Blog

New ears: open house

The image is a poster A dark grey background, with a faint wave pattern running down the right side. On top, in a yellow rectangle “Open House” Below, the headline: New Ears Below, a subhead: Share what 2022 taught you and how that will guide you in 2023. Next, the session date: 15 January 2023 Next, in a circular window, where the presenter’s portrait usually is a blank white circle, and the words You: TGP Community Member Below, at centre, the logotype for The Goa Project Sessions, which has the words ‘The Goa Project’ in white text next to a stylised sunset-and-water image, and next to that, the word ‘Sessions’ within a stylised video camera image. In a black strip at the bottom: Once every four weeks on Sundays, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. IST, on Zoom.

Happy new year! We hope you and those you hold dear had a happy Christmas season and 2023 has gotten off to a good start for all of you.

We took an unplanned break in December — life happened — for which our apologies. And this session, by our calendar, should have been on the 1st, but we assumed most of you would have been spending that time with family and/or holidaying, and the 8th was not possible for other reasons.

We start Season Four of TGP Sessions, as we did at the cusps of 2020-21 and 2021-22, with a look-back-look-forward session.

2022 was an unusual year. One that saw many of us return, with some hesitancy, some trepidation, to a semblance of the Before Times, and, as the year turned, we saw around us far more optimism about the future than we permitted ourselves since the pandemic began. As we returned to commutes and traffic, to travel and leisure, to socialisation, we found ourselves doing some things differently, perhaps even changing some behaviours completely.

2023 may well be a year that resembles the years before the pandemic, but it will be, even if turns out that we have seen the last or at least the worst of Covid-19 behind us, tinged by the three years before it. Some behaviours may go back to what they were — how many masked people are you seeing? — and firm resolutions to be different from what we were may be forgotten, but it is also true that those of us who have emerged on this side have changed in many ways. As much as we know people who wanted only to go back to the old ways and are happy to do so, we do also know of many people who made big changes in their lives: moved homes, changed jobs, ended and/or began relationships.

But enough about we think.

We invite you to come share with the group what the last year taught you, and how you plan to use those learnings (or not) in the year we have just started. It would be nice if you could let us know in advance if you would like to speak — mail us at thetgpsessions at gmail dot com — but it’s completely cool if you decide to do that last minute.

We ask that you come prepared, at minimum, to answer these three questions:

What was the best advice you got in 2022?
What was the best decision you made?
How do you see the world differently now?

See you on Sunday!

Unpacking the development sector: Sneha Philip

The image is a poster A neon green background, with a faint wave pattern running down the right side. On top, in a yellow rectangle “Society” Below, the headline: Unpacking the development sector Below, a subhead: A panel chat Next, the session date: 6 November 2022 Next, in a circular window, the presenter’s portrait in black-and-white, and to its right, the presenter’s name: Sneha Philip And description: Editor, writer Then, below, at centre, the logotype for The Goa Project Sessions, which has the words ‘The Goa Project’ in white text next to a stylised sunset-and-water image, and next to that, the word ‘Sessions’ within a stylised video camera image. In a black strip at the bottom: Once every four weeks on Sundays, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. IST, on Zoom.

Sneha leads Indian Development Review’s editorial team and is responsible for executing its content and editorial strategy. Prior to IDR, she worked at Dasra and EdelGive Foundation, across research and diligence verticals, on issues such as health, sanitation, gender, and strategic philanthropy. She also worked at AIESEC, the world’s largest youth-run nonprofit organisation, and was a founding member of a language training company in Budapest, Hungary. She has nearly 15 years of experience leading research, building partnerships, and mentoring young people. Sneha has an MA in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex and a BA in Economics from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

Unpacking the development sector: Aarti Madhusudan

The image is a poster A neon orange background, with a faint wave pattern running down the right side. On top, in a yellow rectangle “Society” Below, the headline: Unpacking the development sector Below, a subhead: A panel chat Next, the session date: 6 November 2022 Next, in a circular window, the presenter’s portrait in black-and-white, and to its right, the presenter’s name: Aarti Madhusudan And description: Governance advisor Then, below, at centre, the logotype for The Goa Project Sessions, which has the words ‘The Goa Project’ in white text next to a stylised sunset-and-water image, and next to that, the word ‘Sessions’ within a stylised video camera image. In a black strip at the bottom: Once every four weeks on Sundays, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. IST, on Zoom.

