Little dew drops of joy in learning @ Rajagiri Business School

Since mid of 2010 Rajagiri Business School has been treating me well with a number of activities which were absolutely not in my list of expectations on what my life in a business school would be...

First of it all started with the rural sensitization camp of which I haven’t blogged as there were too many details to be covered and I failed in conveying the essence of it. In short this camp is an initiative taken by the college to introduce rural India to the large majority of students, who have never seen a night without lights, taps without water and plates without food and who always thought that business (marketing, finance, HR and operations) happen in the big cities and metros. The 7 day rural sensitization camp called Disha which meant direction in Malayalam was set up in Kattapana, Idukki district, Kerala where we were given a government school building to spend our nights and the entire space around to live the day. Kattapana is a hill station where the temperature dips to 15 degrees Centigrade at night and drizzles all day. Our days at the camp started at 6 am officially with an assembly but unofficially it started at 4 am fighting for the 3 toilets that were meant to serve more than a hundred girls. If you are lucky, by the time your chance comes there will be water in the toilet otherwise better find your way out today and better luck tomorrow!!! It was meant to be that way...it’s not that the management didn’t know about the difficulties! Resource management is the theory behind it!  We lived amongst the rural residents in Kattapana, working our days with the residents to construct roads to building houses, managed our chilling cold nights on benches that was barely our own size. The rural camp is to date one of my best experiences from college.

Next in line was Vanavasom which was a 2 day camp near Peechi dam. Unlike the case of the rural camp we had a pleasant stay with clean beds, toilets with water supply and excellent food! It was a treat to our body and mind. Vanavasom is an initiative taken by Rajagiri Business School with an aim to make its students managers who are employable. In the quiet and peaceful camp site we were engaged with several personality tests where we analyzed our self and our fellow group mates with an intention to help each other become better human beings. Everyone made the best out of it by taking it seriously and giving feedback that were absolutely certain and constructive. The most exciting part of it all was when our invisible friends revealed their identity! A week before the camp each one of us were given an invisible friend who we had to observe for a week...observe his or her positives, negatives, points of excellence, points of improvement etc. No one knew who was watching them but everyone knew there was someone watching! We revealed our identity only during the camp...there were sounds of joy and tears of realization when the feedback was given by the respective invisible friends. I myself felt as if some sort of a self realization has happened to me! I got to know what people think about me and where I have to improve to become a socially acceptable person!

The last of the three unique activities organised by college was an out bound training camp organized in collaboration with Kalypso!!! It got over last night and I am all high on Kalypso!!! I dint believe it when my seniors said it was one of the best!

Kalypso was organized in Surianelli (Near Munnar)... again an extremely cold place! The main aim of the training was to take us through various ice breakers and games which would help us connect to real life situations and learn what exactly is meant by leadership, team work, an individual, competition, task, trust etc It was simply amazing how great learning were derived from each of the games we played as a group. Books and lectures taught us theories and concepts but Kalypso proved that the theories work and the concepts are simply amazing! The camp did not just end with activities and learning...we slept in tents (with sleeping bags), drank the best morning coffee, ate good food, enjoyed the camp fire and took pictures that would be memories of tomorrow. I had a wonderful time with the Kalypso team headed my Commander R Madhusoodanan and my fellow classmates.

Now it’s just another trimester to say good bye to my student life and discover other ventures in life...Thank God that everything went off better than expected so far  :)

What a Small World it is!

Isn’t it amazing how networking happens? Talk to a friend, browse through his/her photos and listen to stories to only discover that you have a mutual friend! The World is only getting smaller by the day...It’s become so much smaller from those days where it took ages to get a call from Grandparents in the US to just a missed call away... I can only think back that long!

Surprises happen to me regularly and every time I get excited when there is a connection established and made stronger with a mutual friend.

Browsing through a picture album of one of my very good friends I realised that I have tried out one of her best friend’s dresses without knowing who she was!!! Diya and Pooju J I have heard so many stories about Pooju from Diya but missed to recognize Pooju when I saw her in a tailor shop almost a year back when I liked her dress and wanted something similar and was allowed to try it out to see for myself! I guess she was so generous because somewhere in our minds we knew each other! Life gets too exciting at times!!!

This phenomenon happens all the time in Facebook and it is one of my favourite applications in facebook. Every time I add a new friend I realise how there are surprising mutual friends!

And every time I conclude... WHAT A SMALL WORLD IT IS...

'In the midst of plenty we feel empty’

It’s been exactly 13 months since Mr. Vijay Menon spoke to us... changed our lives and moved our minds! 

We were all back in class wondering if all this is actually helping us...

