1984 sikh carnage

1984 Anti Sikh Carnage, which I got to know through media and was there after an year of it in Delhi which had some tell-tale marks in the physical and emotional psyche of the city. It made me see fear in my sikh friends who even choose to leave the country as they didnt feel safe any more. Till today people have not got much relief from the state which had totally collapsed during the Carnage which led to killings and injuries of thousands of Sikhs in Delhi and around the country. This made me see the cost of violent thinking and lack of spaces for dialogue which can end the cycles of violence.

As I grew up and came across some vegan friends. I was in a gathering and met Yorit and Aviram in a gathering, just when they had started Sadhana forest in Auroville. I was making some tea and offered it to them. They said that they don't want to take something from anyone who has been chained 24 hours for them.

Growing up in a Punjabi family in India, milk and milk products were a big part of our lives. While I was growing up there was a small dairy next to our house and I used to hang out there. The owner of the dairy would almost every evening beat at least one or two buffaloes who were reluctant to let him milk them, which would trigger him and he would shower the choicest abuses and hit them with a fat stick. It was painful to see it, but even that didn’t move me to see that by having the milk of the same buffaloes I was contributing to the violence that is being inflicted on them. That is how it happens often in structural violence as we see the person doing a certain action as violent and not make the whole system that is benefiting from that violence to be accountable for it.

My first reaction was, what is wrong with these people, why are they making such a big drama about it. However, time passed by and their statement stayed with me. Over time as I read about the food systems, climate change, veganism I got inspired to stop having any animal products and gradually stopped having meat and all dairy. I wanted to try to integrate nonviolence as much as I can, in my part of life, not just in my communication but the small actions that I take that denies other’s of their needs.

Masanobu Fukuoka

His book ‘One Straw Revolution’ gave me the confidence to trust the organic wisdom of life, whether it be for natural farming or natural healing. This led me into a journey around food, both preparing and growing, while trusting mother earth.

Vinoba Bhave’s

bhudan yatra where he trusted the universe and went without money to ask people to give their land for the landless, He walked about 70 thousand kilometres in 14 years and received land as a gift for the landless farmers, which was a big as the Israel.

I have been moved by this man’s work that made me make it as my passion and mission to see a world where we can all come together to collaborate and live in authentic peace and compassion. He taught me that its not what people are but what they do and we need to also look at why they do what they do, thereby showing a pathway to see the humanness of all.

Miki Kashtan 

I admire Miki's understanding of systemic violence and how structural imbalances contribute to the violence in the world. I appreciate how she not just talks about those who may not have this power to have this awareness but invites those who are in the privileged position to step up and acknowledge these imbalances and work towards addressing them. 

Kabir Sahib

It's enlightening to see how Kabir expresses profound wisdom around how we can be close to our humanness in the most simple and easy ways. His words are sung in so many local languages and dialects because of the depth and simplicity which is imbibed by people from diverse backgrounds. He has put the messages of ahimsa which is very moving for me. 

Kabir Sahib

Am grateful to Vijaya Venkat ji who founded The Health Awareness Center(THAC).  It has shaped my journey with food and healing. I find her approach in alignment with Fukuoka's principles of 'do nothing' farming which helps us to let nature and body to do its work it has to do a living eco-system and to give it the supportive atmosphere for it so we can be in a state of optimum health. 

NVC A Language of Life 

Marhshall's book on Nonviolent Communication is both simple and deep. I see that he has talked about moving from right/wrong thinking to a world where each one's needs matter and are seen.
The book gives you learnings that you can begin to apply in your day to day living with ease. I was also part of initial conversation with Dinesh ji of Banyan Roots where we decided to publish the Indian Edition to make it more accessible to the people in this region. 

Being Me Loving You

I like the title of this book, which reminds us that we need to take care of ourselves, before we offer care to others. I have learnt to hold on to my authenticity and honesty while holding care for others and my partner. Being Me Loving You Course is inspired by this work on Marshall on intimate relationships. 

One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka 

This book is at the core of my practice in whatever I do. It is about explorations in natural farming by Fukuoka San from Japan. He came up with the idea of 'do nothing' farming, which inspires us to trust nature and see that we dont do the unnecessary which can harm the ecological balance while we are growing food.

I have applied these principles with my journey with self healing, unschooling and even working on relationships, so I try to see how we can nurture and create systems that can create exosystems  to work holistically. 

Anatomy Of An Illness by Norman Cousins

This book taught me that pain is our friend and is a feedback mechanism. It directs us to places where there is imbalance. Instead of treating it symptomatically, we need to go to the root so we can support deeper healing in our body.

