The most important thing for understanding the number system is to learn the tables and divisibility tests of the first 20….no no….ummm….may be first 30 numbers. Is that too harsh? Okay, then maybe we should settle at 25. Arre itna to karna hi padega….CAT exam hai yaar….kuch to karlo…….1000 Rs diye hain.

Now the only thing I am doing for the QA part is – reading the divisibility tests of as much numbers as I can [of course < 25]. For the VA – I am planning to revise Word Power Made Easy which I have had done two times in the past. As for the DI – God Bless Me!

The probability of me getting into an IIM is similar to that of a pig flying in the sky. For the nerds, it doesn’t really mean that I am a pig and I will fly if I get into an IIM. I think I wanted to take a chance though I always detested the IIM’s since I spend the summers of 2008 at IIMA. I know I’ll score badly but still wanted to watch myself out. It’s time we must wake up from the deep slumber at IIT and try getting a feel of remorseless competition outside. May it act as a blow to the abnormally expanded pride of any IITian.

Of course I remain your regular bumpkin man – and I don’t suck 

Relax … (takes a deep breath before you read this)

Author unknown:

An interesting reflection: Slow Down Culture………

It’s been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It’s a rule.

Globalize processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to possess a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

Said in another words:

1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo, a state in Brazil.

2. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.

3. Stockholm has 500,000 people.

4. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, Nokia are some of its renowned companies. Volvo supplies the NASA.

The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn’t say anything, either the second or third. One morning I asked, “Do you have a fixed parking space? I’ve noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot.” To which he replied, “Since we’re here early we’ll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closer to the door. Don’t you think so?” Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there’s a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week. Basically, the movement questions the sense of “hurry” and “craziness” generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of “having in quantity” (life status) versus “having with quality”, “life quality” or the quality of being”.

French people, even though they work only 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 29 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US’s attention, pupils of the fast and the “do it now!“. This no-rush attitude doesn’t represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, perfection, with more attention to detail and less stress. It means reducing rejects and wastage. It means re-establishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the “now”, present and concrete, versus the “global”, undefined and anonymous future. It means taking humans’ essential values, the simplicity of living. It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do.

It’s time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of spirit.

In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there’s a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, “I can’t, my boyfriend will be here any minute now“. To which Al responds, “A life is lived in an instant“. Then they dance to a tango.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment.

As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans“.

Congratulations for reading till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this globalized world.

yeSyeSWay

Anand Ramachandran is a first year student at IIM- C. Anand graduated with a B. Tech degree in Mechanical degree in 2009 from NIT Surat. At NIT Surat, he was an active SPICMACAY volunteer, designed websites for college festivals and was a member of various college sports team. He got calls from 3 IIMs (A,C,K) and MDI(IM), of which he has converted IIM-C, K and MDI. To Learn from his Gyan… Please Do Read On….

Team minglebox caught up with Mr. Anand Ramachandran, IIM-C alumnus, CAT 2008 Topper for a volley of words on How to crack CAT, Changes that can be expected in CAT 2009 due to its Online format and other such queries.

1. Please tell us something about yourself.
I was regularly in the top 3 in my class upto 10th. My scores were 89.8 % in 10th, 72.2% in 11th, 82.2% in 12th.
I studied in a KV all my life. I have no (other) academic achievements to speak of. These scores turned out to be very important as the IIMs consider 10th and 12th marks in slabs while giving out GD/PI calls.

2. What did you do your undergraduate degree in and in which institute was it?
B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from SVNIT, Surat.

3. What made you choose IIM C? What were the other institutes that you were considering?
I applied to MDI, Gurgaon as backup But did not appear for any other test. I felt that if I could not get into an IIM on my first try, the work-experience until I got in could only be beneficial.
IIM-C specifically – though B-school rankings played an important part, the reviews of alumni on online forums and personal accounts of other seniors about their life in different IIMs played a greater role in my choosing IIM-C.
From what I knew back then, IIM-C had a more student driven culture, whereas IIM-A & B were more corporatized. At IIM-A and IIM-B, they outsource work they feel is not in the core of an event, initiative or a competition they organize – the design, infrastructure etc. For me, I felt the hands-on experience at IIM-C would be a value-add and more beneficial.

4. Did you go to a coaching institute to prepare? If yes, which one and what were your reasons for choosing it?
Yes. IMS, Surat. Surat had a choice of 4 coaching institutes – Pinnacle Turorials(PT), IMS, T.I.M.E and FuturiSM.
T.I.M.E and FuturiSM were relatively new in Surat and lacked the credibility (without a proven track record) and more importantly, faculty. Their ads focused more on the cost savings and freebies they offered than the core-product we sought. Any educational institute which needs to advertise associated benefits is not worth joining – That’s a thumb rule I bear in mind while making such crucial choices.
Even though PT had produced a 100%iler the batch previous to mine, experiences of seniors and a few open classes they held convinced me that IMS had superior faculty. PT did not offer a separate section/timing for NIT students, which meant we would have local students from Surat in our class. We felt this would slow the pace of teaching in our class.

5. How did you prepare for CAT? What were your strong and weak areas? How much time did you allocate for your preparation?
I was relatively proficient in English and maths, and cleared the cut-offs regularly in the SimCATs. DI was a problem area but I did not focus completely on it until 2 weeks before the actual CAT. I was a registered member of online preparatory forums. Whenever I felt tired of solving questions on paper, I would log in and solve and practice online.

6. Tell us in detail how you prepared for each section.
Preparation time for Quant was spent memorizing formulae and looking up math puzzle books. I found that solving puzzles improved my speed more than questions specifically prepared for CAT preparation. It also improved my ability to interpret a question in such a manner as to get an easy answer out of it.
English was easy as I was an avid reader of books. Vocabulary was never a problem, and all practice papers seemed only to boost my confidence. Grammar was an issue as I had never had a formal class in it, and had to rely on my “instinct” to frame correct sentences. Prep for grammar was harder but was eventually worth the trouble.
DI was the problem area for me as I had never cleared a cut-off until the actual CAT. There are a few standard question types and a few standard operations to perform to get the answer. I practiced these to increase my speed slightly, and spent the last 2 weeks before CAT in a marathon DI session with a little Quant and English thrown in.
Quant was easier than English as it was concrete. I was an Engineering student, so I took Quant lightly. I spent lots of time mentally working out problems, since working them out on paper would be easier. This greatly increased my speed as I recognized and used shortcuts to solve questions.

7. How would you advice CAT 2009 aspirants to prepare for each section?
It would depend on each person’s strengths. There is no specific advice that will help unless their circumstances were extremely similar to mine .

8. As CAT 2009 will be a computer-based test, do you think the exam format will change?
Other than the media the questions are visible on, there is probably going to be no other change. A landslide change is not possible in a single edition of an exam.

9. Do you feel that the pen and paper test was better or wish that you could have appeared for the CBT format?
The CBT exam would have been more modern and apt for the CAT, but I also have no complaints regarding the Paper test other than the fact that releasing the scores takes months. On the whole, I would have liked to experience the modern format of the CAT.

10. Do you think the individual sections would vary this year considering it’s a CBT? If so, how do you see them varying?
The predictability will be the same as it was the years before, but I feel English will be more important than the other sections, considering that the IIMs are happy with the increased intake of girls and the much better profiles(as compared to last years) required to get into the IIMs this year.

11. Can you tell us what are the mistakes commonly made by CAT candidates while preparing and while actually taking the test?
While preparing – asking your seniors what they did and copying them will not work for a candidate. Each candidate has his own circumstances, strengths and weaknesses, interests and motivations. A candidate can only know what will work for him after writing multiple Simulated CATs and adjusting his strategy accordingly to the results obtained.
On the day of the exam – solve problems for 10-15 minutes at home before leaving for the test center. Helps to kick start your brain.

12. What would you advice a CAT 2009 aspirant to focus on while preparing for the exam?
Solving a lot of questions improves speed and also decreases the number of questions that may surprise you. Focus on Solving a LOT of questions as practice before you attempt the real test.

