On a ride to Srikakulam, Arasavilli, Srikurmam, and Srimukhalingam. The ride did appeal more than clicking pictures. So these are the select few that we have managed to click. 
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Category Archives: My Fascinating Life
It is not just a fall!
Tired mind, sweating back, and heavy feet; I carried myself with my family into the beach park. The idea was relaxation, and my tiring mind kept was unwilling to accept any idea apart from sleeping tight. About the time when I was to mutter my intention to my family, they sprang with smiles looking at a baby playing with other babies on the lawn. I joined them in enjoying the scene. A few minutes have gone by, and the baby was all alone as others left the park. She was shrieking and running behind those who were leaving wanting them to come back to play with her. That did not happen, and her large eyes looked for other players.
For a while, my old father entertained the kid by becoming her catching partner in the ball game. But she was soon to find her daddy sitting relaxed and not joining in. Her next move was swift; turn towards my old father, and throw the ball towards her daddy who was in an opposite direction. Understanding that he doesn’t have much choice, her daddy joined in; and my father relaxed to enjoy the scene. Now, slowly, the baby’s mom too occupied the pitch of play and started kicking the ball, encouraging the baby to kick it too.
After a minute, it was evident that her parents were knocking the ball to each other while the baby was trying to catch it in between and show that she is a part in the game too. She ran in all directions where the ball went; by the kicks of parents who acted as amateur footballers kicking a volley ball. The minute that went by must have been a larger part of her life than ours, for she was tired enough to resent what was happening with her cry. It took that minute, and a little more, for her parents to realize that they bullied on the pitch already, and that they were expected to do something else. In trying to convince their child about their effort and bringing her back into the game, her daddy wanted to kick the ball last time, and this time to the baby only. And his foot touched the ball, only to end up in a wrong move, to slip and fall. Consequence was simple. Baby started smiling, she regained control on her toy, and her mother began to be concerned about her property, the husband. And the husband, or the baby’s daddy, was on the ground trying to recollect his senses.
Had this happened between adults, I would have called it an embarrassing fall. But it happened in a scene with a kid, and for a kid. I now think, it is not just a fall, but it is a fall that makes the kid smile. For the beauty that smile brings, I am ready to fall a hundred times every day. Did I say I was tired? Oops, let me rethink. I am planning to visit the park again, today.
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Plagiarism keeps everyone happy, but…
An editorial in The Hindu today started my day with a question: How do we avoid plagiarism in institutions? The question haunted me for about an year by now. I came to college with long thoughts about this. Especially, that some universities promote “open book examination” and yet they manage to weed out plagiarism; but how is the question that remained. I conducted an exam today, open book one, to see how my students respond to this. Just like I thought, not wanted, they gave me copied answers, word to word. It felt as if there was no real value addition, but then all that a teacher can do is limited to suggesting and directing–persuasion is an option sometimes. So, I did suggest that plagiarism is in a way limiting their imaginative abilities, and that they can get away from this habit by trying to paraphrase to begin with. I thought I had made a reasonable step forward.
But then some piece of information gives me a hint that plagiarism prevails in the institution even in teaching! Wohoo! I am not talking about information sharing, intellectually stimulating discussions, or teaching methodology, but I am talking about “getting to know what happens in other class through students, and then repeating the same in some other class“. Hmm! Honestly, I appreciate it at some level, because one person works for his class, and the students of some other class also benefit from it. At least, its worth was well recognized because some other teacher copied it; only there is no ownership, and only there is no imagination any further. I sometimes pity the students who become instruments of such teachers as to assisting them information about other teachers/classes (a culture I came running away from). They do not understand that they are hurting the system by doing things that are not their job.
Any explanation I offer now seems to me of little use, because of the happy climate that prevails. I understand, plagiarism is keeping everyone happy, including me though I am copied. But then, the question that started my day still follows… How do we get rid of it? Academics can be lot better without plagiarism, but how do we convince the stakeholders? Any more ideas…
With Parents at College
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The Bold and The Blind
Confederation of Indian Industry conducts useful meetings. As such, it is a very large organization that advocates on policy issues and has a significant influence on how the industry is shaping up. One of the meetings they have conducted, I attended, was the investors meet on 22nd February, 2012. The agenda was to bring the investors and borrowers together to see if there can be a match making exercise (as Dr. Harish Patnaik put it).
As an assistant professor my interest in attending the meeting was only too academic. To the most part of the day, it was what was expected: the cry of the small business owners that banks and other investors don’t support them as much as they should. But when Mr. Ramesh Kumar (CII MSME Committee) took over, the picture started changing to a more balanced perspective. With a panel that represented banks, nonbanking financial corporations, venture capitalists, angel investors, private equity consultants and other governmental bodies who raise funds, he tried placing a few points in the heads of the borrowers (fund seekers). I found reasons why it was important.