Aarti is the founder of Governance Counts, an initiative that helps strengthen the boards of NGOs. An alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, she has worked both in India and abroad on the subject of good governance, including identifying key board-related issues and recommending good practice guidelines, and enabling NGOs to find appropriate board members. She volunteers with the #DaanUtsav ( Joy of Giving week), India’s largest giving festival and has founded and runs Whiteboard, an initiative within iVolunteer, that brings senior level corporate professionals together to provide pro bono advice and strategic guidance to NGOs. She recently co-founded the Women on Boards programme, an initiative with ISDM and DASRA to place a 100 women on boards of NGOs by 2023. 

Unpacking the development sector: Madhukar Shukla

The image is a poster A neon pink background, with a faint wave pattern running down the right side. On top, in a yellow rectangle “Society” Below, the headline: Unpacking the development sector Below, a subhead: A panel chat Next, the session date: 6 November 2022 Next, in a circular window, the presenter’s portrait in black-and-white, and to its right, the presenter’s name: Madhukar Shukla And description: Development sector professional, author Then, below, at centre, the logotype for The Goa Project Sessions, which has the words ‘The Goa Project’ in white text next to a stylised sunset-and-water image, and next to that, the word ‘Sessions’ within a stylised video camera image. In a black strip at the bottom: Once every four weeks on Sundays, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. IST, on Zoom.

Madhukar is a development sector professional with specific interest in socialentrepreneurship and livelihoods. He has over four decades of experience a trainer /consultant with social ventures, government agencies and corporate organisations,and is also author of four books, including Social Entrepreneurship in India: Quarter Idealism and a Pound of Pragmatism (Sage Publication, 2020). He has a Masters degree in Psychology from Lucknow University and a PhD from IIT, Kanpur, and has worked with XLRI Jamshedpur, Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad and National Productivity Council.

Join the TGP volunteer team

We’re looking to expand the TGP organising team. If you would like to help shape what TGP does in the near future, and think you can afford two hours a week, and would like to join us, please fill out this form.

Need more information?

Right, first, why a larger team?

More diversity, for one.

Secondly,, with the world now somewhat back to normal, some of us are busier now than when we first joined the team, so more people involved will ensure more people to share what needs to be done, or that if one person is super-busy, others can take care of things.

Third, if you’ve been keeping up with our emails, you know that we are gradually doing more (a) hybrid sessions — some folks in a physical location, other joining in online — which requires a bit more work, (b) we want to start local community events, which means we need organising volunteers in cities where we have a decent volume of participants (c) and we plan to eventually do a full-length in-person TGP, which takes a lot more people.

What’s the time commitment?

For now, we would want you attend all the Sessions, of course, which are now once every four weeks, on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. IST. If it is a hybrid event, and you are in the city that the in-person component is being hosted in, we would want you to pitch in with that. And we hope you will also join in creating the local community events.

As to meetings, at present, we do an online video call once every four weeks, on the Wednesday immediately following a Sessions, to discuss the one coming up next, take feedback, make suggestions, problem-solve if necessary, and generally to chat and hang out; these are anything from 15 minutes to an hour long. Now and then, we may do a second meeting in that four-week period, but that’s rare; most of our coordination is via a Google Group and a Telegram group. And of course the folks managing a track, a hybrid event, and eventually the community events, will call each other at mutually convenient times to plan.

Overall, we estimate this should take two hours of your week at most.

Need a reminder of what the tracks are? Here you go.

Who are the people you will be working with? Meet the team.

More about TGP and the Sessions.

We hope to welcome more of you to the team.