13. Now that you have made it to a B-School, how do you find it? Has MBA turned out the way you thought it will be?
The institute is more than what I expected it to be. People say it’s competitive, but you dismiss it as a buzzword until you get here. The chance for personality development here is immense. I actually learn more from my classmates than in classes. Assignments here are focused on learning rather than scoring, which is great.

14. In your opinion what is the right time to do an MBA? Should economic climate drive an individual’s MBA plans?
Being in India, given the rate of growth of companies and registering of new ones,  any chance to do an MBA from a reputed college should be seized, taking into account the individual’s own interests, of course. The economic climate should preferably not be a factor in deciding his plans, but it may serve to accelerate the decision making process.

Klueless5, is latest version of the mind-boggling or mind-numbing online game, released by the students of IIM Indore. The team puts out a version every year, and i have played them all (or maybe only 2,3 and 4?), but never have i played the game, when it was launched. I played Klueless4, within months or weeks of it launching, but this time, i got the alert ahead of time, and also an alert on the day of its launch. I began the race with many folks, and reached level 5 rather quickly, within hours. Yes, people, some levels could take an hour to clear. But then there was travel, international travel, and work that was more important, that stood in the way of completing this version in meaningful time. Well thats just plainly stupid, because it is difficult to determine meaningful time.

Like i did for Klueless4, i wanted to narrate my journey in solving these puzzles and also provide a set of clues (or thought points) that helped me resolve these levels. For the sake of the game and to keep the fun, and with all respect to the team that created klueless, you will not find direct hints or answers here. Ok, let me start.

Level 1: thinK !! Am sure you know what game you are playing.
I used the source code, and it was easy enough to determine what to do.

Level 2: No answer box. Well, you know what to do. The picture is the address to the next level.
I had to stare closely for sometime, it seemed hazy at first, but soon it was clear.

Level 3: Man, Servant, Maroon, Island. Once you find the connection, the source indicates who is wanted.
I went down the wrong story, before i realized my man was not marooned. I soon got the person i need.

Level 4: Tricky. First solve the image. That’s a start. Then read the source code, connect the two. The encyclopedia of choice for all klueless people is the wikipedia. So once you connect it, you search on Wiki, and soon enough you will find the answer you need. You may need to go back in time, to find the real answer.
A bit of reading, a bit of trial and error. The stupid thing was to assume that image resolved to answer directly.

Level 5: Rolling On The Floor Laughing. I never knew what ROTFL meant !! Anyway, this is a little tricky if you get lost in all the different websites. But each website contains a element.
I got lost, i went to the many locations, recollected them, and didnt get it. One of the klues said, it has something to do with women (a sexist statement to make), but it quickly helped solve this. Dont indulge.

Level 6: Its Greek. And then there is the clue in the source code.
Click, click, click. What a waste of time. Then i read the source. Some searching, some reading on wiki. Its not difficult, but i got sidetracked.

Level 7: Answer the freaking question?
I wasted so much time with the wrong answer. But the best part was, my phone didnt support T9. I had a full qwerty board, and so i had to hunt down friends to get one. Well all that helps if you have the right answer. And if you have the correct answer, you dont even need a T9 phone. Its that simple. This was the beginning of the worst, thinking wrong, no one to blame, and getting frustrated as a result. Consumed a lot of time.

Level 8: Among the easiest one. The source, the items on the pictures, all pointed in direction. The only problem was which one to pick, well there was only two options. So if you get a lil confused, come back to the main picture and clear your head and type the answer in.
I quickly connected all the dots. The answer was simple, but i had to be absolutely correct, so i searched and found the answer again. Then i read the wiki and found the answer again. Can it be that simple? Yes.

Level 9: Funny. The picture gives you the answer, the problem is the answer box is not allowing you to type.
Go figure. I wonder what i would have done, had i been on a flight, and i only had my laptop, with no additional accessories.

Level 10: A lot of verbose, a lot of baloney. But if you read closely again and again, you may notice something. The text and the paragraph is a riddle to trick you, dont get lost there. Its all just pure english. I remember typing ‘the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’, to learn typing. Apparently there was something interesting about this sentence. Well, in that case this paragraph has something interesting too. Just that something is missing.
Ok. This stumped me. I was lost in institutions, avoiding things, and even voiding things. The URL helped me, ‘extra’. After playing klueless so many times, i knew levels were related or connected, or the team repeated some themes etc. So all i had to do was play with it. I later found the connection to the paragraph and the page title.

Level 10B: An interesting case. I knew the missing letter was not a problem and didnt matter. But these days, even a kid will quickly guess the murderer. But the problem is, thats not the full answer. These two levels are related, right. So you need to play by the same rules. Also when you think something does not matter and not required, you know you are wrong.
I found the murderer. But i still hadnt solved the case. I had to go back and forth a few times before i got it.

Level 11: The kid is the key. But the poem helps. The source code has an interesting choice of words. And that helps.
By the way, this klueless team has poetic bend of mind !! Anyway, what i thought first, was the correct approach. Just had to narrow it down to the right name. Again, wasted sometime trying things which were connected but on a tangent. Think straight, the kid will give you all you want.

Level 12: Simple. Search and you will find what these sentences mean. Then you need to fill the blank. I found the answer when i tried to search within a web-page for a similar sentence.
Amazing level. I learnt more than just the answer. And i when i found the answer, it was even more astonishing. The beauty of the adverbial pun is simply magical when you think deeply.

Level 13: The source code is a good place to start. Once you figure that out, then it is simple search and when you land on wiki, you can locate the answer easily.
It real nuts to figure out the exact location to jab.

Level 14: Chat. Yup simply chat.
Simple. I kept chatting in the wrong place. Till i forgot about klueless and simply played chat.

Level 15: Ok. Confusing. Yes. All that yoda talk was misleading. The trail you will follow, will rhyme. Also notice the force wearing dark glasses. I guess it doesnt matter to whom if it is night or day. Decipher the dices, but how, thats the trail forward. Its not common in India, but its pretty common in the US, something like the dice, is used in elevators (lift).
I had to figure out why he was wearing dark glasses. Once i did that, wiki showed me how to decipher the dices. I still had to find out where. Well thats simple, any kid will know the answer.

Level 16: These figures a+b, and there are three sets, are a clue each. Try solving all to figure out the last one. Some clues to help here, jug, bee, etc.
This was lousy, atleast i took a long while to figure it out. Once you figure out the comic they belong to, the answer is easy.

Level 17: A techie level. The color of the foil is simply a distraction but will connect in the end. The word will till what to concentrate on. In the world of Komputers, this klue singly changed how things are going to be done. The person who created or developed it, simply named it so, because it came in sequence.
I got the guy, i typed his name, but then had to play with the name. Only one name was needed. And now i had to type it korrectly.

Level 18: Talk about a game, and freebie computer game, that simply wastes time. The poem is a clue. What could go boom, if you dont properly broom.
The ’sunglasses’ was wasted on me. But the boom, broom etc helped. The pictures, with its tiles in the background helped. No that is not a bathroom tile. Those are the tiles in the game.

Level 19: We just played a computer game. Well this theme is related to the computer you played with. Read the poem now. The poem is a clue to a part that people who travel, dont take with them. No the picture of the compass is to distract you, atleast for now.
When you find the part. You will need to use it. How? The compass will help. The source code and the compass will help you navigate the path. These numbers are important, and when used in conjunction with the title, gives away the name.
Fantastic. Simply fantastic. My problems were figuring out the missing part. But that seemed obvious, but slightly twisted. Then i made a mistake applying the directions. I found the answer when i got the numbers right.

Oh well. This is just half the journey. I have to take a break. No, typing is just killing me. More in the next.

The software industry has produced many large and fast growing companies. The following table contains the fastest growing software firms of 2009.

Google still makes the bulk of its revenue through advertising, but its non-advertisement revenues are growing at a spectacular rate, in particular its software revenues. Hence Google leads the fast growth list. As the company has recently announced several major new software products, continued software revenue growth is likely in coming years.

Russian antivirus company Kaspersky more than doubled its revenues to around 360 million USD in 2008. In 2009, Kaspersky exists 12 years as a company, becoming increasingly successful in the last few years. Right now, the company is the fourth antivirus company in the world, with ambitions to climb further on the ranking. At the growth rate Kaspersky achieved, the company could be able to challenge McAfee and Tendmicro in a couple of years.