Four presentations caught my attention for four different reasons:
- Presentation One: The fund seeker was in the business of training different IT Courses, and had a revenue of INR 18 Lacs, with an annual profit of INR 1.5 Lacs. His fund request was about INR 1 Crore that was supplemented with what he alleges to be a business plan (an excel sheet that shows how he can pay back). The venture capitalist on stage had just one question to this proposal! “Can you give it all to me in one page stating why you think you will be successful?“. The answers to that were lame; I thought it was waste of time.
- Presentation Two: The man who presented looked firm, confident and explained their business, dairy. The annual turnover was at INR 64 Crore, and they were seeking another INR 30 Crore to expand their business. Again, the question was same from the panel of investors. Only this time, the man gave an answer that was as firm as he looked. He said, “We are the one of the first players in the business. Our growth projections are reasonable. We offer an exciting exit plan for the investors“. It was sufficient to create a discussion among the panel. Just as I thought this man would get the fund he sought, he murmured during lunch with me that their business may be expanded even without this funding assistance, and that he found alternative ways to do it. Amazed I am with his confidence, and more with his preparation!
- Presentation Three: The man looked professional in his approach. And before I saw him on stage, I found him networking actively. He probably won half the game there! When he was done presenting his set of slides, he convinced the panel that it was a business in which he faces no competition, and that there is a high entry barrier. What I am surprised is the ease with which he could drive his point through! I think he got a cheque before he left the meet. By the way, he was selling fish.
- Presentation Four: The man was an experienced engineer, looked like a bureaucrat too. His idea was genuine, offers exceptional operational gains, though I must say it is not a ground-breaking innovation. His presentation did not really seek funds, but sought assistance on identifying the prospective investors (wonder if he thought there was a difference, at least on this stage!). That he was a technical man (if that makes sense), and not a finance man (excuse me again) was his point that prompted him to make that kind of a request. I pity his understanding of the meet, but can’t resist admiring his ideas and the magnitude of gains that he showed are possible. Indian railways has a lesson to learn from him, and they can save upto INR 600 Crore at least every year.
It was all business upto this point. There were seekers meeting the investors; some got washed away in questions, and some ended discussing. But here comes another man, an alumni of IIM, white haired and with wrinkles on his face, to talk about executive coaching and how it can help the businessmen to get the best out of themselves. I appreciate his points, but on the forum I must admit, it looked out of place. When it was business all through, talk of coaching seemed like a rat trying to find a piece of cheese in a prince’s ball.
Another CII Meet today, this time on Doing business with UK, at Green Park, Vizag. Let me see if I find something better here…
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Meeting malady
A call at 10:40 AM on a well-planned day called me in for a meeting at 11:30 AM that is chaired by the top person of my organization. And that made things pretty sure that the plan was getting killed beyond lunch! Problem with planning is we need information to do it. On some occasions like this, there is only one plan that comes even in absence of real information (there is meta message always, a few physicists could argue, like say “It is a meeting with the boss, idiot“). The call hadn’t made the agenda of the meeting clear, so all I could go in was with a set of vague ideas about what it could be and how I can respond to situations if there are any to be observed.
11:50 PM it is before everyone comes in, and waits for the boss to join. Chatter begins and speculation ends as the agenda of the meeting is about deciding (did we have a choice?) to spend a couple of lacs on purchasing a shallow idea that adds a delta benefit if all goes well; perhaps it is that delta which comes freely if really all goes well. The guest from GHOST, an organization that has a fortune 500 client base with an overall client base of 20000 plus organizations, is given the opportunity to present his proposal. And he took off!
The idea is…we give you…you would get…there are benefits…we brand…provide visibility…many others have bought…we are the best…
What is funny in all this is that GHOST did not have a product they owned. What they came in is with a service they were piloting on us (oops, did I bluntly spell it out?). And the wise men chairing the meeting asked a valid question!
Is there a commitment?
The response to that from representative of GHOST was heard as,
I respect…I truly agree… you are right…I appreciate…you should be critical…company doesn’t allow us to commit, but… we deliver…
I understand, like all others in that meeting, that GHOST has proved that it is a leader in its line of busyness. What I did not know till then was that bargaining and business meeting is still the same, no matter whether the organization is a GHOST or a GORILLA or for that matter even a GOAT. I see that almost all business meetings have same type of language used; curse my work on communication if you are a marketer or a business developer. So discussing, the representative from GHOST suddenly jumped out of conversation claiming that he had a flight to catch–after all, playing big is one trick of selling dodos.
And then, there was an open forum for members to share their views on what can be concluded. I recall Bernard Shaw saying, God is a comedian who performs to an audience too afraid to laugh. There were views all lined up in support (or sucked into the shallowness) of GHOST’s proposal. I played fool to not be the one with an eye. And so the meeting concluded at 13:10 PM!
Just as I want to say Thank God for giving such fun and opportunity to learn, here comes another call for a meeting. What awaits thee now!?
