Underneath the Southern Cross I stand….!!!

Underneath the Southern Cross I stand….!!!

For people reading the above sentence for the first time, it surely does not make any sense. For starters, it is the victory song of the Australian cricket team, which goes something like this….

Underneath the Southern Cross I Stand

A sprig of wattle in my hand,

A native of my native land,

Australia you little beauty………..

Becoming a lecturer has expanded my horizons in that I have more time for myself. That has enabled me to gather a few thoughts. I also have been able to give my meandering thoughts a proper flow. Of the many things, recent happenings at a Management Fest called Mantra had me thinking like never before.

Now as a student, I was quite an out and out individual not caring a damn, even about my career and academics. I never bothered as to what sort of an impact my behavior would make on those people watching me. Judges, Lecturers, Recruiters, so on and so forth. Now that the ends have changed, I have been compelled to make a brutal introspection about my attitude. These days I am setting an example, maybe good or bad, while I never ever bothered to follow one. There has been a paradigm shift in the way I look at things.

People somehow get philosophical when ends change. I now have the responsibility of guiding a few young fellows along the right path and show them the way, whether they would even bother to listen to me or not. While you are doing that, there are a few words you say to the students and then think: Hell yeah!! Where did those syllables come from?

Mantra 08 was a unique experience. We had taken mostly the same set of students to Naissance, a bigger event with tougher competition, and with absolutely no scope for a win. Exposure was the main aim. With Mantra, the case was different. When a team is suddenly facing a realistic possibility of an unlikely result in their favor, two possible characters are displayed. The possibility is converted to victory, or the team buckles down for a defeat. The competitors, except one, were none too great, a fact proven beyond doubt when they opened their mouths during the valedictory. This team had a chance. They buckled under pressure with victory being inches away.

The secret behind a successful campaign, be it a fest or sport, lies in the preparation leading up to the event. A team starts jelling together during the preparations and finally hit the peak at the right time. The teams also have fun along the way and enjoy what it does. This team was never together from the start with an absolute lack of discipline. Too many practice hours were spent away in needless gossip and every possible excuse given for participants being late.

The coordinator of this team was Shafiulla K M, a second year student with a bit of talent than others and a genuine drive to try and do something new. His mate Dilip, a multi talented chap coupled with a thinking brain, was an asset to this team. These guys made a great combo and decided to tackle the marketing event to which they were best equipped. They complemented each other well in presentations and thus had a very good chance. The opportunity was squandered through sheer overconfidence in answering a question that had negative markings. If the question had been left unanswered, they would have been through, but nevertheless they got it wrong and were knocked out of the event in the first round.

The HR event was an event which beckoned us to win. Mohammed Sameer Ahmed, a second semester lad was a straightforward, hassles free person, key traits to tackle HR issues. Darshan, his mate, was a chap with similar traits, but with complicated thinking, which would result in their downfall. They sailed through their first three rounds which required them to take part in a GD, Interview, do a collage on women empowerment with the aid of magazine cutouts. In the final round, they were required to make a presentation with the help of the collage they had prepared. The crowd was encouraged to post queries on the presenter. Seeing these two fellows come over to make their presentation, even the small crowd present sensed a kill. Their body language displayed a negativity like the one displayed by a weakened deer amongst a herd about to be caught by a menacing tiger. A start with a defining punch line was followed up with utter silence and disbelief. Probing questions were responded with stunned silence. Such was the state that the judge himself had to answer a couple of queries from the audience.

There was no clue about the Operations round to both the participants, Lokesh Kiran and Vishu Kumar. The homework was simply not being done. When there are no clues regarding an event, an extensive search over the internet is done followed by consulting people who have either conducted or participated in such events. Under preparation meant that this event was approached with hopes of a miracle or a stroke of luck to get them through. Needless to say that they were eliminated after the first round

Same can be said of Finance as well, Bharath Simha and Divyashree confessed to being under prepared and did not understand some of the questions on advanced finance. That they are still in first year and yet to see specialized Finance cannot be taken as an excuse.

The Business Plan was an event of mixed emotions for me, frustration due to a lack of communication between Rashmi and Mohammed Suheel Zameer. The most important part of a Business Plan, i.e., the executive summary being completely forgotten despite a printed document given containing guidelines on Business Plan writing added to the frustration. Rashmi had her own disappointment as I did not consider a Business Plan formulated through her efforts spreading over a sleepless night. I could not consider her plan as it was not communicated to me at the right time and was told only after the original plan had been submitted. This was followed by a glimmer of hope as, against all odds; the faulty plan had been accepted for the final round. A desperate attempt was made to convert this hope into a victory, but at the end of the day we were fighting a losing battle.

Business quiz was also a first round exit with Bhagath and Shafiulla going in under prepared as well.

If at all a performance captured my imagination, it was from Suma, our Best Manager participants. She showed sheer grittiness and stubbornness through ten rounds of physical stress, case studies and role plays. She displayed an attitude befitting a manager. But even she fell at the final hurdle. She needs to hone her skills on performing at crunch situations though.

We slogged three days of practice in getting an Ice Breaker to perfection. The performance at the Ice Breaker was extremely good and exceeded our expectations. It was inconsequential in the end as the prize to that event was dubiously scrapped raising suspicions of dirty work behind. Nevertheless, the performance showed what could be achieved through rigorous practice and dedication.

The detailed account given above might make you wonder if I am firing all guns at my students, I admit that even my attitude as a faculty was more student like during the fest. Even though I was there at the venue, my presence was pretty useless in that I had nothing much to offer them apart from encouragement.

