Stories about the people I’ve met — students, strangers, and everyone in between who left something behind
Five years ago, a boy named Jeevan joined our classes. He wasn’t the brightest student in the room, but he was probably the most alert. Every now and then, while I was teaching, a hand would go up. “Sir… that’s a spelling mistake.” Or… “Sir… that sentence isn’t grammatically correct.” I eventually gave him a…
There was a time when walking into a bank felt like walking into a battlefield. I would enter armed with facts, rules and confidence. If something was wrong, I would make sure the staff knew it. I was a Chartered Accountant, and somewhere deep inside I believed that if I spoke forcefully enough, quoted enough…
I have always identified my existence with teaching. It was never accidental. It was instinctive. I pursued Chartered Accountancy because it offered security – something I believed teaching could not. Practice was more lucrative. More predictable. More socially reassuring. But Teaching was passion. Practice was prudence. For years, prudence won. It took me until after…
I have always been an impatient child. Yes there was no 2-Minute Maggie Noodles when I was a child, but my anxiety would be the same. Patience was never my play. I was certainly enthusiastic but my Aunt would label it as a rustic behavior. It was always my mother who knew me too well….
How effective feedback transforms speakers, evaluators, and audiences alike Author line:By CA Kiran Vasant, DTMProact Toastmasters, Mangalore If our communication must improve, it has to follow a continuous cycle: Self-awareness alone is not enough. Growth happens only when feedback is accepted, applied, and reviewed repeatedly. Why Speech Evaluations Matter Feedback ensures that what we convey…
🎉 This Happened at a Party… This happened at a party. I was happily sipping clear water when a gentleman walked up to me and said: “Hey, how come you don’t drink? You know whiskey is actually good for the heart. And by the way, where do you even get your protein from if you…
If you were looking for a lazy and lofty child in my class, it would be me. I must have been hardly 8 years of age. Teachers never hated me – they just did not want me in their class. I was a very disinterested child who thought going to school was a big punishment…
Here is another strong bit of wisdom that I picked from my mother. My mom was a very simple but extremely loving and caring woman. As a child, I had a huge problem. I was very plump. I was in class II and was a constant target of fun for my classmates. They would keep…