IIM S Infinite

Random guy with a specific note

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:18:00 +0000

As a part of my internship project, I am required to conduct terse interview sessions with consumers of certain products. These people are chosen in random and well, with randomness, surprises are aplenty.

Responders, after the purchase, typically keep walking off and would hush an iota of truth in passing or would either hurl abuses for intruding their privacy; in either case, the customer is always the king and this helps making it all impersonal. Ok, the point is not of my marketing learnings but something beyond.

There was this young man, aged 28, who had purchased a product I was to make a study on and that made him a candidate for an interview. Based on the small visual things that one picks up, I intuitively felt that he would be comfortable in English and requested him to pause for a minute and answer few questions…he politely obliged ; one of a ‘kind’ hitherto. I started the drill and just after two questions he retorted saying it was his turn to ask me questions. The first thing he asked was ‘Are you from an IIM?’ At this juncture I’ll tell you I had no id card on me, no golf-cup t-shirts or anything remotely indicating an IIM affinity. For the smart ones, neither did I say I was an IIM student, here to interview him. I did not display my bewilderment and wanted him to go on...which was worth it. He paused and then said, “You are either from Rohtak or Shillong”, BEAT THAT!!! Either I’ve stumbled upon a Desi Sherlock Holmes or some mind freak who’s having his evening dose of fun with me. Whatever it is, I couldn’t help but gape and ask him how he had narrowed down his observations to this extent. He replied ‘I see a sparkle in your eyes…..I have friends from other IIMs, your nature is different, it is open …..you couldn’t be from the older ones’. I have nothing against my sister institutes, but at that moment, call it irrational, I felt proud to be from IIM Shillong…I am after all a product of the culture of my college. He smiled and said he was a poet and a singer as well. I dint feel like asking him anything else but just stood there. As I kept staring at him walking off, my linguist helper who assists me with the questions told me ‘Sir, enough staring at girls sir, it’s getting late’….The poet had a pony tail which danced to the evening winds, I couldn’t blame the linguist in his remark.

One last thing, about his age, that was a part of my questionnaire…no magic there!

Keshav S

PGP 2011

Life @ MBA

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:17:00 +0000

[This was written on our farewell night, when emotions were running high. Understandably, it turned out to be far more "sentimental" than I'd anticipated. But now that the final nail on the coffin has been hammered in (read: our Convocations are done with), I thought I might as well post it now - against my better judgements, as some might remark]

I’m not an overtly emotional person by nature – at least not where its outward depiction goes. In fact I don’t even remember the last time I made use of my tear glands. When most people are howling or weeping in public, I’d rather stand with an impassive face. But I sure have felt strong emotions at a few junctures of my life where I’ve come closest to experiencing a stream of salty water through my bespectacled eyes – and this is undoubtedly one of them. Melancholy can be a fascinating partner to have when you’re sharing the last few words with the people you’d love to carry a part of in your already over-packed heart or you’re alone in your den reminiscing on the times good and bad. Yes, I’m melancholic now, feeling the blues that one ends up being engulfed by when one is at the cross-roads of one’s life, experiencing a significant part of one’s life slowing giving way to another.

Life at IIM Shillong has been one that even the loftiest or choicest of adjectives can fail to completely capture. When my engineering days got over and I entered into a short stint into the corporate world I don’t really remember what went through my mind. Tata Consultancy Services, the de facto recruiter of the planet, didn’t disappoint me when it had come down to our campus in the same way that it has never disappointed so many other engineering graduates like me. I therefore became part of the bandwagon effect by following the afore-mentioned trail, and was part of the same once again when three years later I decided to spend the next two years of my not-so-different life striving for a postgraduate diploma in management studies. But how did I know that instead of continuing to be part of the morose and the mundane, life would certainly start looking so different and strange and singularly out of the ordinary – for better or for worse.

During the initial few days of my journey in this quaint, and for most Indians, godforsaken hill-station somewhere in the north-eastern region of our country, the only thought that I had in my mind was to somehow get through all the grind and the so-called MBA life and get back to where I’d come from – the corporate world. But little did I know then that these two years would not just pass by in a whisker, they would turn out so spectacularly far removed from anything that I’d been expecting and anticipating. Now that I’ve lost two years of my life from the timesheets and the performance appraisals and whatnot, I feel it would have been so much better that I lost a few more.

Most associate management studies come with hectic schedules and undiminishing competition and unending stream of assignments and presentations – the kind that rarely allow you time to ponder or pursue your abstruse passions. Yes, life did start on the stereotypical path that I just described, but it was also so much more. Bunking lectures in order to take a much-needed siesta or to watch a movie, sleeping or reviewing films in classes, doing last-ditch work to get assignments submitted on time, filling presentations with ‘GAS’ and ‘general funda’ and some smart designs, hanging out with intelligent minds who’d rather not exercise their brains for the daily rote, making instant decisions for dining out, sharing booze without ice (and yes, smokes too) with like-minded aficionados of the tagline ‘make it large’, cringing over the food served in mess, making some truly wonderful friends, and yes, falling in love too (I’d never expected that I’ll end up walking on that bittersweet path once again) – this has been two of the most enervating yet incredible years of my life.

Shillong gave me faculties to curse and friends to cherish, experiences to forget as also moments that have left indelible imprints in my mind, batch-mates to share jokes and laughter with as also to debate and discuss with on a plethora of subjects (both serious and funny), half-smoked cigarettes and songs quietly playing on the background, dirty ashtrays and scattered alcohol bottles, unending walks to and from class and traveling in over-packed taxis, cursing at others who are always prepared and cursing myself for rarely being so, dreaming of rosier futures yet forever living in the present, and so much more that my limited vocabulary or nostalgia-laden gray cells are failing to do complete justice to at this moment of reckoning and transformation.

Johnny Walker ads famously beseech us to keep walking. One must therefore not miss a step while moving on and keep traveling in this complex journey called life. But, as my heart is being taken for a ride like a sucker on a rain-drenched night by a damsel with a mesmerizing smile, all I can do is to allow myself to be melancholic in my solitude and hope that Einstein had found a few tricks for escaping this inescapable flow of time – at least for a few precious moments.

Freeze frame!

[p.s. I've decided against divulging any details regarding the contents of the above sob-inducing post]

Shubhajit Lahiri

IIM Shillong, Class of 2012

Side Effects of Strategy …and Life

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:42:00 +0000

It was the finale of the Strategic Management class. The two professors who had guided us through the course wanted our feedback and also decided to instil some sustainable, philosophical gyan into us. Needless to say, when the two sections of a batch come together for such a session, it resonates with merriment, laughter, remarks and what-not! This was exactly what was happening as the faculty inched forward with their doctrines.

When they decided to question us participants on few dimensions they were touching upon, their eyes began screening the last rows (Why, oh why!) and the class began yelling my name!!! Me? Of all the gyan guns…. My shhhs only made the chorus louder…what was I thinking. Now imagine, amidst this frolic, I was asked about my opinion of the course, any random thought. As I remained mum, unable to talk sense, the Prof. continued and asked me this “How does it feel when the first rays of the sun strike you?” I really doubt if anyone would even consider this serious, but to me, it was too powerful. It stirred up my thought processes so much that I shifted to becoming pensive for a while and this is to be mentioned, I HARDLY THINK AT ALL…Probably, the unexpected corner from where it came from added to the intensity.

Clearly disappointed with my silence, the Prof. moved on with the session. Here is where the Calvin in me began his vivid imagination….’ In early 2011, I was in Kerala, Kottayam to be precise, to attend a friend’s wedding. While at the guest house, I trekked away to a hillock nearby at around 4:30 in the morning. Replete with greenery, the place also happened to be quite and brimming with solitude. As I ascended, the sun’s rays tickled my neck gently…I turned back, to get not a glimpse, but to take it all in…the moment and the life, there. As the ephemeral moment sunk into me, metaphorically, a feeling of bliss rose within much like the sun rise. Of gyan, I remember this, ‘what is real is now, what is happiness is now and what is 100% true and sure, is now’. The depth of that sentence is priceless as an experience’.

This was what I wanted to reply, but the context was not right. How is this strategy you’d ask and I will only go into another mental expedition!

Keshav S

PGP 2011

Straight from the gut

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:31:00 +0000

This is the title of the autobiography of Jack Welch, Ex Chairman & CEO of GE. While surfing the racks of our library I came across this book and ever since I started reading it, I have been fighting to find time in between tight schedules to read it.

The book is a narrative of Jack Welch’s journey in GE, starting with joining GE as an engineer, one among many other engineers, frustrated by the bureaucracy at a big organisation. A very typical situation faced by most of the engineers of our country also, but Jack differentiated himself and climbed the ladder to become the Chairman and CEO of GE group, which at that time had revenues of around $27 Billion. By the time he retired, he took the revenues of GE to $130 Billion.

Jack shares a lot of his experiences as boss of one of the biggest companies in the world. Just after joining, he started promoting the philosophy of being #1 or #2 in a particular industry or else leave it. To reach these goals he started firing the bottom 10% managers of the company each year and gave bonus and stock option to the top 20%. Quoting from the book “Any company that thinks it can guarantee job security is going down a dead end. Only satisfied customers can give people job security. Not companies.” This is one very important lesson to be learnt by our age managers.

Six sigma implementation; making GE a truly global organisation; Boundaryless culture; successful entry into E-business for a hundred year old company, are his biggest achievements at GE, of which he talks passionately in the book. He believed it was people who made GE and during his 20 years at GE as CEO he kept on repeating that getting the right people in the right jobs is a lot more important than developing a strategy.

Quoting Jack on being the CEO of GE “A whole jumble of thoughts come to mind: Over the top. Wild. Fun. Outrageous. Crazy. Passion. Perpetual motion. The give-and-take. Meetings into the night. Incredible friendships. Fine wine. Celebrations. Great golf courses. Big decisions in the real game. Crises and pressure. Lots of swings. A few home runs. The thrill of winning. The pain of losing. It's as good as it gets! You get paid a lot, but the real payoff is in the fun.”

After reading the above paragraph most of us will feel that this is what we want in life. While reading autobiographies I start picturing myself as the protagonist (might sound childish) and that is when I get kicks out of it. At some point I get disappointed thinking that he has accomplished so much that I can never be like him, while sometimes I take pride in myself, thinking that even I would have acted like him in that situation. Funniest part is when I start thinking what Jack would have done had he been in my place. Recently when I had to select electives for next year, I tried to think what subjects Jack would have taken. :D

Most important part about reading autobiographies of business leaders is they give a lot of inspiration. After finishing the book the first thought that comes to your mind is, when would I be able to write a book of my own.

A few of my favourite Autobiographies are: Idli, Orchid and Will power by Vithal Kamath of Kamath group of Hotels, Iacocca by Lee Iacocca of Ford & Chrysler and Loosing my Virginity by Richard Branson of Virgin Group. Reading these books along with business education adds a lot, because we get ideas on what decisions some of the best business leaders took in practical problems and then we relate them to the theoretical solutions taught in our classes, which make all the more sense.

Mudit Agarwal

PGP 2011

Someone I Used to Know

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:37:00 +0000

There was a person

I used to know

Who used to be afraid

Of what others would say

Who used to hide & escape from the world

And was often always thought of as a nerd.

There was a person

I used to know

Who used to cry while saying goodbyes

Who used to yawn

Every morning at dawn

Who used to feel shy

About the dreams of reaching the sky.

This person was disillusioned with life

As the doors that had been knocked on

Had led no where

And the dreams were gone.

And then one day this person

Met someone

And that someone

Changed this person’s life

The person I used to know once

Was no longer to be recognized

This person now awakened with grace

And greeted the world with a smile on the face

This person wanted to know more

And eagerly anticipated the future in store.

This person was no longer scared

Of whom, what, when & where

This person now sincerely believed

That anything was possible

And could be achieved.

This person was no longer bored

And eagerly waited to hear the story told.

This person now had opened the eyes

To a world of possibilities and surprise

This person was now able to see

This person once was and is now, me.

Dhivya Ravikumar

PGP 2011

You might be in an IIM if…

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:16:00 +0000

It’s funny. The amount of preparation one does to get into an IIM. All those mock tests, hours of analysis, hundreds of quants problems. Your single-minded focus finally paid off. You find yourself in an IIM. A dream come true. But it seems surreal at times. Am I really at an IIM?? In one of those revered and worshipped top management institutes in India?

After two terms at IIM Shillong, the fact that I am at an IIM has not really sunk in. You don’t really think about it, I mean, you don’t really get time to think about it. Nevertheless, I’ve devised a quick and easy method to check whether I’m at an IIM, based on my experiences here so far.

You might be in an IIM if:

1) Your first week was comparable to a stay at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

2) You use terms such as ‘social loafer’ and ‘perceptual error’ in your daily vocabulary.

3) You’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time defending the greatness of the city you come from, on the basis of its economic growth and HDI, vis-à-vis other unworthy cities.

4) You’ve awakened from deep sleep with a jolt at 8:45 am to rush to a 9 am class. This is after your head hit the pillow at around 3:30 am.

5) You do not know the concept of a quiet, calm and peaceful birthday celebration.

6) You’ve studied all night for a ‘surprise’ quiz only to find out the next day that the ‘surprise’ is that the quiz is not today.

7) You’ve entered a class all revved up, only to find an incomprehensible surprise quiz staring you in the face.

8) You’ve perfected the art of talking for 5 minutes on any topic, using terms such as ‘synchronised modular time-frame’ and ‘parallel organizational flexibility’.

9) You’ve found yourself deep in conversation discussing the deficiencies of the supply chain of the hostel mess.

