MDI in expansion mode

I got this from Ankur Jain's blog. Apparently my college is planning to double its intake for the flagship PGPM programme. It also plans to expand in the Middle East. As of now they are thinking of Doha, Qatar.

It seems much better than the earlier plan of vertical integration into a full fledged university.

Those interested can read more here.

Dil Dehelani Wali News

A bearded man with slicked back hair ending in a ponytail stands in front of a screen that looks like a cheap rendition of a Powerpoint template. It has an inset where you will constantly see people beaten up, morchas and chaos. (Given the mans appearance you would have reason to believe that he was part of the chaos going on behind him!). He then paces right to left and proceeds to tell you a 'Dil Dehelani wali khahani' in which a doctor is beaten up by a bunch of local goons for allegedly attempting to flirt with a nurse in a local hospital.

The story drags on. There are numerous repeated shots of the man being beaten up. Then there are stills that are again in powerpoint effect style flown in from every corner of the screen with that dil dehelani wali audio effect. The bearded man throws a few questions to ponder on. The local moral police (read publicity seeker) is bang in the middle of your screen. His henchmen try to peek into the camera to get their 15 seconds of fame.

This happens at prime time when most of the population of working India is back from a tiring day at work and looks forward to entertainment / being well informed. Only in this case, the doctor is from a nondescript suburb of Mumbai, the allegation was not proved true, possibly a hundred such 'flirty' encounters took place everyday and there are more pressing issues facing the nation that its citizens need to be informed about. Welcome to the world of Indian News Reporting

Indian news reporting has hit new lows with the addition of competition. The arrival of the private sector to broadcasting promised a lot but today I stay away from any Indian news channel. The reasons are pretty obvious. Practically everything is 'Breaking News'. I can barely see the broadcasts due to a stock market ticker, a weather ticker, the odd cricket score ticker, the ad marquee, the 'Breaking News' marquee, the logo, etc. As each and every news channel jostles for content it doesnt push up the standards but hits a new low every time. And every time they try to shock my sensibilities by broadcasting shocking content I am indifferent, because I have been repeatedly shocked and my brain has adjusted to the madness of some obscure madman.

Does anybody watch this stupidity? (I can only think of people who are a lil' high and cant reach the remote and so resign themselves to enduring the torture) What happened to the good old days when that Tandon guy (yes! the same bearded chap with the excellent collection of ties) on Doordarshan read the News that people in my family stopped their lives for 10 minutes and sat down in front of the TV to listen to him? Isn't there some form of benchmarking with other international news channels?

Whatever it is I have switched to online media, blogs for my news. The newspaper adds a bit here and there, but Indian TV? sorry boss I cant take it. And I hope for the good of the nation they stop the 'Dil Dehelani wali' stories

Weight can make you unemployed!

The Delhi HC recently told a group of overweight airhostesses to shape up or ship out

Some of the arguments put forward by Justice Rekha Sharma make no sense, especially something like this -

"Observing that planes nowadays fly at 'very high altitude' and are prone to mid-air technical snags, the court said the safety of passengers depended on the cabin crew’s alacrity and presence of mind."

In the event of a technical snag I doubt anybody will trust an air-hostess to rectify the situation given the high risk involved. Such matters are best left to those who are trained in such work. Secondly there is no relation between a persons weight and the ability to solve a problem. At least I don't think so.

However the cabin crew profession is one where looks and personality matter, both for flight pursers and air-hostesses, it makes sense to see that those attending to you give you that in flight experience. You feel bad when the cabin crew in some airlines (which shall not be named) look like your grandparents, worse still when they huff and puff pushing the trolleys bringing you food, etc. Contrast this with airlines like KF where right from check-in you are greeted by smart looking men and women (mostly women) to the in-flight experience and the post flight baggage claim. You want to travel by KF again and again.

And the counter claim that weight control is an insult to womanhood. Sorry ma'am I think you are in the wrong profession

Behenji Strategy

When all political parties in India are trying to establish themselves in various capacities as the saviour of the downtrodden, the middleclass, the unemployed, backward classes, etc the Bahujan Samaj Party led by the firebrand Mayawati seems to have cracked the winning formula.

In the last decade or so, most of the leadership in all almost all political parties in India is purely reactive. After winning an election there is desperate clamouring for alliances and coalitions. Then there is the integration time for getting to know each other and accommodating each other. One third of the tenure is now lost. And before long the powers that be go on a drive to recover their election expenses. You will suddenly see grand schemes being launched and it is but obvious that most of the grants to these schemes are channeled through 'friends' who 'helped' them secure their election victory. Soon its time for the next elections and who know whether you will make it again given that nothing was done for the people so there is a period where everyone maximises the investment they made to get to power. End result? Another run after elections to form the government. If the people who 'helped' you were not happy with their returns you are out and a new Charlie is in the drivers seat. And the story goes on ...

However Behenji as Mayawati is called by her supporters has over the past two years being quitely working behind the scenes to exploit the weakness of her competitors and the environment (UP politics) to her advantage. Given the absence of strong leadership in the state from any national party (read INC and BJP) the only person left was Mulayam. Mayawati set out to put her candidates in place well in advance to make sure the people know who represents which party and to avoid confusion at the end. She then threw the BSP's caste agenda aside and positioned it as the 'sarva samaj' party including Brahmins, Muslims and OBCs under one wing. The new mantra seems to be the welfare of the sarva samaj.

Over two years the idea seeped in, took ground and needless to say the people of Uttar Pradesh tired with the soft Hindutva and caste based politics decided to give the BSP a chance. The result? A thumping victory for the BSP on its own steam. As usual parties have 'reacted' in a bid to woo Dalit voters. The national parties are taking special efforts to see that Dalits dont feel alienated.

What does this mean for Indian politics? Will this (termed 'Brahmin-Dalit bhaichara') be the new mantra? Its too early to say. For one, UP politics has in recent years seen the demise of the INC and the BJP and its more a tug of war between the SP and the BSP. Though the model can be replicated in select states where there is a so called power vacuum. However Im pretty sure that the larger parties will not sit quitely. Another important point is that Mayawati seems to have no idea what to do ahead. i.e. with respect to the development of UP, aligning the various interests of the many factions which make the new fabric of the BSP, etc. Was she expecting a victory? or has the result stunned her as well?

Whatever it is, India has got a new formula to pursue. Whether it will work or not only time will tell. If it works, Indian politics will move from caste based politics to the integration of economically backward classes, hopefully without caste, which is a good thing. If it doesnt work we not be worse off. There is no downside. Welcome Mayawati! Hope you change Indian politics for the better.

Power hungry

The power crisis in the country needs no elaboration. Reams and reams have been written about how to secure funding to bridge the gap between demand and supply. And with investment in the sector people are looking to build more and more plants. After building them they will scurry to ensure that there is a constant supply of fuel to run these plants. NTPC is already to trade its power plant building expertise for a guaranteed supply of fuel from Nigeria. Thus after the mad rush to get investment, there will be another race to get fuel. Then there will be another race to ensure that we are best in the world and it will go on and on.

Rather I'm thinking why nobody has looked at the option to reduce Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Losses which at present hover at 40-50%. Are these because of old equipment? Or are these losses due to pilferage? If the reason is due to the former I would like to see investment going into the upgradation of existing infrastructure which will almost double our current power supply. Even if it is due to pilferage, investments to reduce it will result in transmission companies significantly increasing their revenues and consequently profits which would then enable them to fund new projects themselves.

Either ways there are huge gains to be made by upgrading the current infrastructure rather than diverting investment to new projects. I hope that somebody sees the merit in it.

Updates on the Andamans & Bangalore

Many friends have been inquiring about my experiences in the Andamans. I apologise for the delay in uploading the pics and posting. But I'm not completely at fault since I am the mercy of those who own the digicams (BTW this is a must-buy gadget for people like me with huge wanderlust)

But take heart me hearties ... Downloads are in progress and I've got the machinery rolling. Hopefully in a few weeks :( I will have all the pics; and the posts will follow. Till then you have to be satisfied with my random ramblings!

