Experts@Ekya
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Experts@Ekya
Experts@Ekya is a monthly event where the school invites experts from diverse fields to speak to our students about their work. Experts who have made their mark across the spectrum of professions share their experiences and talk about their careers. Through these interactions students understand that there is a difference between the underlying passion involved in being a profession that one really likes and the one that is forced upon them.
Be it writing a story, making advertisements or short films, architecture, growing up or any topic of interest, through these talks, students realize that success is the result of the pursuit of excellence, hard work, dedication and commitment. Our students learn to formulate and ask relevant questions, engage with public speaking, and develop a sense of curiosity about the world. Through this program, we want to help our students make responsible career choices in the future.
Leela Gour Broome
Teacher & Environmentalist
“Earthquake Boy” book reading by Leela Gour Broome
The students of Grades 5 and 6 attended a presentation and a book reading with the incredibly talented author and an equally wonderful teacher and environmentalist, Leela Gour Broome, of her new book, “Earthquake Boy”. Ms. Broome encouraged the children to guess the plot points and the end of the story.
The students were more than happy to shoot their ideas about the plot of the story throughout. At the end of the presentation and a short description of a real earthquake, Ms. Broome showed the children pictures of places mentioned in the book.
It was an interesting learning experience for the students who surely took back a lot from this session as was evident from their numerous questions to the author and their sheer excitement during the session.
Meet The Author
Ms. Rohini Nilekani
The Early Literacy program at Ekya focuses on instilling a love for reading right from an early age. The Curriculum Resource books for the Pre-primary Group include a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books by various authors. One of the much-loved books in our curriculum includes “Not now, Not now” by Ms. Rohini Nilekani.
Ms. Rohini Nilekani visited our campus and spent time reading and interacting with the Montessori students. Our students were excited and happy to listen to their favorite author. She read “Too many bananas” and “Sringeri Srinivas Learns to Laugh” from her Sringeri Srinivas series. She had the students completely engrossed right through the session with her humor and innate storytelling skills.
Read our blog by Nidhi Bhavsar, Grade 10, Ekya School JP Nagar on Ms. Rohini Nilekani’s reading session; http://bit.ly/30WeAfY
Book Reading
By Ms. Padma Venkatraman
Ms. Padma Venkatraman visited Ekya School, JP Nagar and had the audience engrossed in her stories. Students were captivated by her books and her recollection of her journey in life.
Click here to read our blog on Ms. Padma Venkatraman’s visit:
Conquering the Everest Marathon
By Mr. Taher Merchant
Students of Ekya had the privilege of meeting an individual who had passed the limits of running, that most would not dare to do. Mr. Taher Merchant is the first Indian man to complete the 60km Extreme Ultra – Everest Marathon. An Ultra Marathon is one of the hardest stamina based running event, surpassing the distance, terrain, and other challenges of a regular Olympic marathon event. Sharing the “best experience of his life” with our students, Mr. Taher spoke of his preparation for the grueling race, the adversities he faced during the event and how he beat them. He concluded his inspiring talk by highlighting the importance of discipline, dedication, and smart work for achieving one’s goals.
Blending legends and myths with science, history and fantasy
By Mr. Christopher Doyle
The students of Grades VI-XII had the wonderful opportunity to meet and interact with Mr. Christopher Doyle who has authored the popular books the Mahabharata Secret, The Mahabharata Quest Series and his latest release The Son of Bhrigu. Mr. Doyle’s books are known to transport the reader into a fascinating world where ancient secrets buried in legends blend with science, history, and fantasy to create a gripping story. At the expert talk, Mr. Doyle narrated tales about myths and legends from across the world, also taking our students through the process of writing a bestseller. Following his talk, he signed copies for our children and answered their questions through an interactive Q&A.
Exploring delightful recipes of pure indulgence.
