Innovation, much like a distinguished jurist said about pornography, is easy to recognize, but
hard to define. If we are serious
about innovation, we might as well ban this word from usage. It stands today in the annals of the most abused words of our age, with reams of literature and legions of
innovation consultants still arguing to find its meaning . It has become a joke now. I am not going to use it any further because,
using this i-word doesn’t make you innovative. As I write this, I am reminded of my favorite sufi kalaam by Hazrat Zaheen Taji,
Pani-Pani rat'te rat'te pyaasa hi mar jaaye
(One who chants 'water' endlessly dies of thirst)
Kids today suffer the same fate of the ignorant seeker the poet vividly describes inside schools. Kids are lulled for hours inside class rooms to believe in, what John Dewey called,"verbal knowledge". Ask any kid what he learnt in the school today. He would probably say, (depending on his mood), "..Hmm..I learnt about leaves ...photosynthesis..microbes.,etc". Ask again, "What did you learn about them". I did this once with my eight year old niece. She gave me a wry smile and fled saying, "Mama, I can't answer your question."