Leaders across the world have always emphasized the role and importance of soft skills in professional and personal effectiveness and it has become a part of curriculum in the 21^st century education system. The pandemic has once again reinforced that it is not only what employees achieve but also how they act during crises that is extremely significant. The rare soft skills like resilience to withstand the prevailing gloom of the pandemic has become a determinant of employee effectiveness. Also, small acts of sensitivity, empathy and kindness at the workplace reflect the culture of respect for human values that go a long way in influencing organizational effectiveness. The paper entitled, "The Dynamics of Soft Skills" by Manishankar Chakraborty, highlights the importance and dynamism of soft skills in strategic planning and implementation besides stressing the role of context-based soft skills training.

Is knowledge equivalent to remembrance? Aristotle, one of the great philosophers says, we excel in what we repeatedly do. Hence, repetition or rote learning can be one among the powerful learning methods. However, modern educators are critical of rote learning which narrowly emphasizes memory than critical process of reasoning the content learned. Hence, they call for abandoning such an outdated technique of learning in the 21st century. However, many also argue that it is the foundation to higher levels of learning and hence, it is imperative to spend time for practicing the skills. The paper, "The Impact of Rote Learning at Tertiary Level" by M Ponmani focuses on the impact of rote learning at the tertiary level and explores possible alternatives that can be offered to the learners in the ESL context.

In this modern world, learning is rooted in learners' needs and preferences. Hence, many educators say that learners must take responsibility of what they learn and how they learn than merely learning from the teacher. In this unprecedented world of knowledge explosion, autonomous approach to learning or self-directed learning which gives a learner the right and responsibility to take charge of own learning by self-directing or controlling learning activities is fast becoming prominent. The paper, "Teachers' Perception of Autonomous Learning: Take It with a Pinch of Salt" by Ali Rahimi and Zahra Fahimi, highlights the importance of autonomy of learning that is fast attracting the attention of educators and researchers alike. It explores the Iranian EFL teachers' intuition and understanding of learner autonomy and their perceptions of teachers' roles in autonomous learning with an objective of understanding teachers' awareness of the concept and benefits of autonomous learning.

Establishing rapport is about creating an environment of trust, understanding and respect that gives freedom to express self is one of the first pillars of NLP. It creates the space to listen to another person, even if not agree with what the other says or does. A person can enter into other's world see, feel and understand life from their perspective resulting in enhancing the whole relationship. It implies meeting people in their model of the world and having an ability to be in tune with the person you work with, or empathize with their problems. It helps to understand the persons, bosses, colleagues and avoid any conflicts. The paper, "Building Rapport - Bridge the CHASM Based on Neuro Linguistic Programming and Other International Concepts" by Revathi Turaga, presents the importance of rapport and some way to establish harmonious link with others.

The concept of learning in this modern times has undergone drastic change. The unprecedented challenges arising out of the pandemic ushered in a spate of innovation and initiatives in the learning environment. Besides online teaching, students have started using numerous apps for learning to boost their learning without much involvement of schools. The eBooks and digital relearning material easily accessible are fast replacing the traditional forms of learning. Against this backdrop, Showry's book review of the book Life is a School: Learning as a Way of Life authored by Dr. Col. V R K Prasad attempts to review the book and summarizes some of the ancestral perspectives to learning contained in religious texts drawn widely from the Hindu scriptures. The book running into three sections makes an enviable and excellent attempt to bring to the reader's mind the rich perspectives on learning that takes place in each stage of life by taking insights from both western and eastern thinkers.