The software revenue of Nintendo more than doubled, thanks in large part to the success of the Wii. Recent results indicate increased competition from Sony and Microsoft on the game console market, as well as declining demand for the Wii. It is therefore unlikely that Nintendo remains this growth rate.

Omniture, founded in 1996, provides web analytics for online business optimization. After the 100% year-on-year revenue growth in 2008, Omniture entered the Software Top 100 in 2009. The strong results and potential of the company have not remained unnoticed. Adobe acquired Omniture in September 2009.

Activision Blizzard is the gaming giant formed in 2008 after the merger of Activision and the gaming division of Vivendi. The company is a prime example of the booming gaming industry, in which consolidation takes place.

Attachmate is one of the largest privately held software companies in the world. The company was founded in 1981 in Bellevue, Washington. Attachmate focuses on host connectivity and systems and security management software.

Founded in 1994, Emblaze grew from a small Israeli software company into a diversified technology company with holdings in several software companies.

Take2 Interactive is a US based gaming company, well-known for its blockbuster Grand Theft Auto series. The release of GTA, a very popular game, boosted 2008 revenues so much that it propelled Take2 to the 8th position on the fastest growing software companies list.

Autonomy provides software for extracting information from large amounts of unstructured data like emails, presentations and phone conversations. The British company thanks its growth rate partly to the acquisition of Interwoven.

Salesforce.com is the leading company in offering Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for businesses. Salesforce’s software revenues grew 45% and 51% in 2007.

yeSyeSWay

* – Software Revenues for the year 2008

# – Growth in Software Revenues for the year 2008

LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT

Are You a Victim of Hurry Sickness

By

VIKRAM KARVE

A central element of lifestyle management is the skill to creatively balance achievement and work success with leisure activities, family life and social involvements.

Another critical aspect is the ability to feel comfortable at work and at home and to enjoy the experience of whatever is being done at that moment.

But nowadays, most of us are obsessed with getting results or completing one’s task. When task completion becomes more important than enjoying and understanding the work or activity one is doing at the given moment, a sure victim of “hurry sickness” is born.

The resultant constant sense of urgency is the trap of hurry sickness. One rushes to “get things done” to the point where it becomes an obsession.

Breaking this syndrome requires that you learn to enjoy experiences for the pleasure they give. When you gain pleasure from an experience, there is no need to get things done painstakingly.

Enjoy experiences, not rewards, and things will get done automatically without any constant stressful sense of urgency.

As defined from a psychological perspective, Hurry Sickness is:

“A pervasive and progressively urgent need to complete task in order to obtain rewards at completion without regard for other aspects of the work experience and by using maladaptive time strategies.”

They key causal factor in hurry sickness is the progressive need for task completion.

Enjoying what you are doing is neglected with a morbid urge to getting it done as quickly as possible, no matter what the activity.

The obsessive need for task completion extends to non-work involvements and activities like eating, playing, romance, making love, sex, leisure, having fun, loafing, taking a stroll, recreation, entertainment, leisure, sports, pastimes, hobbies, holidaying, exercising, lazing around, dozing, enjoying music, cooking, gardening, meditating, enjoying “doing nothing” and delightful timepass, what you consider “wasting your time” with your family, wife, kids, pet dog, friends…

This attitude of Hurry Sickness interferes with the enjoyment of these activities and experiences because of the persistent inclination to hurry up and finish it off.

Getting things done has become such a strong need because the payoffs or rewards for completion have assumed primary importance.

Your work experience has taught you that rewards always come at the end of the activity after you have put forth great effort to achieve a goal. You do not realize that happiness is not a destination but the manner of traveling.

Not only do you feel a sense of personal satisfaction from your achievements, but tangible rewards, such as promotion, cash incentives, awards, and advancements are given to you as well. With time, these rewards have become clearly linked with your self-esteem.

Each time you “succeed”, your ego, your inner self, sends a message to you which says, “You have done well. You are a commendable person because you succeeded again.” Your need for this kind of reassurance has become stronger than you would care to admit.

Time-Urgency quickly becomes a strong internal driving force towards task completion. Your life becomes a frenzy of completing one task after another. You are obsessed with time and wasting any of it becomes almost a mortal sin.

You strive to maximize your productivity by using time ever more efficiently, but you also have a sense that you are controlled by time and you don’t like it. Time is both your challenge and your enemy. A telling sign of hurry sickness is that even while relaxing, you are constantly fighting time-urgency and this that causes you unrest and never allows you to totally “switch off”.

Another way to seek to increase your output is to adopt maladaptive time-strategies. These questionable tactics do help you get more done over the short run, but you pay a heavy emotional price.

You now do everything faster, you have learned to “multitask” or “double up,” to do two or more things at once, and you are constantly preparing for what is coming next before you are finished what you are doing now.

The insidious trap is that you get something done quickly even when there is no reason to get anything done at all.

You hurry when there is no need to hurry – even when you have all the time in the world.

Because of your emphasis on task completion, you focus on finishing without regard for other holistic aspects of the experience.

In short, you have lost the ability to enjoy yourself while doing anything because of your incessant drive to get to the finish line.

Because you are afflicted by Hurry Sickness, you have lost the ability to emotionally rejuvenate yourself. Chronic fatigue and pessimism are symptoms of this malady.

SIGNS AND SIGNALS OF HURRY SICKNESS

Here are some behavioral signs, symptoms and signals that indicate hurry sickness:

1. Eating.

You now eat in the office while continuing to work or you just skip meals altogether. You multitask while eating. At home, you eat fast, gulp your food, finish meals well ahead of everyone else and eat in bigger bites without savoring the taste of food. Sharing pleasantries at the table is minimal because you cannot sit long enough. Ask yourself – are you eating mindfully and relishing every morsel of your food?

2. Sex.

Relaxed romantic sex and unhurried love-making is but a pleasant memory. The frequency has reduced and even when you do indulge in sex, it is a quick encounter and you are off to sleep or on to some other more “important” or “urgent” activity. Sex is less spontaneous and more mechanical these days. Love-making has become another hurry-up-and-get-it-done-with activity. Worse, you often indulge in “faking it” in order to get it over with in a hurry so you can quickly get on with the more “important” and “productive” things in life – your “high priority” activities!

3. Communications.

Your communication patterns now focus squarely on the negative. Feedback to others emphasizes mistakes and failings and you rarely compliment or offer sincere support to anyone these days. You don’t take the time any more for pleasant chat with family and colleagues. You have stopped listening. You make demands instead of working cooperatively with others or team-building. And hey, are you on your cell-phone most of the time?

4. Leisure.

You put aside less time for relaxation and you enjoy it less when you actually try to relax. Time-off is now more of a hassle than it is worth. When you sit still, you feel uncomfortable almost immediately. You have lost the ability to “do nothing” – it’s difficult for you to loosen up and enjoy an idle hour relaxing, doing nothing. Ask yourself why you work – reflect, contemplate, think about the fundamental reason why you work and realization will dawn upon you that the primary reason you work is to be able to enjoy your leisure, so why aren’t you taking a vacation every day and learning how to enjoy your leisure with full awareness?

5. Family.

Family members now “report” events to you, but you share little of yourself with them. You and your spouse argue more than you talk. The satisfactions of family life have diminished in quality and quantity. Your impatience is just as strong at home as in the office.

HOW TO CURE HURRY SICKNESS

Because you have hurry sickness, your initial tendency is to effect and expedite your “cure” in a hurry too.

But this hurry-up-and-get-it-done attitude may actually sabotage your recovery. What is required is patience, perspective and the ability to deal with setbacks in healthier ways.

It is easy to blame hurry sickness on the pressures of your job, the stress of daily living and what you have to do to survive in the fast paced world of today and on the insensitivity of the complex modern world. While each of these perceptions has a grain of truth in it, the fact remains that most of the responsibility for hurry sickness lies within you.

Your drive to get ahead is the real root of the problem and the fact is that you have lost all sense of perspective. Until you accept personal responsibility for your present state, you will not be in a position to confront and reverse the real mischief, damage and harm caused by hurry sickness.