Win-win

Formula One is becoming a win win game for me. Till last year there were very few moments when the race result would leave me satisfied. That was because ever since I started following the sport in 2001 I have had my favorite driver in my favorite team. Mika Hakkinen and later Kimi Raikonnen were both McLaren drivers. This year hence with Schumi finally vacating his Ferrari seat (realising that F1 will br much more exciting without him) to Kimi and Alonso at McLaren the race result always keeps me in good spirits. Past two races have sure been so. Lets hope it continues for the rest of the season.

Another one bites the dust

As the West Indies crashed out of this edition of the World Cup I once again felt remorse and sad. Many years ago (1994) is was the West Indies that lured me to become their biggest fan. That was the series against India which the Windies levelled in Mumbai after being one down in nagpur. It was the summer and I was at my uncles house and since I had nothing better to do was watching (grudgingly!) a Test match!

They say childhood influences last a lifetime. In that series I saw Walsh, Kenneth Benjamin, Anderson Cummins and a coupla other quicks. Lara, Chanderpaul, Hooper, Keith Artherton and Simmons as batsmen and a wickety called Junior Murray. I fell in love with their style and their flamboyance. I made it a point to learn more about them. Soon I was mesmerised by the bowling of Curtly Ambrose and the batsmanship of Brian Lara. Till today my favorite all time players are Ambrose and Lara. And I really wished that the semifinals against Australia went differently in 1996 when they lost by 4 runs. It would have given these two great players the highest honour due to them.

Over the latter half of the 90s they have gone through their lowest with a poor domestic structure and a lack of unity. The former has seen dirty linen being washed in public and the latter has seen players revolt on salaries and contracts. Combine that with a lack of one person to bring different islands together and you have a recipe for disaster. Clive Loyd was perhaps the last great unifier of West Indian cricket. Viv Richards to some extent but Lara is just not there as a people person.

But I am not completely disheartened because there is potential. The last two editions of the ICC Champions trophy has given proof though its not exactly a revival of fortunes they are capable of coming up with good cricket. It is also a fact that every dog his day. The Aussies were the whipping boys of cricket int he days of Merv Hughes and then came along Border who changed Aussie cricket. Similar is the story of what Cronje did after Kepler Wessels handed him the South African captaincy. What West Indies cricket needs is one person who can see ahead and build a team that will be world class a few years down the line. Till that time we will have to see the Windies whipped around.

Buck up dudes!

That scam called Religion - Part III

Good or Bad?
They way I have potrayed religion you must be wondering whether anything good has ever come out of it. Well nothing is entirely bad or entirely good. Ditto here. In the example of Christianity (I hope you will forgive my lack of knowledge about other religions!) education has assumed significant importance among those priests with a missionary bent of mind. The large number of centres of excellence in education in India run by the Church is a testimony to that fact. I am not aware about missionary activity in other religions but I am sure something must exist.

Changes
If it had not been for the reforms under the Vatican II in the year 1962-65 Christianity would have been a dying religion. There would have been a mass exodus of its members. It is to the credit of the Church that they were proactive in recognising an era of knowledge and intense inquiry into matters of religion. They plugged most of the holes that had been left by the fighting of their predecessors. More than anything the Church changed its stance from a rigid patriachal system to one which signigficant control was handed down to the people who constitute the Church. Though people are satisfied the scam continues. Christianity is still restricted by symbolism like the Mass, the Cross and certain rituals called sacraments. It will be a long time before the old mindset of blindly accepting something handed down by authority changes.

Application
Not all religious leaders are rabble rousers. While most of them have blindly accepted what has come down the ages as the truth. Few have stopped to inquire and those few have been persecuted, burnt at the stakes, excommunicated and killed. A few have managed to survive though.

