Leadership and Folk Traditions # 2

Indus Day, Bangalore

22 February 2019

Introduction

There are two worlds that co-exist - the outer and the inner world. Both have

different laws, different realities, different perceptions and different possibilities.

For the past millennium, the focus in education has been in controlling the outer

world of materialism; of nature; of resources of the planet - gold, water, oil, minerals;

and people. Hence the emphasis on science, mathematics and pedagogy of the head.

This has all changed overnight. We are now at the start off the 4^th Industrial Age

dominated by Artificial Intelligence, deep-thinking and innovation. In this new

environment, there is a pronounced shift towards education of the inner world - the

world of happiness, meaning, compassion, innovation and emotions.

The purpose of education should be “to educate both the heart and the mind

and not the brain alone, in order to prepare a child to be a lifelong learner, to give

meaning to life, and unlock human potential to succeed in a VUCA world.”

This necessitates a shift: from teaching content, to teaching entrepreneurial

competencies - for application of knowledge to solve problems creatively.

In today’s digital world, acceleration is increasing; empathy is going downhill;

we do not have any time to pause and reconnect with ourselves and our dear ones;

and globalization is slowing down. In this scenario, we need a new operative

environment to manage the inner world, and nurture innovation.

We believe that folk art and aesthetic traditions - the language of the heart

and mind, will be the nucleus of this operative environment that will focus on:

Localism - think global but act local.

Identity - my roots; my culture.

Innovation

- the belief that man is born potential; with intrinsic

motivation, a positive environment and deliberate practice, he becomes

talent (Manganiars from the Desert of Rajasthan)

A key aspect of folk traditions (and even innovation) that has gone unnoticed

lies in the power of hands. There are more connections between the palm and the

brain than any other body part. Gandhi role-modelled spinning and weaving, not

because it provided employment, but because he believed that, craft-centric education

had great value in developing leadership: