Jagriti Yatra 2017 – Day 3 – Dec 26: Through the Western Ghats to Tip of the Peninsula

Nastha in my Cohort, 19B

Leadership session

The day started with excellent Leadership session. Key takeaways:

1. Make use of both Left mind (Logical, Mechanical) and Right mind (Creative, Human). Find the balance.
2. On decision making, when enough data is not available, make good use of Intuition. But to do that, you need a calm relaxed mind.
3. As a leader take care of your Perceptions and Beliefs. With a wrong perception which is incepted in your mind because of the upbringing, you are gonna mess up Huge.
4. To improve your perceptions, 1) Go to your Base, Core 2) Challenge your Belief systems.

Leadership session

Example – Survival of Fittest

1. Do you think this Phrase is coined by Charles Darwin, the father of Evolution?
2. No. It was coined by Herbert Spencer after reading through Darwin’s theory.
3. Darwin explained only about Natural selection.
4. If the answer for the above Question is Yes, that’s a good example and a big reason why you need to question yourself and challenge your belief systems.

To put the same in the words of my Inspiration, Bhagat Singh

Any man who stands for progress has to criticize, disbelieve and challenge every item of the old faith – Bhagat Singh.

Some punch lines

1. You can’t demand anything from anybody else, what you can’t do by yourself.
2. When you do business, do business. When you do charity, do charity.
3. Fail fast, Learn quickly.
4. Being in office for 20 years and still entering the office on Monday with a big wonder how this day is going to be -> Love this

Session on Vivekananda

Then next session is on Vivekananda’s bold ideas. A short briefing was given on Vivekananda’s big bold idea of United India. After the briefing, a quick Idea pitch fest happened. The only criteria being the Idea should be Big and Bold.

We from the dynamically formed Catalyst team, presented Grassroots App idea. Tushar initiated and Pallavi gave a very good perspective on the System. Then I briefed on the App. But I failed to deliver a punching tagline to finish. Damn me. Cursed myself later!

It’s amazing how Pallavi could grasp the whole idea in couple of minutes of conversation and deliver it neatly. Post the session, we got a good response like People enquiring the URL of the App, the sustainability model and all.

Vivekananda session on Big, blog ideas

Competitor/Collaborator?

Met with Abhiba after the session and very surprised to hear about their Startup which is much similar to our, Grassroots App idea. They are working on a NGO Management system called `Manage my NGO` and also provide IT solutions to NGOs and Social entrepreuneurs.

Then we reached Kanyakumari only around 6PM and didn’t get to go to Vivekananda’s rock memorial. Guess I am meant to go to the rock only by Swimming, as he did. Anyways, we went to nearby place from where we could get a very good amazing view of it and the awe inspiring, maginificant Indian ocean in front of us.

My mobile camera does a very serious Injustice to the actual experience that one get there

Kendra Vidhyalaya, Kanyakumari

An interesting note:

1. We started this 2017 with a 800 kms Cycling awareness drive on Impacts of Drunk and drive. We started that from Kanyakumari and ended at Chennai. Before we start, we stayed in Kendra Vidhyalaya, Kanyakumari
2. Now at the end of 2017, I am going on a 8000 kms pan india Train drive on Social Enterprise with the tagline, building India through Enterprise. And we visited Kendra Vidhyalaya, walking through the same streets that we walked in the start of the year.

What a Nostalgic and connecting incident.

Inspiring session @ Kendra Vidhyalaya

Some takeaways:

1. We got into a LIVE call with Kiran Bedi. She inspired us with her amazing 5 mins call.
2. Shed the colonial Heritage of thinking small and start thinking of Big, Bold ideas.
3. Mahatma was a Mohan once. Vivekananda was a Naren once. So who knows who you will be. Take a bold idea, that pushes you, evolves you to a whole different level. FUCK YEAH. I am at MY HIGH.
4. Get rid of Regionalism, Languagism and build a National Culture. My personal opinion: Damn with even nationalism, Fuck even Planetism and become an Amazing mystical, magical Stardust in this Infinite Cosmos.
5. Surround yourself with Great people.
6. Build a great Idea so it is picked by others and everyone builds on it. Eventually it becomes a National idea.

With this motivating session, Day 3 had an amazing end.

Protest is important, but building is far more important. Let’s build India through Enterprise – Shashank Mani, Chairman, Jagriti

For other day experiences, visit the Summary page