Which is why yesterday's Good Friday Homily by Fr Nigel Barett came like a refreshing breeze on a humid summers day. Fr Nigel challenged old concepts like suffering and sacrifice and gave it new meaning. It was a welcome change and for the first time in months I was excited. Suddenly religion looked like an 'applied' theme; from which you can actually do something. God and religion seemed one for a brief fleeting instant.

Convergence will take place the day everyone practices his/her religion in its truest and purest form and we will stop scamming ourselves.

That scam called Religion - Part II

In my previous post there I have shown how the original message of an extraordinary being gets corrupted over the years into rituals which lose relevance and meaning with respect to the original message.

For me the concepts of 'God' and 'organised religion' are two very different things; the latter being a creation of man to control and exert his power. In the example of Christianity, there were clearly two power centres; that of Constantinople and Rome which subsequently came to be known as the Eastern and Western versions respectively. The Nicene Creed (popularly known as the 'I Believe') is a credo that was the outcome of the Council of Nicea, organised by the Emperor Constantine somewhere around the 4th century AD to unite the Western and Eastern theories. The fallout was that a good many texts which would have been windows to our original doctrines were destroyed by Constantine to ensure success of the Council and the Nicene Creed was made the standard. The common Creed lasted till about 1000 AD when power struggles that ensued between the Bishops of important cities at that time, namely Rome, Alexandria, Constantinople, Jerusalem and Antioch; split the Church in two permanently and have ensured that what we have today is more a result of a patronising Emperor and less of our original doctrines.

Today the Nicene Creed occupies an enviable position in the Catholic Church and is also part of the Holy Mass. Most of what we know about religion is a product of the power struggle between kings, bishops and other rulers and administrators. People who propogated what they wanted to and destroyed evidence that would undermine their authority and status.

Hence religion is all about power. Political, Economical and Social. How does it sustain itself? It builds a culture around itself. People are born into the culture and it becomes a part of their lives. When they grow up and (if) they begin to question their religion they literally have no choice. They will have to renounce a culture that is so much part of them they can't seem to fit outside. Thats the Social ringfence. Economically it collects tithes from its members; those with higher collections getting more attention than others ultimately creating in the minds of such members a feeling of superiority. (Talk to some old parishoners in areas like Orlem, Bandra and IC Colony to get a better understanding) The influence of the Church in Catholic countries / areas like Philipinnes, Spain, Mexico and parts of Latin America are well known. Even in India in the days following the death of missionary Graham Staines the Catholic Church openly encouraged its members to vote for 'secular' parties (read: the Indian National Congress)

I call it a scam because for the most part of it we have allowed rituals and symbolism to rule us. The Christian equivalent of 'jihaad' also known as 'Crusades', killings of women from different cultures in the form of burning at the stakes, selling of Indulgences (absolution in exchange for money), corruption and an attitude of arrogance and superiority characterised the Church. Symbols (eg. the Cross, statues, trinkets and other paraphernalia) are used by religious leaders to rouse public sentiments when these things should not matter. And again the story will not be very different across religions.

That is how Religion and God are vastly different. Two very different concepts often paraded together, sold to us in a packaged deal. Its a pity many of us blindly accept it without question. The Church had a brilliant way of dealing with the problem. A line in the Bible says "Blessed are ye who do not see and yet believe" The line I believe is deliberately inserted to quell any questions and make you feel good. Christ was a man full of wisdom, I doubt He would have said a line like that.

(To be continued)

That scam called Religion - Part I

I have been thinking about religion since some time. And in the following post I will pen (rather type) my thoughts. I have been looking closely at religion and it looks to be one of the best scams ever. One person or a group of persons have built a set of rules and guiding principles that have to be followed by the multitudes. Mostly these were based on what the founders thought to be right. I don't mean the technical founder but the guys who took over after the new philosophy was propounded. I am not an authority on the various religions of the world but I know a bit about Christianity. Lets start there.

