Vijaybharati — Gurgaon.

Although my so-called schooling was done through my school and college years, what I call my “education” actually happened after I joined Mirambika as a teacher trainee. When I say education, I mean a systematic unfolding of my different ‘selves’, parts and movements of my being with which hitherto I had been totally unfamiliar. As a trainee I started discovering myself in greater depth and range and became aware of my own perception of life and my responses to it. I started to explore the different dimensions of my being and becoming. The physical environment and psychological space opened up in me not only my own capacities but also a clearer understanding of my limitations, the responsibilities of the work I had taken on and the challenges it entailed. Through all of this, I developed a vision of my work. From being a trainee, I took on the responsibility of a teacher and a facilitator and then moved on logically to become a teacher-educator. The journey was conscious – the teacher-educator, the teacher, and the trainee as well as the student all converged within me and I realized the manifold nature of my work and the true meaning of the challenge that I confronted. Through it all, I have understood that this is not only just challenging work -- sometimes wonderful, at times deeply frustrating – but also that there is no shortcut if I want to live up to the true spirit of the word ‘education’. Believing that these processes are of a universal nature, I would like to share some of my experiences with you.