I have learnt to apply the same principles in our relationships, and I see that our feelings are also like a feedback system that directs us to the needs that are responsible for creating the feelings that we may be going through. By attending to the nneeds,we can bring back the system in balance and find ways that each one of us have most of their needs met. 

Toxemia by J B Tilden

This easy to read and simple book talks of how all the 'fancy' names of the diseases are a result of accumulation of toxins and our body trying to throw away those toxins causes inflamation in the parts that our conduit for throwing those toxins.  
Once I got to know it changed my perception on not just dis-eases but also conflict. I see the bio mimicry between the element of toxemia in our body and how we end up dealing with conflicts by trying to cut the symptoms instead of going to the place which is creating the toxins or the conflicts in our lives. 

Talks on Gita by Vinobha Bhave

This book is from the sharing of Vonoba ji when he was in Dhulia Jail during the freedom struggle. It talks of Gita in the context of his times, in a very simple and profound way. The book relates deep philosophies with the simple examples from our day to day life. I am especially inspired by the reflections on Karmayoga, swadharma and sthithpragya. I try to bring them in my life and work and it has added immense value to my life. 

Instead of Education by John Holt

This book changed the way I looked at my own schooling journey in the most radical way and set me on a path of self designed learning. He believes that if education is about some kind of 'treatment' it will not allow for their innate beauty and desire to learning to flourish. He is also critical about our blind faith in the systems, where loose out to see the beauty and humanity of each individual. It has also given me greater faith in myself so I could walk the path of my own true calling. 

Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff

Liedloff's work talks of continuing to give to the baby the feeling of the comfort of the womb even after birth by keeping them close to the mother. The child connects to the warmth and heartbeat and it adds to their sense of safety. She then goes on to learn from the ways children are brought up in indigenous communities in Venezula where the child is kept close to the mother and also in general their innate capacities to navigate the world are trusted. 

Holacracy - Brian Robertson

After working with NVC and Sociocracy, I was still searching for supportive systems which give us the nuts and bolts of running businesses and organisations that work collaboratively and where each player has a sense of autonomy while creating a sustainable and inter-dependent culture . I found Holacracy to be closest to this, when it comes to setting up evolutionary organisation. Have spent time learning it and interacting with Brian Robertson for some time and am inspired by what he has created. 

Reinventing Organisations by Federic Laloux

If we are wanting to live in a higher consciousness, then how would our organisations and businesses look like. After working in varied organisations including movements I was not satisfied with the way these groups would collaborate or not collaborate. The book calls this higher consciousness and looks at its manifestion in businesses and organisations that have walked this path. This book has inspired me to work on the idea of creating Teal Families, that are collaborative and inter-dependent. 

Pabu Ji Ki Phad

While making this film I travelled through Western Rajasthan to learn about this old form of performance where the legends of local heroes and deities is shared with music and dance.  A painting depicting the scenes from  the lives of the legendry figures is used as a backdrop.
It is like an old form of cinema where the Bhopa and Bhopi share the story using a lamp to highlight the different part the  story that are painted on the scroll that is around 10 feet by 4 feet.
The film also looks at the challenges of the performers in today's times and reminds us of the transitions that our society is going through. 

Leap Of Faith

This film, which was directed by me, explores the lives of three families who are inspired by natural ways of living and learning. Vinta and Bharat are into self-healing, had home birth, and didn’t give vaccines to their children. Sumi and Chandersh are unschooling their children, Qudrat and Ajanmaya. Vasant and Karuna Futane are into natural farming and live in their simple mud house with their children Vinay and Chinmay, who have been learning at home and farm and don’t go to any school.

The Man's Woman and Other Stories

Shot one of the stories in this three part film Aadmi ki aurat aur teen kahaniyan, directed by Amit Dutta. The film is based on the story by Sadat Hasan Manto and is about the challenges faced by ordinary people and especially women during the Indo Pak partition and how we became disconnected from our humanity in those times -

Ambi Jiji’s Retirement

Lived in Garo Hills with Indigenous Matrilineal Community that still practises Shifting Cultivation(Jhum). I worked on the farms and also learnt the language. Understood the natural ways of living and learning in Garo Community along with understanding their conflict resolution systems. See film here

Kenduli Mela

Shot a film on Bauls in Bengal, and lived with them for some time, understanding their music and culture closely. Learned about the simplicity and deep wisdom of the lifestyle and practices of Bauls. This has also inspired me to live more in the culture of the gift economy and I have practised it for many years with my own work. See the film here