10) You’ve shouted random numbers in finance and/or accounts class, just to get noticed for class (desperate) participation.

11) You’ve sat at a study group meet to discuss an important term project. Two hours later the only conclusion that the group agrees upon is that ‘the work must be divided equally’.

12) You’ve opened Facebook at 11 pm just for a ‘5 min break’ to get your mind off the next day’s Marketing end term. Next thing you know, it’s 2:30 am and you are still on Facebook, marveling at the number of ways in which a lungi can be tied.

13) You’ve been reminded by professors that you are not in engineering college anymore and to ‘simply get out of the engineering mindset’, while asking for an extension on the 30 page case analysis due tomorrow morning. You fail to see the connection.

14) There are days when you think that 2 minute Maggi is the greatest food ever invented.

15) You’ve never dared to think ‘beyond the IIMs’ and hence, consider yourself ‘not deserving enough’ to participate in ****’s business fest.

16) You’ve attempted the concept of ‘business lunch’ with your committee members, only to find out that the term is an oxymoron. Still, you continue these ‘business lunches’, hoping that someday you will be successful

17) You’re deep in concentration in the middle of a thorough analysis of the HBR article “IT Doesn’t Matter”, only to have the net connection give up on you. You find yourself unable to work, conclude that the analysis is pointless, wonder why you are even studying MBA and decide to vent your frustration on the helpless basketball.

18) You’ve recounted your ‘Tell me about yourself’, ‘Why MBA’, ‘Why Finance, etc.’ answers so many times in your various committee/club/placement interviews, that you are starting to believe what you say.

19) You use terms such as ‘matching concept’, ‘going concern’ and ‘entity concept’ in philosophical discussions and debates.

20) You think that everything in economics can be explained with the ‘law of supply and demand’.

21) In spite of everything, amongst the headaches, heartbreaks, torture and sleepless nights, there is excitement, fun, friends and adventure. Every day is an unforgettable experience. At an IIM.

Dhivya Ravikumar

PGP 2011

Some Typical B-School Moments

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:28:00 +0000

I have been restless since morning, lying on my bed or surfing the net for random things, maybe because I have just came back from my cousins wedding, two days of full masti and delicious food. Food I always miss but there is something else that is itching me from inside. I started questioning myself about what am I doing in college, I should have stayed back only; everything seems useless, my contribution to group assignments seems irrelevant as they were done even when I was not present; everybody is busy with their own things, where are the friends I made in last six months?

After talking to a few people who came back from home after short visits I realized this is a common feeling, felt by all B-School students at some point of time. Drilling more into the matter, I noted down a few typical B-school moments which happen to most of us.

On a weekday morning, 10 minutes before the class you wake up to your wing mates gaali, get ready in 5 mins and rush for the class. On the way to class you cross the mess, its just that the mess comes in your route, there is no intention to waste any time there. The smell of Dosa makes you stop for a second and then comes the moment of internal conflict, whether to go for the class or have one Dosa. Profs are mostly strict about timing and after initial calculations you figure out it’s a mutually exclusive case, either have Dosa or go for the class. Typically a B-school student eats a Dosa and sends SMS to his friends in class about his feats.

Now this thing happens more often than others; you have a decent week going on with not much workload and decent time to sleep, certain things need to be done but the deadlines are not nearby so you decide to relax and go for dinners and spend time on cleaning your room and decorating your linkedin page. Then your study group allots you an assignment and you accept it, thinking that you have not done much in recent past. On the day of this deadline, comes another assignment which is in the subject that you are expert at and you don’t have any choice but to do it. Your club has an important task lined up and your committee calls for an urgent meeting. You also have to go out for a friend’s birthday party or to buy some essential stuff from market. Add the irresistible daily dose of socialization (social loafing) on campus. What do you do, how do you manage all this? This is when the maximum learning happens, we learn efficient utilization of resources, we use all the networking that we have done, we delegate, we slog nights, we divide work but we somehow make the ends meet.

At a B school the measure of your efficiency is done on the basis of number of hours you sleep. To catch up with the trends you try to match the number of hours you sleep to the batch average, which is somewhere around 4-5 hours a day. One evening you come back to your room from dinner, you have some work to do but that can be postponed, you feel you have worked hard over the past 3-4 days and you sleep, you sleep for 8-10 hours, snoozing your alarm infinitely. When you wake up there is this feeling of guilt which would not leave you until you attend boring classes the whole day and realize you had slept for good only.

B school life is full of such moments, the happy one when your friends get internship, the sad one where you are not getting your dream internship; the one where you laugh like crazy on faculty mimicry and the one when you feel low for no reason and want to be in your room whole day. The best part is these moments are like simulation games, they make you realize how corporate life will be and prepare you to be a better manager.

Mudit Agarwal

PGP2011

Arteries of Asphalt

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:50:00 +0000

Being the early-to-bed types, I hit the bed early and decide to run a marathon, in my sleep, for 12 hours. The bed forces me out at 5 a.m and no amount of twist or counting sheep could help prolong my sleep. Just when the campus life begins to rest, I decide, this would be the perfect time to talk a walk outside.

I would follow the wind

And walk its path

Unless there is a dead end, deadened in asphalt

I take an unorganised, non-patterned route, through narrow lanes packed with lovely, petite houses. The daily chores have begun in few of them and I see kids and pups playing outside. The cold weather would not deter these guys from enjoying the outdoors... or maybe it isn’t all that cold, am from South India and 26 deg is deep frost to me!!It’s actually a nice sight, a kind of colony with geographical closure, untainted much by the advances of technology.

There are few issues with these by-lanes. They take you to places you can’t even spell; I almost had a tongue fracture trying to read one such. Next, the inclination; Roads decide to start trekking and what seemed flat would shoot up to pouncing steepness. Finally, entrances to houses would have broader paths than the actual road; I ended up twice going to the porch and then being guided out….sometimes by the family dog. Just a note on the dogs out here…they are generously built much like the foliage here! Fortunately, the locals here are quite welcoming and half as intimidating as those canines. A whiff of all the local condiments rattles my brain of sleep. The dogs get excited and I get worried.

Its winter and the trees are showing their true colours. It’s breath-taking! The cold (South Indian here!) winds slide across my tonsured head and that tickles. This really is a fantastic place to be when you wipe the cloud of education clogging your eyes (blasphemy!!!!!). As I encounter a V shaped road split, The Robert Frost in me says:

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.…

Indeed, the marketing case that lays waiting is sure to suck what’s left of the day!

Keshav S

PGP11

Of Football & Dirt

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 07:10:00 +0000

Sundays are the most cherished days for any student in an IIM. The promising 5+ hours of sleep is a dream, while we dream. To skip this bounty and get to play football in the scenic landscape of Shillong is better; it’s pure bliss. The alarm goes off at 6 AM and I know that getting out of the bed is the hardest part, probably next to Greece getting out of its financial mess….probably. As 18 of us assemble to reach the field, which is nearly 15 mins from campus, groggy eyes lighten up on a synergetic burst of enthusiasm.

