Let’s Nurture ART throughout Life ! - By Shamika Khatawkar

Every Child is an Artist. The problem is staying one when you group up!

We all are blessed to stay on this beautiful planet. Every second, on this magnificent planet, a life is conceived; and at every other, a new life is born. As these seconds pass by, these new born lives; grow, develop and they start witnessing what we call ‘Life’. 

These newly born, are then given the prettiest names by their creators ‘their parents’ and they begin their journey of: exploration, creation, invention and experimentation. As they grow, each parent invests enormous efforts in their upbringing and ensures that the little one gets the best of everything. These tiny tots then learn to speak a language. They learn to converse and express their random thoughts, feelings and emotions to the best of their ability. They begin their schooling; where they learn the fundamentals of every subject: vocabulary, numbers, science or even Art for that matter. 

Initial years of schooling for most children are super fun, as there is a greater emphasis on imparting education in a holistic and fun way. Learning is colorful in all terms, it is more visual, auditory and kin aesthetic in nature. Children get several opportunities to express their creative and Artistic edge. They acquire, observe and grasp things with ease; and are open to commit mistakes.

It is in these years, that kids develop a very strong bond with Art.Further, the school environment and family members also facilitate the bond by providing encouragement to these young minds; so that they experience the different shades of Art while learning at school or elsewhere. Hence, we can see children explore the domain of Art through drawing, painting, sculpting, clay work, play or even dance and music for that matter.

While at home, the walls of the rooms become nothing but large canvases to draw and scribble. Newspapers become more useful for making airplanes, paper boats and origami, than for reading. Used bottles, card boards, buttons and tins become raw material for most school projects. Life for them becomes truly experiential in all terms. It revolves around actually creating things and learning from them.

As kids grow, keeping Art alive is no longer the focus as it was before. The reason being, other subjects are given more importance by the school and parents. Kids often hear every one saying, “Now other subjects such as math, science and computers should be your priority; as these subjects are going define your future; so you better focus only on them”.

This situation is further worsened when the teaching methodology becomes more academic and children have to learn everything the ‘Rote Way’. An element of experiential learning is now, nowhere even close to existence.  As kids climb the  grade ladder, from 7^th to 8^th, 8^th to 9^th and so on,rote learning becomes  even more dominant at every grade;and there comes a time,

when these kids are no longer in touch with the Art which lived in them before. These kids have simply forgotten the strong bond they shared with Art! They have forgotten that Art was something which made their life so colorful and learning so much fun. Unfortunately, this is a personal loss for these kids and that too unknowingly!

So, who is to be held responsible for this loss? Who is to be blamed for this separation of kids from Art?

Is it the educational system? The parents? Or the kids themselves? 

Bridge the Gap between Skills Acquired and Skills Needed : By Latika Kaul

Psychology in India is finally on the verge of receiving the recognition it deserves. It has been studied since time immemorial. It may not have been a specific, singular subject, but studying human behaviour has been a fascination of many, including mine.  And so I did. For seven long years. Finally, I completed my Post Graduation in psychology and started my very first job. After six months of

working I have come to the realization that there is a huge difference between the psychology that I have studied and the psychology that I am currently using, which amounts to almost nothing.

This has led me to wonder how many more people face this issue of being unable to apply their education to their work. Since, I have no experience in other fields; I will stick to Psychology and try to put forth reasons as to why this is happening. To understand this better, dear reader, you first need to understand my subject. So, I will try to sum it up briefly as sadly there are still many who are unaware of the relevance of this subject.

For those who have little or no idea about psychology, psychologists cannot read your minds, (that territory belongs to the psychics). We definitely cannot make your children more intelligent or your personality more attractive. And unfortunately, in most cases we are not those stylish men and women who use this behavioural science to catch criminals like they might show in popular television series like Criminal Minds or CSI (“In most cases”, there is still hope!!!).

Psychology actually comes from the Greek words, ‘psyche’, meaning life, and ‘logos’, meaning explanation or reason. Psychology can be defined as the science of human and animal behaviour; it includes the application of this science to human problems. (Morgan et al). Studying human behaviour, as you may have guessed encompasses a lot. So naturally, psychology is divided into branches or specialities and not limited to treating mental patients as many perceive it to be. These specialities or areas extend from child psychology to geriatrics (elderly) psychology, from cognitive to neurosciences, educational, clinical, industrial etc. The last branch, Industrial and Organizational Psychology is my area of work.

The APA (The American Psychological Association) defines Industrial and Organizational Psychology as:

The specialty of industrial-organizational psychology (IO Psychology) is characterized by the scientific study of human behaviour in organizations and the work place. The specialty focuses on deriving principles of individuals, groups and organizational behaviour and applying this knowledge to the solution of problems at work.
I hope by now my readers have the very basic idea of what psychology is and isn’t.  At last, I come to the crux of my article.

In my experience the issue that I and many face in regard to not being able to apply psychology to their work is because of the following reasons. 

