It is a Diploma... :)

The hall was packed as Chadda and I entered. 

I could not believe my eyes, there were nearly 60 students in the auditorium. Chadda was scanning for a place to sit and saw the middle row was unoccupied, started navigating towards it. The seat was bang in front of the elevated podium. 

Chadda as usual was silent and just sat with a calm look on his face waiting for the session to begin. 

My mind however was unsettled seeing the humongous space.

We were here in an introductory session of “achievers workshop “organized by IMS India Private limited. IMS was one of the leading institutes that provided coaching for cracking CAT - the most respected aptitude exams for anyone aspiring to enter into the realms of management. Of course managerial aptitude was the last in anybody’s mind when they decided to go in for CAT. 

Almost all (including me) just saw the media splashing news about the skyrocketing pay to many at IIMS and saw it as a nice way to grow up in scale. Almost all get sick of engineering when they enter the final year and MBA offered an attractive escape route for many to get a respectable life in an economy where engineers were dime a dozen. And the nice ratio of 70% of the intake being engineers further made it the logical choice for many techies.

I was of course one among the crowd. 

Chadda however was from the topmost colleges in the country. We had both gone in for CAT and he had ended up with a top score, I on the other hand had cemented my mediocrity with an average score, but nowhere near to getting into the IIMS. 

Strictly speaking this session was only for the high scorers who where enrolled at IMS .I just classified on the second count! But still Chadda insisted that we both attend the introductory session as our knowledge of management was just limited to fancy terms we had both gobbled up at some point in our graduation.

The session was supposed to educate us on various aspects of management and the road ahead that is what to expect in the second round of selection, the group discussions and the personal interview. The session would be handled by some Paresh, an MBA himself majoring in Human Resource management.

I glanced at my watch and, it was still 15 minutes for the lecture to begin. 

People were still trickling down in ones and twos. A girl dressed in the traditional salwaar kameez and a beaded jhola bag made it to our row and asked,” Is this seat taken? “

I shook my head and she slid into the seat adjacent to me, undid her bag took out a register and pen and stared ahead with a serious expression.

Bored I said,”Srikant”, “Varsha ‘she replied back.

“So what’s your expected score?” I asked.” I might just about get a call from one the IIMs maybe Indore .I did well in verbal section but messed up the quantitative section.” , she replied.”

 “What about you? “ Just ok in all the sections did slightly well in verbal.” 

This elicited a smile from her, we were companions she thought .

So what is your background “mechanical engineering”, I replied. The smile died away replaced by a frosty “I see “.I was nonplussed at the sudden change in her demeanor. And what about you “literature honors, DU.” “Oh that’s nice” I said, being an avid bibliophile I looked up at anything related to them.

” Must be nice reading up for a specialization, “I added. She stared back and replied,” What so nice?  Nobody gives a damm about literature and I did not have mathematics like you guys. And I had to work very hard to get myself up for CAT, thanks to the tough competition given by you guys.” 

Oho this madam is all messed up. And I wasn’t exactly an ideal mascot for the engineering tribe. I was about to correct her when there was a sudden silence

Shifting focus I looked up and saw a squat short bespectacled man dressed in slippers and a faded shirt a size too large for him .He was avidly gazing at the crowd, with a large smile on his face. 

I caught his eye and his smile widened. Puzzled, I nodded my head .Why is he so happy I thought and nudged Chadda .

Chadda, as usual knew what I was thinking and being the cynic he said , ” If you were there giving gyaan for a couple of hours, for a nice pay wouldn’t you be happy? “He mouthed turning to me.

“Good Morning to all “boomed Paresh’s voice .All noises ceased. “ First of all I would like to congratulate you all for doing well in the first round “.

I slid away from focus feeling slightly guilty. “However the road ahead is even tougher “continued Paresh. “And through this session I would just like to highlight some of the important aspects with respect to a management education.”

Paresh launched into an introduction of himself. He had passed out from XLRI more than 10 years back, been a HR guy for Maruti for about 5 years and then quit. He skimmed on the part of being out of Maruti. But the gist seemed that he had messed up something out there and predictably he turned the tables on Maruti for the incident. Then he fished out an article dealing with the life of corporate, the business managers of large MNCs.

“It is not about money, “he droned on.” If you are good at something don’t chase money keep doing it and money will chase you “.Aha this gyaan now seems interesting. What I am good at, I thought inwardly. Well am good at reading and public speaking, debating and all. 

Then I though about playing tabla I am good at that too. 

So then do I spend my life debating and playing tabla? 

The mental picture of beating a tabla and shouting vehemently did not look very good. I shook my head, it’s no good .These culture specific activities are for the financially well off. Middle incomes like us had to find a way to get regular food on the table .Maybe later I though once in a good job and good money I can do all that. But something told me that it would never happen.