The fresh air, the sun behind the clouds encourages us to get into the athletic mode although most of us haven’t been much active and I don’t mean mentally. Passing sloping houses and petite creeks of water, we reach the vast openness centred with the precious football field. The happiness translates to all communications being in vernacular viz. Hindi, Bengali and Tamil (?????, three of us)..oh yeah! a solitary Mallu (talking to himself though).

There are no Messis amongst us, we were just..messy. With no strategy or formations, we stormed each other’s’ sides and had only one objective, to kick the football; to whom, where or how did not matter. Slowly, the better sense of the game prevailed and it was more organised or so we thought until an ‘own goal’ reminded us of our status quo. As the game picked heat, the scores became quite skewed (for the sake of my life and self-esteem, the score isn’t revealed). This triggered a need to play as a team and that’s when the game really did catch up to us (talk about optimism) in the eyes of the locals who were seeing the plight of football under our hands …legs, of a mini representation of India.

After giving it all we got, getting up from the slips that hurt and being smothered by dirt, we decided to call it a day. Our legs begged us for some respite but the post-mortem of the game drew our attention. Thanks to the reallllly steep roads out here, playing football was half the effort: We had never missed college this much for on our way back, the thought of good food and a cosy bed awaited us. If you are out there picturing the situation, we were NOT covered with sweat. You can survive here without much of water in such an intense game, the weather is that cool. No wonder the North East has some of the best football players and places.

All in all, it was an awesome experience and would like to do it again. As the winter slowly sets in the heat of the game is picking up. The word is spreading and the ball is our court now.

Keshav S

PGP 2011

IIM Shillong Wins Inaugural Edition of X-Biz at IIMA

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:22:00 +0000

Team InnoPreneurs from IIM Shillong have won the inaugural edition of X-Biz in a grand finale hosted at the IIM-Ahmedabad campus. The team was shortlisted after tough competition from over 60 participating teams from across the country. IIM Shillong was shortlisted amongst the top three teams along with IIM Bangalore and IIT Chennai and was invited to present their plan to an eminent panel of judges which included Mr. Sandeep Nair, President and Managing Director of Emerson Network Power (India) Pvt Limited. The sponsors of X-Biz 2011 were Prof Arvind Sahay, Professor of Marketing at IIM-Ahmedabad, and Mr. Pranay Gupta, Joint CEO, CIIE-IIM, Ahmedabad.

The team which consisted of Mr Jayant Kejriwal and Mr Salil Choudhary, second year students at IIM Shillong, detailed their innovative plan which considered the opportunity of massive agricultural mechanization in India. Their plan is to set up a manufacturing plant for tractor mounted hydraulic equipments for agricultural, industrial and construction purposes. They plan to distribute these products across the country initially through tie-ups with tractor distributors and later on through our own outlets.

INNOPRENEURS (IIM SHILLONG)
Salil Choudhary	Jayant Kejriwal

The participants were judged on multiple factors including uniqueness of the plan, “thoroughness” of analysis in capital planning and working capital management, marketing and operating plans, risk identification and mitigation plans, impacts on environment and society and robustness of strategy and growth potential.

The winners received a cash prize of Rs 75,000 and an opportunity to incubate their businesses with CIIE at IIM-Ahmedabad.

India on the Global Racing Map

noreply@blogger.com (Kailash) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:02:00 +0000

The smell of burning rubber, fast cars zipping past in a fraction of a second, wild cheers from the stands, pit stops and cheer girls; welcome to the world of Formula One, a sport that never ceases to thrill. Since its inception in 1950 when Giuseppe Farina won the Championship to the present day champions like Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, Formula One has come a long way in establishing itself as one of the most anticipated sporting events of men and women alike. With increasing popularity, all the global superpowers have started vying for a place in the calendar to host their own Grand Prix.

2011 marks a landmark year for the Indian sporting fraternity. With Bernie Ecclestone, the chief of Formula One giving the green signal, India is all set to host its first ever Indian Grand Prix. This definitely provides the right impetus to the Indian sporting scenario, which is on a high after successfully hosting the Commonwealth Games and the ICC Cricket World Cup.

With the introduction of Force India, a team owned by Liquor Baron, Vijay Mallya, Indian interest in the sport has been increasing. People can relate better to the sport and have their own stars to look forward to during the race. The Indian Grand Prix is hence perfectly timed, as it can further strengthen the ties it’s starting to build with the spectators.

The state of the art facility, Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida is located 24 km from New Delhi, the capital city of India. The circuit is 5.14 kilometers (3.19 mi) long and is designed by F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke. The track is spread across an area of 875 acres in Jaypee Sports City. The initial seating capacity is around 150,000, with the grandstand having a capacity of 20,000. This is one of the largest facilities in terms of capacity. The track in all has 16 largely medium speed corners where F1 cars will lap at an average speed of 210 km/h. The back straight will let F1 cars reach 320 km/h making it one of the fastest tracks in the world.

Hosting an event of such magnitude clearly has its benefits on a booming economy like India. Not only would the hotel and tourism industry get an immediate boost, the country's profile, too, would get a lift. Experts are also of the view that once the Indian Grand Prix kicks off, it has the potential to generate around $170 million in revenue and employ as many as 10,000 people. The Grand Prix has also attracted sponsorships from a large number of corporate houses; with Airtel bagging the title sponsor for a whopping sum of INR 150 cr. Tickets sales has seen tremendous response with the base price tickets of INR 2500, being sold out. The premium Grandstand tickets, priced between INR 35 lakh to 1 crore, have also been picked up by celebrities and corporates.

The buzz is definitely in the air and the excitement is rapidly picking up pace. With the race coinciding with the Diwali holiday season, when consumer spending is typically at its highest, there is a growing positive outlook towards the event.

Diwali Wishes from IIM Shillong

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:01:00 +0000

IIM Shillong Student Awarded The Aditya Birla Scholarship

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:35:00 +0000

Nilkesh Patra, a first year student at IIM Shillong, has been awarded the prestigious Aditya Birla Scholarship. The awards were announced at the ITC Grand Central, Mumbai, on September 24^th at a ceremony attended by top dignitaries from industry and science.

The Aditya Birla Scholarships are awarded to the top 24 students across the premier educational institutes like the IITs, IIMs and BITS Pilani. Among the IIMs, only the top 20 students from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow and IIM Shillong are eligible to apply. Candidates were shortlisted for the final round which featured an exhaustive personal interview for each candidate. The 12 management students selected included four from IIM Ahmedabad; four from IIM Bangalore; two from IIM Lucknow and one each from the IIMs in Calcutta and Shillong. The distinguished panel of judges consisted of Dr Sanjaya Baru, Editor, Business Standard Limited and former Media Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Senthil Chengalvarayan, Group Editor, CNBC – TV18 (Network 18) and Mr Rajat Gupta, Director, McKinsey & Co.

