Day 7..Celebrations and gaffe.

*Sorry about the Day 6 and Day 7 back to back..but I didn't post yesterday. But was too enthralled upon meeting my companion from childhood (the lanky fella, called Alladin) not to mention him in a post. So, here goes day 7.

Okay, the topic says celebrations first. So, lets talk of the celebration. One of the fellas from general stream got the call from IIFT and thus he was leaving the insti. Although I didn't know him much but we had crossed paths during the ppts seniors had given. So, I got a treat as well. Along with the seven others. I don't pass a good treat, so a diet Pepsi with some samosa. (That is all the canteen had to offer then. And he wasn't in Delhi till the evening. So, no going out later.)

Now, today was supposed to be CID (as we fondly call, Corporate Interface Day). Anyway as this was almost our first week so we didn't know what to expect and enquired from our course co-ordinator yesterday. He said that as the classes had barely started so we won't be doing anything on the CID this week. Although next week onwards, it would be pretty busy. So, we came home yesterday. Many hoping to catch up on some of the assignments we got yesterday. Would you believe, by the end of first lecture on Managerial Economics(ME)..we have four chapters to study and multiple case studies to go through. Besides the privilege of one chapter each from Marketing management(MM) and Business Communication(BC). phew!!

I spent the entire day today in the library, started up on the MM. But after a while it got intolerable, so I shifted to Above Average by Amitabha Bagchi. Okay none of this was bad, I enjoyed the book. But then around 430pm I came to know that while all the time I had been sitting in the library enjoying myself. CID class had been conducted by our seniors. And now I have to prepare and submit a presentation tomorrow in the college, by 5 in the evening.

Then we have a guest lecture and also a grid meeting. Help me..

Take care everyone *peace*

*Waise tonight I am watching the first India WI game. Whatever happens tomorrow. ;)

Day 6..Introduction to the Alladin..

Yup fellows, this is the same Alladin and the genie. He suddenly appeared in our class today. Naah..not in flesh. But as an example. What the hell! What has Walt Disney got to do with management. Seems it does, after all.

The reference was to the quintessential magical line spoken by the lovely blue genie, right out of the chirag, and sometimes from inside the chirag too (Yup I saw him do that too a couple of times, when he was feeling too pally with Alladin, and it was to early in the morning. Lazy lazy genie).

kya hukum hai mere aaka?

And the lesson was, even tough the genie could do anything in the world, all that Alladin had to do was to ask. Still the genie could not read Alladin's mind. So, the most important thing that makes a manager into a successful manager, is. His ability to properly communicate. Both, while explaining his rationale and while listening to other people's opinions.

And thus started the journey, to becoming a manager..a successful one(This was how our first lecture started). I am listening..Post your comments.

Take care everyone *peace*

I am a Racist..

Now a days, after the abusive attacks on Indian students in Australia got highlighted media attention. Everyone is talking about how racist Australians are, or are not. Some of the more enlightened gentry pointed out that racism is not limited to Australia, it is widespread and well documented even to the present day. Current England, America or any of the other countries is not insulated from racial discrimination. Even right back here, racism is very prominent amongst the tolerant Indians.

There were some documented cases of racism in India, both negative and positive. Students from African nations complained of being loathed at even in the colleges where they studied in India while gore log said, they were given preferential treatment but just as well considered to be easy to be taken to bed.

I do not know whether the attacks on the students in Australia was my by comrades. Because under the circumstances those attackers could just as well have been, people who had just lost their jobs and livelihood and were looking for someone to blame. With the rising global economic powers of India and a general media created perception that any job lost anywhere in the globe on the pretext of cost savings has just been Banglored. Accompanied by the facts that Indian diaspora in Australia is fast rising in the local social and political circles to prominence. A few of such attack even though specifically aimed at Indian nationals, not just people with brown skins was inevitable. But I would rather call it, the hiccups of a bumpy ride to increased world recognition of India as an unstoppable Goliath in the world economy, than anything racial. I beseech such so called racists from deamning my true compatriots who serve to a much more primevial purpose.

Which said, we human are social by nature and in the times of scarcity of resources or under attack from other groups (or tribes) we will fight as one to safeguard what is ours and everyone of us while eliminating every other social transgressor.

And no matter how hard any of you enlightened folks try to eliminate me and my fellow soldiers, we are at the very core of human nature. Instinct of survival has evolved around us. You may suppress us for a while, during the times of abundance but the worse you make the situation for yourself. The stronger we get.

Day 5..

Today, even tough constantly disrupted by the long hours of power outage and the generators tripping because of the over heating. The seniors managed to finish their presentations. It was a nice experience. Now the classes start in full measure tomorrow. 9am onwards, the timing sucks. Couldn't they have made it a little late, like 1030 or 1100. hehe.

Though it was not all that boring. After the presentations for all the batches were over, we had our first management grid meeting. (Management grid is basically a group, or organisation which is maintained by the second year PGDM students. They act as an interface between the students and institute. Several seminars, guest lectures, cultural events and so on, so forth are also organised by this group.) In this meeting we were told, how PGDM at LBSIM is not all slog. We have several clubs and societies for, drama, music, dance, social engagement, college band and even debating. And all of these are over and above the various academic clubs for finance, marketing, hr, general management and entrepreneurship.

Gosh!! these people saved the best for the last. We are gonna have a fun week next week probably or the one after that. Face painting, heer ranjha and a few others. An event each day. Followed by a weekend (saturday) gathering with all our seniors.

I am waiting for it. Hope to get some clicks. hehe. They said not to be using cell phones in the premises, they didn't say anything about digital cameras.

Take care everyone *peace*

Spiritual Entanglement..

June 23, 2009: Today while returning from college, right outside the campus. I met these two fellows. Young twenty year old lads from US of A. The hazel eyed, Christensen and Willie, with green eyes. They had been in Delhi longer than I have been here, a little over a year and the only thing which they could think of about this city was the immense heat. They couldn't be reprimanded about such an opinion of the city, after all they had been walking with the sun pounding down on them and they were from the hill stations of their nation(One from the state of Idaho, and the other from Salt Lake City). They said they were here on a journey to attain spiritual atonement with the Holy Father.

No, they were not seeking ways to achieve it. They were here to preach, preach what they believed in and believed the only true way to the Holy Father (they never referred to him as God, only thee Holy Father.) They were from the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints and they followed the book of Mormon, the last apostle who was killed somewhere in their country. But had buried the gospels before he died, which was later found in the mountains surrounding the little 18th century farming community known as the New York city. The discussions were riveting to say the least. The questions like Who am I? Why am I here? What happens when I die? were raised. They even said that pope was not the messenger form the God, he only believed that he was. The teachings of Jesus was lost when his apostles were killed, only to be found again two centuries ago by the founder of this section of church.

I started this post not to praise or criticise these young preachers or raise questions upon their belief. It was not even meant to share the experience. It's just that the answers they left me with were far fewer than the questions they raised. (They had to leave in a hurry after about an hour and half, because they were teaching free English classes and they were almost late for it.) Really, who am I? Why am I? What happens once I am done with life? Do I get resurrected, as they said or does all of it just ends there. I guess I won't learn the answers to most of these questions in my life time but if you have some opinion, tell me.

*BTW, they said if anyone wants to attend free English classes. Everyone is welcome.