believe it or not!

India is incredible!
India stands united despite the fact that there are diversified religions and castes and subcastes and many more divisions within just like the product line and width and depth, in management student sense with reference to marketing.
Strange as it is,but true is the fact that there exist many foundations on which INDIA as a country stands. While in other countries there is one foundation in terms of religion and language as I presume, there are many religions and sub religions as I have refered to in the above lines. Let me come to my religion and caste,to refine and talk in a clear manner as to what I want to convey..
Am a Brahmin,6000 Niyogi,Telugu. it is said that 6000 Niyogi Brahmins are the most refined and respected class in the brahmins category,well I dont know much about it though. Living in the modern society, there has been a lot of erosion in the values and principles and modification and tuning of the disciplines to suit us as we want it today, so there is nothing much to boast of.

There are stories I get to hear about my Father's uncles and aunt's and grandparents. How they lived and how they were the most feared is what I get to listen. Now why were they feared? Discipline and hard core following of traditions were the corner stone of this foundation. Now all that is left for us today is just stories about how they used to live and lead a wonderful and infact surprisingly superb life...

Yes, they didnot have laptops,i-pods,plasma TV's or black berry's or Air conditioners. They didnot have even Radio's even. Electricity was a luxury. They had a different set of mind,a different psychology and bend of mind which was perfect for their time. As history does, there are many principles and practices, which become a part of our day to day living,courtsey our ancestors who believe that a tradition can be preserved if percolated to the generations to come.

Well,now comes the part which I want to talk about.
While the ancsetors are right in thier thought and belief that a tradition or a culture can be preserved only if followed by generation next after their own it also it true that they leave many of the practices followed unanswered as to why they are being in practice or what is the significance of following that particular rule.

Its a general practice at home for us that we donot start any new work what so ever on monday,be it any thing - use of a new shirt or purchase of any thing or to go anywhere. At night we donot refer to a snake as a snake...we call it something else.. there are many more such practices which we follow. Once I did ask my granny as to why do we do this or why we are not suppposed to do it, she said simply it should be followed because our ancestors followed!

Now again, am not trying to say that they knew nothing but the fact is that even they had been following some acts just because their parents followed it. there was never a questioning perhaps as to why it should be done because of the fact that children were never allowed to ask questions- they were to follow what elders said.
What I intend to say is that even if we are educated and well positioned wealthy wise, there are many practices we follow blindly without trying to understand why we need to do that or why we donot need to do that and there is a greater possibility that we will drain it down to our next generation as well - some unanswered questions which are simply a practice!

Out of this discussion I would like to say that even if we are educated, we too, in today's world, are illiterate if we follow something blindly without trying to understand what it is or why is it necessary to follow...its not that we are testing the genuinity of the practice which was being followed but that we need to be educated as to the practices which constitute our culture...... the more we know the significance of each the more we will enjoy it.

There are many more such practices like animal sacrifices done en-mass in some tribal belts and cities as well to appease the Gods and Goddesses, but why??? the answers are not satisfactory. The fact that appeasing a God with the murder of an animal and its blood is something which Gods wanted is never the less true.

Anything we do for our comfort and cause is given the name f god and that is a blind belief,not God made.... be it in the temple or at home,we Indians are good at working in the shadow of culture and tradition and practices age old without questioning them ever..

Why?

Comm-on Sense! it s lost....

A boy posts a question to an expert : I like someone and want to propose her,but dont know to express my love for her. need your expert advice!
Now what would you think the advice would be?

Well today, we have least time to think about anything. The more modern that we are,the more we tend to forget something that is God gifted. We forget to think that thinking is something which we own since birth and that we can use this gift to solve some simple issues which need the least interference of the experts.

There is an acute shortage of the panacea called as Common Sense amongst the intellectuals in todays society,who for every problem they face,try to consult a demi God,I mean an expert! I would like to know where goes the brain that the Almighty had gifted when he sent the human to earth????

Hopefully its not kept in a locker like the gold or currency notes to be used at a futuristic date!
On a serious note, why do we fail to find solutions to every day problems within ourselves and try to find a solution with some one whom we donot know even! how can we trust their advice when we donot trust our inner souls voice?

We need to wake up from the deep slumber and activate our thought process which is almost put to hibernate mode to be living an independent and trouble free life!!!!

Jaago every one! Jaago!

civic or non civic sense????