Contrary to popular belief Christ was not the founder of Christianity. His disciples were. Christ did not write the New Testament in the Bible. His disciples (mainly fisherfolk and possibly illiterate with the exception of Matthew who was a tax collector) did. Most of the accounts were also written down when the disciples were old somwehere around 80 AD. Point being that Christianity was shaped by what the First Believers penned, the rules they enforced and the tradition they established. Todays Christian doctrine has also been hugely influenced by famous patrons, most notably Emperor Constantine. Over the years the Christian religious leadership has assimilated what these influences have borne, the Nicene Creed (popularly known as the 'I believe') being the most famous. Are there deviations from Jesus' original philosophy? Were the non-controversial Gospels chosen? Were controversial Gospels discarded? What has been hidden under the carpet? We will never know.

These interventions by power hungry administrators have manisfested themselves in small disparities in our Holy Texts. For all His divineness and humility Christ seems to have been a little vain as chronicled by the line at the last supper, "Do this in memory of Me". Do what? Follow your teaching (i.e. 'Break yourself for others') or just break bread symbolically? The former would make sense, unfortunately the Church has chosen the latter and over the centuries we have forgotten the former giving us a ritual which does not go with the character of a person who has a high degree of moral goodness.

Herein, I feel, lie the first seeds of control as sown by the authors or interveners. The setting up of systems, processes and rituals that the rest should follow. The Church then comes up with a verdict (possibly to get errant Christians on track) saying that missing Sunday Mass (the re-enactment of the Last Supper) is sin. Somewhere along the line they also classify sin as venial (smaller transgressions) and mortal (larger transgressions). Obviously missing Sunday service is classified mortal. Why was Sunday chosen? Apparently that is the day God rested i.e. the Sabbath. Ironically Christ Himself has attacked the concept of the Sabbath in the very same Gospels where His disciples propound it.

Religion is based on fear. Bertrand Russell calls it the fear of the unknown. Over centuries religious leaders have capitalised on this fear by setting the rules. Those who deviate or 'sin' will be punished on a deferred basis i.e. in later life or after death in places called Purgatory (another fancy creation, a tool of fear and power). There is no mention of Purgatory in the Scriptures. Yes there is something mentioned about 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' but then I doubt neither weeping nor gnashing a method of spiritual cleansing. And i am sure Someone who is omniscient will agree. Fear. Thats what it is all built on. And since nobody has come back from the netherworld the fear is all the more credible.

So who decides what is sin? As per the old cathecism pre-Vatican II (A conclave where the Church decided to move with the times) of the Catholic Church there are seven capital sins (Small digression: There is also a movie starring Kevin Spacey called 'Se7en' where he murders people who commit these sins). If God gave us freedom then he surely has no right to punish us. The concept of Hell is also something I do not agree with. Everlasting punishment goes against the very nature of a forgiving God that we learn during Cathecism.

I have taken the example of Christianity since I have been educated about it. Looking at the disillusionment all around me I can sense that a similar malaise exists in other religions. The core of the message / philosophy has been lost over time and has been replaced with rituals which concentrate power in the hands of a few.

(To be continued ... )

And God made woman ... (or did he???)

An observation: All the women I am interested / attracted to are married, betrothed, about to get married, into a relationship, in cities far away, don't have the time since they are busy with college or professional life, lesbian or have societal & communal constraints ... Where are all the women gone????!!!!

Organisations & Politics

The power of the press and media got me thinking about corporations and organisations. The more I have been thinking about them, the more they seem like completely political entities; which is something Prof. Subir used to constantly tell us in Organisational Design. Whatever one might think, organisations exist to control resources, people and outputs. During the budget analysis the ideas and opinions of a select few so easily imposed (in a controlled maner) on the public at large who lapped up the verdict without understanding most of the matter. Or for simplicity let us assume that most organisation have a fixed set of values. Even if they are not, the beliefs of the top management are imposed on the lower rung of employees (read: control). Given the diversity I'm sure there are exceptions who do not subscribe to these values or beliefs. Will they blindly accept and follow. Yes they do, almost everytime for management seduces. They twist an apple, call it an orange and get their work done. (Frankly thats most of what I learnt at BSchool apart from the jargon).

