Tides of Thoughts

It was in late Feb 2020 that the Indian government decided to shut down all the educational institutions indefinitely as a part of the fight against the pandemic, COVID19. A similar situation prevailed in other countries, too. Given the acute stress of the alarming infection rates of COVID19, all the schools and colleges complied with the regulation. But at the same time, the management of the educational institutions is bothered due to chronic stress associated with the long-term plans of the institutions and the uncertainty about resuming classes. This stress extended further to the ed-tech companies supporting these institutions technically and academically. To support the ongoing academic activities, some schools and Ed-tech companies came up with a solution to provide virtual classes and training to students and teachers by mid-April. While the institutions provided infrastructure support, the Ed-tech companies restructured their products to suit the virtual programs. ...

Once upon a time, there lived a boy in a small town. One day, he was playing in the sand. As the boy was digging the sand, he found a wonderful peanut-sized stone in a mesmerizing and intense blue shade. The boy looked at it with fascination and astonishment for some time. He stopped playing and took the stone to his house. He held the stone tight in his hand not to lose it. The stone had some sharp edges and so the boy got injured when he held it tight. When he reached his home, he showed the stone to his mother. The mother got worried about the wound and she asked the boy to throw away the stone. The boy was stubborn and kept the stone in his cupboard. He used to check the stone daily in the morning and before going to sleep. Years later, the boy’s father thought of buying a diamond ring for him and took him to the jeweller. The boy, fascinated by the stone argued with his father to have the bluestone in the ring instead of the diamond. After a lot of contemplati...

I am like a child playing in the sand on the seashore. I build castles with the sand. Often, those are destroyed by the monstrous tides. The tides never get tired neither do I. A stranger asked the child in me about why I built castles when they were being destroyed by the tides. The child in me smiled and replied "I find solace in playing with the sand. I am neither bothered by the tides nor with the castles." The stranger shrugged and walked away. A fresh tide came and wiped the castle again. It's only the tides, sand, and me. I am busy building a castle again.