About Me

Hi there!

I am a German language trainer (A1-C2) with an experience of 18+ years.

I love designing immersive learning experiences that lead learners towards an Aha! moment.

I believe all branches of knowledge converge at the core. If you keep going deep into a subject of your choice, you’ll eventually reach the fountainhead from where it all springs out.

That’s an Aha! moment, when you experience how overtly diverse fields intersect.

The pursuit of this intersection drives my work.

Founder, Content Head, CEO

Pulse of Learning (PoL)

November 2019 - Present

  • Identified problems that learners face (eg. Why do we go blank while speaking?)

  • Created new content and methods to fill such gaps (eg. my First Sparks Method)

  • Galvanized a team of creatives to produce original content that made learning more effective

  • Created learning solutions for ALL aspects of language learning: Listening (Ninja-Ohren), Speaking (Redensart), Reading (Sherlocking a Lesetext), Writing (Schreib like You and Bleistiftung), Vocabulary (Raise Your Words), Grammar (German Grammar Secrets), and Pronunciation (Akzentfrei)

  • Marketed and delivered these new solutions to 1000+ learners

  • Created a community for German learners for ongoing immersion and practice (PoL-Circle)

  • Published books on learning German (Pulse Book Series on grammar and learning)

So far, I’ve helped thousands of German learners reach their goals of speaking German like a mother tongue or cracking a desired CEFR level.

I have also trained teachers from all over India and abroad as a team member and head of the Teacher's Training Program at the Goethe Institute Max Mueller Bhavan Pune.

Teacher, Trainer

Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan, Pune

January 2005 - August 2019

  • Taught across ALL CEFR levels (A1 - C2)

  • Designed & delivered immersive and interactive learning experiences that wowed the learners

  • Trained 50+ teachers from India and abroad (2006 - 2014)

  • As Head of the Teacher's Training department designed the program, coordinated with other trainers and inspired the trainees to own the teaching experience by infusing their personalities into the process

  • Collaborated with Content Creators from Germany & India to produce materials for the the DLA and the DLL (the Teacher's Training program of the Goethe Institute) as well as the DTG (IGNOU's diploma in teaching German)

  • Collaborated with German and Indian Creatives from the fields of theatre, music, dance, storytelling, filmmaking for intercultural projects  

  • Created & delivered tailor-made courses for companies like Wipro, SAS etc.

Learners start with a goal in mind, but often follow in the footsteps of conventional wisdom. This doesn’t lead them there.

Moreover, the existing solutions are dotted with gaps within themselves.

What I do best is make them aware of such gaps.

Then define a learning path that will take them from where they are to where they want to be.

Instructional Designer

Brainvisa Technologies

January 2003 - July 2004

  • Designed storyboards for 50+ courses based on the raw content provided by the clients on topics like engineering, medicine, technology and K-12

  • Coordinated with SMEs to ensure quality and authenticity of the created content

  • As Storyboard Manager, trained and mentored a team of IDs, coordinated with other departments like Graphics and Development to take projects from scope to completion

Effective learning is a combination of insight and practice.

The problem with insight is it’s hard to come by.

The problem with practice is boredom.

At PoL, I have created content based on my personal insights into language learning and designed rituals for deliberate practice.

Education

Grünes Diplom (Teacher’s Training) - Note I

Goethe Institut Pune & Munich; 2004

C2 Deutsch (Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung) - Note I

Goethe Institut Pune; 2005

Advanced Diloma in German - First Class with Distinction (1st rank)

Ranade Institute, Pune; 2000

Graduation: BE (E & TC)

Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune; 2000

Skills

Computers and Internet

Microsoft Office

Wordpress

Squarespace

Content Creation

Audio/Video Production & Editing

Content Writing (German & English)

Podcasting

Marketing

Copywriting

Social Media

E-Mail Campaigns

Graphics

Canva

Languages

German (C2)

English (C2)

Marathi (mother tongue)

Hindi (fluent)

Interests

  • Reading & rereading (LOTR and Harry Potter are my favs);

  • Movies (I've even made four shorts, wrote screenplays and have subtitled actual feature films);

  • Music (love all kinds, but German and choral music are close to my heart (I sing in a choir every Christmas AND I have met Reinhard Mey!);

  • Writing and Poetry (have published the Pulse book series, a few poems in German and English and a few short stories in English)

  • Storytelling (love extracting the healing message within stories)

  • Life Coaching (have helped a few people find their way with my Life Design course