You might say that such corporations are doomed. Well they will be if they were non-political. Because there the management was just, fair and moral. Hence they backtracked, withdrew and a new set of people took over. The ones that exist today are those that have been successful in their propaganda, call it by better names like market-share, profits, growth, customers, whatever ... But the fact remains that they have come this far by controlling people, imposing their ideas on them and seducing them to work for their benefit.

What is our role here? MBA's all over the world will be hired to seduce and secure what top management wants. Some years later we'll be doing the 'goal-setting', the 'targets'; brainwashing those below us (fresh MBA's) to seduce while we control. In short, organisations whether you like it or not are political entities.

Now the big question. Why would anyone do it? I'd answer as Nick Naylor does in 'Thank you for smoking' ..."It's for the mortgage!"

Budget Blues

We need to grow at 100% (mentally)
Over the last few days I have almost shred the newspaper and gobbled up all the news collectively available on any business magazine or media channel. Such has been the level of boredom that I have been reading trash and seeing trash. This is Budget week in India and more than intellectually stimulating it seemed like the Great Indian Laughter Challenge. Lets start with the Rail Budget. I won't delve into the pros and cons since all our mailboxes have had some kind soul filling it with Budget docs, pdfs and in one case an excel too! Anyways what I want to focus on is the sorry state of Parliament that I witnessed on TV. I am not a Congress / UPA supporter but the way in which the opposition disrupted proceedings spoke of a 'bajrangi' attitude; the type that is endorsed by village bumkins. If that was not enough, we had another village bumkin who went on and on amid the chaos. A complete Child-Child transaction if Prof. Kalra of the Organisational Behaviour Dept. at MDI were to analyse it.

We may be growing at 8+% but I wonder when will we grow mentally.

I wannabe ...
Such has been the impact of the budget that even the aam aadmi seems to have an opinion; irrespective of whether he has fully understood it or not. Reminds me of a Prof in MDI who (obviously will not be named) said "When I look at the balance sheet of *** (company which will not be named!) I don't get confidence to think that this deal will go through"The financials of this company were not available on any database; and when questioned about the source, the Prof retreated saying that he had read extensively some analyst reports in the pink press!

People all over the country are reacting to bits and pieces news that they hear when politicians scream hoarse. Again, I'd like to state that I haven't seen the Budget document, the pdf, doc or hard copy, hence I'm on neutral gear right now! But the point I want to make is that this closely resembles the 'Madness of Crowds' that Prof Bakshi used to talk about in his BFBV class. Most of the people out there are wannabes, selective hearing being their weapon of choice. I would love to hear opinions but only after the the new policy is understood, assimilated and analysed. It is just not possible that within minutes of the Finance Minister releasing a policy document some good number of pages thick that you say with passion how grave the situation is, How dissapointed you are, How growth will slow down, etc, etc.

Still there will always be an 'I wannabe heard' ... Tch!

Adios

Its more or less two years since I jumped up in glee when I received a final admit to MDI; and to be frank they have possibly been the best years of my life. From a confused term one where I just didn't know what was happening around me to the absolutely 'vela' term six, life has been pretty decent, academics stable and fun exponential. But probably the best takeaway from MDI (apart from employment) has been a bunch of wonderful friends in the form of seniors, batchmates, juniors and professors; and this is the reason I leave Gurgaon with a heavy heart. I will miss the morning lectures, the rushed up assignments, the oh-so-wonderful-gyaan cases, the coffee breaks, the bad food, the greens, the red bricks and the cold weather, not to forget the dirty loos of the ground floor. I will also miss the random 'Lets grab a bite / movie' by my friends of SouthEx (I will probably post another time about the denizens of SouthEx), the arbitness of my Corridor, the completely-wasted parties and the stupidity of some officebearers in the Student Council and faculty.

As for the academics n gyaan, management has proved to be complete common sense and considering the cost it has been bloody expensive, the saving grace being the fact since people don't know about it, it helps you climb the corporate ladder much faster and earn even faster. But it seems like a good investment in self. Lets just hope that it pays huge dividends!

