This Yamuna valley where I live, roughly stretches a hundred kilometers, between Paonta Sahib and Dehradun, in the Shivaliks. Here, Tons River joins Yamuna, as they both come tumbling out of the mountains, into the Terai. From Pathans, to Mughals, to Maratha, and finally to British – they all came, ruled this region and eventually […]
Jaipur Communication Workshop Report 22-24 Sept 2023 This is a brief narrative report about what was accomplished in the 3-day TISA workshop. It was organized by the Jaipur Self-Help group, very efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. About thirty participants (three women) took part in it; one participant joined with both parents and another, with […]
The fact is- it was a picnic, a get-together, which we gave a fanciful name of “mini-workshop” ☺️ – and to prove the point we did have a little (but serious) discussion. So before we had a boat ride and a picnic lunch under the trees in the vast sprawling grounds of Patna Zoo, we […]
(A humorous piece on TISA) TISA membership is entirely free. You can join and leave anytime. In fact, you can join it just before your campus interview and leave it five minutes later. In the US Visa interview, you can leave our membership midway, soon after the introduction rounds are safely over. TISA is another […]
TISA Bodhgaya Communication Workshop 8-9 Jan 2023 Four noble truths: There is Stammering. There is a cause of stammering. There is a state beyond Stammering. There is a path to it. Let us walk that path, like Buddha! Introduction Twelve pws explored concepts and techniques related to stammering, besides bonding and exploring this town, famous […]
Solitude (A short story) The old man was again in the church today at his regular time. He quietly comes in and sits in one of the pews at the back. This is not the usual time to visit though. One day, I asked him: Why don’t you attend the morning service? The afternoon is […]
The Role of Speech Tools or Techniques in Managing Stuttering: Importance of Closed-Ended Practice In TOPG we talk a lot about the importance of practicing speech tools or techniques to achieve more forward-moving speech. There are many questions to explore on this topic. First, what is the purpose of the speech tools or techniques? Second, how […]
Many pws join TISA and want to play a bigger role than just a member. They want to contribute. Mooc 2 is an opportunity for them. But let us face the facts: You can help others only if you have helped yourself – at least to some extent! Therefore, Mooc 2 is aimed at people […]
OK, so here are some events in my life that helped a lot: 1. ROLE MODELS: I met some interesting people who had accepted their life in totality, with no regrets or shame. Kumar, my mentor, was one such person. He had been a flower child (Hippie) and had led a wild life in the west- […]
I thought that I had recovered from my loss: Marian’s death in Aug 2019. But every few weeks, I would get a wave of despondence, sadness rolling over me. Yes, I was dealing with life for last two years quite satisfactorily- traveling, working, interacting, counselling others – everything that I had done earlier. Yet again, […]
A young pws, Vinay, came to visit me from eastern UP in 2014. I took him to some nearby shops for voluntary stammering. Then, we came home and had a cup of tea in the back lawn. He was still trembly! It was such a big shock for him. I brought out an old medal […]
The other day I saw Kumar in the market. He was running after a woman. Dont laugh please! This is not what you think. I know both of them and they are in their sixties. Kumar retired from LIC some years ago. And the woman in question was Purabi. Both their families had known each […]
When I was a child, my biggest ambition was to “lecture” in a hall, full of people! With gathering years, I discovered that I was free to dream of bigger things than that. But at the age of four, it was a challenge to control my face and put two words together! Then, there were […]
11 Nov 2021, 8-9.30 pm, Zoom meeting with Dr Paul Brocklehurst and Dr Amit Bajaj: Discussion on meditation, anchored by sachin. BIG THANKS to both of them and all the TISA members who participated. Summary points 1. If you join a meditation/ mindfulness practice group, chances of success are high. A regular routine also helps. […]
(A short story) One day I was walking down this lane, lined by trees and broad side walks. I saw a child sitting on a stone bench, near a bus stand. He was waiting for his father. His father used to stop the bus and hand the child in, to the conductor- almost like a […]
I am so happy that the three days of NC have gone so well, from every perspective. My happiness is doubled, even trebled, when I realise that all this has happened without me hovering all over NC like a compulsive mother hen! When I left home on 19th Sept. for Leh, there were two predominant […]
Counseling Tales : Indecision, self-doubt, Fear We in the north India have some funny stereotypes about South! May or may not be true but we love them. One such stereotype is that people from south are very intelligent. Of course it may not reflect in their politics! That is a different matter! Anyway. So I […]
It is difficult to understand what is selfish and what is selfless- without defining SELF itself on whose behalf we seem to act all the time. Even at 62, I am not sure who or what this self is, whom I have defended and nurtured all my life. But intuitively, I have often understood what […]
For me and for most of stammerers I think finding a teacher who understands us is difficult task. I remember my account teacher, whenever she used to call my roll number. I always took some time to respond due to stammering and thinking ” should I say Present or Yes “, saying present was always […]
So finally Kamal did visit Herbertpur one day, after being in touch for many months over emails. I was quite surprised. He had taken a one week leave to hang around. It was early winter and taking a stroll through tea gardens was a popular pastime for the two of us. I would get a […]