T his is how Robert Louis Stevenson captured the entire gamut of issues relating to learning and education and its purpose. The core idea of education is to allow every child an opportunity and scope to learn what he or she wishes to do -- in life. Another dimension to the method and manner of education is to help the child find life’s purpose -- by offering him or her the scope to do things of his or her choice. And then, there is yet another dimension that is far more crucial to the element of joy ..

Anonymous Q. I have been reading your columns in ‘The Hitavada’ newspaper for quite some time and they have been very interesting and helpful. I was recently promoted to Class 12 (PCM). I used to be a good student and got very good results in Class 10th. But in Class 11th, with the pandemic going on and studies going online, I completely lost..

Q. I want to pursue Psychology after 12th grade. I'll get promoted to 12th standard this year and want to know about courses that I can opt for. I wanted advice if I should pursue MBBS first and then go for Psychology, or directly do a B.Sc. in Psychology after passing 12th standard? Are there any other courses I can opt for, since I have knowledge about B.Sc. course only? I request you to please guide me. Thank you...

Q. I am confused about my situation. I was very good friends with a guy in college. But when he cheated on me, I broke all contact. But the girl he was dating then, was cheating on him. And I told him the same. We became very close again after that. Months passed: he told me that they broke up. I asked him to show me the chat on his phone. But he refused. I got hurt but I trusted him again thinking that he needs some space and privacy.This time my feelings for him were not that strong because I was ..

Often one hears of X or Y nationState turning into a ‘Surveillance State’ or ‘police state’. The activists vociferous about the use of these terms often are associated with groups that come up with reports projecting one or the other country as acting against privacy of people or suppressing the so-called democratization of data. However, none of these activists sadly raise the question as to ‘who’ is helping such nation-States with technologies used in ‘surveillance’? Here comes the role of non-State ..

Q. I love a girl and want to marry her. She is from another caste and family is conservative. I am scared to tell her, but I know she knows that I love her. Her friends tease her with my name. She is the best girl in the world and she is best for me. I cannot think of anyone else, I have been liking her and loving her from many years. How to proceed further is the biggest problem. What if she rejects me, the fear of which leaves me with a broken heart. Please help me. I don't have a brother or sister ..

Q. I am a student of first year college and I am confused about my career. I have taken Commerce, but I feel it is not my line of choice. I don’t know what I want to do and I never enjoyed my studies in school. I was more of an outdoor person enjoying meeting people, sports, games and parties. My father is a businessman and wants me to join the business and therefore asked me to take Commerce. I seem to enjoy travelling photography and seeing new cultures. I truly don’t know what I am supposed ..

S.M.K Q.: At 16 years of age, I am a very confused person. I did very well in my 10th CBSE exam despite the coronavirus pandemic. Then everything got stalled. But at home, a storm raged about my possible career choice. My family wants me to pursue Engineering -- IIT in particular. They have been pushing me to join this or that tuition class and then prepare for national entrance tests. My elder sister is pushing ..

Q1: My brother is in Class 10. He does not study at all, rather goes out whole day with some bad boys. He keeps our mother’s phone all the time with him and does not give it back to her. He back-answers, uses abusive words, does not listen to parents. So many arguments take place between my mom and him.Whenever this happens, I get stressed out. Sometimes, I start crying and over-react at times.I don’t understand w..

Q1: My father is 65 years old and is suffering from diabetes and hypertension. He has not been well for a month, and was admitted to a hospital last month for a few days. He has not recovered still. This is making me very worried about him. I am not able to have good night’s sleep and get bad dreams of death. This is affecting my health. I am unable to concentrate on my work. How do I come out of this situation?..

Q.: Me and my friend had break-up with our partners and we told each other about that. He still follows ex-girl friend who does not respond to him at all. She loves some other guy with whom, too, she is uncertain. But my friend’s behaviour for me is bothering me sometimes as he is happy with me chatting all ..

Q1. I was in a relationship for three years. Then she moved out of the city and one day she told me that I am not fit for her future, because she wants normal life consisting of husband and kids, which being a girl I cannot give her. She was never committed to me. But I was very confident about my love. That I thought would be impossible for her to get over me. I was wrong. She made out with a guy in her city and probably she is in love with him. I am doing fine. I am just a normal person with people ..

Although we consider criticism to be negative, it can actually be positive in helping us improve ourselves. In fact, no one enjoys criticism. We would like to believe that whatever we do is right even though we know that it is not true. When we do make mistakes, we would rather pretend that no one has noticed. But people do notice and sometimes they point out our errors. It may be their intention that we don’t repeat those mistakes in fu..

Q. My friend left me and is always showing anger when I call her. She says not to disturb her as she is studying hard and wants to become a big person. She is very ambitious and was planning to go abroad for higher education. Even in the lockdown condition, she continues to say India is not so good as foreign universities and she must go out. I don’t want to leave India and I have to look after my parents as I am a single child of my parents. They love me and I care for my mother a lot. My father ..