Snapping out of the internal though process I focused on the session again. Paresh was reading from a piece of paper, what he called the typical life a big shot manager.” Armed with a two year diploma in hand, techno-mangers brace themselves to enter the realms of management. Most venture into the domain of investment banks where the big bucks are. They put in demanding 13-15 hour workdays and no holidays. For money they forget their family .In the relentless pursuit to reach the top they upset the delicate balance of work and life. After a couple of years they realize that they have nothing in life save a pot of money and fancy material comforts.” Paresh paused and looked up. 

The entire class was staring at him with utmost seriousness. I glanced around all too mindful of the effect Paresh had created. For a minute even I felt the futility of all education. A quick look around I noticed a burly Delhite, scribbling furiously.

I nudged Chadda again and he replied “, that’s Gurdeep, he is from my college, pretty serious most of the times and always taking notes.” Meanwhile Paresh returned the piece to his packet with a satisfied smile.

“So, what do all you budding managers think about this article. I personally think it has a very valid point. I urge you all to consider very carefully before taking any career decision. And with that I would like to conclude the session. Are there any questions? , said Paresh. 

All looked around expectantly, I involuntarily turned to the sardar who still looked lost in what he had just written. Then with a determined expression he raise his hand .Paresh said yes , the sardar stood up all 6 foot and some inches’ of him , took the mike as it was passed to him and said “ Sir, myself Gurdeep,in light of what you have just said, I would like to know if IIMs offer a degree or a diploma.”

There was pin drop silence after this statement.

Paresh looked like he had been handed a hot pan and did not know whether to hold it or drop it.

Suddenly there was a snort of laughter from someplace, a giggle broke out another place and a full blow laugh escaped me. That was it; the entire group started laughing uncontrollably. Even Paresh‘s lips went up a bit, in what seemed to be a hint of a smile.

 I looked at Varsha even she was laughing, the serious expression gone from her face. 

She leaned toward me and whispered, “Now I know all engineers are not alike,”.I added,

”You may never know some may be even good at literature,” and gave her a wink.

Super Commando Dhruv !!

Now this one is from the time............ when consumerism was not quite as rampant as it was today.

Met D yesterday, poor guy is pulling off 18 hrs a day and has friends (sorry acquaintances!!), across globe. Bugger starts at Japanese standard time (Good Morning san!) and ends after bidding “Good night mate”, to his American colleagues............... while living in India.

I suddenly felt a little blessed................ am not that burdened.

He had incidentally bought a new mahogany bookshelf, and I was staring at the books lines neatly across rows. Seeing me stare he indicated, that a box above needed some help moving with and my length could be appreciated.

The boxes it seems were a minimum of 4 years old. I had plenty of experience moving stuff, and immediately tore the brown tape.

I was greeted with the sight of a super commando Dhruv comic book. I radically revised my estimate of the time frame of the boxes.

D shrugs sheepishly.

“My friends, I popped it in before moving the boxes out”, he says.

He took the dog eared books, and turned the pages, absently, saying” You know I used to rent these comics at a princely amount of Rs 2 per week and a deposit of 10 bucks”

“That is about the cost of 1 tea now”, I rounded off with a smile.

“This guy now is in States, he would be happy to hear about his Dhruv books”, he says flipping the pages.

Tring!! D’s phone rang, and I am not kidding here, it was the guy from states.

D dunks off all preliminaries and says” Super commando Dhruv, at your service", then there is laughter.

D walks out to the balcony to take the call.

It was a good forty minutes later he walks in all beaming” You know this seems to be the substance of your next blog entry”.

"Shoot away", I said looking for some munchies while I listened to his tale.

So................here it goes.

This guy is one of the rags to riches kind of story. He has a sister, and both of them are high performers.

For some funny reason this comic book sparked off an incident of a birthday party.Apparently this book was a bribe by his sister to him, when he was about 70% of his current stature physically and otherwise.

The reason for this bribe was a birthday party. A party that was of his sister’s best friend and ...........................pre teenage girls do not really like boisterous pre teenage boys at the occasion of a dainty party.

Consider it the kid’s equivalent of a girls pajama party.

“Yes, tell me about it”, I added wryly.

Now at the time of bribe my friend happily conceded. However he did not factor in the increasing utility of time on ..................a forbidden event or .....................the decreasing utility of the comic book with time

.

Now the day before the event, this guy stealthily drops in word to his mother about the impending birthday party and his desire to go with his sister.

Seems, that this information was a surprise to mom as well. Apparently dear sister was waiting to announce at the last minute.

It is just a birthday party!! , I interjected

Remember they are not financially well off, and in their culture, show off is rampant. The birthday was by a family which banked a little bit too much on ostentation and that was evident from the place of this event.