New lines: Kriti Monga

The image has a neon green background, with a faint wave pattern running down the right side. On top, in a yellow rectangle “Intersections” Below that, the headline: New lines Next, a subhead, in white text: Transitioning from a design practice to art Below that, the date for the session: 9 October 2022 Below that, in a circular window, the presenter’s portrait in black-and-white, and to its right, the presenter’s name: Kriti Monga And description: Designer → Artist Then, below, at centre, the logotype for The Goa Project Sessions, which has the words ‘The Goa Project’ in white text next to a stylised sunset-and-water image, and next to that, the word ‘Sessions’ within a stylised video camera image. In a black strip at the bottom: Once every four weeks on Sundays, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. IST, on Zoom.

Kriti is a visual artist, creative strategist for brands, graphic designer, illustrator and design educator, with a passion for all things type and hand-crafted. The many hats she has worn over 20 years of professional practice include founding and directing design company Turmeric Design, specialising lettering and typography, teaching regularly at design schools and independent workshops worldwide, creating public installations and drawing illustrated journals. Having become very good at telling stories for others over the years, Kriti is currently exploring more ways to tell her own.

Calling the shots: Sruti Harihara Subramanian

The image has a neon blue background, with a faint wave pattern running down the right side. On top, in a yellow rectangle “Intersections” Below that, the headline: Calling the shots Next, a subhead, in white text: Moving from in front of the camera to behind it Below that, the date for the session: 9 October 2022 Below that, in a circular window, the presenter’s portrait in black-and-white, and to its right, the presenter’s name: Sruti Harihara Subramanian And description: Actor → Film-maker Then, below, at centre, the logotype for The Goa Project Sessions, which has the words ‘The Goa Project’ in white text next to a stylised sunset-and-water image, and next to that, the word ‘Sessions’ within a stylised video camera image. In a black strip at the bottom: Once every four weeks on Sundays, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. IST, on Zoom.

Sruti is a National-award-winning filmmaker who is passionate about sustainability. She has a deep love for animals, environment, art, culture, travel and believes in empathetic living. Her debut feature documentary, A Far Afternoon, on eminent painter Krishen Khanna bagged the Rajat Kamal for the best art/cultural film at the 63rd Indian National Film Awards and also the best music for non-feature film. She conceived and directed the docu-series Harmony with AR Rahman. Her company Happy Wanderer Films also makes corporate and ad films. She is the founder of Goli Soda, a sustainability store in Chennai that has grown to become one of India’s largest online retailers of sustainable, zero-waste and chemical-free products for everyday use. She is also founder trustee of The Cinema Resource Centre, a not-for-profit public archive of Indian cinema designed to enable research on the audio-visual cultural artifacts produced by Indian films, especially those made in the regional languages of South India.

Work around the clock: You

This week’s #TGPSessions will be about work:life balance.

If you spend time on LinkedIn, you’re very likely to come across posts by successful founders and senior corporate folk that recommend ways of working, of achieving success in the workplace. Some of these have genuine insights and wisdom gleaned from vast experience, some offer obviousness wrapped in many layers of buzzwords from people hoping to ‘go viral’ and gain clout. Sometimes some of these can indeed go viral, but for reasons that the person posting them may not have anticipated.

This week, prompted by one such post that spilt over from LinkedIn to other social media and even on television — look up ‘18-hour day’ or ‘rona dhona’ in your favourite search engine or social network — and other similar wisdom from company founders and leaders, we want to talk not about that infamous post but about the debates it prompted on work:life balance and start-ups, with a particular focus on hard work and long hours in the early years of one’s career.

Badri Natarajan — lawyer, entrepreneur, police officer, martial artist, father, at different times and places — will kick off the discussion with a nuanced perspective born of first-hand experience, and Udhay Shankar and Peter Griffin will share some perspectives too.

But we want you to come with your views, and we will make time to hear everyone. If you think you have a view you would like to share, please write to us at thetgpsessions at gmail dot com before the actual event, with a few sentences about what you would like to cover.

Do join in.