Aamir Khan's Incredible India! ad is really something to ponder about.
While we boast of our country becoming super power sooner or later, forget the fact that mere nuclear power will mean nothing if we are backward in civic sense! just think of these situations:

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  Half of the cities in the country are perhaps lacking public sanitation facilities. Well,democracy is a part of our constitution and a part of our attitude as well. We can attend the nature's call in natural circumstances!!!


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  The roads: Bhubaneshwar,if we can see,has been rapidly making progress - wait a minute! the progress is not forward as of now...we are marching backward! dilapidated roads and precarious edges giving a warning signal on the sign board of life -"drive at your own risk,this could be your last day!" Check for the road from Fire station to CRP square during rainy season to have a splash of the remedial waters and if you wanna break into a jig,please ride through any of the interior lanes of the city roads and feel the thrill of dancing bones!


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  Cleanliness: we can see BMC erecting some beautiful stone carvings on the roadsides at junctions from Power house to Jaydev vihar and the one connecting AG square,but walk a bit into the bye lanes and the lanes connecting the interiors of the city,you will be surprised to find the masterpiece works of the municipal corporation- heaps of refuse lying in the open( thats but an invitation to H1N1 and Dengue and other dreaded dacoits...I mean Viruses which dare to threaten your life),blocked drains overflowing onto the roads and stray cows and dogs manning the traffic! Unique for any one to see.


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  People: like in any other part of the world,they are more cordial than any one can expect. you can see them flouting every norm possible and yes,congratulations: we are soon adopting the Delhi's aggresive culture! No mistake of your's but still then,you are the one at the recieving end!

One thing is missing- sense! it has gone to loiter into the woo0ds for the people here. Anyone and everyone is least bothered about the rules and civic sense. Everyone is in a hurry,all want to talk -least bothered as to where they are-petrol station or inside the ATM counter or in the mid of a honking road which competes for speed in the rush hour! Walking pavements have become shortcut routes for the wheelers,not to spare the 4 wheelers which block the pavements as parking lots near the warning boards put the traffic commissionerate of police which spells fine of Rs.500 for flouting norms!

Who cares???

The one who cares,is the least cared! .........

Say what??

Research is crazy!!!!

If there is nothing to experiment and derive, experiment the minutest of the things existing in the universe which are of least importance!

That is what precisely The New York University has done with its FB findings!

Now what is the necessity to find what is the impact of the use of FB on its users?? How many will follow it or who will deem it to be a necessary issue???? Economics needs it not neither does anyone!

People need not be adviced about the benefits or the disadvantages that these social networking sites do have on their lives as it is a matter of common sense which prevails. now if there is a section of the society which wants to express itself on these sites in a manner which would blow out the wits of the censor board,then, universities like NY cannot alleviate the situations with their findings- they cannot embed in these people a sense that should be common and prevailing in them!

for a thought, can we avoid people like eve teasers and vagabonds and educatedly uneducated people who flaunt everything- right from their intelligence to stupidity??? if not,then how can one think of avoiding the junk in cyber space??

While research and development is necessary,not much can be done to improvise the thinking of people and the young masses who listen to none but impulse and situation! So,better it would be to allow the brains for value additions in areas where it is most needed like poverty alleviation which happens to be the most disturbing economic ailment still lingering.

Crazy kia re!

in memory.....million jolly thoughts!

Suddenly when i plugged my ears with the telugu songs and played the favorite number,"Manasa..." from the movie Munna, i was transported back to Rajahmundry for a moment! The ever flowing river Godavari, the breeze in the evening that eased the tensions of the whole day's work and wiped the memories of the slang bang from the boss, the beautiful nazara of the setting sun behind the waves of the cool waters of Godavari, the fishermen's boats floating on the serene waters searching for the fodder for the day and the travel boats trying to persuade young couples for a ride in the waters.......hmmmmmmmmmmm. I could smell the air and hear the prayers in the ISKON temple by the river ghats,the shouts and cheers of the children in the water park in the Hotel River Bay and can feel the devotional atmosphere of the town.

Frankly speaking,I never had such great memories not even in Pune wherein I stayed for a couple of years to attain the degree of the Masters in management! I enjoyed there,but as a student. Here,at Rajahmundry,I enjoyed as a free man- I was no more limited by my parents money. I had my own money to spend and enjoy as i wanted. That was the joy of being an individual after 25 years of living which flew away while I nursed my bruised health since childhood and chased my dream of becoming a MBA! Life to me now was like a parachute in the atmosphere!