When I wrote my previous blog on Vijay Menon’s lecture I was in high spirits... my blood was boiling to do something for the world around...to make a difference in at least one person’s life...to make a mark...to initiate a change...

But to be very frank I haven’t done anything that can be tagged as social service in the past 13 months and I was nearly ashamed to be realising the reality and sitting in his class this time. However I was gifted with thoughts on what exactly is meant by social service...

Social service is not just about giving financial aid to the needy but about creating a strong value system within oneself which will help people around to change their lives. To inspire someone be the deed or show the deed or personify the deed is what the speaker said!

Further he quoted an IIM-A graduate who said ‘in the midst of plenty we feel empty’. These are such beautifully strong words that most of us experience in our lives and never got an answer to why we feel so. As I had mentioned in one of my earlier blogs (Gifted hands) I feel the worst when everything is fine in my life and when I can’t pray from my heart. This statement by the IIM graduate reinforced that thought further into me. I feel empty when I score high in my exams, when I have all my friends around me with warmth and happiness, when my family is safe and sound, when my teachers are knowledgeable etc

In all these situations I feel the most privileged and forget that there is a world outside deprived of these luxuries. I believe this gap between them and me creates the emptiness.

I recollect an instance from my childhood when I accompanied my parents to an orphanage for mentally retarded and crippled children. Unlike the usual orphanages this one is exclusively for abnormal children who have been abandoned by their families because they don’t have the money to support their treatment and medication. As soon as we entered the ward, I held my mother’s hand tight as there were children in grotesque postures moving around in the floor. There were 2 rows of beds in the ward and the Sister in charge explained to us about the schedule these children followed in a day. We kept walking with the sister till I heard a small baby cry continuously from one of the beds. When we turned around the Sister said that the baby was just 6 months old and had a stroke and she is unable to move. Six months is too small to start talking hence she cries aloud whenever someone passes by to grab their attention. The sisters explained to us how she cannot be with the baby always and give her attention due to her daily chores and hinted that it will be great if we could spend some time sitting next to the baby. Someone’s presence made a lot of difference in that child’s life.

There were several such instances in that one visit to the orphanage. On our way back I decided to take the back seat in the Innova car we were travelling in...I could not speak a word as I was struggling to cry without my parents hearing. All I could think of was the baby crying... the sound would just not leave my ears and I started spelling vows to myself on how I would devote a part of my time for the underprivileged. Those tears made so much sense and I knew that I was crying for a reason and the vows that I took made so much sense... a sense of purpose...

Whatever said and done how far have I been true to my vows! Under my mother’s guidance I realised that I have my boundaries as a student... I have a curfew time in my hostel, a time table to follow in my classes... So for the time being I have been away from my vows but I will live my dream once I become independent in life! Once I have the right to do things the way I want... The fire still burns in me and each time Mr. Vijay Menon speaks my vows are strengthened.

Yet another reality that Vijay Menon spoke about was an answer to the question how to kill ego! He said its simple... just visit the burns ward and the cancer ward! The feeling that life is not what we think it is kills the ego in you! Makes so much sense! Felt it myself! And for this simple reason I should I visit the orphanage frequently...frequently because ego rebounds!

The Coral Necklace

The diamond necklace is what we often hear about! Since our elementary education, in various languages with varying characters!

But recently I encountered with a situation in my own life which is worth a story telling session... A story about the Coral Necklace! I initially thought of naming the story as ‘showers of blessing’ because the showers of blessings were felt...

As a Child, I fantasised a wedding like my mother’s wedding... Just like all other little girls who looked upon their mothers as role models in case of fashion, intelligence, strength, beauty etc. I admired the sari, the jewellery and the flowers she wore on her wedding day...What a beauty!

This was also a period of my life where possessiveness and selfishness were finding their way in. That mere innocence of a child was melting away and I dint feel the same about the people around me. Now I say that my family consists of my parents, brother, sister and grandmother but at that point of time, I felt like my sister’s caretaker, my mother’s gardener and my father’s diver were also a part of my family. They were home every morning before I opened my eyes and helped my family in everything they wanted. I was more than happy when my parents helped these extended family members financially or otherwise. I always thought these are the people who will be there forever to take care of our house and the people in it. I was so close to all of them that I used to shop with them, dine with them and have many good memories of the time I’ve spent with them as a child.

The situation changed with the marriage of our gardener’s daughter. My parents were not in a situation to support them financially and conduct the marriage entirely or even a hold a major chunk of the expenses. My mother, duty bound, took a drastic step by giving away her coral necklace to the bride!!! Imagine!!! Like a little girl of 9 years old!!! Worse, I got to know about the act after several days... I was fuming...upset...

