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Mathematics and Life 2 About me - Early Childhood to formating years

 Overview Past 36 years I have been a maths classroom teacher by choice. 

Childhood and family Born in a Maharashtrian Bramhin family in 1960, with father being a medical doctor, childhood was very blissfully ignorant of the ground realities of the world. Being a government doctor with zero PR activities, I continue the trend, transfer or long posting in tribal areas was a norm. We spent 6 years in Bastar district in early 1970s. One of the most interesting things to recall is we three brothers often used to sit and talk a lot in Hindi. In the presence of parents, we three used to interchangeably toggle Hindi - Marathi. Hindi with brothers, Marathi with parents. In 8th standard, the elder brother school fee was a whopping 30 paise per month, my huge fee was 15 paise per month and the third had to pay nothing in the Government Multi purpose school Bastar.

Moving to Indore To reduce the stressful impact of transfers on our studies, in 1976 myself and elder brother were sent to stay and study in Indore, today the cleanest city in India, and we both did both. Till date, I have been staying in Indore with few years in Mumbai, Bhopal. One year each in Perth Western Australia and Jalgaon Maharashtra.

Foundation years In 1981 or 82, I read Satyarth Prakash by Maharshi Dayanand Sarswati which had its deep impact on my already India loving mindsets. In parallel, I admired Mahatma Gandhi's writings too. As has been my nature, took his writings on face value and even started putting khadi pyjama kurta as a regular dress. The writings of Alvin Toffler took me to just the opposite world of Future Shock and the Third Wave. I also read Shree Bhagwat Geeta. Informally I used to talk on these with my Aai, mother in Marathi, who was not well read but had a golden heart and was deeply a true deshbhakt in a time where ridiculing India was the step I to be a modern person. I owe a lot to her. 

I contested the College elections twice and was President of Student Union of the University of Indore, now Devi Ahilya Vishwavidhya or DA University, Indore.

The turning point The happy go lucky life took a major turn when I entered the School of Education to do my B. Ed. with mathematics and science as the methods of teaching.......



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