Shilpi Sarkar
Reading, writing, understanding, connecting, remembering, framing arguments, and looking at things from different and sometimes alternative and/or connected perspectives. The way I see it, one of the purposes of education - in the ideal sense - is that it helps a human being to understand more of what he sees in the world around (and beyond) and to bring however much he can within a connected framework of comprehensibility. To know, remember, to connect, and to understand, and to experience a profound joy while engaging in such mental gymnastics.
- Shilpi Sarkar
One poet said, 'Some are born to endless night and some are born to deep delight'. I sometimes think I was born to think about the purpose and meaning of life, of 'who I am', how to live a life of meaning, how to make life complete and fulfilling and to act upon the knowing. This much I have seen: a few of one's dreams can be seen merging with reality. I have had some invaluable moments so far in wondering about the questions that puzzle and perplex and keep human beings occupied in sometimes quiet, sometimes solitary, and sometimes conversational moments.
I have lived in three continents since my infancy and I learnt the English language like a native speaker in one continent and was fueled by an inner and insistent desire, ever since, to master the language. I completed my formal education, earning my doctoral degree from Purdue University, Indiana, USA, in 2012. My doctoral dissertation is on Suvro Chatterjee as a teacher and private tutor.
During my Master's and Ph.D. - apart from being on a fellowship for a few years, I worked in and studied various fields of social psychology, environmental sociology, mental health and illness, exceptionally creative individuals, creativity, and the philosophy of education. I taught over 700 college students various courses in Sociology while earning my keep as a graduate student at Purdue University. For the hours that I was in the class with my students - I thought about the class and them. It still makes me chuckle when I am reminded that I used to get nervous when my students had an examination. I remember more than a few of my students with fondness and know that more than a few of them were left with good memories from my classes and about me. I have also tutored students for examinations like the TOEFL, GRE (verbal and analytical) and SAT (verbal sections) and a few students have wished that they could learn not only English but also history with me.
Teaching has always meant more to me than the livelihood it has brought me and it still does. I got to know from the Mastermind of our tutorials of what it means to be a teacher while never sounding like one is lecturing and where learning, conversing, exchanging ideas, reading, studying, storytelling, thinking, discussing, debating, and knowing what matters and why - all feel like a blissful joyride.
I have been a rather eclectic and somewhat obsessive reader (and writer) all my life from early childhood, and some of my good memories from my school-days are about long and lazy afternoons or all-nighters when I would curl up in bed to read a book (or write in my diary). Many of the writers whom I read in secondary school and through the years come from Suvro da's recommendations, and through recent years his now-teenage daughter has been recommending books to me. You can look up a sample of Suvro Chatterjee's 'must read' book-list too sometime and hear some of the stories during our workshops.
I have had not a few hobbies including reading, writing, listening to music, watching films, trekking, travelling, wondering about spirituality, practising the martial arts, swimming (even though I almost drowned in a pool of all places, and never have gotten rid of my fear of deep waters!) and walking (I used to think I could keep walking like Forrest Gump - only he kept running). From one deep angle, life, so far, has been and is bizarre, beautiful, somewhat magical and unusual, and I'm walking on to see where it meets. I have travelled a fair bit and seen grand sights and have now come back, closer to home. I feel a little like Paolo Coelho's 'The Alchemist' and a little like Antoine de Saint-Exupery's 'The Little Prince'. Starting off Suvro's Good Life Tutorials has been an adventure and we have barely begun...
- Shilpi Sarkar
One poet said, 'Some are born to endless night and some are born to deep delight'. I sometimes think I was born to think about the purpose and meaning of life, of 'who I am', how to live a life of meaning, how to make life complete and fulfilling and to act upon the knowing. This much I have seen: a few of one's dreams can be seen merging with reality. I have had some invaluable moments so far in wondering about the questions that puzzle and perplex and keep human beings occupied in sometimes quiet, sometimes solitary, and sometimes conversational moments.
I have lived in three continents since my infancy and I learnt the English language like a native speaker in one continent and was fueled by an inner and insistent desire, ever since, to master the language. I completed my formal education, earning my doctoral degree from Purdue University, Indiana, USA, in 2012. My doctoral dissertation is on Suvro Chatterjee as a teacher and private tutor.
During my Master's and Ph.D. - apart from being on a fellowship for a few years, I worked in and studied various fields of social psychology, environmental sociology, mental health and illness, exceptionally creative individuals, creativity, and the philosophy of education. I taught over 700 college students various courses in Sociology while earning my keep as a graduate student at Purdue University. For the hours that I was in the class with my students - I thought about the class and them. It still makes me chuckle when I am reminded that I used to get nervous when my students had an examination. I remember more than a few of my students with fondness and know that more than a few of them were left with good memories from my classes and about me. I have also tutored students for examinations like the TOEFL, GRE (verbal and analytical) and SAT (verbal sections) and a few students have wished that they could learn not only English but also history with me.
Teaching has always meant more to me than the livelihood it has brought me and it still does. I got to know from the Mastermind of our tutorials of what it means to be a teacher while never sounding like one is lecturing and where learning, conversing, exchanging ideas, reading, studying, storytelling, thinking, discussing, debating, and knowing what matters and why - all feel like a blissful joyride.
I have been a rather eclectic and somewhat obsessive reader (and writer) all my life from early childhood, and some of my good memories from my school-days are about long and lazy afternoons or all-nighters when I would curl up in bed to read a book (or write in my diary). Many of the writers whom I read in secondary school and through the years come from Suvro da's recommendations, and through recent years his now-teenage daughter has been recommending books to me. You can look up a sample of Suvro Chatterjee's 'must read' book-list too sometime and hear some of the stories during our workshops.
I have had not a few hobbies including reading, writing, listening to music, watching films, trekking, travelling, wondering about spirituality, practising the martial arts, swimming (even though I almost drowned in a pool of all places, and never have gotten rid of my fear of deep waters!) and walking (I used to think I could keep walking like Forrest Gump - only he kept running). From one deep angle, life, so far, has been and is bizarre, beautiful, somewhat magical and unusual, and I'm walking on to see where it meets. I have travelled a fair bit and seen grand sights and have now come back, closer to home. I feel a little like Paolo Coelho's 'The Alchemist' and a little like Antoine de Saint-Exupery's 'The Little Prince'. Starting off Suvro's Good Life Tutorials has been an adventure and we have barely begun...