We went out for our morning walk today and unlike yesterday we decided to walk till the Mandi bus stand which is about 3 kms from Visco Resorts. As we neared the bus stand, we saw this Industrial Training Institute and took this photograph so that we could connect with them on email. 

We walked into the entrance and tried to read the information on the notice board when one of the officials asked us what we were looking for. We told him about ShikshaDaan and he got us to meet one of the office bearers, Ms Lata. We explained the concept of ShikshaDaan and immediately she asked us if we could address the assembly. We agreed and she alongwith Mr. Azad got all the students in the 9.30 shift into the assembly and Mr. Azad introduced us. I apologized to the students as well for being inappropriately dressed, and shared ShikshaDaan’s vision of helping the economically weaker students with scholarships. Spoke to the students about the ShikshaDaan Yatra and starting with Himachal which got a round of applause. 

We then went ahead, walked around the Tibetan market and vegetable market just ahead and then turned back. As we came closer to the ITI, we saw many students entering the Institute and on a lark we decided to enter and introduce ShikshaDaan. Krishnan was in his shorts, I was wearing my full length track pants thankfully and Mom was the only one in a sari :). 

There weren’t any questions from the students but one of the teachers wanted to know if we would conduct any test before funding and I clarified that the Institute giving them admission was enough since they would check the academic credentials. We then met with Mr. Azad, Mr. Vijay Kumar and Ms Lata in the office and understood that the ITI’s of Himachal are amongst the best in the country. The students trained by them work in all other states and there is a demand for these skilled students. There was not just a sense of pride in the good work they were doing but also a deep commitment to help students from the poorer sections of the society. And yes our PM Modi’s message of “skilled India” has reached them and they believe they are helping in that agenda. 

Here are a couple of pictures from the address to the assembly in the morning. 

We will be addressing the 8.30 am assembly tomorrow and also meet the Director of technical education in Sunder Nagar to see if we can partner with the ITI’s in Himachal – there are 150+ of them doing a great job. 

Cold calling works and as Ms. Lata said in the morning, nobody cares about your clothes and informal is fine :):). Learning everyday.