Presence and accompaniment

 In an era where AI is making significant waves, for good and for bad, one reflection that I came across that makes profound sense to me as a Salesian, an educator: 

The AI offers answers, not necessarily a presence. The AI may provide solutions, but not necessarily consolation and accompaniment.  When God chose to reach humanity, he did not send information. He chose to be present in person. 

However, I am also aware of the danger of side-lining this AI wave as not overriding. Wisdom and happiness lies in striving for balance, making the most of the opportunities without compromising on basics and values. 

Valiant effort

 Glancing through news bits of the day, I came across the following post on X, with news of Amul Cooperative congratulating Yamini Maurya, a medal winner at the Commonwealth 2026 games.  

Honestly, I knew nothing about her or her achievements.  Never heard about her.  But what struck me was the photo.  Not the people in it, but the location. It certainly seems her home.  Bedsheets and mat on the floor.   Trophies lined up on a ledge.  Extension box and charger wires.  And it has an asbestos roof!!  

In an age where most people live in pucca houses, with multi-storeyed luxury rooms, here is a young lady, who has brought fame to the nation through her hard work and effort, living under an asbestos roof! From that one fact alone, I gather how much of an effort would she and her family have made to rise up to the national level sports competitions.  

Kudos to the whole family for their sacrifices and valiant effort.  Appreciation and congratulations to Yamini herself - and the many more like her who make the most of their meagre resources, with an iron grit and a large heart.  

The dynamics of why and how

 Last night I had a long and very revealing discussion with one confrere.  It was basically about finances but that was not the core.  We were basically discussing about the fixed deposits and the way I have been classifying them under a heading, with a clear purpose for each of those FDs.  Discussing and explaining to him about the financial situation and plans of my office, over the last four years, I realised for myself how profoundly my own emphasis on purpose has shaped the financial resources (available, investment and future reserves). 

I have never been a big fan of money or let finance decide my plans and motives.  That's a fact everyone knows, including myself. And I'm very happy for it.  What I do strive to seek is PURPOSE.  Because I've come to believe that if I have the purpose and intention clear, the path will unfold before me, not necessarily at the beginning of the initiative, but eventually and certainly.  So anytime there is something I strongly feel that we as Salesians need to engage ourselves with, finances is never on my list of immediate requirements or needs.  It never has been, never will it be!  And I believe that's the way it is to be.  

Don Bosco's trust in Divine Providence is exactly this practical outlook: Do the good; the necessary support or resources (even financial) will eventually flow in.  But if it is the reverse, namely, finances is my priority, then we hardly do any good!  Everything is mostly about finances and not about the good to be done. 

Learning

 Another powerful representation of the present reality of technology and human beings... 

This statement depicts the stark reality of today's life.  AI is gaining importance at a phenomenal pace. Human's are not a match to that progression and change.  However, rather than make the most of the technology at hand and excel in what we are good at, most are in a race against or for AI.  

Arrive Alive!

 Driving to Nalgonda this morning, we saw this billboard raising awareness of safe driving and traffic... Interesting caption! 

Identifying oneself

 Identity is carved out in association, rather than in isolation. This is one fact that struck me hard and strong years ago when I was preparing a paper on the Salesian Brother.  

Often we think that in order to make ourselves stand out we need to be apart from the rest.  But even there, without the other(s), we do not have a measuring yard.  

Understood in this context, the invitation of Jesus to lose oneself, in order to find who we truly are, makes perfect sense.  Only when we understand all and everyone around us, do we begin to make sense of ourselves!

Borrowed impressions

 In Hyderabad, for quite some years now, there is this ritual one gets to notice practically every morning, all across the city.  There is the municipality garbage van that goes around collecting garbage, door to door.  Nothing unusual about that itself, except that the van has a 'wake-up call'.  A particular tune and song that is played, followed by a message calling upon the ladies of the houses to bring out the garbage.  

Initially I never 'heard' it! Once someone commented on it at table and since then everytime I heard it, I felt annoyed and irritated by it.  Now after a couple of years, I don't 'hear' it again! Not that they have stopped announcing or changed the call sign, it is just that my ears don't pick it up.  

I realised the initial annoyance at that particular sound was because the negative observation and comments I first heard about it.  Not that I personally made an opinion.  I merely imbibed and assimilated that negative impression.  Now, on those rare occasions, that I hear the song and the message, there is still a bit of that awkward feeling, but not as strong as before. 

Surprising myself

 The joy of having successfully completed a task is good. But the joy of having completed a task of which you had no clue or knowledge about and which you discover so much in the process of fulfilling it, is truly great! 

Such was one of my experiences yesterday.  I observed an SMS that I received on the office phone a month ago and I could not make head or tail of it.  So began my attempt to understand what it was all about.  It was about an application that we had submitted in 2020, six years ago.  The government had not decided to act upon it and also grant a concession for completing the process within a stipulated time. It was about the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) of the Telangana govt.  

Yesterday I completed the process of reducing the quoted fee by more than half.  All of this because I discovered, through a long and passionate follow up, that the calculation was wrong - although that miscalculated figure itself was far FAR below the present day rates.  

Another instance of me surprising myself!  From the classroom to the courtroom. From being a lecturer to being an administrator.  From philosophy to economics and law.  

And the journey continues! 

Guard your compassion

 Here's the extract of the letter (dated 23 July 2026) written by Amol Palekar addressed to the Gen-Z students protesting at Jantar Mantar over the last few days.  I liked especially the concluding words of encouragement: 

Take care of one another. Guard your compassion and your hope.  Do not allow anger to harden into hatred.  Stand firm.  Walk forward without bitterness, without fear and without apology. 

My name

The power and influence of one's name over ones own life, especially the psyche, is enormous. I've seen its influence over the years of my work with the young Salesians and Diocesans. 

There have been times, when years later, people have approached me with a BIG THANKS, for one primary reason: consistently addressing them by their name, rather than the nickname given by their own companions. Even to this day, I prefer to call people by their given name or a name they liked to be called by, rather than a nickname or some weird nondescript sound.