September – December 2025

I was on a year-long break from work (2025).

Not because I was burnt out, but because I had stopped seeing much sense in all that hustle.

One is building some software for a client sitting miles away. No one knows if the artifact is actually going to be used, or if it is simply that the client has a budget to spend, and I, on behalf of an entity, am trying to extract that budget so that we can pay our bills and salaries.

I acknowledge that it is probably not a very useful lens through which to look at things. Perhaps I had shifted gears to nihilism for a while. Or maybe I had simply learnt my lessons, and it was time to move on.

Developers are, after all, trying to make their clients happy while justifying their existence and the hard work they have put in to get where they are.

Mind you, I am not demeaning or belittling the skills I have learnt, nor am I saying that they have no value. But perhaps, over time, one simply outgrows what one has been doing. And sometimes, it is time to leave and move on to something new, meaningful and stimulating.

So I travelled a bit, had a few interesting experiences, and then sat around pondering what to do next.

And while I was doing that, a friend pinged me about a volunteering opportunity at a school in the mountains.

And that was it.

I was like, this one is for me.

I had always wanted to stay in the mountains for a longer period of time. To be there, surrounded by mountains, and to work with children and be a teacher — that sounded almost too good to be true.

I put my best foot forward and wrote to the director of the school. We had a quick conversation, and I was quite sure that I wanted to pursue this further.

Getting the travel plan finalised and actually getting the ball rolling, however, took some time.

But once I was there, it was an absolute eye-opener and, without a doubt, an experience of a lifetime.

For two and a half months, I got the chance to learn so many things. I had a gala time with the kids — teaching, learning, playing, experimenting and, occasionally, wondering How lucky I am to be able to stay in mountains surrounded with everything I adore … Mountains , Books and Children!

I also came away with a few realisations.

1. Teaching is a skill. A very different skill.

Teaching a group of four or five students is very different from teaching a class of 35.

There are skills one has to learn. Actually, lots of skills to be learnt.

Knowing something is one thing. Being able to explain it to another human being, especially a child, in a way that makes sense to them, is an entirely different ball game.

2. I have enormous respect for teachers.

I have always respected teachers, but volunteering at a school gave me an opportunity to watch them closely.

I watched them switch swiftly between classes, subjects, children, contexts and administrative work. One moment they are teaching; the next they are dealing with something completely unrelated; and then they are back in the classroom as if nothing happened.

It made me realise just how much invisible work goes into being a teacher.

I have huge respect and admiration for every teacher in the world.

3. I had to unlearn and relearn mathematics.

Teaching Mathematics to Classes 8–10 came fairly easily to me. I love mathematics, and the concepts were familiar territory.

But when I moved to the lower classes and started shadowing teacher in Class 5, something interesting happened.

I realised that I had learnt mathematics in a very procedural way.

But children today are being taught very differently.

And if I really wanted to make a difference in the lower classes, I would need to learn those ways of teaching too.

I mean, I love maths and computers. These are things that feel intuitive to me now.

But then I found myself wondering:

How would I teach a child multiplication?

How do you explain something that has become so obvious to you that you no longer remember what it was like not to understand it?

How did I get from not knowing to knowing?

I had never really stopped to think about that.

And that, perhaps, was one of the most valuable lessons from my time there.

Sometimes, to teach something well, you have to go back to a place where you don’t know it anymore.

You have to unlearn.

And then relearn.

A few things I got to do

Over those two and a half months, I got the opportunity to contribute in several ways beyond the regular classroom responsibilities.

I conducted Mathematics classes for Classes 7 to 10 and a workshop on Algorithmic Thinking. I also conducted Python Programming 101 sessions, including hands-on practicals.

I introduced students to games that tested speed and reflexes, and also introduced them to board games, including Catan.

I got the opportunity to introduce students to Arduino as well and help them get started with some basic projects.

And then came the question: what’s next?

Looking back at my experience, I realised that I wanted to explore education more deeply.

Especially early childhood education.

If teaching a child multiplication had made me question everything I thought I knew about learning, perhaps there was a lot more to discover.

And there was another realisation.

A couple of months in the mountains were simply not enough.

It was, as they say, ye dil maange more.

So here I am in 2026, serving as a teacher in a school in a remote village in Jammu & Kashmir.

I am also pursuing a PG Diploma in Early Childhood Education, which has been quite an interesting and eye-opening journey so far.

Another post about my experience as a teacher in 2026 is in the making and will be out soon.

Till then, take care and live life.

Signing off.

Warm wishes from the cold mountains,
Urvi