Weeknote 45 – Kalari in the Western Ghats

A glimpse of the past week and the few articles, podcasts, tools, videos and music that captivated my attention:

All of this week was spent facilitating an educational tour in Kochi and Munnar for a group of 50 kids and 5 teachers. With a robust blend of experiential learning(a day in a tree plantation), adventure activities (Tree Jumaring, High ropes, Kayaking, High ropes, zip-lining, slacklining), team building activities(Raft building, Treasure hunt, Rangoli) and Cultural immersion activities(Kalaripayettu, mock Onam celebrations, Kerala Sadya), the last few days were pretty densely packed.

Highlight of the trip was a stellar performance by the Kalaripayettu team. Having these artists perform at dusk with the western Ghats in the backdrop engulfed by crisp and nippy mountain air and the brilliant charcoal embers, was truly an outstanding experience.

Felt good to be back on the end-to-end planning, logistics and organization front for a large group after a few years.While the trip went really well, I think it did give me multiple pointers on certain aspects of the planning and execution I much rather delegate. Also, teachers, with their inherent urge to ‘control’ students can at times be a hard bunch to manage. The last few days posed some interesting instances when we had to find that medium to balance the program goals with the sometimes orthodox mindsets of the teachers.

Meena and Shasta would be joining me in Trivandrum later today. With the densely packed schedule and almost no network, I had very limited time to connect with them. The family has also taken ill and hoping they get better soon.

Interesting podcasts this week:

• Edward Snowden Tells NPR: The Executive Branch ‘Sort Of Hacked The Constitution’

Interesting tools this week:

• Awesome-Privacy: A list of handy tools to take better charge on privacy.
• Caltopo: Backcountry Mapping App.
• BackcountrySOS: Nifty app to provide status and location information to emergency personnel. Also, GaiaGPS
• GRE vocab cartoons: An interesting resource to tap into for vocab building.

Interesting reads this week:

• The 7-Year Car Loan: Watch Your Wallet: Costly non-prudent indulgences and duh – Isn’t it pure common-sense? We had a terrific experience when purchasing our Smart for two back in 2015. Quite likely because we had done all the groundwork and knew exactly what we were looking for.
• ACLU:The FBI is Tracking Our Faces in Secret. We’re Suing.: In the race to data-prowess and the seething cyber-war(s) that nations across the hemispheres are edging towards, the definition of privacy and the veiled enforcement of security is taking different turns.
• I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb: On Airbnb’s lax policies and the resounding issues plaguing the rental property market.
• ‘A dizzying maze’: how the UK immigration system is geared to reject: Global good vs. Domestic stabiity. Isn’t any immigration system more or less at this wierd juncture?
• Some home devices can be controlled with lasers: I’m highly skeptical(read never use) of these devices and this article further pushes me in the right direction.

And, that’s a wrap!