Nilkesh Patra also holds the Institute’s Gold Medal for being the University topper at NIT Rourkela. He has 4 years of work experience in multimedia development. He is interested in finance and has completed his CFA Level 1. He wants to contribute to his home state, Orissa, in infrastructure development and would like to reform the education system in India. Upon receiving the award, he said “It was a lifetime opportunity to meet such eminent personalities and be interviewed by them. I am really proud to be the first candidate from IIM Shillong to receive this coveted award.”

Business, Through the Green

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:11:00 +0000

Business today has transcended borders, cultures, languages and differences. Yet it is often viewed myopically as an exchange that occurs within the four walls of an organization. A set of top executives in the board room, discussing the strategies that would alter the face of the organization is a common sight in most organizations. Those who are aware of Game Theory would agree that Business is synonymous with a game, just like say poker where what cards you have and more importantly how you play them would determine your success in the game. But if business is a game can it be played on the field? Why not?!

Think about it, teamwork, strategies, payoffs, competition, rewards and recognition are common jargons in both sports as well as Business. Wayne Winston of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, in his book, “Mathletics” looks at applying techniques taught to MBA candidates—such as analyzing probability and statistics—to the sports business. These, he says, can deal with a range of sports-related issues, such as ticket pricing, marketing the team, and even how many hot dogs to order for fixtures. Professor Winston is also a consultant for the Dallas Mavericks, another NBA team. There, he uses his techniques to assess the team's performance data to discover the best players, the best combinations and their appropriate salary levels.

Speaking of the link between sports and business, one sport that crosses my mind is Golf.Contrast the closed board room, with the sprawling lush green golf course. Golf, unlike cricket is not a game for the masses; rather it requires a skill-set common to few. A hawk-like keen observation, a strategic mind and measured actions characterize this game. This leads us to draw parallels between business and golf. After all both involve the decision maker to be aware of his surroundings, strategize his next move, and play accordingly. Herein lies the genesis of the theory that Golf can be a medium of interaction and exchange of ideas among corporates. One can now better understand the reason behind Accenture’s promotional strategy that uses Tiger Woods as their ambassador. Golf is a game that speaks of a high level of concentration and resilience, and in its seemingly serene nature lies its strength. Compared to Cricket or football, golf seems much more docile and involves a great amount of mental work, in order to make the putt. Is it not similar to the businessman with his energy channelized towards achieving a single objective? In fact the green golf course is the best metaphor one can get for Sustainable and green business, a much needed aspect in the corporate world.

Today, corporates are exploring different avenues to interact, such as malls and coffee houses whose informal surroundings enable them to interact freely and think out-of-the- box. These informal settings stimulate their lateral thinking and this practice is fast catching up. Imagine a corporate interaction on the field, a sales-pitch on the pitch, and driving home a point just like making the putt. After all there is sufficient time to interact, negotiate and build relations during the game. This is precisely the idea that IIM Shillong has been trying to transform into a reality. The highlight of our annual Golf cup is Corporate-B-school interactions and corporate talks over a game of golf, and on 8^th and 9^th of October we will be kick starting our 4^th season of the Golf cup. Will this novel idea spread and lead to more such off-the field collaborations? Only time will tell. Remember, the ball is in your court, rather in your course and it is up to you to make every stroke count.

Sowmya R

PGP11

IIM Shillong Golf Cup 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:26:00 +0000

The Golf Cup is back......The 1st IIM Shillong Golf Cup was conducted in April 2009 at the Shillong Golf club. This was the first golf tournament organized by any B school in India. The unique concept of IIM Shillong Golf Cup aims at connecting corporate and academia. An entirely student driven initiative, the tournament aims to create a platform wherein the budding managers will draw the battle lines with the corporate leaders in the beautiful and serene Shillong Golf club. Esteemed dignitaries and high profile decision makers from leading international and national corporate houses will be taking part in the tournament along with faculties, alumni and students of leading B Schools

Be there on 8th & 9th October, 2011 @ The Shillong Golf Club !!

Through Those Hallowed Corridors …

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:44:00 +0000

What comes in goes out! To collect the reminiscence of the past we look back and muse on what were the gains, what productive use did I make of the time I invested there, the package that I got and of course, the most significant qualifying term of the time “ROI” but on the very second thought, the memories associated with the college, the belongingness and attachment to that college sets in a silent, soft smile which is far more satiating than the highest of returns we might have calculated on the previous one.

To reckon of my alma mater, IIM Shillong, it would bring in the chill of the swooshing wind rushing though the pines, the fragrance of the motley greens around, the white of the skies, the unexpected drizzles, the divine warmth of the long awaited sun in the teeth clattering winters and the winding lanes tracing which we all went through the terrestrial highs and lows living each moment with the glees, shrieks, fun and fights.

They say, “With time it is important to let things lose” but few, I believe. What holds us to a place and brings back those memories again and again to our minds is not the tangible returns but the exquisite delight and ecstasy that seeps in with the remembrance of those stations and “addas”. Within a month at IIMS, I am already addicted to the post-midnight coffee at the night canteen followed by a chit-chat and healthy banter, the imitations of the class pranks, the fooling and pestering of the very same selected targets almost every night! The so called collective study became more of a get together with “getting something to eat”, “let’s go for coffee” sounding every half an hour or even more but still the lessons learnt in those little frames of attention became life-saving antidote to all in the terminals.

Amidst all this, the mess was where the interaction brought people close, not just the batch-mates but the seniors and juniors where they taught them the lessons to be followed for the two years, words like DP and tag lines for each are coined, the heated up arguments on Manchester United and Chelsea or Cricket matches, and then the sight of one’s crush, the “Hi” that would make a difference for the day or a sigh of disappointment at the neglect of it, all of it. So nostalgic would that be to regain in memory, I can just imagine that now. To live these moments of excitement and stress, all at the same time, make me muse and I can just promise this:

To feel those moments of fun and joy, I would certainly come

To remember those moments of stress and pressure, I would certainly come

To bring back the sound of “Wait for me” echoing in my ears, I would certainly come

To relive the chaos at the mess at dinner, I would certainly come

To hold on to those pranks, once played with my friends, I would certainly come

To perceive those smiles, taunts and tantrums of mates, I would certainly come

To hold those hands once again, I would certainly come

To feel the aura and the eternal bliss, I would certainly come

To pass through those hallowed corridors once again, I would certainly come

I would certainly come…

Umang Kulshrestha

PGP11

Something More..........

