youth' became evident to me only after I met the vivacious, energetic power houses Saba, Nadiya and Arshiya. These young girls, in their own ways, are challenging the status quo and are proving their mettle against all odds. TARGET had meant that after their morning college classes (or as fresh graduates), they rush down to the school to teach children of their own community. This funds their own higher education and takes a huge burden off the school management's shoulder because finding dedicated teachers in these communities had always been a problem that has eluded solution. In spite of their packed schedule, these girls religiously plan for the lessons to be taught the next day and prepare for their college classes.  The amount of grit and courage in these girls amaze me every single day. And now when they stand up and talk to other teachers on how to plan their daily lessons, I stand looking on like an awe struck bystander.

In hindsight, I learnt a valuable lesson.

You don't have to go far to seek inspiration. There is always a Saba or a Nadiya to show that people with determination and passion still exist in this topsy-turvy world of ours. When, during one of those days, I feel low thinking about the state of education, waste management, moral situations and the million other problems that boldly parade down our streets, I think of these girls. They don't have a fancy schooling or money to boast of. But their work is rooted in their reality and their determination to make it in this world in spite of their grim circumstances blows my mind away and I know that the world has a few safe hands that shall guard it.

How these wonderful LKG children enriched my Bangalore stay..!

- This blog piece has been submitted by Ms. Naina Mishra - a high-school student from the US who spent the summer with us at MANTRA as an intern.

Situated in a small slum in Padarayanapura (Bangalore), Florida English School (FES) teaches hundreds of students from low-income backgrounds. Although it is still a small school with limited resources, FES boasts of colorful classrooms and a community dedicated to providing the best education to its students.

Three weeks ago, I began my month-long internship with Mantra4Change. Dedicated to servicing the local community and transforming education in low-income schools, I flew to India for the first time in nearly five years. Since then I have been working with the lower kindergarten children and the teachers at FES.

The challenge

When I first visited the school, the students were bursting with exuberance and an insatiable desire for high-fives. Workbooks clasped in their hands, they wandered around the classroom and yelled for the teachers’ attention. Those who had mastered the learning objectives for the day crowded around their friend's desks, stealing pencils or fighting. Much to my disappointment, those who were unable to complete the classwork sat on their chairs disillusioned and lacking confidence in themselves. Heartbroken by the incessant distractions and sense of helplessness in the classroom, Aishwarya, Megha, and I organized some activities to transform the learning at FES.

Discovering the solution

On the third day of our internship, we learned that the children loved to color. We brought some poster paper and crayons to the class, and the childrens’ eyes shone with excitement. Suddenly, students who once clutched the school gates crying were sitting in a circle; enthralled by the letters and numbers strewn across the paper. Students who once struggled to write were grabbing crayons and forming haphazard lines. Class participation surged, and the activity turned out to be a huge success; students were having fun while learning rudimentary writing skills. Apart from coloring, another successful activity was circle time. Seated on the floor, we asked students for their name, and they replied in full sentences. Eventually, we began to review numbers, colors, and body parts in the circle formation. Both students and teachers were engaged and relaxed in this new learning environment. We designed a curriculum for the class and worked along with the teachers to implement it.

The progress

“My favourite thing about teaching at the school is seeing the children each day and then seeing their progress as the week goes by.  I am happy to see the teachers conducting circle time on their own and implementing our advice in the classroom.”

As time progressed, Aishwarya, Megha, and I witnessed significant development in the skill sets of the students. Coloring and playing with blocks strengthened their fine motor skills and thus, penmanship improved. Students are now successfully able to recall and write the alphabet and numbers 1-10 with crayons. As the year progresses, students will begin to write with pencils and learn small words. FES will continue to follow the creative curriculum and take an activity-based approach to learning. We are positive that these teaching methods will have a drastic improvement on the students’ education.

The laughter and smiles of the children at school enriched our stay in Bangalore, and we will miss the memories created on this trip as we return to our routine life in America.

Science means unlimited fun!

- This blog piece has been submitted by Ms. Revathi Menon - a School Transformation Lead at MANTRA.

As I enter 7^th 'A', my attention falls on Maaz, a chirpy enthusiastic kid, blowing his lungs out into a piece of straw. I shot a glance at the rest of the room only to find a bunch of other kids doing a similar action; another set of kids were making tiny holes in their tiny straws and trying to squeeze in another straw through it. I look around for the teacher; she was silently observing the class. My attention is then suddenly disturbed by a strong yet calm voice saying “are you doing it correctly”, and from the crowd, I see a tall, thin gentleman rise from the bench where he was seated and he was smiling amongst all the chaos and clearly happy with all the attention he was receiving.

Suddenly, Nadiya runs up to me and squeals with excitement “ma’am, look my toy is working.!” and dips her straw into a glass of water and blows from the other end and the toy squirts out some water in a circular motion that seemed like a sprinkler to me. A few of her friends gathered around her to examine the toy and questioned her on how it worked so perfectly! Nadiya replied with a clear hint of pride in her tone, “did you not see sir place the straws? The angle needs to be right, come I will help you” and she goes skipping with her friends tailing behind her.