Now his mother was kind of unhappy with her daughter’s secretive ways. However, she conceded to the participation of her daughter in the celebration of birth canal expulsion event. In a mother’s way of getting revenge at the purported defiance of her daughter, she insisted that she take her brother.

Raves,rants and mean looks at her brother accompanied this dikat of her mother.

Mother however was firm, either both go or nobody.

Realizing the futility of arguing against discipline, sister dear agrees. However she stipulates the following,

“No fighting, no stealing balloons, and ……..”, waggling a mean finger she says …. “No gorging at the party”.

“You will say “no thanks” three times before accepting anything be it a gift or food”.

Mother dear agrees…………. brother looks victorious………… sister a bit morose

.

D-day dawns.

2 kids are dropped at the happening place. Sister dear, goes hysterical at the sight of her friends, however manages a mean look at her brother before going to join them.

“Remember, say no, thank you three times, for anything you are offered”

Brother nods, slightly intimidated.

Well cut to the chase. 

Poor brother here has a humongous appetite, and it is not everyday ................he can hog on exotics like cakes pastries, samosas.

Sitting morosely in the corner allotted sternly to him by his sister, he looked wistfully at the trays of food being passed around; hoping some soon comes his way.

His prayers were answered, as on girl (he told me it was the elder sister of the birthday girl), recognized him and came towards him with a tray of all exotics.

“Do you want to have something”, the sweet query.

Chubby hands itched, to grab out the delicacies. 

However the “no thank you” drill of his sister came to his mind. He was scared of his sister, but he loved food, ................what if the food was taken away after he said “no thank you” twice?

In a fix, he sought a logical way out, and his investment baking brain, in its formative stages, came to aid.

Eyes shining, Chubby says” no thank you, no thank you, no thank you”, in a speedy sing song way and then quickly takes some stuff.

The elder sister was surprised at this outburst and burst out laughing.She did suspect something was amiss so she left the tray at the nearby table, (much to the brother’s delight) and found his sister.

Now sister dear, happened to glance at her brother hogging, and gave him a dirty look. Seeing someone approach her…………added filth……..to dirtiness.

Chubby brother was mollified.

Sister dear hears the recount and without warning bursts into laughter!

Seeing the smile, brother dear decides all is well and munches on.

Indeed , it is funny what Super Commando Dhruv can bring about ! 

Naadi Jyotsam

It has been a long time since I wrote something

That is possibly because I am getting caught up in worldly work of earning my sustenance. However today, I took a break..............a break apart from the ritual weekend one…..it also helped that I was not in the pink of my health…..

So the day was spent alone in my new abode.

And my new abode......... this time …………seems to be a good place. It is in a secluded area but in the midst of a marketplace. It has a kitchen, a fridge a TV and a sofa set too.

Some hot chocolate in front of a TV on a sofa, I almost felt at home ………

It is funny what you intend to look forward to when you have nothing ....when the datum is low any improvement shows.

Solitude is charming, and also inspiring. And, today’s “ Good morning “, call, to Amma fired this thought , so here I go after quite a long time.

This is true, very true.

Just now I was reminded about my visit to some village in middle of Thanjavur .The reason I am reminded of this another such visit by Amma, which again lends credulity to the earlier visit.(Ok Amma I am not writing  about it, nary you worry !)

Now this Thanjavur “naadi jythosa” is commercial, but he has a good track record. Amma insisted that I go there. It was before my B-School tenure when I was in the business of hustling for direct personal gain, and was not really adhering to a socially accepted role for an educated madrasis family offspring.

Anyways I had to be in Chennai for sorting out some house and non house issues, and I saw no harm in going for a visit.

The place was doing justice to a mystical Indian sages abode. It was quite cut off from the city, and had thatched roofs. Men with gleaming coconut oil laced hair and in spotless white clothes were in some cubicles collecting the thumb impression samples. The thatched house had the top floor with some partitions for one on one session with the astrologers.

I am neither a cynic nor a skeptic; it takes time for me to get used to an idea that it.

I gave my thumb impression along with brothers and sisters. We waited before being summoned to one of the thatched rooms. It was Spartan, two plastic chairs and one table. “Neelkamal” stickers showed clean and slightly contemporary as opposed to the surrounding we were in.

There were some rectangular blocks, about an inch thick. They had some strips of parchment, which were tied up with some sort of sting, and smelled faintly of wood.

I was intrigued, did that parchment block really tell me about my life?

The astrologer started reciting in a singsong voice. I could fathom bits and pieces of what he was saying. It seemed like a Tamil song, but more classical in recitation. However, it was unlike any I had heard till now. Chittapa could understand perfectly, and he kept shaking his head negative to all what he was saying.

The astrologer closed the block, and picked up another. The same sequence was repeated, the singsong recitation………. And the negative head shakes from Chittapa.