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 19:49:00 +0000

It felt nothing like I’d ever felt before. I could feel it brush past my face with a gentle aggression, reminiscent of a youth long lost. Suddenly, it started making sense as I was cruising down the road on my Dad’s old bullet. I felt like a fool to have not seen it before. A solution so primeval and gratifying, that its sheer simplicity made me laugh at my urban ignorance. FREEDOM, a solution that all of us are aware of, only some of us thinks about. But a few actually choose to skip a beat and experience it. And mind you, the beat here is belted out by a killer drummer playing for this famous band called THE SYSTEM aka the big bad world.

There I was on a long curvy highway on a gloomy overcast day with dark clouds huddling together as though in conspiracy. The addition of each new cloud into the already darkening concoction mob was marked with lightning, which strangely reminded me of “Baptism by fire”. I felt strangely liberated as I rode onto an unknown path not caring about what lay ahead. Hell, why would I care? Quit my Job, Broke up with my girlfriend and I don’t really care about my bank balance. I felt weightless. A new experience that. A feeling so novel and pristine that grew inside me like a forest fire. I felt like Shahrukh khan in Swades. But before you jump to conclusions, No, I haven’t done anything that is as Noble and selfless. This is me living it out for myself. And god knows I deserve it.

So there I was tearing down the road equipped with my shades, Music player and a water proof back pack. I rued preferring shorts over pants for the journey as the weather turned chilly. AC/DC belting out “highway to hell” in my ear phones. The funny thing about them is that all their songs sound the same, with similar riffs and drum sequences. And I know I’ll be crucified by many a metal heads, but I think they’re just mid Yorker. However, give it an empty highway and an awesome bike. It falls in like a well orchestrated symphony.

I was a 23 year old middle class guy. I was young and fit but felt so old inside. I had a good desk job which paid better than most of the others in the market. But there was no joy. The kick was missing. The entire routine of it sickened me. I yearned for something, something more gratifying and exciting. And so i set out in pursuit of something, “Something more”....

This is a recollection of two of the best months of my life. It’s about love, sex, drugs, music, boredom, friendship and above all, Freedom. Simple, pure and uncompromising freedom.

G.S.N. Aditya

PGP11

Even I Have a Soul …….The Dustbin

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:29:00 +0000

I had existence even when the human civilisation started. My presence was widespread, even beyond the man could ever reach. Wherever and whenever the nature and humans have thrown the waste I had gulped that all in no time. The human settlement pervaded and my size was getting shrunken. I was now to pits, river and quarries. I was shrunk against the man’s greed to the limit of small buckets of varying shapes. Although my pervasion had been reduced but I got the identity and now people recognise me by my body. I got a home, a place, an identity with varied body forms & colours.

I am a better contributor to the cleanliness of the earth more than any other object in the world. I do possess feelings like any other being on this earth. I too have ups and downs in my life as some times I am fed up with sweetest of taste and sometimes I am subjected to harsh and bitter taste of life. I enjoy the moment when even greatest of person looks at me with down eyes and sometimes bow down to fill my tummy. I hate the moment when people insult me by throwing my food from far, out of their laziness. I retaliate to them by bouncing back their items or tumbling down as if I was punched by their throw just to add to their worry to set me upright and feedback the undigested food. The fact that cherishes me the most is that even the most beautiful woman in the world feels envy of me as I was the one who received the first love letter from her lover and not her.

Although I got the identity but I did not get the respect which the other objects get. I am treated as a filthy object even after contributing to the society. I was elated when I got the beautiful transformation in the form of bamboo made waste bins in the campus of IIM Shillong giving the green message to promote sustainability in life. I wish that the world sustains to give me the better image as one of the contributor towards the society.

Mayur Jain

PGP11

Innovation – The Key to Success

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:09:00 +0000

Darwinian’s words that only the fittest shall survive truly describes the business scenario today. Today Business is like a War and Innovation the fiercest and the best weapon to combat it and emerge a winner. Innovation today is essential if the firms are to survive in the increasingly competitive global economy. Innovation has now opened up new frontiers and new opportunities for all of us in all sectors of the business world . This innovation has transformed our world and has lead to an explosion of choices in today’s era of globalisation.

Innovation depends on a confluence of factors which include the availability of information, the need for advanced research and development, a reliable infrastructure, availability of sufficient capital to fund the entire process etc. Innovation is neither simple nor risk – free yet Innovation is a tool, the effect of which lies completely in the hands of the users. This has been seen and felt throughout our history from time to time.

Man has survived and thrived on innovation from the time of our ancestors. Innovation resulted in creating fire by rubbing two stones together, introduction of wheels, movement from barter system to metallic money to paper money and many more such events. Even the business world is not bereft of the need and importance of innovation for survival.

From the time in India when Ambassadors and Maruti cars were the only cars affordable by the majority of the population in the pre- liberalisation period, today consumers because of innovation have a wide range of options to choose from be it small cars like nano , alto, wagon r , santro etc or luxury cars . The almost monopoly of Hindustan motors has been destroyed through innovation.

Even technology hasn’t been bereft of the war like business and innovation. This innovation had made Bill Gates the richest man for a very long time. This innovation led to the move from telephone to mobile phones, and within mobile phones itself from black and white phone to camera phone and ultimately the 3g phones, from black and white television to lcd televisions and now high definition colour television , thereby increasing competition among the various firms and companies.

Another classic example where innovation has been used as a very effective weapon to maintain and enhance ones position in the business is that of Cadbury India limited with dairy milk. It innovated ideas to promote the sale of dairy milk using media effectively.

Another example of innovation is the emergence of several social networking sites. Today we have facebook, twitter, scribd, linkedin and so many more. Each of these sites are constantly upgrading and innovating to survive the tough competition prevailing. Today almost every sector or industry is characterised by stiff competition and innovation and continuous improvement are the key to survive and win here.

The need and importance of innovation cannot be denied however one cannot also deny the importance of other factors for its victory in the business. With innovation there is the need of implementation, diffusion of information about the innovation and its reliability, to convince consumers to use the new product rather than the old one and the advantages of doing so. All of which is a time consuming and expensive process. Thus innovation is extremely important for success in the business world but it needs to be complemented with the other factors.

Ankita Shah

PGP11

Organizational Culture & Value System

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:05:00 +0000

What is culture? Is it something that is deeply ingrained within us and permeates our system? Or is it something that has been imposed upon us by someone? Why is it that twins raised by different parents in different cities turn out to be different individuals even though they have the same genes in them? Is it external surroundings which shapes them into different individuals or is it something else?

We often talk about the cultural diversity of India but does this diversity only encompass the demographic and the occupational diversity? We have even come across something known as organizational cultural diversity. Each organization has a culture of its own and no two organizations have the same culture. Is culture only a product of the various individuals who are part of the organization? Can an organization that has its branches in different cities or countries have the same culture across the board? It indeed can and Mc. Donald’s is a very good example. But have we ever heard of any organization which has managed to replicate the culture of another successful organization? I haven’t come across any such organization.