At the end of it all, it has been an enjoyable experience, almost like a two year vacation and a great place to build lasting friendships. Thank you MDI! Here's to the ManDevIans!!! You guys rock!!!!!

Gyaan Sessions

Its that time of the year when you know that any efort will just not matter. It is the sixth term here at MDI and I couldnt have been more callous towards acads in my entire life. The days begin at 10am, sometimes at 12 noon. Lunch, classes (if there are any), eating out, booze, movies and other random assorted crap. I have almost lost the drive to gym, jog, whatever (It doesn't help that the weather is perfect for hibernation) It is in the midst of this that I have been thinking about the past two years over here and all that has come and gone. So this is the perfect time to give gyaan. Over the next few weeks till I get employed, take off on a vacation or do something productive I will rattle on gyaan on various subjects, opinions and philosophies. Mind you this has not come without any cost. It has cost me roughly six lakhs in rents and another six in opportunities. But nonetheless they are things that one is supposed to ponder on. Some may be applicable to you and some may be not. Don't come after me, argue, debate. This is gyan; you read at your own risk!

Session One.

People (including me) come to BSchools with a grand idea of learning business. Let reality bite. You don't learn much here. Don't tell me that an academic bhelpuri for two years makes you that valuable that an organisation throws a million bucks (Average compensation has touched 10L+ levels) at you to 'add value' to their business. At the end of two years an organisation sees a person in the interview room and sees an ability to work crazy hours, meet tight deadlines, follow ridiculous schedules, sweet talk (faff) its customers. This is the pure unadulterated meaning of 'adding value'. A blue collared worker would take 17L in overtime. (Read this - especially the comment section) You my friend are given 10L. Value added indeed!

The only takeways one has from a BSchool are contacts and reputation. You are working with a group of over ambitious, highly competitive people who has been selected from among the cream of India's population. It is but natural that most of them will end up in very very senior management positions within a short span of time. Which is why BSchool gives you a shitload of contacts (read increasing your bargaining power in some tight situation somewhere down the line).Which brings me to my next point; the importance of ones reputation. Granted that people are immature even when they come this far, still things like overcharging foreigners, manhandling women, cost allocation to the second decimal after a group dinner, living off others, etc. should be well avoided. In case one still has to do it, do it with style; atleast you will be remembered positively ;)

People run business. Not models. Not theories. Not fancy ppts. They are derivatives. The underlying in all this is the human factor. The person who ignores 'human behaviour' is doomed in business. I know the HR subjects are filled with flowery terms and jargon everyone loathes but still if you strip away the jazz, you get a somewhat basic understanding of how people behave. My obsession with people skills began at Siemens. It has helped me give a lot of importance to the HR courses here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that if you dont understand HR you wont be successful. Just learn to strip the jazz and get to the core of the matter.

This is probably the end of the first of a series of gyaan sessions. I'll get back to my movie and rum now (a neccessity if your MBA stretches over winters in North India). Watch this space for more gyaan!

Yuletide beckons!!!

I'm off to Mumbai for a week. Its nice to get away from the drudgery of Pre Placement Talks, academic rigour :), and the usual hustle and bustle of Change Masters. There are lots of things to look forward too, like:

(1) Making tea and drinking it in my mug
Middle finger to all you dip teas of the world. Welcome to the original brew, simmering on a hot flame
(2) Eating pork and pork derivatives
Damn Gurgaon for its obsession with chicken and mutton. You are not a meat-eater if you haven't tasted pork marinated for three days in traditional Mangalorian curry.
(3) Possibly assist the sweet making activity of home
Kalkals, Marzapans, Newrios, Guava cheese, Jujubs, Cookies, Cake ... my mouth is watering as I write this
(4) Playing Christmas carols full blast
(5) Midnight Mass on St. Anne's grounds
Rather its after Mass thats the happening part ;) Gatecrash a few parties if possible
(6) Catching up with the ol' gang
And their better halves / to-be better halves. I guess I'm the only bachelor in the group :(
(7) Mom Dad's silver jubilee on the 26th
Can't think of anything to get them
(8) Possibly a few weddings since its wedding season

I'm loving it!
Mumbai here I come!!!