I talian astronomer-physicist Galileo Galilei had some torrid time in the 1630s- he wasinpoorhealth, faced a house arrest and a trial due to a controversial book and also had to undergo quarantine for almost a month becauseoftheragingplaguethen,recounts a new book. Galileo and the Science Deniers is a historical biography on the life of Galileo by astrophysicist Mario Livio which gives a glimpse into the life of a “manwho was intellectually radical and well ahead of his time”. Galileo’s journey as ..

Q. I am 34 years old. I was an average student and working in the Middle East since 2017. My father passed away 10 years ago. I have faced many money-related difficulties in my life. We are a family of four siblings consisting of an elder sister, elder brother and a younger brother. Only my elder brother is married. These days, I am under a bit of a pressure to get married, but finding a life partner is not easy. Moreover, in my company, we are entitled to 60 days leave after completion of two years ..

There is the story of the Zen Master who considered a thief to be one of his teachers. He stayed with the thief for three months. Every night the thief would go out to steal and he would return empty handed. But he continued his efforts because he believed that one day he would be successful. It became clear that anyone who had the patience that the thief had was bound to succeed. There was a father who used to play with his son everyday, when he returned from office. One day he was not in a mood ..

There is something extremely belligerent about the way development is imagined in today’s world. The intent of development is so consumed by individual measures of profitability that the greater good is hardly ever on the radar. Not only are these extremely myopic futuristic strategies, but also highly self-centered. The turning away of one’s focus from the bigger picture or simply by putting on blinders of ignorance will not push the problem away from the human race. In fact by doing so, the threat ..

Once a great painter was sitting and throwing stones into a wayside pool and watching the play of light and shade upon the ripples. An ordinary man moving towards the town saw him and envied him. The ordinary man has to work throughout the day but this fellow was wasting his time. The painter was doing nothing constructive. The ordinary person murmuring and mumbling went to town and was returning after performing his task. He was amazed to see the same painter sitting near the same pool and throwing ..

Q. I am in job but now I fear they are dropping people one by one. They are asking us to take less salary and many have said yes and some have said no Ithink. My anxiety has gone up and I cannot sleep. I have a family to take care of. What should I do? Should I look for some kind of business?..

A Mother Q. My son is in college and due to Covid he is at home with us and doing nothing. I keep telling him to study a bit daily, otherwise he will lose touch with subjects and will spoil his habit too. His father does not say anything to him at all for he is also doing nothing sitting at home. He does not even talk to him or discuss with him future situation. All they do is eat, sleep and watch TV the whole day. Please advise...

Q. I would like to state my issue. I fell for a respectable man four years ago. We met through family. I was swept by him because I found him a balanced person. We continued with chats for more than a year. He never committed. He was a divorcee, who didn't want to take the plunge again, but I liked his friendship as he was intelligent and grounded. Gradually he started losing interest. For the past 19 months he has read my posts, but not responded. I feel traumatised. My requests have no effect. I ..

Q.Ma'am, I hadmyBoardexams (PCB) now I am preparing for NEET exam. Earlier, when I confronted my parents about my interest of pursuing in Medical field, they disapproved, demoralised and were highly critical about it. Now they want me to do that when I changed my mind. Ma'am I want to join Civil Services, please tell me which subjects to choose after 12th. Thanks!..

Four hangings as splints for a fracturing land. In caste-inequity normative India -- where mythology is becoming history, politically-inconvenient histories being pathologised, “antinational” students baton-whipped, minorities being demonised, rights selectively denied: all, viscerally-approved by majoritarianism -- its as if these hangings ..

Q. I am a guy, age 20. I have this feeling which doesn’t go away, unless I make myself busy. This feeling asks for affection, a human touch (hugs, holding hands, etc.), talking to someone without feeling insecure, etc. This feeling, this state, just doesn't goes away, why? Does day dreaming/wishful thinking about some imaginative and nonexisting situations makes me feel better? Probably, yes. Also, being asocial kind, I don't have many friends as there are very few people I find interesting. Many ..

Yes, its exam time and tension is in the air! You don’t mention what level of studies you are in- whether school or college? Of-course it does not matter for an exam is just that for all appearing. Students who are fairly disciplined with their studies on a regular basis are better equipped to appear for the final exam. Their stress levels are low as their preparedness is on a higher level. Students with high levels of stress suffer due to various reasonsone is irregular disciplined study, second ..

Economics is an evergreen subject and much in demand now with the globalization scene. Its scope is vast and the job opportunities are many too. Besides the Niti Ayog (what was called the Planning Commission earlier) where you could work, the banking sector is a huge sector for employment of economists. They work as financial risk analysts, financial planners and mathematics is a combination to have along with economics...