I always dreamt of legacies...like in movies! Especially the British ones where a necklace, a pendant, a clock, or a hair clip is passed on to the future generations... I thought the coral necklace was one of those and I could not believe that my mother felt nothing at all about it... No sentiments attached! I screamed aloud and cried but the answer I got from my mother was ‘My father gave me the coral necklace and I have all the right to do anything with it. Likewise your father will give you jewellery for your wedding and you can do anything you wish to do with it’. Trust me that was no consolation...How will I make my mother understand the meaning of legacy??? Now I am smiling :)

It has been so many years now...the gardener and his family have gone with the wind...his daughter’s dint want their father to be a gardener as they got married to educated men. Gardening is unprofessional apparently...I made sure I used every opportunity to tell my mother she was wrong while she kept her silence with a smile...

Now it is time for me to get married!

Like a child, I still fantasy a coral necklace. Every time we go jewellery shopping, I look around for a coral necklace and every time the shopkeeper gives a lame answer...it is out of fashion! Do I care?

Finally, the last bit of jewellery shopping is going on with the rising gold prises and to my surprise, I see an antique piece! Yes! An antique coral necklace in the corner most part of a glass shelf in Vumudi Bengaru...To make it sound more dramatic I can say that it was my mom’s coral necklace...But somehow this is no fairy tale but a true story :P

The Lord never punished me for being so materialistic and nagging my mother for so many years... through this act – ‘shower of blessing’ I feel like the Lord is reassuring me that everything is in his hands...he has the right to give things and take away things. The Lord just helped the gardener and his family through my mother.

It takes time but the Lord takes care of every wish, every drop of tear and rewards every right action!

Quiz days :) Valare!

Now that it is time for another Inflore and National Quiz I am suddenly left behind thinking of those days. I would say one of the few terrifying days in my life... When I think about it I am glad it all went well after all the sleepless nights and tiresome days. The NSE sponsored National Quiz happened... A corporate team won a Lakh of prize money and a student team won half a lakh and it all ended in style. The file was closed! But a new chapter began with a new set of friends who made my life happier! I remember the day one of them asking if I could join the Quiz committee and help in the logistics part J Delighted I was!!! Bina, Megha, Jesse and Krishnan, it was supper scary working with you guys!!! Especially when you were all on top my head at 4am testing my excel competency!!! God!!! This bunch made sure that I get out of the committee tougher than I got in! Hanish was certainly a consolation. Nithya was terribly sweet by walking with me and making me practice my scariest public speech (ha ha it was only 5 lines but scary enough for me!). Thanks to Paul for vanishing in between so I could go replace him in escorting one of our guest and hence miss the public speech! My experience working with this truly talented bunch of seniors was exemplary. Saw a lot of management, talents, capabilities, frustrations, crisis handling and so on and so forth. During the quiz days we all shared a very professional relationship with only discussions about work and how we could do our best to make the event a success but now we have all crossed the boundaries and gotten into each other’s lives. Jess has become my mentor in taking rational decisions, Meg understands me to an extend where she doesn’t complain even if I don’t spend time with her especially when she is next door after a long period of time! Beeeen, hugs me and makes me feel great every time I meet her. Ha ha and Krishnan continues to eat my head! Whatever said and done I am their marriage counsellor!!! Waiting for the day we can all meet up once again and bitch about all the men around (Not you Krishnan!) but also talk about the positive side of getting married!

With all the memories from last year’s National Quiz (the 1^st of its kind in Rajagiri) I am looking forward to working with the new quiz committee. Hanish and I still remain as if we are taking forward a legacy.

Will B Schools have to take off Business Ethics from their course structure?

If Jan Lokpal bill comes into existence, certainly yes!!! I say this because unethical behaviour in business will be history and a new course on marketing will have to be included! 

After going through a course in Business ethics I realised how business is all about cheating... the only difference is that the level of cheating sounds insignificant. This reminds me of confessions that Christians make before taking the Holy Communion. I shouldn’t be generalising but I personally don’t include sins like lying, fighting with parents, going to bed without praying etc in my confessions. I have gotten so used to all this that I feel like I am questioning the sanctity of the significance of confessions if I include these sins.

Likewise if you look at the business World there are n numbers of examples on how marketers have masked facts to sell their products; has there been a living example of a person who has become fair using ‘fair and lovely’? Koutons advertises in all its stores across India saying that they provide “50%+40% discount on all products”. Are the customers really getting 90% discount as they are made to believe? Lifebuoy soap says "Wash away swine flu germs" when the scientist across the globe are sitting in their labs to come up with a medicine!  If reputed companies like Unilever can come up with such false promises what is the case with other companies who don’t even have to worry about protecting their reputation. Clearly these are examples of dishonesty...