By Ms. Neeth Medappa
Ms. Neeth Medappa from Pastry Masterclass, organized Baking Workshops as part of the Experts@Ekya program. A trained French Pastry Chef from Le Cordon Bleu, Ottawa, Canada, Ms. Neeth has had over 300 enthusiastic bakers in attendance at her signature baking master-class, organized in Coorg and Mysore. Young, budding bakers now enjoy the same experience with Ms. Neeth’s student-friendly ‘Junior Pastry Masterclass’.
Cycling for good health.
By Dr. Meera Velankar
Students of Ekya had the chance to meet and interact with two-time Limca Book record holder, Dr. Meera Velankar, who joined us at our campus for an expert talk. A seasoned endurance athlete and cyclist, Meera has over a decade’s experience in cycling. Her athletic resume consists of an Ironman 70.3 finish, Super Randonneur norm earned twice, and the coveted podium finishes at Tour of Nilgiris. She also conducts kids coaching in lifestyle fitness and holds a Ph.D. in Life sciences. She spoke about the various aspects of cycling and the importance of lifestyle fitness, urging the children to pledge for their health.
Jack of all trades but master of at least one.
By Ms. Mala Martina
The brain behind Yellow Collar Careers in India, Ms. Mala Martina established the program through her organization, I Love Mondays, which helps teenagers do what they love, lets them know how to become really good at it and connects them to the right people to become successful.
At her talk, our students learned to distinguish between the Blue collar, White collar and Yellow collar jobs. Ms. Mala spoke about the traits of a yellow collar job, namely competency, doing what you love, the dominance of the right brain, being a jack of all trades but master of at least one and developing empathy.
Taking a closer look into cardiology.
By Dr. B Durgaprasad Reddy
Currently, the Head of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Vydehi Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Dr. B Durgaprasad Reddy’s session was aimed to raise awareness among our young children, about the effect of toxic habits on the cardiac system and their implications. Videos of cardiac surgery were the also highlight of the interactive session as our students got a glimpse of a beating heart inside the thoracic cavity. Dr. Durgaprasad has been across the country and the globe, undertaking workshops and presenting papers and has addressed 10,000 medical cases. Adding to his credit are the number of awards he has won including the Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Rotary Foundation International and an Excellence award from the Minister of Health.
Internet safety and the future of jobs.
By Mr. Manikantan
How do startups work? How is your data being used by companies? What and how will jobs look like in the coming decades? How to be safe while using the Internet?
Answers to these questions were delivered by Mr. Manikantan, who was hosted by our students as part of the Experts@Ekya programme. Currently serving as the Chief Technical Officer, Asia Pacific and Japan Region for Abstream Technologies, Hong Kong, he is also leading a corporate social responsibility initiative with an objective to train Indian youth on enterprise technology, the tech which is runs and connects all businesses today. Mr. Manikantan’s interactive session helped the children understand how the world functions and how it is shaping up to function in the future.
Finding peace through corrective meditation.
By Ms. Usha
Grade 4 students of Ekya participated in a corrective meditation session with Ms. Usha, a volunteer at Manasa Foundation. Helping the children experience their inner light through the meditation technique, Ms. Usha connected well with them and identified different kinds of stress and restlessness they harboured. She explained how meditation brings calm and facilitates healing. After practising a few of the techniques she shared, the students noted how different they felt and shared positive feedback about what they had just experienced.
Exploring other career choices.
By Ms. Reshma Krishnamurthy
Ms. Reshma Krishnamurthy joined us at Ekya to talk about ‘Alternate Careers and Offbeat Careers’. An established entrepreneur, Ms. Reshma founded ‘Moms and Stories’, a platform that publishes inspiring stories on stay at home mothers, women athletes, acid attack survivors, mothers who blog or have a love for adventure, mothers with physical disabilities and children with special needs. Adding to this, she has been a writer, radio jockey, and communications manager. Having addressed our students from Grades VI to X, Ms. Reshma conducted an interactive Q & A with the children.