Remember the well-known story of the hare and the tortoise.

Decelerate your life a bit, slow down, walk leisurely instead of driving and do not carry or switch off your cell-phone where you can, don’t multitask, do one thing at a time with full awareness and mindfulness and learn to enjoy the experience of whatever you are doing.

Do you believe in multitasking?

Are you a victim of Hurry Sickness?

Why don’t you rid yourself of this malady and enhance your quality of life?

Sure, you can get rid of Hurry Sickness!

Just stop multitasking and focus on whatever you are doing at the present moment.

Remember: HURRY BURRY SPOILS THE CURRY.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

vikramkarve@sify.com

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

http://www.ryze.com/go/karve

• Sources from HRD ministry confirm CAT committe has been asked to add 560 more seats at IIMs for aspirants this year
• CAT Cabinet approved 4 new IIMs in August at Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Rohtak (Haryana), but the institutes are yet to be established.
• New IIM shall admit 140 students each.
• Some IIM directors have objected, saying these many seats will be too much for a new institute to manage.
• “The older IIMs will help the new institutes decide the content of the academic courses, but only after the new directors are appointed,” said a government official.
• The ministry has called for applications, but is yet to form a panel to appoint the new directors.
• The ministry has also been unable to finalise temporary infrastructure for setting up the new institutes — except for IIM Rohtak, which will initially get a campus at the Maharishi Dayanand University.
• The CAT announcement had not mentioned the new IIMs.

Source:  Hindustan Times

It is common knowledge that more than 250,000 students vie to get into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) every year. With a conversion rate of around 1%, the IIMs boast of being one of the toughest management institutes to get admission into. This supposedly guarantees recruiters of finding the best brains of the country here.

Sadly for the students and alumni of IIMs, in the coming years the IIM brand is going to come under question more than ever. The class of 2012 of the flagship PGDM programs at IIMs will see the third and final phase of implementation of the Mandal Commission’s recommendations by the government. This will take the proportion of reserved seats to a staggering 49.5%.

This of course means that the classroom has students of vastly different intellectual capabilities. Let’s take the CAT percentile as an indicator of a student’s ability. Historically, IIM students typically had high percentiles between 97 and 100 – meaning they scored better than 97% of test takers. However, now it is not uncommon for students scoring as low as 60 to 80 percentile to be part of this classroom. As can be seen in actual classrooms and by the industry as well, all IIM grads are not the brightest managers in the country today.

During placements, recruiters have already started making requests for the reservation status of the candidates, which of course are politely turned down. If we think from any recruiter’s point of view, there is tremendous competition among firms to bag the best candidates out of the lot. Recruiting MBAs is a high stakes game for most companies, given the salaries they pay to get the best talent in India. Practically speaking, it is natural for them to try and find out the quota status of an applicant or if nothing else, the CAT score and CGPA. Hell, I would try and do it if I were in their place. Ultimately, companies will tire out from not being assured of quality students and would increase their intake from institutes without quota implementation, if not giving a complete thumbs down to IIM campuses.

ISB has already demonstrated what an institute with autonomy in policy making and industry support can accomplish – it stood 15th globally in the latest Financial Times rankings, far ahead of any other Indian B-schools. Without autonomy in policy making including faculty salaries decisions, I foresee that in the coming years private institutions like MDI, IMI, XLRI, SP Jain etc would steadily gain ground and surpass the IIMs in parameters like the quality of students, faculty, placements and overall brand equity.

I exist in the crimson lane,
Says perspiring windows in November rain,

To taste the trickles of November rain…

p.s.: Image is taken from IIM Shillong’s Boys hostel  . yup its all pink and purple here!!

Camera : HTC touch pro F2.8 3.2 megapixel

This is the fourth book coming out from the shelves of CB (Chetan Bhagat). This guy has maintained his style of writing into this book. Quite a same story as seen in movies but a different approach and with the fact that both the families are stuffed with the wierdest of characters. I wonder how our hero & heroine came out well (perhaps ! gene mutation)

The story goes as dragging the name of the book into the pages. It’s the story of a boy and a girl and their families. In fact, its the story of two IIMA grads – a Punjabi boy and a Tamilian Brahmin girl and their families include a psycho mother, (straight from rono-dhona, saas-bahu soaps), completely ‘against the humanity’ father and all those fat colourful and fair aunties and uncles of Punjabi clan who give more preference to food and material wealth while checking out the girl’s side. This was the boy’s side.

Now, the girl’s side had an introvert father who never thought of anything else other than The Hindu newspaper and his ‘Bank of Baroda’ office, a wierdo mother who thinks of becoming a carnatic super singer and a nutecrack brother who was born in the world with the purpose of getting into IITs.

The story starts from IIM Mess where they both meet, fall in love and sex, get placements and joins different companies in the same city Chennai. The hero starts his mission of ‘getting liked by his inlaws’ by helping father-in-law on a presentation, taking tuitions for brother and arranging a music concert for mother-in-law.

Now, the heroine comes to Delhi and gets a command over the boy’s family by fixing a broken marriage.

Work half done.

Now, another mission is ‘family liking the other family’ which goes wrong and all hell break loose even to the extent of hero becoming a mini-devdas.

Again ‘the most whacko character’ – find out in story; comes into play and fixes everything.

The story is theek-thaak; It becomes extremely boring and unreadable at some point and after their IIM days, the story drags into a ’soap opera’.

The whiskers and one-liners relating the Siuth-Indians are rocking and good relief.

Some situations are too out-of-the-box.

Chetan Bhagat has not let down us with his style of writing and those extra masalas into each situation and character. But the story lacks the strength to catch up with CB as the soap doesn’t go well with those going readers. Congrats CB for making an ordinary story into a book. It’s thru ……

Boy loves Girly & vice versa
Boy’s family loves girl & girl.s family loves boy
Boy’s family loves girl’s family & vice versa
Still if boy loves girl & vice versa, they get married.

Finally as a bollywood flick, all ends well with boy and girl getting married and helps in Uniting India.

Discussing a report by software industry group Nasscom which says that 75 percent engineering students in India are unemployable, education experts here on Saturday said that the Indian higher education system must give skill building and practical training equal importance as academics to give them an edge.

A.D. Sahasrabudhu, director of the College of Engineering, Pune said that one of the major reasons why engineers, even from reputed institutes, are not easily employed because they lack hands-on skill.

“The focus in most institutes here is always on academics and theory. Thus a mechanical engineer may actually not know how to change a part of a machine. Therefore even if a high scoring student gets placed in a good company, eventually that lack of practical knowledge catches up,” Sahasrabudhu said during a panel discussion at the sixth Higher Education Summit organised by Federation of of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

“From our experience we now know that practical, hands-on training is very crucial in the education system,” he added.

In their latest report released in the last week of October, National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said that Indian IT firms reject 90 percent of college graduates and 75 percent of engineers who apply for jobs because they are not good enough to be trained.

And because there is such a dearth of competent people, companies like Infosys increased its training of employees to 29 weeks from this year. That’s seven months of training, the report added.

Richard Kerly, a Scottish university professor, who had participated in the discussion said: “Just recently I came to know that Citi Bank had started its recruiting process here, but was not going to campuses placement cells.

“The possible reason is that students here, although brilliant, don’t have an edge when it comes to putting theories to practice.”

Sudhir Matthew, Dean, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa, Lavasa Corporation Limited, Pune said: “The scene is very similar in the hospitality industry. Lack of hands-on trained students have forced hotel chains like the Oberoi, Taj and ITC to open their own hotel schools where the students are trained as per their needs.

“Tourism will grow at a rate of 8.8 percent till 2015 in India, making it one of the fastest growing markets but there is a serious lack of skilled hands. Academics combined with practical training is therefore very important to meet this shortage which is estimated at 3.2 million.”

Source: Economic Times, NASSCOM

Among the prestigious educational institutes of India that have captured the imagination of students and scholars alike, Indian Institutes of Management or IIMs, as they are known, are prominent. With its practical approach, modern facilities and well-qualified experienced faculties, an IIM can provide quality management education in India that can be compared with the best business schools of the world.