Whenever someone joins an organization or an institute, one is usually expected to undergo some kind of an Orientation program. It is said that such orientation programs introduce the individual to the culture of the organization or the institute and help him adapt quickly to the existing culture. In the case of an institute of higher learning, it might be aimed at sensitizing the student to all the rigour that would be expected of him over the next few years while in an organization it might be aimed at helping the employee settle down quickly in the new alien environment.

But if we were to go back to our childhood days, we would realize that no one really forced our culture on us. We grew up and in the process imbibed our culture, shaping ourselves in a way so as to conform to what was expected of us. So why do the organizations and the institutes need to conduct such orientation programs which are in some way an effort to force their culture on the individual? An organization or an institute does it so that all the individuals who are part of the system are on a common plane and conform to the boundaries of the system. This conformance is gained by imposing control. And this control is required so that everyone works towards achieving the common goals of an institute or organization. The vision and mission of the organization or institute could be construed as those common goals towards which each individual who is part of that system is required to work. An organization derives success in large part from its work culture and value systems. A successful organization has a very strong value system in place with strict conformance of the individuals to that value system. This is why we often see that even though a competitor may be partly successful in replicating the business model of a successful organization but it is never able to replicate the culture of that successful organization.

I will leave you with some food for thought – So is it not the unique culture and strong value systems of certain organizations and institutes which renders all competition irrelevant to them?

Abhijit Tibrewal
PGP11

Racing Towards the End

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:01:00 +0000

We are indeed blessed to be born in a generation where there is no dearth of natural resources. God has showered us with all the resources we need to lead a satisfying life. Nevertheless, we have realized the fact that, consuming resources at the pace at which we are doing now, our future generations will be left wanting. As concerned citizens of a responsible society, we have now decided to embrace alternate methods which minimize the utilization of these natural resources. No doubt, this is the right way forward, but the real question that still bothers me is, are we doing enough? Is this approach being practiced in all sectors?

One such case in point is the oil industry. With oil reserves estimated to go dry by 2050, we are left with only two options. The first is to gradually shift to alternate sources of energy like solar energy, electric energy and wind energy to substitute the need for oil. The other option is to ensure that we reduce our present day consumption of oil, to stretch its life span further, which will give scientists that extra bit of time to come up with viable alternate solutions.

Demand for commercial energy has increased progressively, from 55 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 1960 to 227 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2008. By 2030, world oil demand will be 40% higher than it is today. Again, the same question comes back to haunt me, are we doing enough?

Take for example, the Formula One industry. A sport followed by millions of people worldwide, heavily reliant on fast cars, excellent roads and an enormous supply of oil. For every 100 kilometers, a 900 bhp F1 car uses 70 liters of petrol. A team uses about 1,200 liters of petrol during a Grand Prix weekend. Given the number of teams and the large crew associated with every team, the shipping costs involved in transporting cars across the world, the fuel consumption is pretty huge. Agreed that the revenue generated is huge (1,587 million dollars in 2010, and this is expected to double in 2016) and that the organizers are trying to build engines that run on alternate energy sources, but is such an event required in the first place?

The fuel spent may not be very high on a macroeconomic level but when we consider the number of races that have taken place, we feel the pinch. The profits made by Formula One are not reaching common men like us, but the consequence of the business they are doing is being paid by us in the form of rising fuel prices. Do we really deserve this? Is two hours of entertainment really worth so much? The facts and figures are out in the open. It’s high time we started doing our bit to reduce the consumption of fuel.

Kailash V Madan
PGP11

The Voice of India

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:37:00 +0000

India has traditionally been a country blessed with resources and effective human capital. Still, we have never managed to figure in the list of developed countries owing to several reasons. First, it was the British, who robbed us of enormous wealth, which forced us on to the path of rebuilding rather than development. Now, while the rest of the world is struggling to cope with sovereign debts and credit defaults, the time is ripe for us to make that final move. But this time we are faced with another problem; the problem of corruption. India has a score of 3.3 on a scale of 10 on the World Corruption Perception Index, which is dismally low compared to other major economies like the US (7.1) and Japan (7.8).

With lakhs of crores of rupees stashed away in foreign banks, India is losing out on huge resources, which could enable it to make further progress. It is estimated that the value of black money stashed abroad accounts for about 40% of India’s GDP. India accounts for more black money than the rest of the world combined. A large chunk of these account holders are politicians and bureaucrats, who claim to work for the development of the economy.

India, being the world’s largest democracy, gives her citizens the right to express. Through the unrelenting efforts of Gandhian Anna Hazare, the nation has found a voice against this growing menace. Anna Hazare, along with his strong team of volunteers, drafted the Jan Lokpal Bill, which calls for greater transparency in all public sector undertakings. It also demanded greater accountability from the politicians and bureaucrats. Even though the Government has drafted its own version of the Lokpal bill, which excludes the Prime Minister from the purview of the ombudsman, it is a step in the right direction. The country is now taking steps to root out corruption from the society, albeit a long and slow process.

This movement has been a victory of democracy and will empower us further to raise our voice against injustice. There are thieves amongst us. They steal our hard earned money; they do not address our concerns, even though we pay them to do precisely that; they try hard to keep us divided on the basis of caste; they try to defame our dignity. But, unfortunately, there is no authority to prosecute these thieves for their crimes. It is we, the citizens of India, who need to step up and do it. We should exercise our rights effectively in order to root out this menace and help India reach the summit.

Kailash V Madan
PGP 2011

Musings @ 3 AM

noreply@blogger.com (Sakshi) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:59:00 +0000

“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” These words by Henry Longfellow reverberate in my mind almost every night I’ve spent this past month at IIM-Shillong.

As a first year PGP student, I have seen more 3 AMs awake this one month than I have my entire life. During my engineering days, I have seen only a few 3 AMs and that was before my most difficult semester exams. However, now the 3 am culture has become a way of life. It’s not self-imposed though. It’s an integral part of what makes an IIM an ‘IIM’. We are supposed to be the crème-de-la-crème of India. This is part of our management ‘education’.

We adjust, adapt, acclimatize and do whatever is necessary and what is expected of us. Learning to balance life, fun, relationships, studies and sleep is a fine art. That’s what management is all about: making decisions and taking accountability for them. I think when most of us think of IIM, we think of the huge pay packages. We don’t realize what goes on behind the scenes and leads to the belief that IIM students are worth lakhs.

It’s not easy. Every day is a preparation for the next. We are expected to be prepared for every class. This would include around 20 pages pre-reading per subject and a few case studies thrown in. This preparation is judged by our class participation and surprise quizzes. Under preparation or no preparation usually results in the professors putting you through a guilt trip. Of course, we are also expected to be awake in class in spite of the 3 AM culture.

Having said all this, this past month has been the most exciting months of my entire life. I have met new people, seen new places and done things I never imagined myself doing. I have pushed myself to my limits, and then realized I could push myself even more. I have climbed mountains and explored hidden forests. I have made friends who are willing to accept you for who you are but at the same time, want you to change your old biases.

