A memorable experience

Last week, I was invited as a speaker at the inaugural session of the MBA/MCA division of Aurora PG College. Though I love interacting with students and every such occasion is memorable, this event got firmly etched in my mind and I am sure it will remain for a long while. Every encounter with academicians and students is a learning experience and this one was no exception. 

I was completely mesmerized by the students that day. The first pleasant shock was the colourful ambience and the vibrant energy. In the days of the westernized influence, it was heartening to see the rangolis and the colourful traditional attire of the seniors. My co-guests included two senior professors, one from Osmania University and another from Institute of Public Enterprise. Prof. M.L. Sai kumar, from IPE was a very experienced intellectual. He put the mike aside, got down from the podium and walked into the midst of the audience. He was very comfortable talking to them at close quarters and immediately put the crowd at ease. With his Sanskrit slokas and a very simple approach of how to study, he won the hearts of the students. At the end of his speech he asked for two volunteers – one girl and one boy. A boy immediately walked up and the girl needed a little prompting. The two students were asked to wait on the stage while I completed my speech. 

I had fun talking to them about the need for a goal in life, dreaming about it and then working towards it. I also spoke about the qualities needed for a good manager and how they can develop these qualities. At the end of my speech, Prof. Sai kumar asked the two students to summarize the speeches of the three speakers. I thought these students are in trouble and must have been cursing themselves for volunteering. The girl spoke first and succinctly summarized the contents of the three speakers. It was amazing to hear her recollecting the words(mind you she did not have any notes in her hand) and as we were getting over the shock, the boy started speaking. He had so much energy that the entire hall reverberated with his words. Not only did he present the voice of the new batch, but he also shared a few quotes along with recollecting our speeches and the takeaways. Prof Sai kumar was so impressed that he spontaneously gave both of them cash awards. If this is voice of the current batch, then I am sure that they are well charged up to imbibe all the knowledge that will be imparted over the next two-three years and they will be successful in their careers.

This incident reminded me of the words of my mentors “Responsibility is never given, it is taken” and “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission”. Risks need to be taken in life, and it is only those who can take risks and learn from the mistakes, who will be successful.

Aping the West

Indians have been aping the western culture for decades now, in the style of dressing, fashion, trade and commerce, et al. Some of these are a boon actually. If you see the multiplexes, the dependency on loans, the fancy cars, the high-rise buildings, the fly-overs, the ring roads, the airports, the ready-made apparels, the malls, all these are signs of progression. On the other hand, we also see a lot of discotheques, pubs, eating out, provocative clothing, live-in relationships, etc. While the younger generation wants to feel liberated by these kind of things, does it really go with the culture and ethos of India? You can say I am very conservative and old-fashioned in my thinking. But if we really want to ape the west, what about the value systems of the west? Honesty, frankness, respect for women, independence from the age of 15, doing your own work without depending on domestic help, the education system – teaching the art of reading and expression before learning the alphabet, habit of reading, commitment towards work – Why is it that we ignore all these? 

Why is there a selective aping of the west? Why can we not imbibe the good things which can blend in with our rich culture and leave out the rest? Why do we only choose aspects which are convenient irrespective of the blend with Indian culture? How many girls in college wear Indian attire these days? How many of them wear a bindi? Once upon a time, a bindi would distinguish a Hindu from non-Hindus. Today, even married women find it fashionable to not wear a bindi. At a time, when the Indian diaspora try to imbibe Indian culture and values to their children – most Indians settled abroad get their children trained in Indian classical music or dance, visit temples regularly, meet often with families, celebrate Indian festivals, the residents of India and running away from these.

