Building development perspectives from cultural events: Holi festival celebrations in TDA

By Shanti Gupta

Tata-Dhan Academy is an institute which provides opportunities for students to visualize their professional life as development managers. But the lessons we learn don’t all come from the classroom or the field–sometimes, even a traditional celebration helps bring new perspectives for the development professional.

India culture and heritage is incredibly rich. At the Academy, the students in PDM 11 and 12 represent both northern and southern states, providing an opportunity to experience and learn more about this rich culture. For example, in the northern states, Holi, a festival of colours, is widely celebrated. Last year, with PDM 10, we had a good celebration, and building on this, we decided to celebrate with some value addition. This year, for example, we did Holika Dahan and an ethnic lunch.

Filed under: General TDA, Non-Academic, PDM 11, PDM 12, Holi, PDM 11, PDM 12, Shanti Gupta

Yukti 2012: Thiagarajar School of Management’s annual “Management Meet”

By Yogesh Bhatt

PDM 11 and PDM 12 students making a presentation as part of the "Product Launch" competition at Yukti 2012.

Usually it is very difficult to get time from the hectic classroom sessions at the Academy, but this year, from 2 to 4 of March 2012, PDM 11 and PDM 12 students got permission to participate in a management festival, Yukti 2012, organised by Thiagarajar School of Management (TSM), Madurai. Yukti 2012 was a special occasion because the event was unique, the stage was vibrant with competition, performers were highly enthusiastic, and–best of all–PDM students were eager to prove themselves.

Filed under: Non-Academic, PDM 11, PDM 12, competitions, PDM 11, PDM 12, Thiagarajar School of Management, Yogesh Bhatt, Yukti 2012

Raising Awareness on Republic Day

By Shweta Hegde

Ishwarya M interacts with students of Melamattiyan village primary school during the republic day programme conducted by the PDM 12 batch.

On 26 January 2012, the PDM 12 batch awoke early to a nice cold breezy morning. We all put on white clothes and walked over to the front of our Academy where we were welcomed by the pleasant sound of patriotic songs. Each of the Academy’s students and staff who were present, several DHAN Foundation staff (who were participating in a short-duration “Development Management Appreciation Training” programme), and the villagers who had joined us, pinned an Indian flag over their hearts.

Filed under: General TDA, Non-Academic, PDM 12, Republic Day, Shweta Hegde, village adoption

Some art showing up around the campus

While we are working on editing a few articles for posting here, I thought I would share two photos of some of the art showing up around the TDA campus.

Here are two paperweights made of broken pieces of granite, painted by Seema (PDM 12).

I’ll post more as they appear, and look out for a few articles from students in the next couple of weeks!

Filed under: Non-Academic, PDM 12, art, paperweights, Seema

The Badminton Battles

Badminton was scheduled for the third day of sports week, coordinated by Shanti and supported by Pashupati and Sandeep. Four players were selected from each house to participate in the competition. The first match was between Milkha Singh and Dhyan Chandra houses, followed by a match between P. T. Usha and Dhyan Chandra houses. In the semi-final games, V. Anand house won against P. T. Usha house with a closing score of 11-3. In the second match, Milkha Singh I won over Milkha Singh II with a closing score of 11-8.

Filed under: Non-Academic, PDM 11, PDM 12, Uncategorized, badminton, PDM 11, PDM 12, sports week

Play Ball!!!

Yesterday at the Academy, students and staff members participated in a cricket match. (Unfortunately, since faculty were busy in a meeting at DHAN’s Central Office, they could not participate.)

Filed under: Non-Academic, PDM 11, PDM 12, cricket, PDM 11, PDM 12, sports week

Inauguration of Sports Week 2011

The Tata-Dhan Academy is an institute devoted to development studies, known for its very busy classroom sessions and academic excellence since its establishment one decade ago. But that doesn’t mean the time is without any games!

Filed under: Non-Academic, PDM 11, PDM 12, PDM 11, PDM 12, sports week

First Monsoon Shower in Madurai

By Yogesh Bhatt

Date: 30th May. Time 6:30 pm. I was working on my laptop. My window was open I was enjoying the cool outside breeze. I didn’t realize that this cool breeze carried rainfall with itself until I heard the peal of thunder outside.

Usually, it happens that whenever my friends and I get this type of opportunity, we immediately start to enjoy the moment. This time, I did not know that what was happening—why weren’t these guys outside jumping in the rain?

Filed under: Non-Academic, PDM 11, PDM 11, student life, Yogesh Bhatt

Indian Widows: A struggle for survival

By Ravi Raj

On 05 February, 2011, after a long gap, we resumed the flim-club activities with the screening of “India Widows’, a short documentary that presents the condition in India for widows, particlarly elderly widows. The documentary depicted the situation for women in India where, often, after the death of a husband, the widowed wife is not accepted by society, but instead, is treated like a sin. Many times, even the woman’s children will neglect her, often throwing their mother out of the house. The widows are seen as a liability and an extra expense burden that the children do not want to take on.

Filed under: Non-Academic, PDM 11, film club, Ravi Raj, social development, widows

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat: Is a salute enough for development?

By Shanti Gupta

For the past five years, I have been thinking that the way I’ve always celebrated Republic Day is insufficient. In my college and in many formal and informal institutions, the “traditional” way of celebrating Republic Day has become simply gathering in a common place, saluting the flag, talking about our great leaders for a couple of minutes, and at last having some sweets; but, is this enough? I thought about it, and felt that “Oh, I’m a student. So, my responsibility is to study and respect my parents. These are my duties.” In this way, I satisfied myself. But this satisfaction was short-term. Another national festival would come every August, and again, subconsciously, I used to ask myself what I could do for the country’s development. I felt that I had the potential to serve under-represented members of society, but to do so, I would need a platform to enhance my knowledge and skill on how to develop the country.

Filed under: General TDA, Non-Academic, PDM 11, PDM 11, Republic Day, Shanti Gupta, village activities