Establishment of IIMs in India:

• In1961, IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA) was started as an autonomous institute in collaboration with the State and central government.
• IIM Bangalore was started in 1973 to cater to the rising demand for managing the technical uprising in the country.
• In November 1961, in association with Alfred P. Sloan School of Management (MIT), the Ford Institute and the government of West Bengal; IIM Calcutta (IIMC) was set up.
• Indian institute of Management, Indore (IIMI) was established a decade ago.
• The fifth Indian Institute of Management was established in Kozhikode (IIMK) under the guidance laid down by the government of India and the state government of Kerela.
• IIM, Lucknow (IIML) was started on a modest footing back in 1981.

IIM Admissions

However, getting into an IIM is not easy as Common Admission Test or CAT, through which admission to IIIMs is primarily done, is not an easy nut to crack. Moreover, scoring high in the CAT is also not enough to get a seat in an IIM; one also needs to perform well in the group discussions and personal interview.

IIMs in India

:

• IIM Ahmedabad
• IIM Bangalore
• IIM Calcutta
• IIM Indore
• IIM Kozhikode
• IIM Lucknow

Upcoming IIMs

Plans for seven new campuses of IIM are being drawn up. The locations for the new campuses are :

1. Chhattisgarh
2. Haryana
3. Jharkhand
4. Uttarakhand
5. Jammu and Kashmir
6. Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong
7. Tamil Nadu

Studying at one of the IIMs in India is a dream that can come true through hard work and effort. Financial assistance is provided in most of the institutes. The placement and packages offered are generally regarded best among the business schools of the country.

Religion, Nationality, Rich & poor were a universal categorization/ bucketing that existed from centuries, but we have successfully managed to take it to higher (actually lower) levels.

If we look at ancient India – we had the caste system (bucketing people into different [if I can call it] verticals, which stuck to a person from birth till death – An endogamous group. Each of these verticals could have been created based on the occupation/ economic & social class that a family belonged to. The ‘learned’ may decry this definition) that has split us wide open as a society. We called ourselves ‘Northies’ and ‘Southies’ (grammatically it could have been Northerlies and Southerlies, but since our average adeptness at the language is low, we have accepted it) based on which part of India we hail from.

I remember when I was a kid, there were ‘non-vegetarians’ and ‘vegetarians’ and ‘pure vegetarians (ones who don’t even feast on eggs)’. There was also the ’state-syllabus’ and ‘central syllabus’ classification of us kids who went to school. As if it was not enough, I was also a ‘Brahman kid’ – caste hit me early, but thankfully it was from the society rather than my own family.

I grew up to become a ‘comsci grad (one who is an engineer in Computer sciences)’ from ‘VTU (from colleges associated to a roughly 50000 student strong University in Karnataka).

Over time, when on campus in IIMB, we celebrated the fact that we were ‘bongs(Bengali)’, ‘Tams (Tamils), ‘Mallu (Keralites), ‘Digs (Kannadigas)’, ‘Gults (from Andhra)’, ‘Punjabi’, ‘Dig-Tam (a compromise that occurred between a Kannadiga and a Tamil), ‘Gult-Dig’, ‘Gult-Tam’ and ‘Northies (from all remaining North India captained by Delhi, UP and Bihar). This was a very new concept for me (I have been ignorant). We as a nation believe in ‘Unity in Diversity’ while ironically, we first divide ourselves. We love to mask it as ‘an evolved society who identify that there are inherent differences, yet tolerate each other’. What is true in this mask is that we are inherently different.

After touching a slightly emotional issue of regionalism (we have different levels of fanaticism about this issue), lets move to professions. To be 1 of 180 merit seats who made it to IIMB in 2007, one had to beat .2 million (roughly) in India (Don’t we love that stat?). But, even before the famed summer placements arrived, we were bucketed as ‘IIT (an undergrad from the IITs – even if it is textile engineering)’, ‘NIT (even if it is the one where an ancient, mythical battle was once fought), ‘IT guy (if one worked in Technology before coming into B school)’, ‘fresher’, ‘fin guy’ etc. Post summer placements (which is a ridiculous process of selection as interns by companies), guys picked by a marketing firm become ‘marketing gurus’ (the selection process is actually based on trivial things like which was the last movie one watched) and those by banks – ‘bankers’ (I will resist saying what guys picked by a top management consulting firm are called).

The matter doesn’t end here – after we finish our B school education from the best schools in India, and when we join our jobs, we are again ‘typecasted’ as ‘process consultants’, ‘IT’, ‘banker’, ’strategy consultants’, ‘deck makers’, ’soap sellers’ etc. I agree expertise in a job function is a function of your past experience to an extent. There is also this concept of ‘India consultant (meaning lower price/hour for his services because he/she is specialized in India)’. Maybe this categorization is extreme in India because of the excess supply we have of individuals of average competence. Wasn’t an MBA program from a B school just meant to change the way one thinks about business problems? Where is the incentive for alternate thinking if all one is bothered about is whether you are a ‘DML (guys who make it to the Director’s Meritorious List in an IIM)’ or because you ‘did BA in psychology’ or that ‘you studied in a Dubai school’ which gives you a ‘uniqueness’ factor. It is ridiculous, but true.

So, I for one have been bucketed all my life and so will you, if you are in India. So it doesn’t matter if you are passionate about something here – you must fall into the right buckets to reach your destination.

On a lighter note – I am a ‘brahman’, ‘vegetarian born’, ’state-syllabus’, ‘Southie/ Madrasi’, ‘Dig’, ‘bank summer (lets make it a new noun)’, ‘B2B consultative sales guy’, ‘non-IIT (ooo i am such a handicap), ‘VTU’, ‘non-DML’, ‘Indian MBA’ – I am so ruined.

Now..What buckets are you in?

Hi Folks,
 
Before jumping into the topic on how to analyze an Organizaion, let me first ask you, Why you need to analyze an Organization? I consider the following are the top reasons
 
1. If you are planning to invest in the company
2. If you are planning to join that company
3. If you are planning to acquire/merge with that company
4. If the company is your competitor
5. If the company is your customer or a prospect
 
Depending on the kind of requirement as I mentioned above, the depth of the analysis will vary. Once, you are clear on why are you analyzing the company, the next important element that comes to my mind is sources of information. The best source to study about the company is the company’s website itself. The company annual report is a very good source (if it is a listed company). The company’s annual report shows the mission, vision, financial strength, strategy, acquisitions, mergers and future road map.
 
I will address on how to analyse each requirement that I mentioned above, here:
 

If you are planning to invest in the company.
#1 The most important thing to note is the the quarter by quarter EPS (earnings per share). This is available in the company website. The company will file its quarterly earnings after each quarter (3 months) in their website.
 
#2 The financial strength of the company, you should see recent five years revenues of the company. And try to analyze the company’s financial performance. If you see a drastic increase or decrease in the company’s revenue, try to find out what is the reason for that. Some reasons could be acqusitions made by the company or services/products/business units turnaround. This will help you to understand the company’s play in the market.  
 
#3. Short term strategies and goals. You can understand this, if you see the latest press releases of the company. And try to figure out the impact of these short term goals on the company.
 
#4. Peer Comparison/Market Dynamics: Try to analyse the peers of the company that you want to invest. This will give you an understanding on how the market is. Try to find out if there any demand for the product/services that these companies are offering by analyzing the growth of the companies. Also, try to find out the market gowth rate, there are so many articles available on web which talk about the market gowth and market share of the company.
 
#5. Future Outlook: Generally, the company will provide the future outlook (for the next quarter and the year) in the quarterly earnings press release. This will help you on how the company is forecasting its growth in near quarter.
 

If you are planning to join that company

I am writing this keeping experienced personnel in mind. And here are my top factors of analysis
 
#1  Financial Strength of the company
 
#2 My job role and career growth: Money is important but job role is equally important when you are considering a job change. I dont believe in the word called “job security”, job security is for those people who dont believe in themselves. See if the job has enough to scale up your skills and challenges your capabilities. If the answer is yes, you are on the right track. And the skills that you gain over the period of time makes you an important asset to the company. And gowth, money are by-products.
 
#3 Work Culture: Work Culture is very important for any person to stay long in the company. Think what kind of culture you like and find out from your friends, HR executives of the company, online resources to gain knowledge on the company’s culture.
 