What prompted me to question this today is that off late I have heard of a couple of true incidents, where children are being forced by their parents into an arranged marriage. The children, though not interested in an arranged marriage, agree under pressure, and later, either after the engagement, or even after the wedding, spurn their partner and leave them high and dry. Why can’t they stand their ground and tell their parents that they will not be forced into marriage? When they can ape the west in all the other aspects, why can’t they not have a man-to-man talk with their parents and explain their position? Why can’t the parents understand that marriage is a very sacrosanct relationship and it needs two parties to whole-heartedly agree to enter into it? A lot of care and nurturing goes into forging the relationship and it needs time for the bonding to develop. Both the people need to have a positive approach. When that is lacking, it only leads to disillusionment and worse, it leaves such a scar on the innocent party that it will take years to overcome and regain confidence in the institution of marriage.

Gazing at tiny tots...

Yesterday, I was at a school waiting to meet a teacher. As the class was in progress, I was watching some kids who were practicing for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations. Shortly, a group of around 50 tiny tots (nursery kids) started coming out of their class in a single file onto the playground. They were dressed in a variety of colours and the attire ranged from traditional south Indian, north Indian to the western. Oblivious to the surroundings, they were happily jumping and running around in gay abandon, some of them kicking their shoes off in the process. The teacher brought a big basket full of colourful balls which she let loose in the ground, so that the kids can go and fetch them. It looked like a perfect exercise as well as a game. In these days of sedentary lifestyles and shortage of playgrounds, these kids had a wonderful time running behind the balls trying to bring them back to impress the teacher.

Personality development happens at such a young age. Observing their antics reminded me of group activities that are conducted for enhancing team-building skills in college students or professionals for that matter. I could see kids helping each other, some jostling for the ball, some sharing with others, some trying to show off, others trying to impress the teacher. Some kids tried to imitate the teacher, while yet another one ran towards the basketball court and tried to put the ball in the basket – obviously she would have seen older students playing basketball. There were also truant kids who just ran out of the ground and tried to get into the neighbouring classrooms. I thought being a visitor, it was natural for me to be mesmerized by the sight. However, as the bell rang signaling the end of the current period, the teachers who walked out of the classrooms stood rooted at the balcony, catching a glimpse of the kids and their activities. I could spend hours watching the kids enjoying in the grass. However, as all good things come to an end, so did their games period and they gathered all the balls and returned to their classroom. I appreciate the energy and the fervor with which the teacher engaged the kids and did mention it to her. Kudos to the teacher and the principal for engaging the students so nicely and providing an ambience and the atmosphere for a healthy growth!!

Language - pleasure or pain

Today, on the television, I heard a Frenchman speak impeccable Telugu that would put the current Telugu-speaking generation to shame. He was participating in an event in Houston, US and spoke about including the teaching of Telugu in his institution in France. He was referring to Telugu as a very melodious language – hope I got the translation right – “madhuramaina bhaasha”. Why is it that the current generation of news-readers, movie-makers, actors, lyricists, et al have crucified the Telugu language and created a weird sounding language that is neither Telugu nor Hindi nor English? These days, it is a torture to listen to any telugu film song or even watch a movie with family. Happy and blissful are those who listen to the songs only for the beat and do not understand the language. In the olden days, songs used to be written and put to tune. I guess these days, the tune and the beat is first created and lyrics are then fit into them. Unfortunately, though Telugu is taught in schools, the standard of education has degraded in a sense that the students do not necessarily appreciate the language. They go through the motions of reading the lesson, mugging up the answers and the meanings. Gone are the days where essays used to be written by students. The focus was on the expression since the students were more aware of what was going on around them. They only needed to put it down on paper. Today, the scene is vastly different. The students are not aware of what is going on around them. So they actually read up existing essays and reproduce that content in the exam. So the focus shifts from expression to recollection!!