The Oxford dictionary defines corruption as ‘dishonest or illegal behaviour’. Does the Lokpal bill have a different definition for corruption? Or will companies like Unilever be on the pin point of Lokpal bill?

We can’t even say that the level of corruption is in a different scale in these cases because if we consider the kind of money large FMCG companies are making by selling their products through tactics is significant enough and considerable. We overlook such marketing practices because a lot of us believe what H.G Wells, a well known English Author once said “Advertising is legalized lying”.

Gifted Hands

Recently I happened to see ‘Gifted Hands’ - A movie by Jaishon Fisher. Jaishon Fisher acts as Dr. Ben Carson, an American neurosurgeon and the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1987, Carson made medical history by being the first surgeon in the world to successfully separate Siamese twins (the Binder twins) conjoined at the back of the head (craniopagus twins). The movie is all about the life of this legend in the book of medicine.

I was totally inspired by this movie for the fact that there were instances which depicted true faith in God.

I was terrifically moved when Dr. Ben told his patient’s parents that he prays EVERY SINGLE DAY OF HIS LIFE (When he was asked if he prays). Dr. Ben is the World’s most successful neurosurgeon, He has a wife who understands the challenges he is facing being a Doctor of such stature, and he has Children who are smart and intelligent. He has a mother who has been ever supportive and a very successful brother. The only possible flaw in his life since he was born was that he did not have a father. This was a significant issue when he was a child but with all the other blessings and his father’s absence over the years made it an insignificant issue in his life. But still he prays EVERY SINGLE DAY OF HIS LIFE!!!

If the same question is posed towards me my answer would be the same but I won’t be able to say it with such confidence as Dr Ben did. It is true that I also pray every single day but at times just to finish the job. It is like the difference between listening and hearing. I feel very lazy and tiered when it is finally time to pray in days when there are no troubles in life. I end up lying down and praying and eventually dozing off. On the other hand when there is a slight problem I am all in prayers! I am so satisfied in life when I am able to pray and for this reason I never pray that my troubles pass but just reduce them to a level I can bear them. It is a blessing to be in a situation to pray on a daily basis even without any issues in life.

Yet another instance where the power of prayers was seen in the movie is when Dr. Ben as a teen age boy was susceptible to teenage issues. He got into wrong company of friends and got involved in drug pedaling. He got influenced by his friends (Just like anyone of his age) and believed that his clothes were not cool enough and his life was not happening enough. This was when Ben Stole money from his mother’s hard earned savings and bought a Swiss knife which he thought would definitely make him look cool. However at one instance he lost his temper against a friend and took his knife out and swabbed it across. Ben and everyone around were terrified and he felt that the World was crashing beneath his feet. But the guardian angel guided the boy and to his amusement realized that the knife had hit the buckle of his friend’s belt and broken into pieces and the friend was all fine. Ben ran for his life and shut himself in his room. A treat to my eyes – The first thing he did was take the bible that was lying in his room and hold it close to his heart and cry! He cried saying “Lord! Lord! You have to take this temper away from me” and sang the song “Jesus all the world to me, my life my troy and my all. He is my strength from day to day... without him I would fall”. This is unusual for a teenager who always tries to justify himself. Only very few are gifted with such wisdom to know that the only way out of troubles is through God and can be achieved only through prayers.

A final point: “Thy will be done Lord, Amen” is what Dr. Ben prayed just before getting into the operation theater to do his very first surgery on his own. Dr. Ben was very specific about his prayers. He did not ask for success in his venture but asked the lord’s wish whatsoever it was. Due to several instances in my life I had taken a decision to follow the Lord’s will a few years ago and now I can proudly say that I am a lot happier in life doing what the Lord wants me to do. He certainly knows all my dreams and wishes but gives me the best. Being a human being I miss out on the best as it could be beyond my comprehension but the Lord always gives the best. In one of my tough days a friend very close to my heart said “Leave it to the Lord, He will give you the 1st best thing and not even the 2nd best thing”. Her words were really powerful I hold her advice very close to my heart.

Superficially the movie depicts that Dr. Ben is who he is because of his gifted hands, with special emphasis on his talents and capabilities. But a closer view with an open mind clearly shows that the gifted hand is his wisdom! His closeness to God and life through prayers has got him to where he is.

Watching this movie, I so badly wish everyday was the same for me when it comes to praying! No matter how well I do in life or how famous I become my only wish is that I be able to pray with strong feelings every night before bed!