Awareness: Lack of awareness is a root cause of many problems faced by society and unfortunately psychology is a victim of it too. Even in our so called modern times, taking help from counsellors is considered a taboo by many. So many of my own friends and relatives are unable to comprehend- “Exactly what am I studying?” or “What jobs will I get?” Let me tell you, this is very frustrating and infuriating.

Having said this, the future may not be so bleak. Many psychologists in India are doing extremely well, great researches are being conducted and various beautiful therapies are being practiced. This trend has started in a few cities and now it’s upon us to carry it forward through more advanced courses, social media, workshops, sensitization programs etc.

Educational Institutes: Let be begin by saying that we are not all together bad in this front. India has many renowned institutes that are doing great work in this field. Delhi  University, Banaras Hindu University, IIPR (Indian Institute of Psychology and Research), Nimhans (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) to name a few.

These are like the IIM’S of Psychology and hence it is not possible for everyone to attend them. Largely, however, there is a dearth of good institutes that have psychology courses. This problem not only creates lack of qualified graduates but also teachers.

The novelty of this field means not many are studying it or are inclined towards it, many go abroad to study it and then settle there. The few experienced and passionate professors available opt for the big institutes leaving the rest with the less qualified faculty.

Another issue that I have personally faced is the syllabus. From the time I began studying Psychology in my 11th to my Masters which is almost 7 years, there has been almost no advancement in the syllabus. I am not saying that I have studied the exact same thing but a large number of topics have been repeated throughout these years. Some of course have been more detailed as my classes advanced but some of the subject matter has been identical in all these years.
Largely, colleges do not have the resources or the faculty to offer students the various areas of psychology as subjects. Therefore, the most common psychology course one will find will be clinical psychology, industrial and counselling taking the second place. Some may provide diploma courses in child psychology and few therapies and that’s about it.

This according to me is the biggest problem that we are currently facing. Due to this we are unable to be the cool, stylish people who solve crimes by studying the criminal’s behaviour or provide the much needed psychological assistance to our soldiers, or children with cognitive disabilities, or a married couple who wants to give their marriage a second chance. All of this and more only because a select few colleges actually provide these courses.

The gap between learned skills and required skills: Is teaching and providing courses enough? Certainly not. Application is what is important.  Now, this is the problem most of my classmates and me faced this year. I must have learnt over 3 dozen theories if not more during my post graduation. I have been working for 6 months now. How many theories have I used? Probably ten or less. This is

not because I am not well versed with them. But, mainly because the application of theories was something we never practiced. This becomes a critical problem in psychology as the subject is cramped with theories without actually understanding how to practice them. I am not saying that studying has been a waste.

Many concepts like TNA, performance management, recruitment etc have been very useful in my job but I was still not prepared for the intricacies of it all. For example, we studied training but never really learned how to make a lesson plan or design the content. We were not aware of the specifications that are needed in today’s market. Yet, we were still in a better position to handle things as our professors went out of their way and the syllabus to inform us about a lot many things. Other college students were not so lucky.

has been almost no advancement in the syllabus. I am not saying that I have studied the exact same thing but a large number of topics have been repeated throughout these years. Some of course have been more detailed as my classes advanced but some of the subject matter has been identical in all these years.Largely, colleges do not have the resources or the faculty to offer students the various areas of psychology as subjects.

Therefore, the most common psychology course one will find will be clinical psychology, industrial and counselling taking the second place. Some may provide diploma courses in child psychology and few therapies and that’s about it. This according to me is the biggest problem that we are currently facing. Due to this we are unable to be the cool, stylish people who solve crimes by studying the criminal’s behaviour or provide the much needed psychological assistance to our soldiers, or children with cognitive disabilities, or a married couple who wants to give their marriage a second chance. All of this and more only because a select few colleges actually provide these courses.

Health and Neurosciences) to name a few. These are like the IIM’S of Psychology and hence it is not possible for everyone to attend them. Largely, however, there is a dearth of good institutes that have psychology courses. This problem not only creates lack of qualified graduates but also teachers. The novelty of this field means not many are studying it or are inclined towards it, many go abroad to study it and then settle there.

The few experienced and passionate professors available opt for the big institutes leaving the rest with the less qualified faculty. started in a few cities and now it’s upon us to carry it forward through more advanced courses, social media, workshops, sensitization programs etc.

Another problem arises in job opportunities. Since psychology can still be considered a new field, my classmates and I did not expect millions of job opportunities. However, most of us found jobs in the first three to four months of finishing our Masters. What we have realized, rather I have realized is that the real world is much more different from our cosy classes.

I suppose this is true for every student that makes the transition from campus to corporate. And so I don’t want to talk for everyone, even students of psychology but only from my own experience in I/O psychology. What I have identified is that there is virtually no recognition or understanding of I/O to most people. Most big companies or MNC’s may have a vague idea or some even complete knowledge of I/O but still the level of acceptance is very low. This results in fewer job opportunities for IO psychologists especially over MBA students. 

