Veering off the Hyderabad highway around midnight of April 19th, I pulled into Raxa Academy, hardly realizing that the next two days would present life-altering perspectives and journeys. As a summer sun began sizzling the following morn, it did help in melting the ice between us trainees who gathered from across the nation. From the mixer-blender, past the ground rules, we were soon asking ourselves, “Who am I?” Are we fishes struggling to climb trees, or are we creators of our destiny well ensconced in the palm of our hand…?
Chinese whispers produced hilarious outcomes, but let not the message be lost -discretion and attention to detail are critical to effective communication. Gaining confidence in public speaking is key to giving wings to ideas and thoughts. Countless might be the opportunities lost for want of confidence in speaking up. ‘Minefield’, ‘build a product’ and other exercises helped cement personal bonds that could possibly last a lifetime. However, the grand takeaway is that, while all of this facilitated us growing into better trainers, we were subtly getting transformed into better human beings.
A real eye-opener was the session on gender sensitization, breaking many inherent and not-so-apparent stereotypes we might have. Testing times and photo ops later, as the blazing embers extinguished themselves behind the trees on the western horizon, there came that most poignant time of bidding adieu. The skies opened up on the way back, partly in nostalgia and partly in closure. Deep within, however, there prevailed a longing to be back among warm hearts and dedicated souls, to uncork all that bottled fire across the landscape, a fire that will ignite minds and lives!
Kiran Joseph
NCC Republic Day Camp, 1989
Indo-Canada Youth Exchange Programme, 1989-90