#4 Brand Value: Company brand value plays a lot on the Hiring company’s mind. Consider the Brand Value ahead of money, because the company which you are joining may be less in revenues than your present company but when it comes to brand value, it may stand far ahead. So when you consider your next job move, this plays a very important role.
 
#5 Money and Benefits: I am keeping my comments blank here. Because, everyone need is different and for me money and efforts should balance or ask for more money or benefits.
 
I will discuss the other three reasons in the other blog…
 
Till then, if possible try to analyse a company from an investors’ point of view and draw your findings.
 
I bet you will learn a lot.
 
KK Sanjay

yeSyeSWay

SHED YOUR INHIBITIONS: Taking a particular exam on paper or on computer makes no significant difference in the individual score

An interview with Prometric, which is all set to conduct computer-based CAT in partnership with the IIMs.

The Common Admission Test-2009 is indeed a significant departure from previous years. Besides its new digital computer-based avatar, this high-profile examination — which is used as a yardstick for admission to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management — has brought in some unexpected news in terms of applicant numbers. Last week, the final registration figures that were released revealed a startling trend. While most postgraduate courses (as reported over the past two years since the economic recession set in) saw a significant increase in numbers, the demand for the IIMs which grows by about 20 to 25 per cent every year has stagnated. About 2.4 lakh candidates registered, compared to 2.76 lakh in 2008 (although only 2.4 lakh candidates appeared for it).

Experts who are surprised by this trend have attributed this to several factors. On the more speculative side, the fear of stepping out of jobs during recession has many a working candidate shy away from the IIMs, and perhaps the management profile has lost a bit of its sheen. But given the longstanding reputation of the IIMs, this is unlikely. Other experts have linked this to the fear of taking an online test, or anxiety on the part of students who feel that this is going to be a complicated affair.

Communication notes

To put some of these fears to rest, The Hindu EducationPlus spoke to Prometric, the company which has partnered with the IIMs to provide the logistics, handle the infrastructure and in short, run the test. Ramesh Nava, Vice-President and General Manager (Asia-Pacific), says that though they have not received direct queries, they will be (in the month leading up to the exam) releasing communication notes that highlight potential issues that could arise and how to cope with them. The company will also release a short video that will illustrate all of the test-day activities (much like the one that was released before the registration process).

Prometric, which has been in the field of testing for 18 years, has delivered some high-profile programmes such as Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and TOEFL. Mr. Nava says that the entire process has been tried and tested. More than 100 testing experts, many of them in India, have been working in preparation for the November launch of the computer-based CAT.

A major apprehension among applicants has been about maintaining the fairness of this test. One may ask, for instance, how can a test which gives result based on percentiles (which relies on relative performance) compute results for a test held over 10 days, with presumably different sets of questions. Mr. Nava says that a significant amount of research went into an evaluation of previous CAT administrations as well as the delivery and scoring system. Further, to reduce possible candidate anxiety and ease the overall transition to computer-based testing, a conscious effort was made to maintain as much consistency with the original CAT as possible. “We have ensured (using a scientific approach to analyse and review exam questions and construction) that all test-takers are provided with an equal opportunity and a comparable testing experience.”

For example, Mr. Nava says that in the paper format, candidates might mark out relevant sections of passages on which they are being questioned. In the computer-based version, there will be text highlighting facilities within passages which will offer them the same ability.

For those who are used to the process of elimination, there will also be a feature in the computer-based format to strike out incorrect options. In addition, candidates will be able to move forward and back during the exam to mark, review and change responses. The review screen provides a quick overview of which questions a candidate has completed, not attempted or marked for review, making it easy for him/her to move to a specific question or review only all the incomplete/marked ones without having to flip through pages of paper. The on-screen timer will also help facilitate time management by displaying how much time is left to attempt the test. To get a feel of the computer-based environment, candidates may view the CAT Demo which is available on www.catiim.in. Prior to the start of the test, there will be a 15-minute tutorial to take candidates through the full functionality and instructions for the test.

Decades of research have shown that whether a candidate takes an exam on paper or on computer, there is no significant difference in the score. So, students should keep this fact in mind as they prepare for the CAT, Mr. Nava says.

Test centres

The CAT 2009 will be conducted through a 10-day testing window in 32 cities in which more than 100 secure computer-based testing facilities are being specially prepared. Dispelling fears of possible goof-ups at the test centres, Mr. Nava says that Prometric is into the concept of test centre readiness, which entails the design, activation and validation of each new testing location. For CAT 2009, every effort is being made to ensure that the infrastructure meets the required standards. “Every potential site was evaluated to ensure that it meets our standards for candidate access and convenience, hardware and software, generators and uninterruptible power supply (UPS), connectivity and security.”

Security

But anything digital, though infinitely more easy to process, runs the risk of being hacked or even tampered with, candidates fear. Mr. Nava says that the integrity of the testing process and the value of the CAT are dependent on the secure distribution, storage and delivery of exam content. Having conducted several online and computer-based exams in the past, Prometric assures students that all the necessary safeguards are being implemented. “We would encourage students to avail themselves of the materials found on the IIM CAT website and the upcoming YouTube video. Familiarising themselves with what they should expect when they arrive at their designated testing location should ease any pre-test anxiety and avoid any surprises on test day.”

Ahmedabad. Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have accepted for once and for all that one needed to dare think beyond the IIMs to get into IIPM. This lays down an end to the controversy that started a few years back after some bloggers disputed IIPM’s claims in its advertisements, which has the famous tagline “dare to think beyond the IIMs”. IIMs will come out with full page print advertisements in the coming days accepting that IIPM was beyond the IIMs.

“We have never published any full page advertisement in any newspaper, but due to this being a matter of national importance, we have decided to issue full page color advertisements that would clarify our stand. We are no match to IIPM and there can’t be any comparison at all. At a time when we were worried about placing our students due to recession, IIPM was planning parties for their students with Shahrukh Khan. They are really special while we are just another government institute.” IIM Ahmedabad director Sameer Barua said.

IIM directors took this decision when they met earlier today to discuss the issues like pay hikes, fee hikes and more autonomy for the institutes. IIM Ahmedabad had already given the Human Resource Ministry a one-month ultimatum to accept its demand for world-class pay for the faculty members. IIM directors concluded that they would need to fight a long drawn battle with the government to get their demands accepted, and in order to fight this battle, they must close all other contentious issues to conserve energy and focus.

“We hope IIPM will now stop publishing ads claiming the obvious. There is no point if Pizza Hut comes up with a full page advertisement announcing that they have pizzas in their store. I hope ours would be the last full page advertisement in newspapers containing the name of IIMs.” IIM Indore director Ravi Chandran said.

IIPM founder and director Arindam Chaudhuri has welcomed the decision of IIMs and called it ‘historic’, although he didn’t guarantee that IIPM will stop using the tagline “dare to think beyond the IIMs”. He demanded that all the bloggers who had earlier cast aspersions on IIPM should be put behind bars now.

But IIMs may run into trouble for issuing full page color advertisements at a time when the government was championing austerity in public life. Experts warn that the move could further strain the relations between the premier institutes and the government. Experts have suggested the IIMs to either wait for four more days if it was too urgent, or a little less than three months to be absolutely safe.

“The message that IIPM was beyond IIMs could be embedded in the birthday greetings of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that falls on the 26^th September. The IIMs could issue full page greetings with the embedded message to wish the PM a happy birthday. They may escape the government fury this way, but to be absolutely on the safer side, I’d advise them to wait till 9^th December, which is the birthday of Sonia Gandhi.” Biju Bijaikar, an independent consultant and expert on various issues, suggested.

Doolally - Pune's first micro-brewery

Over the past few years, Pune has seen the opening of an array of  fine new hotels, restaurants, casual dining options, bars and fast-food joints. These include iconic international chains like the Hard Rock Cafe. Fine dining restaurants like Stone Water Grill (which also has a fabulous lounge bar). A historic heritage hotel – Fort Jadhavgadh. There are the usual international fast food favorites in McDonalds, Subway, etc. And then there are my personal favorites in my local Deccan Gymkhana neighborhood like the Deccan Rendezvous.