Another and another, till it was five blocks down and no success. I was funnily reminded of Harry Potter selecting his wand. 

The astrologer was also it seemed inspired from Ollivanders, he wasn’t going to give up. He excused and went down.

I took advantage of his absence and asked Chittapa, “What is the language he is speaking, it does sound like Tamil”.

“It is Tamil, you wouldn’t understand “, was the condescending remark.

I deserve it, as I shrugged the barb away, I cannot read or write my mother tongue, simply because I had never bothered to learn.

It was half an hour before the pundit returned with 2 scrolls.

The first he opened was akin to the previous 5, it was making no sense at all, however after a couple of minute I heard the following and I remember it vividly and quote it here verbatim

Your name is Srikant…………father’s name…….. Rajanarayanan……..mother’s name……..Radha……….you have 2 siblings…….. Deepa and Navneeth……….your education deals with, with oil or metal……..you are living with parents……. family, born on October 8^th, 1984.

And with that my Chittapa gave a satisfied nod. The astrologer then proceeded to draw the ritual lagna chart. He finished in a couple of seconds and handed it over to my Chittapa and it was an exact match to what had been created by our family pundit.

I was astounded………..with only my thumb he could give my entire background, right to my family history!!Now that is amazing.

The same fate of information and history revelation was repeated with my sister and brother and it all cross tallied. I was then told about my past life and some of the sins I had committed which it seems to be impacting my life in some way. He added some more tit bits of very sensitive information which I dare not disclose on a blog

I paid him; a bit extra than I was instructed by Amma, for I was truly amazed by his work. As a parting shot, when we were leaving, he told

“The scroll on you, was hidden, I had not used it till now”………….slightly lowering his tenor, he said, “not in the past thirty years ………that is………..I hope you do good”.

Aha…that was not in any way going to reduce the obnoxious attitude I was believed to be carrying with me, anyways I smiled and thanked him.

ऊंचाई - श्री अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी

This one is a poem, a recommended read by a friend.It is composed by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpyee ,if you like this....you can read more......... Here

ऊँचे पहाड़ पर, ............पेड़ नहीं लगते, ...........पौधे नहीं उगते, .........न घास ही जमती है। 

जमती है सिर्फ बर्फ, ......जो, कफ़न की तरह सफ़ेद और, 

मौत की तरह ठंडी होती है। 

खेलती, खिलखिलाती नदी, .......जिसका रूप धारण कर, 

अपने भाग्य पर बूंद-बूंद रोती है।

ऐसी ऊँचाई, ......जिसका परस .......पानी को पत्थर कर दे,
ऐसी ऊँचाई .........जिसका दरस हीन भाव भर दे, .........अभिनंदन की अधिकारी है,
आरोहियों के लिये आमंत्रण है, ........उस पर झंडे गाड़े जा सकते हैं

किन्तु कोई गौरैया, .........वहाँ नीड़ नहीं बना सकती, 

ना कोई थका-मांदा बटोही, .........उसकी छाँव में पलभर पलक ही झपका सकता है। 

सच्चाई यह है कि .......केवल ऊँचाई ही काफ़ी नहीं होती,
सबसे अलग-थलग, .......परिवेश से पृथक,
अपनों से कटा-बँटा, .........शून्य में अकेला खड़ा होना,
पहाड़ की महानता नहीं,..........मजबूरी है।
ऊँचाई और गहराई में...............आकाश-पाताल की दूरी है।

जो जितना ऊँचा, ............उतना एकाकी होता है, 

हर भार को स्वयं ढोता है..........चेहरे पर मुस्कानें चिपका, 

मन ही मन रोता है।  

ज़रूरी यह है कि .............ऊँचाई के साथ विस्तार भी हो, 

जिससे मनुष्य...........ठूँठ सा खड़ा न रहे, 

औरों से घुले-मिले,........किसी को साथ ले........किसी के संग चले। 

भीड़ में खो जाना,.......यादों में डूब जाना, 

स्वयं को भूल जाना, ..........अस्तित्व को अर्थ, ..........जीवन को सुगंध देता है। 

धरती को बौनों की नहीं,.......ऊँचे कद के इंसानों की जरूरत है
इतने ऊँचे कि आसमान छू लें, ............नये नक्षत्रों में प्रतिभा की बीज बो लें, 
किन्तु इतने ऊँचे भी नहीं, .........कि पाँव तले दूब ही न जमे, 
कोई काँटा न चुभे....... कोई कली न खिले। 

न वसंत हो, न पतझड़, हो सिर्फ ऊँचाई का अंधड़........मात्र अकेलेपन का सन्नाटा।  

मेरे प्रभु! 
मुझे इतनी ऊँचाई कभी मत देना.........ग़ैरों को गले न लगा सकूँ.......इतनी रुखाई कभी मत देना।