“The fourteen chapters of my book are like my children,” says Dr Supratic Gupta, who has recently co-authored You Must Be Kidding Dr Supratic Gupta with his former psychologist, Prakash Chandra. He says, “Even if I do not become famous, I want my work to remain alive.”
An assistant professor at IIT Delhi with a PhD from Nagoya University, Japan, Gupta has made use of his vast experience in India and abroad to come up with the chapters of his book. “I had a mid-life crisis a few years ago, and that is how I met Prakash, who became my counsellor. It was he who suggested that I write a book on all the experience that I have gathered throughout my life.”
The chapters of the book labelled ‘Flexible Education’, ‘Education Portal’, ‘Hoikuen’ among others, are based on different concepts, which the author wants to change in India. The 14-part book covers a wide variety of subjects ranging from education for expectant mothers to music and sports education at primary levels.
Although much of the book reads like an essay, it is peppered with anecdotes of the author’s life. “My son wanted to be a sportsman as a child and that is how I discovered how flawed the education system is in India when it comes to education and sports,” he said. “My son had to give five different exams, including a viva in a single educational year, not to mention numerous unit tests. There is no relaxation of these rules for people playing sports. I have included this example in my book among many others.”
While the author confesses that there is not much in the way of cohesive thought about a single subject, he believes that each of the topics he has touched upon can be turned into a PhD thesis, in and of itself. In fact, a 30-minute short film around some of the concepts in the book is also in the works, informs the author.