But an important piece was missing…a micro-brewery. Why a micro-brewery in this list? And what is a micro-brewery…you might ask!

A micro-brewery is a place where beer is brewed the old fashioned way. The way it is supposed to be brewed. The way it’s supposed to taste – Fresh, free of synthetic additives, and flavorful. In a micro-brewery, beer is brewed onsite in small batch quantities, unlike large commercial breweries. Micro-breweries are quite popular in the U.S. and Europe. Successful pioneering micro-breweries like Gordon Biersch started in Palo Alto, California 20 years back and now have multiple locations all over the U.S. But this concept is virtually unheard of in India.

Four years back, two ex-IIM entrepreneurs Suketu and Prateek decided to change that. They are well on their way towards creating something special. Their first creation is ‘Doolally’ – Pune’s first micro-brewery (as well one of India’s pioneers in this area), which opened earlier this month. Along this long and interesting entrepreneurial journey, they were also joined by Oliver, a German ‘Brew-Meister’ (The Beer Specialist). Incidentally, Suketu is originally from Nashik (a city about 200 km north of Pune), which is also home to one of India’s premier wineries – Sula Wines. Maybe there’s something in the waters of Godavari there that creates and nurtures these entrepreneurs like Suketu and Rajiv Samant!

Weird name – ‘Doolally’, you might think… but I guess it’s very apt. Doolally is derived from the name ‘Deolali’ – a small army cantonment near Nashik that dates back to the British Raj.  It literally means ‘going insane’! British soldiers used to be stationed in Deolali (often for months) as a staging point before returning back to England. Here they didn’t have any active tasks and some used to go crazy of boredom and the summer heat. Well…coincidently, Doolally is located fairly close to the Pune Cantonment Area. From the point of view of those early 20th century British soldiers – I guess wrong cantonment and wrong century!

Doolally is located in the fabulous new Corinthian Boutique Hotel near NIBM Road, Kondhwa. They have done a great job on the decor. The lighting, the bar stools and the wood panels/floors set the perfect ambience. As you enter you see the huge stainless steel vats where the beer is made. You are greeted by the bar upfront with huge taps serving the different varieties of fresh brew. Presently they are brewing Premium Lager, Dark, Wheat, Rye and a Cider (not technically a beer (tastes more like aerated wine) - but on tap for the occasional rare non beer drinker amongst the patrons). They plan to add more varieties in future. My favorite is the Dark – which has a hint of bitter malt/chocolate like flavor. The Wheat is great as well.  But don’t take my word for it – you need to find out which one’s your favorite! You can try out the different samples before deciding on your order. Pints and Pitchers are available.

Doolally - Handcrafted Beer On Tap

The food menu is a little limited and primarily consists of snacks such as wraps and sandwiches. We understand that plans are afoot to extend this menu and introduce more conventional bar snacks such as Chicken Wings, Nachos, Chips, etc. On a side note – the Greek & Mediterranean restaurant ‘Salsa’ located right besides Doolally serves an excellent multi-cuisine menu. The Greek food we had there was probably the best in Pune. The Corinthian Hotel & Club complex presents a great location on top of a small hillock. The outdoor sitting of Doolally is also nice and Pune’s perfect weather, especially at this time of the year, is an added bonus.

My only initial reluctance in going to Doolally was the distance. Yes, in the minds of many Punekars, Kondhwa/NIBM Road area is virtually a different city, tucked away in the remote South-East corner. I myself ventured there for the first time in over a decade. However, now I realize that it is not that bad. At a distance of about 14 km from Deccan Gymkhana and only 7 km from M.G. Road – it will take you anywhere between 30 min – 1 hour, depending on traffic. Aundh, Baner residents have a slightly longer drive, but I am sure it will be worth it.

Doolally also plans to have live music on certain weekends. Check with them regarding the exact dates and artists. While Doolally is a perfect place to hangout with friends, it can also be a nice place for entertaining corporate guests, and for team events. One important note – do check if there’s a ‘Dry Day’, before you head over there – else you might be disappointed.

Some closing comments – Drink responsibly and enjoy! Don’t drink and drive. Have a designated driver.

 ‘Cheers’!

General Information

Web:   http://www.doolally.in/home.html

Address: Doolally, Corinthians Boutique Hotel, NIBM Road, Kondhwa, Pune

Phone: 020-2695 2226

Map (courtesy Sadakmap.com): http://www.sadakmap.com/p/Doolally-Micro-Brewery/

Timings: 7:30pm onwards

This post must begin with an apology since this was meant to be posted yesterday. We couldn’t. Because we were dog tired,  sorry, dead tired (lest we offend animal lovers and PETA activisits for invoking the name of dog in vain) – after scouring Gujarat’s countryside on our field trips.

I accompanied Fred Guanais and Roberta Kacowicz from Brazil, Kevin Bacon from UK and Ruth Gee, our regional director in India and Sri Lanka to visit Rajendranagar and Munsiwada on field trip themed on access to healthcare. We were accompanied by Mahesh bhai from SRISTI and Priti Vashnavi from IIMA.

Sahayog Trust in Rajendranagar is at the forefront of leprosy patient rehabilitation in India, led by Suresh Soni.

At the Sahyog Trust

We then made our way to Munsiwada village, deep into the tribal heartland in Sabarkantha district, to meet Ramaji Vaid, who uses traditional herbs to heal all those who come to him from far near, man or beast.

Stream in Sabarkantha district in Gujarat

We left the high-speed fourlane highway for two lane state highway, which soon shrunk to thin ribbon of metalled road and eventually there was none. The last 2 kms to Ramaji Vaid is dirt track, and our convoy of Innovas bumped, rolled, groaned and finally, literally,  scraped through to reach Ramaji’s village.

Patients queue up at Ramaji's residence for consultations

Ramaji welcomed us into his home, where his patients throng the long, colourful, verandah skirting his thatched mudhouse.

Ramaji Vaid welcomes us

Ramaji patiently answers our questions, tells us how he picked up the knowledge of herbs from his father and careful observation of life around him. He tells us that his healing is not limited to human beings and domesticated animals but he has also found out herbal pesticides that are far less harmful than chemical ones but as effective.

Ramaji Vaid in his herb garden

Ramaji’s ‘laboratory’ is basic: chopper, knife, mortar and pestle, an electric grinder (all of Gujarat’s 18,000 villages have power practically 24×7, something even no metro city in India can boast of), open flame oven.

Ramaji's 'lab'

On our way back from Munsiwada, we take a wrong turn and loose our way in rural hinterland. But eventually we make it back to the highway and make sharp dash for Ahmedabad. The next event, the ‘Question Time’ with IIM-A students on Social Justice and Inclusive Growth’ is on from 9 pm (legend has it that IIM students sleep less than 4 hours a day on average during their gruelling 2 year course, preparing them for lifestyle to justify their 6 figure monthly salaries in the days ahead).

Sujata, Sanjay and I arrived in Ahmedabad day before yesterday, yet it seems as if we’ve been here for ages. For one, accompanied by Priti Vaishnavi of IIMA and Ramesh Patel of SRISTI, we have covered close to a thousand miles on the road, recce-ing the places colloquium delegates are likely to visit as part of their field trips.

And even as I prepare to upload the blog, delegates are getting ready to hit the road. Here are a couple of glimpses of what life on Indian highways look like.

In the evening, when we return today from the field trips, several of our delegates take part in a Question Time style event with the IIMA students on the topic of Social Justice and Inclusive Growth.  I believe sparks will fly.

Before I sign off, I cannot resist uploading this picture of Sujata eventually falling to the guiles of the non-alcoholic beer. When in Rome, do as Romans do!

So cheers!

GOING GLOBAL: Students on the campus of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

With a view to giving a global stature to the country’s prestigious B-schools, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) plan to throw open their gates for foreign students.

The directors of various IIMs have already discussed the matter informally and the matter could be taken up at the higher level for a final decision, sources in the IIM-Lucknow said here today.

As of now only Indian students can apply for admission to the IIMs.

“We are looking into the matter. If it is passed, it may come into effect from next session,” Director IIM-Lucknow Dr. Devi Singh said.