 The industries are not solely to be blamed. The root cause could be the little or complete absence of a bridge between companies and colleges. I cannot stress enough the significance of this partnership. My batch mates and I learned this the hard way. Our final year dissertations and practicum’s were a nightmare, especially for IO kids. No company was ready to give us internships or opportunities for research and data collection, even if it meant a free analysis of their company or employees. Not that it stopped us; we were quite determined to convince people about the value of our field.

We all managed to finish our dissertations and practicum case load, presented our research papers in international and national conferences and won college to state level competitions. Our clinical batch mates did not disappoint either and came up with some unique researches that were also recognized in many national and international conferences.

Besides our amazing professors, the credit for this goes to the handful of individuals and companies who were willing to accept and work with our field. One of my classmates even got an internship opportunity, wherein she got to learn a great deal and also put forth her own thoughts from various psychological perspectives.

This is exactly what is needed. If the gap between the skills acquired by students and the skills needed for the jobs are not filled, then the companies will face the problem of finding the right candidates and the students will not find jobs. Therefore, for the perfect job fit the companies and colleges need to work hand in hand. This will help in aligning the college curriculum with the current job market place, thus solving the problems faced by the students and the companies. Once, these problems are tackled there is no stopping psychology.

Psychology is slowly but steadily making progress. Many colleges are now giving psychology its due credit. And, like I said the fact that almost my entire class got jobs indicates a bright future for this subject. There is a lot of hope and scope for budding psychologists. However, now the responsibility of taking psychology further is on our shoulders.

The proverbial baton/torch has been handed to us and now it’s our duty to run our course and hand it safely and proudly to the next generation. So let’s promise ourselves that from this coming New Year we will do our best to further the future of psychology in every little way we can. As Frost said (of course my rendition of it), 

Psychology is lovely, dark and deep,

We have promises to keep,

And miles to go before we sleep,

And miles to go before we sleep.

Self expression: By Shruti Nair

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with my camera. When images become inadequate, I shall tune in to my guitar and when the strings break, I shall resort to the language of silence”

As kids we were never worried about what we say. If you really observe children you’ll find that they don’t let social etiquettes or the feeling of not hurting the other person get in between their self expression. As we grow, learn more about the world, bag new experiences, we begin to limit ourselves when communicating with people.

Although some of us still have our younger self inside us and don’t fear or embarrass speaking our mind out. These people are often regarded as rude, insensitive but then what they really are, are a breath of fresh air in a world of constant guessing, contemplation and miscommunication.

There is another kind of expression that is wrongly presented as self-expression, the kind we use in media. Our thoughts, words, when speaking in a public medium, are often dependent on ‘what’s in trend’. Let’s not even get to the internet scammers or bullies; but even the general public who hardly post their opinion on trending topics, when they speak of their personal lives, are often analyzing, over analyzing if their ‘self-expression fits the right cut. Any restricted form of expression will not bear the feeling of being connected with one’s inner self, same as a self-expression will have.

To get down to really understanding what stops us from communicating our true thoughts, one must introspect on the famous quote of self-expression i.e. “self-expression must pass into communication for its fulfillment”.

Now, there are many ways one uses other forms of art for expression of one’s thoughts. Where some use painting, writing, music, others use riding, social service, cooking etc. using a productive medium to communicate one’s thoughts is the best way to deal with life’s unpredictable nature.

Speak the Truth when needed

Very often we leave a conversation feeling we didn’t say what we wanted to say or we fantasize about what we could’ve said. Learn to understand what stops you from speaking your mind in a conversation and work towards overcoming it. Speaking your mind politely and with sensitivity takes a lot of patience and practice.

Don’t find, but, define yourself

People often say, “I need to find my true self”. Well, you are living your “true self” every day. It’s not another person or an event but something you define within you. Hence, think deep and hard about how you would truly define yourself? A person’s experience of life is what defines them and their inner most self, it is expressed through the activities one mostly invests ones time in. So, first define your qualities and then the actions that truly define you.

Learn your choice of art

We all have our ways of expressing; it’s the one thing which makes us really satisfied. Observe what you do after you have had an unsatisfied conversation with someone. Do you listen to music? Do you watch movies? Do you start cooking? Do you pick up a pen and start writing? It may not be immediately but you will know when it happens. This will be your way of expressing which needs to be inculcated in your routine.

Take time to know yourself

How many of us really take some personal time out and think about ourselves? Do you really know what makes you angry? What is that one value that you will not compromise upon? What makes you truly happy?

Take time out and introspect on who you really are and define yourself. It makes things easier for you and people around you to live in harmony.

Pursue your Passion

We often mull over not being happy with what we do or not finding our passion. But passion is something you would have to already be doing; else it’s not your passion. There are some activities that we effortlessly do better than others. That’s where we should look for passion. I had a friend who mulled over not finding a job in engineering for 2 years but jumped with excitement when he got any animation assignment. Most of us would find it a tedious job but he did it quite effortlessly and skillfully. There are many such activities we do, and not realize that our passion has been staring at us all along.

Think about what a peaceful place this world would be if we all found our way of expressing!