The story is the same for English language too. My previous generation actually studied in Telugu medium government schools and I have studied in an English medium public school. Inspite of that, their power of expression and their usage of grammar is exemplary. Any day, my father or father-in-law (who is 80+ years old) would write better than me. The other day, my FIL’s brother was reminiscing about his college-days, ie in the 60s. He was recollecting how he and his friends would go and sit in the back benches of the post-graduation classes to listen to an English Professor while they were doing undergraduation. That was the interest and dedication to learn the language. They widely read books and anything that they could lay their hands on. They would refer to dictionaries to know the meaning of a new word. Today, the opportunities are plenty, affordability has increased, you can read anything and everything at the click of a button, you can refer to the meaning of any word on the internet, using laptop, notebook, mobile and so many other gadgets. Yet, the standard of English in most students is way below what is expected of them. They do not read a newspaper, and even if they do, it is only Page 3 and the Sports page. They are unable to write a single email or comprehend a document properly. It is a torture to read some emails because most of them use the ‘SMS’ language in emails and other official communication. Why this malady and what is the cure?

Why MBA?

Now that the CAT results are out and the second round of the B-school admissions process is in full swing, I thought this is the right time to align the thoughts of students towards the question – Why do you want to do an MBA?

Lakhs of students aspire to do an MBA every year, some plan to study in India and some plan to go abroad. But not many students are clear why they are aspiring for an MBA degree. When I say “students”, I am referring to both students as well as work-ex aspirants. However, this is the first thing that any B-school interviewer would like to understand. In order to gain entry to a B-school one must have clarity as to why he/she is joining the course and how the course will help him attain his goals. Again, when I say “he” or “his”, I am not trying to be gender-biased, but just trying to maintain the readability!!!

There are many reasons for wanting to do an MBA, sometimes one knows it and most often, one is unable to articulate the reasons. So for the benefit of such students, I am only trying to articulate a few thoughts. There are no answers in this article, so if you are trying to search for answers here, you can stop. This is only intended to jog your grey cells to start thinking.

1) Growth prospects. Most often one hears answers like ‘It has good growth prospects or career progression”. But do you really know how or why the prospects are higher? Is it the degree that makes the difference or is it the pedagogy? Or is it the environment and the peer interactions? Compare what you are doing today vis-à-vis the institute/organization that you are joining and then decide.

2)  Good salary. Hmm. This depends on where you are going to join and how you fare in the course and the subsequent placement activity. However, you also need to compare the current salary that you are getting and the normal growth in two years if you continue to work. If the difference is significant, it makes sense, else, it does not sound convincing.

3) I like managing people. I often hear students say this. Do not think that just because one does an MBA, one is entitled to manage a set of people, and probably get to boss around, without having to actually do stuff!! This is the biggest myth, and if you are thinking on these lines, please take a reality check!! There are various streams and not all of them involve “managing people”.  You will need to start your new career as a trainee and only if you perform well, you can aspire to “manage people”. In any case, a management degree is not a pre-requisite to manage people, it is most often your performance and your personality that will matter. Moreover, jobs in finance, hr, marketing in most organizations may not form part of the mainstream activity, so these departments may actually have fewer teams than normal line functions. So set your expectations accordingly.

4) I am not good at technical stuff, I am better at managing/organizing stuff. Do remember that if you are not good at technology and you are not enjoying it, then you need to read up a lot about the management courses and understand what you are getting into, before you jump in. There is no point in realizing that you are not interested at a later stage. Only if you have a flair for understanding the “big picture” or organizational issues, you can comprehend management concepts. Technical aspects are much more straight-forward and easier to comprehend compared to organizational aspects. Do your homework thoroughly.

5) I like interacting with people. This is an interesting one. There are various careers that bring you closer to people interaction. Every customer-facing job involves interaction with a variety of people. Every job requires interaction with the team in which you are working. So there is actually no need to take up any specific career for this reason. However, do understand that all these interactions come with targets and are most often very stressful. Understand the nature of the interactions that will be required and see if you are game for it.

Whatever be your reason for wanting to join an MBA program, it is important for you to list down your goals in life and try to align your path towards your goals. A proper understanding of the course curriculum, what it entails, what job prospects are there both in terms of salary and type of work involved will go a long way in helping you find the right answer to the question “Why MBA?”