The plan, if takes shape, would, however, not cut into the seats of the Indian students as the number of seats could be hiked by 10 per cent to accommodate foreign students, who will have to appear in a GMAT type of exam for the seat into the premier institutes, sources said.

The IIMs are also contemplating on opening campuses outside the country and this matter would also be taken up in advanced discussions, sources said.

The plan to allow foreign students would help in providing more exposure to the students, sources added.

The First Colloquium of the International Social Justice Network (ISJN) sets its scene at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (IIM – A), India, from 27 to 29 October.

Part of British Council India’s Intercultural Dialogue programme, the colloquium hopes to establish the first international network of policy makers working in the area of social justice and equity in the middle income economies (India, China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa) and the UK, and facilitate South-North learning on critical issues such as education, livelihood, shelter, healthcare and civil rights.

Our partners, the IIM – A, is particularly apt as hosts for the colloquium. It is, without doubt, India’s premier business school and amongst the world’s best. The co-convener of the ISJN colloquium is the remarkable Prof Anil Gupta, who leads a team of students and researchers in documenting innovation, ideas and entrepreneurship in rural India.

Video:http://video.google.com

The best and brightest usually sign up for Prof Gupta’s courses and usually accompany the iconic professor on his ‘shodhyatras’ – long treks that cover hundreds of miles in rural India. A business survey carried out sometime back said that over 50% of India’s CEO’s are IIM-A alumni. It is difficult to imagine better grooming ground of future corporate leaders.

The architecture of the IIM-A campus is stunning. Created by Louis Kahn, Balakrishna Doshi and Anant Raje, the exposed brickwork buildings with huge arches and open spaces give the 60 acre original campus a timeless, monumental look. This youtube clip captures a touching conversation between Kahn’s son Nathaniel and Balakrishna Doshi, part of Nataniel Kahn’s Oscar-nominated documentary My Architect: a Son’s Journey (2003).

Video:http://youtube.com

The city of Ahmedabad has strong connections with Mahatma Gandhi, and much of his legacy is preserved at the Sabarmati Ashram. This makes Ahmedabad a fortuitous choice for the ISJN colloquium.

On our recent visit a few weeks back, Sujata, Sanjay and I dropped in at the Ashram, a tranquil heart in the middle of a bustling city. Schoolchildren bussed in from various parts of the state trooped around in relative silence, flakes of hushed conversation in various languages, Indian and foreign, swirled around and settled almost as silently as snow.

On the verandah of the house where the Mahatma lived from 1918 to 1930, sat an avuncular man, inviting visitors to try their hand at spinning the charkha, the wheel that spun a thousand revolutions in India under the Mahtama’s leadership.

I gave it an honest try, though Sujata and Sanjay were clearly not impressed!

After long discussions with Prof Gupta, and his students, Raju Mahana and Gautam Prateek on the programme and various aspects of managing the project, we were shown the colloquium venue by Mr Baskaran. The Blue Room, named after its famed blue carpet, now alas, replaced with standard beige, is a large hall, about 100 feet square, with plenty of natural light and all the accoutrements of an international conference room.

Late in the evening, directed by Moumita, our colleague in Ahmedabad (Sujata has named her Magic Moumita), we find ourselves in Manek Chowk , the market place in old town, now thick with crowds looking for the best deal on practically everything under the sun. Sujata heads for the spectacular “churan” shops that sell delectable natural digestives and mouth fresheners (never mind the unpalatable, unmanageable translation! If you are wondering why on earth digestives and mouth fresheners would go together, please post a comment.)

It is difficult to miss a certain innocence in Ahmedabad, however fragile it may be below the surface. Is it because there are ice-cream parlours where in other cityscapes thirsty eyes would seek out bars? Or could it be because we see in the Mahatma’s own backyard MontBlanc re-branding the messiah of anti-globalisation as a uber-cool khadi-clad fashion icon?

There’s lots to talk about Ahmedabad. And there’s a lot to talk in Ahmedabad – our next post will be live from the ISJN Colloquium.

I strongly believe that Kapil Sibal is laying too much focus on IITs and IIMs.It is time we realize the IIT/IIM students: NON-IIT/IIM students ratio and decide which category requires more concentration.I also hope this chaos to end soon, thereby triggering some immediate attention and action towards rural education.

“Hi Friends,

We are the Group A9 for BS-II project which needs to be submitted this friday, 16th. Hence I propose that we meet once tonight at 12 AM in OH Lan Room. Reply soon so that we can change the time and venue which satisfies everyone’s interest.

~ V,

1st Year PGDM

IIM X“

Eh? Did I just open Gmail and enter a time-warp? Cant be. First of all, there was no guy called V in my group (name masked obviously, because anonymity is fun!). Second of all, I was in group B1 and not A9. Third of all, I never set foot in IIM-X (Again, the letter ‘X’ is a disguise, of course). And most importantly, I don’t remember being part of any BS project (pun or otherwise).

Before I can make sense of how I ended up in this mailing list, a fellow A9 member chimes in:

“good idea V!! lets meet today for a short while and get started atleast!!

hope to see you guys!!

~ C“

Little piece of advice: stay away from C. Guys like V may be personified butt-pains, but C is actually the breed I nicknamed ‘the cheerleader’: lends his voice the most and contributes the least. And he’s not even the worst.

“Well I am perfectly fine with time .. and yes good that you brought it up soon V ..

Thanks and Regards,

A1

PGP(PGDM) Class of 2009-11

IIM X“

Ok, first of all what on earth is “CLASS of 2009-11”? Now A1 here is doing what we call DCP. Every IIM’s grading system includes a Class Participation (CP) component, which is awarded based on constructive, original contribution to discussions in the classroom. Now add ‘D’ for ‘Desperate’ and go figure.

And now comes my favorite part in the email thread:

“Sorry guys. Not today. Can we do it tmrw plz. I wl be out of campus and will have to come back esp for this. Also B and C unwell after tmrw’s bash.

Please consider

A2

PGDM, Batch of 2011

IIM X“

The thing I like best about A2 is that he’s brutally honest about the reason for not being able to work. A rare kind, as anyone will tell you. By the way, notice the prediction of misfortune that is about to befall B and C after the next day’s bash. And there is a self-prophecy too: he already sees himself among the BATCH OF 2011, while the rest of his A9 team will be saying ‘bye-bye’ to IIM-X that year. Yeah, keep coming up with those excuses, dude! Let’s see you make a career out of them.

At this point I couldn’t continue ‘eavesdropping’ on these conversations for fear of A2’s psychic powers. So I gleefully typed this out and hit Send: (you can tell I have a lot of time to spare)

“Guys,

Good to see a lot of academic initiative going around.

Much as I’d love to contribute to the BS project, I regret the fact that I’m no longer at IIM.

(Yes, I jump at the slightest opportunity to brag. Blame the IIMs. Meanwhile the email continues below)

So all I can do is wish A9 the very best in this endeavor and ask to be excluded from the mailing list henceforth.

It pains me to read about exciting projects that I cannot hope to be a part of. Hope you all understand.

Regards,

theishu”

The next email (not part of this chain) taught me to include a smiley the next time I indulge in my evil, corny sense of humor via a textual medium (You heard that right. I said “next time”. There is going to be one, I assure you)

“Hi theishu

I hope you remember me. We were in the same group of ManCom case study. Could you please tell me where are you now? Are you working or studying somewhere else? If possible, could you also let me know your reasons for leaving IIM-X? I am asking all this because I am also considering leaving IIMX due to financial constraints. Hope you would understand.

Regards

A3“

For once, I did understand. A3’s email moved me, in spite of my stone-cold conscience. To think a zillion folks give it their everything to bell the CAT year after year, only to face a financial dead-end some times… And especially when banks fall over each other to fund the education of every person who gets that coveted admission letter. Life sucks indeed.

That poor A3 dude must be in some serious shit. I wish I could help but that’s all I can do at this point in time. You see, I really need all the peanuts I earn right now. Big dreams ahead. Anyway I shot off an email to A3 explaining he had the wrong email address and wished him luck on the money matters.

A week later…

“Hi theishu,

Attached the spreadsheet for your part of the assignment

~ N“

Words truly fail me. So “AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!“