At IIM, my ‘companions’ are not asleep. We are awake at 3 AM. We are at IIM-Shillong.

Dhivya Ravikumar

PGP 2011

The Arch of Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Sakshi) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:56:00 +0000

Chandran C. Devenesan- principal of MCC Tambaram was in 1974 appointed Vice- Chancellor of the newly established central university in Shillong. The first thing that he did as the VC was to pick Mr. Keshavan to be the chief of the library that was centrally established in a highly romantic palace once built by the maharaja of Mayurbhanj, and now leased over to NEH University. The library increased its stock on daily basis in every subject. But the most attractive part of the palace- turned- library was the room that was once the king’s yagyashaala . It now became the reference section with the yagya kund in its pristine totemic essence of evocation that stood by centuries of growth in

India

. And then there was a magnificent arch that only invited anyone who cared to enter. Prof Devenesan, in his entrée to the reference section made a small remark on the visitors’ book: Enter to Grow in Wisdom. Next day, Mr. Keshvan got the words painted on the arch and to the day I left the university in 1979, the beacon had remained intact.

Meaning of wisdom to the swarthy lad then was confined to knowing something new. The question remained, ‘what was wisdom all about?” Is it a competency to cope with the world or to run the world with deeper thoughts? Or is it to know how to give? But it was also the time when I had grown fairly wise to understand hatred, love and such abstractions that immediately follow the settlement of hard realities of food and clothes and shelter in one’s life. Fathers and uncles, whether literate or not, were all of the opinion that the ancestors were wise and that they set the conduct rules after they had tested them in the heat of their worldly experience. Wisdom, according to them was internalization and respecting those rules. What they also meant was that the particular examples could be generalized and applied under different circumstances. Such a residential application of primary socialization at home could be the basis of lasting wisdom, they prescribed.

“Man’s struggle with himself determines the quantum and nature of wisdom he acquires in his life” said the whispering sprite in a heuristic manner of its own origin and sustenance in my heart. It said so in a rather mean way; in condescension to the supposedly lofty questions that one asked even in a picayune of a life situation. Good enough. But the sprite said, no. It was precisely for this prosaic reason that I sometimes called it the inner voice. It wanted more.

Then, one day in history when I cleaned my almirah, a 2000 years old book tumbled out. I had earlier read this one sitting beside the yagya kunda when the clouds burst outside in full glory with Brihadaranayaka thunders. The all-wise chorus of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex said in unison at the end of all the fights that men and women had with providence for writing their own scripts of life:-

Of happiness, the crown and chiefest part is wisdom

And to hold gods in awe.

This is the law.

Seeing the stricken heart of pride brought down

We learn when we are old.

And yet the sprite said, No. It took me again to another book wherein the yogi poet said about Savitri: No victory she admits of Death or Fate. That was too high against the fate I suppose. On the common man mode where we are connected with the mortals, arches of wisdom stand on the heads and shoulders of those who teach, experiment, enter like Savitri at times in our lives, and make us old.

The whispering sprite comes back and says: Biggest irony of life is that it is too short to make anyone old enough to attain wisdom. The dialectic of one’s destiny and his struggle with himself eludes wisdom.

But for sure, if you have earned happiness and have given that to others too in the process of this struggle- you are sure to catch a snatch of wisdom, for they both switch places as fast and sure as death and life. Enter the world of letters to grow in wisdom, and yet, wisdom celebrates with happiness for those who can write their own script with no apology to fate; and then we turn old to be called wise.

Mr. K.L.Khanna

Student of MA (English) in 1974-76 and MA (Sociology and Anthropology) in 1976-78 at NEHU

(Currently, IIM Shillong is run in Summer Palace of Mayurbhanj Kings, which was previously campus of NEHU (North-Eastern Hill University)

One Month Down the Memory Lane

noreply@blogger.com (Dhivya) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:46:00 +0000

It’s been nearly a month in IIM Shillong and I am just in love with the green campus we have and the natural beauty of Meghalaya, especially that of Cherrapunji and the areas nearby. I visited Cherrapunji along with my batch mates on the very next day of jaunt to MawPhlang forest. Undoubtedly, Cherrapunji is among one of the best places I have been to. The highlands are as lush green as they can get and their power to transcend you to another level is truly exceptional. Then there are smoky clouds which seem to converge on you and make you feel majestic. The journey itself epitomizes a tourist destination. And the most amazing thing about the trip is that I can still see those exceptional views when I close my eyes. I can see the lush green hills, extremely deep valleys, a beautiful garden, several waterfalls, forests, beautiful wavy roads and those clouds. It is as if somebody has painted the canvas of life with different shades to bring out the best nature can offer. I can just visualise myself looking out of the window of our bus and the breeze rustling through and making me feel free. The very view of a clear sky, untainted by any amount of pollution can be liberating. Those were the emotions that I don’t have the words to describe. I can just feel them. And that was a high of its own kind not experienced by this writer before.

Anyways, I will come back to my campus and will shed some light on the special events of the last month. As expected, none of us missed an opportunity to have fun at any point of time. We had the birthdays of many of eminent personalities of our batch and we celebrated them like anything. But what transpired at Kush’s birthday cannot be discussed on this blog. Nevertheless, more than any single event, it is more of a combination of small-small moments that make life special here. It can be as simple as fighting to get hold of a badminton or table tennis racket or taking a walk in the campus when everyone has gone to sleep or the long discussions. The discussions tend to range from heavy to extremely stupid and silly things. But the essence is in the belongingness rather than the subject of discussion. It has a beauty of its own.

By now, the reader must be wondering that IIMS is all about fun and all is cool here. But let me just tell you that they make you feel rigour instead of just putting it in a brochure. We have days where sleeping looks like an activity of past. Even the shortest possible amount of sleep looks unachievable. You have got assignments, clubs and committees work and other commitments to honour. Loss of sleep and changes in behavioural patterns is directly proportional to the speed at which a course goes. And the expectations of the instructors should not be talked about. Amidst all this chaos, many of us did not even realize that at least one fifth of many course books have been covered and we are expected to know everything because a surprise quiz or random questions might be round the corner. And it does not end here. A lot many of us wait for the weekends to finish the backlog, only to find that it is already booked with corporate visits, guest lectures or knowledge sharing sessions. In a short span of time, we have had the honour of interacting with chairman of ISRO, Minister of DONER and Chairman NEC, President of HCL, CEO of Hammer communications, Chairman UPSC etc. to name a few. These interactions have a charm of their own. And being a part of an academic legacy, you would not want to miss out on those interactions. So the result is more sleepless nights.

In a nutshell, you need not go to an amusement park to find what a roller coaster means, come here to experience it first-hand. It will be exciting, humbling, encouraging, thought provoking and worth every bit of effort you put in. That is what life is made up of at my alma mater. This is life @ IIM Shillong.

Tarun Gupta

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