Much criticism has followed since the day the fest ended with the participants returning with sad faces to the class today. The once cheerful and all-smiles faces have been replaced with gloominess and melancholy. Probably the criticism by us was just too much to cop.

But they are my students and I care for them a lot. I want them to undergo a kind of learning that is unique and help them in their overall development. I want to be there for them whenever they feel like they want me, if at all they want me.

I congratulate them for putting up a brave fight despite the odds. As the someone said: I like the winning, I don't mind losing, but most of all I like to play!! I see an enthusiasm as they get ready for Verve 2008.

I yearn for the day when they would work as a team, disciplined and dedicated, filled with joy and fun and I can sing along with them these incredible lines, as the Australian cricket team does after each victory with winning being a common practice……..

Underneath the Southern Cross I Stand

A sprig of wattle in my hand,

A native of my native land,

Mahajanas, the class of 2009 you little beauty…..!!!!!

PS: Lyrics of the song has been edited to suit the flow of thought

Bharath Srinivasa & Others!!! Part 1

At first glance, you would wonder, why the dickens would anyone include the tag "others" when he is yet to introduce himself. I have always believed that in order to understand a person, you need to know something about the people around him.

I have, as any individual would, come across hundreds of people in a span of say 20 years. While nobody would dig deeper into the kind of people they have come across, it is needless to say that a journey in those roads would be an interesting study. People around me have, in certain cases; given me jitters and goose bumps, made me laugh, think, talk and behave in various manners. I would discuss a few people who have influenced me in a big way, and, quite obviously are still in touch.

My understanding of this world began around 22 years back, when I was a 3 year old. Though not that mischievous, I was quite a handful to my mother, through my acts and physical structure as well, and mom decided that it was time I had some schooling.

Circa 1986, I stepped into CFTRI School, Mysore. On the third day, while I was hovering around the corridor, I heard the unmistakable voices of a frecklish kid, not wanting to come to school but his mother was forcing him to. He was being quite a handful to his mom. I had acted in the same way, with less intensity, a couple of days back on my first day in school. But by the third day I had got used to it.

I was then introduced to him by our class teacher, Aunty (Yes, you heard it right, Aunty!!) Gloria. Now why aunty and why not Miss? You need to be a CFTRIan to understand that. His name was U P Vikram, a close bud even to this day.

Roll the time machine 22 Years; he is probably one of the most emotional people I have ever met. He thinks everything from his heart. Ask for help and he is the first person to raise his hand up and be counted. Once he sets his focus on something, needless to say he has it. He is his mom’s only kid, just like me. But it’s the sheer number of sisters [J] he has had in his life that make him stand out from the rest. Right from our class girls and senior girls at school, through PU & Graduation, I can count up to a hundred!!! That includes a sister whom he never perceived as one & saw her in a different angle [;-)]!!! Brother of all sisters could be an apt title.

The Year was 1995, when we had just started high school, when a new kid joined. Sanjay B was his name. His face being so incredibly funny we actually wanted to see it again and again. 3 years went like a breeze, what with his share of sisters and crushes as well. He has an incredible ability to come out of infatuations and even relationships so well that you would wonder whether anything happened or not. If I have seen it once, I have seen it happen a hundred times!!! We graduated from high school in 1998 and somehow lost touch for a good 5 years. I value him for the sheer grittiness that he possesses. In those five years he has risen against the storm with absolutely no support whatsoever. He had tough days during PU & Graduation, both academically and financially. He has stuck through it all with sheer grit and I am very happy for the way he is today. He still carries with him the same smile that he had the first day I saw him.

The Year was 2001, got into BBM at TTL First grade college, Mysore. I met a certain Mr. Ranjit Chandran. A layman noticing him from a distance would pass him off as one of those serious chappies and would hardly enter into a conversation and if he does, would not last for more than five minutes. But boy!!! If he weren't there though my three years of Grad and two years of Post Grad, I would have been bored enough to chuck it all and have a dive at the nearest lake. I should have killed him a long time ago for the sheer amount of times he has pulled my leg irrespective of the audience around, but he is the one who has been right there for me through my tough times at college. I owe my maths and accounts papers to him, and hey, not to forget economics and business environment, and also Finance (The most vital of 'em all, no MBA if he wouldn't have helped me out). The most trustworthy guy who brought out the best in me and helped me perform

In the year 2004, after literally scraping through graduation, I landed at Pooja Bhagvat Memorial Mahajana PG Center. Here I met two unique people, quite the first of their kind. Raghav Prasad and Shruthi. While one was thoughtful, the other one tried to be creative. While one’s mood swung more heavily than Wasim Akram’s reverse swing, the other one was had a temper shorter than Dennis Lillie’s bouncers. Quite an amazing combination, both of them. Our meetings, starting with loads of laughter, invariably had a fight midway, and ended in laughter again. While one would choose his food completely on mood and place, the other one wanted everything in the streets. But together we went through some of the best phases of our lives and saw the transition happening, a tough one at that, from being students to becoming professionals.

In the same year I met another bud of mine, Ruben Duke. I have been with him on tours, bike rides, walks and we have been high on the highway as well. He has been a splendid companion. We spent some of our best moments last May – June. Those days, if put on paper, would make for another interesting reading with an apt title – Rajajinagar Nights J. All these days he has been a great mate, and he himself has seen numerous ups and downs in his career, and laughed his way through it.

I shall give a detailed account of some of the interesting incidents with the people discussed and you understand as to why exactly are these people so interesting…….till then….take a break.