The Human(e) Story

Sridhar Rajagopalan of Educational Initiatives on self, community, and country

What makes an IIT/IIM grad to quit his high-paying job at IBM to foray into setting up an unconventional school? Clearly not logic. But neurologists have found that we don't make our decisions by logic. We make decisions in the emotional epicenter of the brain called amygdala! That explains why Sridhar Rajagopalan, Co-founder of Educational Initiatives, not only undertook the serendipitous experiment three decades ago but has been focused since then on helping children everywhere learn with understanding! Listen to Sridhar's Humane Story and let me know if you also feel that his life/work is like concentric circles:)

Suchetha Bhat of Dream A Dream on finding self in the selfless journey

Here's yet another story that proves that we humans are creatures of emotion over logic. Why else would a young engineer working at an MNC leave her lucrative job and rough it out in the social-impact sector to seek joy that money can't buy. Our changemaker in this episode not only found her joy on the service path, she was instrumental in developing the happiness curriculum for millions of children in five states of India. Suchetha Bhat, CEO of Dream a Dream, shares about the need for instilling life-skills in youngsters from vulnerable communities in order for them to thrive tomorrow, a failure story from yesterday that defines the approach in her work today and more...

Sheela Patel of SPARC on poverty & climate-change relationship, compound effect of persistence, and organic movement

This dialogue recorded at World Economic Forum 2022 in Davos which focused on climate change as one of the key themes, makes the connection between climate change and poverty. Sheela Patel of SPARC candidly shares about: 1. The effect of climate change on migration to urban areas  2. Letting a movement brew vs interfering for instant outcomes in order for the impact to be sustainable 3. Being a long distance runner as opposed to a sprinter Plus more...

Neelam Chhiber of Industree Foundation on the heart, head and hands connect

This conversation recorded on the sidelines of World Economic Forum 2022 in Davos, could not have more in common with the theme of the conference: sustainability. One of my revelations from this chat is that one may be engaged in any mainstream work using one's hands and head, but add the community service to the mix: that's when the heart comes in!

Anant Arora of Akshaya Patra on finding your eternal source of nourishment

In the fifth episode of The Human(e) Story podcast, Anant Arora --Chief Sustainability and Communication Officer at Akshaya Patra-- shares his life story, the ear-marked pages in that book as well as the underlines and between the lines. In one of the previous episodes of this podcast, we met Anshu Gupta of Goonj whose story in the social-impact space started with kapda. In this episode, Anant strives towards the goal of Zero Hunger by ensuring food security for 18 lakh children everyday. The basic need for roti is the motivator and enabler for millions of students of our country to come to their public school and pursue their education. Who knew that food is the way to children's futures! Listen to the episode for some soulful food for thought...