This is just one of the many happy classroom stories. Science classes have gone through a radical change in the school. Gone are the days where science classes were all about the million definitions, the book back exercises and neat note books. The school always had a vision to provide a holistic education to children and Mantra envisions to make this a reality, hence Partnering with Innovation and Science Promotion Foundation (ISPF), we have found the perfect way to make the science classes come alive in the classroom.

ISPF is a foundation that helps children learn the various concepts of science through their various toys. They set up labs in school where they provide all the materials required to make these toys. They conduct regular ongoing training sessions with the teachers to map the curriculum with the toys and help them with instructional support.

Someone once said, “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge”. Science cannot be contained within the four walls of the classroom or in their textbooks, science makes sense when a child is allowed to experience it.  With the involvement of ISPF in the classrooms, science now seems like a fun class to be in.

To Quote Shabir (a student), “ma’am lets have 2 periods of science everyday”. 

Now this is where I see my purpose of education.

Taking responsibility to reinstate parents' faith in education

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Amrutha Krishnan, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change.

Aisha ma'am comes forth to practice her welcome address; teachers, the HM (head mistress ) and I wait patiently often coming up with words of encouragement when she fumbled with her piece of paper with the welcome address on it.

Let me introduce you, my friends, to the setting. 

The setting is a classroom around late afternoon. Teachers and the head mistress have come to the room and are enthusiastic about what was happening. 

The context: a parent-teachers meeting to be held three days after. This mind you, is the holy month of Ramzan. Everyone, with an exception of myself, are undergoing the rigorous fast that Muslims keep in order to feel the hunger pangs of the poor so that they are more empathetic to them in the coming months. For most teachers, it is the first time that they had to speak in English in front of an adult crowd. But they were willing to, to reinstate the parents' faith in education.

You know that there is a slow but steady metamorphosis happening when the staff at your partner school stays back after school hours, instead of waiting to bolt, just to practice their part for a parent -teachers meeting. 

You know priorities have shifted from questions over breakfast menu to questions about their child's education when parents turn up in tens at a time to attend the meeting. 

You know the focus has shifted from taking offence at statements to improving the delivery of education to kids when the entire staff cocks their ears and listens intently to the concerns of the parents.

You just know that you work in an organisation that works with a passion to change when the head mistress of the school delivers a powerful speech on how education can't be bought, but has to be shared; and you have goose bumps on your hands. 

The icing on the cake is when the founder of the school does not talk about money, but patiently explains to the parents that recruitment of teachers is not based on caste, creed or colour, rather on their ability to impart wisdom to "our children". OUR CHILDREN. That was one of the highlights of the meeting. That is a power packed phrase.

For, to take responsibility is the first indication that the plan is working!

Scholarships for bright minds: Baby steps to a brighter future

- The blog piece has been written by Ms. Amrutha Krishnan, who works as the School Transformation lead at Mantra4Change.

"Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours." - Les Brown

I am not sure if this is what Gautam (or Gautam bhaiyya as he is being called by a select few students in our school) thought of, sitting miles away in Middle East when he decided to support and fund higher secondary education of 10 girls. But his generous donation to the cause, along with that of Altimetrik India Pvt Ltd, has just lifted that financial hurdle that had hindered academic progress for many a 15 and 16 year old girls - those girls who would have, had it not been for this act, gotten married at a tender age instead of challenging their bright young minds further; the minds that fought all odds to get the right numbers on their mark sheets..!

The scholarship event was held at one of our partner schools in Goripalya area. We awarded the certificates and the scholarship amount to 10 young girls in presence of their parents, who committed that they won't compromise on continuing higher education of their girls.

At MANTRA, we try to do what we can to bring sustainable change in the education landscape; and the scholarship function at Goripalya was one such attempt that we hope to sustain and to continue to hold the lamp aloft for children with the will to pursue higher education.

Donations and funds help us a great deal, but only till the school threshold; for if they don't make their way to the students then all is awry. Sometimes, it takes a conscious good deed and at times, a random gesture of goodwill or a helpful contact that may change lives forever.

If you would like to contribute towards children from under-privileged sections of our society get access to better education, please write to us.

Let's join hands to make quality education available to all kids, no matter where they come from..!

 

 
 

How a 'Jhopri' school (school in a hut) became a temple of learning.

Less than a kilometre away from the busy KR Market in Bangalore is a government school, which is an epitome of effective community participation.

Not many years ago, this school was known as the ‘Jhopri School’, i.e school in a hut.  It was a dilapidated structure with walls adjacent to a cemetery. Today, the school boasts of a three storey building, providing education to over 700 children from the community. This is purely a consequence of community participation and persistent advocacy to the elected representatives.

Towards its vision to impart quality education to its students, the school opened its arms to us - Mantra4Change. To read more, how this school got transformed into a temple of learning, please click here.