Poker and Walker ... a nice combination

Well this was not inspired by 'Casino Royale', the latest Bond flick. It all happened when I was in Mumbai last month for Avenues at IIT-SOM for Avenues 2006, a business simulation game. On the way back we Mandevians played poker. For me it was the first time. And at the end of two days and countless games I made a profit of Rs.2.00 Obviously the stakes were small with cover charges of 25p and a stop loss at Rs.20. Nonetheless it was a great experience. We didn't have tokens but Harshit Jain made good the absence with his chopdi (notebook)

A few days ago we played poker again in the basement of the hostel. This time it was different. First, it was international. We had participation from Belgium, France, Germany, Morocco and India. Second, there were tokens finally instead of the chopdi toting Harshit Jain. Third, we had Johnie Walker Black Label for company.

The exchange students were good players. Its a different thing that Verghese always ends up winning some. The tokens added to the jazz and the JWBL was superb. I decided to have the Scotch neat. Bloody smooth. Three large ones later I was still feeling good. And mind you, no hangover in the morning.

I was wiped out in the first round and went to play some table tennis. I returned later to play for Verghese and as lady luck would have it I had two aces in my hand and one round later I had another on the table. Undoutedly, I cleaned up a huge pot I dunno how much coz by then the Black Label had had its effect. As for the net winnings, as usual I broke even. No profit no loss!

L-R: Tim, Thibaut (both from Belgium), Slyvia (Italy, onlooker), Moi, Verghese (Indian reps!), Robert and Evaristo (both from Germany)

Hasan (Morocco) had gone to get some stuff hence not in the pic.

Finally ... it is finished!!!

Ah finally it is over. There has been loads of work in the past few weeks. For starters it was JP Morgan's all India case study on the valuation of a Chinky company. At the end of it all I was haunted by Free Cash Flows and Excel sheets. However my team members Porter and Sanky and me learnt the inside out of valuations. It was a good learning experience.

Then came the autobiography on self for the course on Self Development and Interpersonal Relations. The prof wanted something of a minimum of 20 pages. Poor me. I started typing and along the way I got so carried away and it went to 31 pages. The autobiography looked good at the end of it all and believe it or not it made me relive some of my happiest moments. Yes I also got a bit sentimental in between. Autobiographies are a good way to explore yourself and they actually help you understand yourself better. Everyone should write an autobiography!

Simulataneously, I was working on a course of independant study on 'Corporate Renewal' We have an option here of taking a CIS in lieu of a full credit where we study a subject of our choice for the entire term. Obviously the perks are that there are no classes, no quizzes and that you define your work and your pace. The cons are that since one is free one tends to not work until the advent of deadlines.

So thats what took all my time and kept me away from blogging all this while. Will be coming up with updates soon!

The takeover

India was taken over by the British after the 1857 revolt. Yep it was a bit crude. Gold (the princes got 'em) instead of cash and slavery instead of share swaps. MDI was taken over yesterday in a 1:1 pure student deal. For every student sent abroad we have now, albiet a lil' late, a French student. ESCP-EAP, Paris has pumped in additional capital to strengthen the 'balance' sheet. Yep the male-female ratio looks somewhat balanced now. Caveat: The additional 'capital' is in the form of venture capital. Our people will be returning in a months time and these people will return then. Has the makings of a sexy takeover (though temporary).

Sample this. I get up early on Sunday morning. BTW 9:30 AM is extremely early for a Sunday. I walk into Change Masters Mess for my masala dosas and I am greeted to a sight of a mess full of firangs! I rubbed my sleepy eyes and thought for a minute that my eyes were playing tricks. Worse I thought it was a hangover of the JP Morgan case competition (which had made me work in the Computer centre for one week straight 24x7). I pinched myself. It hurt. Yep there were 54 guys and gals (hot ones too!) from France for a one month course on 'Management of International Projects'. Whatever it is! I'm not complaining but seriously it feels like we localites are on exchange!