The sound of feet against stone, moving in unison. The crack of sticks meeting in rhythm. A circle widening, tightening, spinning faster with every beat. Pure exhilaration!
When I was younger, Navratri nights meant joining that rhythm — garba with its flowing steps, dandia with its clashing sticks. I used to wonder why it was always circular. Why not straight, forward, toward something? Why whirl endlessly, as if going nowhere?
As I grew older, I began to understand what the dances were teaching me. In garba, it was about rhythm, if your mind wandered, you lost the rhythm. In dandia, it was about attention, if you drifted, the sting of the sticks reminded you to pay attention. The circle wasn’t about moving forward — it was about staying present. Because in these dances, as in life, presence isn’t optional. It’s survival.
And of course, these dances are part of something larger: Navratri — a nine-night Hindu festival celebrating the divine feminine in her many forms, particularly Goddess Durga’s victory over chaos and destruction. Nine nights celebrated with music, color, and devotion across India and in communities around the world. Each night honors a different form of Shakti — the feminine power that sustains and transforms life. People fast, pray, and dance not just as ritual, but as renewal – transitional points between seasons. Navratri is a reminder that strength is never one-dimensional. It is courage and compassion, rhythm and resilience, discipline and creativity — nine expressions of energy that together form wholeness.
And today, as the world spins faster than ever — AI rewriting industries, careers appearing and collapsing, politics fracturing, climate disruptions reshaping daily life — I find myself returning to that question of rhythm and presence. And I wonder: what are the powers our students, and we, need now, to stay in step with a future moving at full speed?
Here are nine Navratri inspired future-ready powers and suggestions on how to build them:
1. Attention
In garba, losing focus throws you out of rhythm. In dandia, losing focus can actually hurt. That’s how attention works: when you don’t give it, there are consequences. In our world, those consequences show up as shallow thinking, fractured relationships, or missed opportunities.
Attention is no longer just a soft skill — it’s a survival skill. In the global economy of distraction, focus has become rarer than any credential. Without it, knowledge scatters, effort dilutes, and life begins to feel like endless circles without meaning.
How to build it: Train presence like a discipline. Read a book without your phone nearby. Listen to a friend without planning your reply. Walk without headphones. Small practices of focus become the foundation of resilience. Attention is not just about better performance. It’s about staying in step with the rhythm of life.
2. Curiosity
AI can provide instant answers, but it cannot teach you what to ask. Curiosity is the spark that turns information into insight and insight into innovation. Without it, we risk becoming passive consumers in a world that demands active creators.
Curiosity is more than gathering facts — it’s about staying restless, resisting the temptation to settle for the obvious. It is the antidote to complacency in a world where knowledge doubles by the minute.
How to build it: Keep a “why” list. At the end of each day, write down three things you don’t understand yet. Resist the urge to immediately Google every question — sit with the unknown. Let wonder stretch before you chase the answer.
3. Adaptability
The careers of the future will not be straight ladders but shifting landscapes. Industries will rise and collapse, technologies will disrupt, and opportunities will appear in unexpected corners. Adaptability is not just about survival; it’s about recognizing possibility where others see threat.
Those who cling to certainty will struggle. Those who can pivot with grace will thrive. The pace of change is not slowing down — the only question is whether we can adjust our steps in time.
How to build it: Put yourself in unfamiliar environments on purpose. Take on a project outside your expertise. Learn a skill you don’t “need.” Try failing safely — and notice how quickly you recover. Adaptability is strengthened by exposure, not comfort.
4. Empathy
In a polarized world, intelligence without empathy is brittle. The challenges ahead — migration, climate change, inequality — will not be solved by algorithms alone. They require the ability to see, hear, and feel beyond ourselves.
Empathy is not pity, nor is it agreement. It is the discipline of recognizing another person’s humanity, even when it challenges your own perspective. Without it, collaboration collapses into conflict.
How to build it: Volunteer where your privilege doesn’t shield you. Have conversations with people you disagree with — and listen without rehearsing your counterpoint. Read novels, not just news. Empathy is born from proximity, not theory.
5. Collaboration
The myth of the lone genius is seductive, but false. Every great discovery, movement, or breakthrough has been the result of collective effort. In an interconnected world, collaboration is no longer optional; it is the medium through which progress flows.
Collaboration is not about dividing tasks. It’s about expanding vision — combining perspectives that no single person could have carried alone.
How to build it: Approach teamwork as practice in perspective-taking. Share credit widely. Learn to say, “I couldn’t have done this without you.” Collaboration grows not from efficiency, but from generosity.
6. Creativity
AI can remix the past. Only humans can imagine the future. Creativity is the courage to connect the unconnected, to risk failure in search of originality, to see differently when the world demands sameness.
Without creativity, education becomes repetition, work becomes automation, and life becomes predictable. Creativity is not a luxury for artists — it is a necessity for survival.
How to build it: Set aside time each week for low-stakes creation. Write something no one will read. Sketch without erasing. Experiment in the kitchen. Creativity thrives when perfection is not invited into the room.
7. Resilience
Every dancer in a circle stumbles. The question is: do you step out, or do you catch the rhythm again? Resilience is the quiet courage to re-enter the circle after disruption.
In a volatile world, resilience is not about ignoring pain or pretending failure doesn’t hurt. It’s about integrating the lesson and moving forward anyway. Without it, every setback becomes a dead end.
How to build it: After every disappointment, ask two questions: What did this teach me? What’s my next step? Resilience begins when failure is reframed as rehearsal.
8. Humility
We live in an age where a device in our pocket contains more knowledge than entire civilizations once held. Ironically, that makes humility more urgent than ever. The danger today is not ignorance — it’s arrogance.
Humility is not weakness; it is openness. It is the recognition that wisdom can come from anywhere and that leadership means stewardship, not superiority.
How to build it: Practice saying “I don’t know” with confidence. Seek out people who challenge your worldview. Remember that being teachable is the greatest sign of strength.
9. Foresight
Every good dancer thinks a few steps ahead — anticipating turns, sensing shifts, preparing without panic. Foresight in life works the same way: it is the discipline of awareness, not the fantasy of prediction.
In a world defined by disruption, foresight allows us to prepare for change without being paralyzed by it. Those who cultivate it will adapt early; those who don’t will always be catching up.
How to build it: Scan beyond your own field. Read what futurists, scientists, and artists are seeing. Ask regularly: what’s changing, and what might this mean for me, my community, my work? Foresight is less about seeing the future and more about learning to live ready.
A Renewal for the Future
Navratri reminds us that strength comes in many forms and that renewal is always possible. But the next decade won’t wait for us to find these powers at our own pace. If our students don’t cultivate them now, if our institutions don’t model them now, the world will not slow down for us.
The dance doesn’t stop for anyone. The future will belong to those who carry both wisdom and adaptability, both roots and reach. Everyone else will simply be swept out of rhythm. The only choice is whether we stay in step.
Happy Navratri!
Ex Cogitatione, Progressus
Girish