Freaking out with my pal on his scooter or on a bike,going on long drives,discovering the beauty of the nature filled with freshness of a young mind, visiting temples decades older than our grand parents and their parents, crossing brooks which could have swept us away, interactions with paranormal beings,a beautiful relationship that lasted till the time I was there ...can never be divorced!

Today if i am enjoying Telugu songs,I would thank Jo who had gifted me the CD on one of my Birthday...something which i can never forget. There are many songs which we used to sing while playing antakshari on phone almost everyday,talk and talk and talk as much as we could...she was a revelation in herself, a lady in her late 30's with responsibilty of a district and two kids to manage at home. I learnt how to be smiling even when the world commanded us to do all the worlds work at a moment! She taught me how to be laugh and manage the corporate tensions simultaneously. Well,I got a brother also...Rama. He was the person who introduced the whole town to me and made me known to the town. He taught me how to interact with the people there, how to be the best in business and tricks to win clients. he was a client as well for me generating record business for RMF. I and anna (as i call him) were the envy of the competitors as we were close officially and personally.

Devotion, fasting and a sea change in my speaking (Telugu we speak and telugu spoken there at is different), a bend towards God and a strong belief....all this courtsey anna. In Bhubaneshwar, i never used to go to temples,forget fasting! I used to just wish Hi to God in our Puja room and that was more for me but this change in me .....may be God would have been surprised.

well, the memories keep over flowing...i how ever,stop here.
see ya later frnds!

TEACHER!

Some days back I recieved a message, a joke it was.

" A: who is great? mother or teacher?

B: A teacher!

A: why?

B: because a mother can only put her child to sleep,a teacher can put an entire class to sleep!"

While it did bring a smile,it simultaneously struck to me that it was a poke more than a joke to the profession so nobel as teaching!

Though am new to this field, it is the passion to teach which has drawn me to this line and not a mere stop gap arrangement to skip to another field of fat pay cheks and greater designations, as many do it.

What I have observed is that many people are willing to take up teaching as a profession merely because there are no sales targets and no sales gimmicks to be played and more importantly,no nightmarish calls from the GodFather bosses who haunt at every odd hour they can think of, to enquire about the sales done!

A big question that pops up in my still in process academic brain is : Why is it taken so lightly?

Lets talk about the different aspects of teaching as a profession and a challenge than a mere money spinner or much worst to think- source of income!

Profession and challenges:

Teaching generations ago was sacred and was recognised as a stage in the life of a person. In simple terms it was the second stage of growing up after childhood and before entering Grihasta jivan (married life). Guru was considered the most learned and revered who preached to the Sishya's the vedas and all the gyan(including the warfare) that one should posses to manage the affairs in a kingdom or other wise.

As decades passed,the teaching methodology changed and so did the approach.

I remember reading a short essay some time in my school days perhaps by Sri Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who said that it is not enough for the institutions to roll out batches and make them eligible for jobs what is equally important is that they should be human and humble in their approach!

A new millenium started and a decade is near completion!

What is astonishing is that there are many institutions proping up like mushrooms in rainy season and there are hardly some which have a quality infused in them. What most of them aim at is to strike iron when it is hot and this created a shortage of quality faculty thus creating a gap in demand and supply there at.

The impact is not on the institutions which would shut down a stream if not worth a venture like a factory shutting down a unit if found undesirable,but the ultimate impact is on the students and the faculty who are the face of the insti.

The message is clear. Any one with good bank balance and influence can get a insti started with glossy pictures and promises which even politicians fail to promise!

The reason why I am scribbling this stuff is to bring home the point that teaching and academics is not every one's cup of tea. Forget about the human approach to teaching,there is hardly any space for the insti's to instill in the students a creative thought!

Its more of a monotonous blabbering of the chapters and a rush to complete the courses than an approach that would compell them to think and do something.

While there are many teachers in insti's and colleges and even in school levels who are just a teacher,sans any creativity and ability to teach, it should be understood that at every level,it becomes the responsibility of the educational insti's to provide adequate training progams for the teachers so that they too hone their skills and become qualitative.

Merely having a teacher with qualification essential to be one is not enough. There should be other parameters like students feedback which should be free from bias and manipulations.

Its believed by many that teachers are boring!

the reason they think them to be as boring is due to the fact that the teacher fails to make the session interactive,how ever dragging that subject be! For example a subject which is completely theoretical like Ethics,can be made interesting by quoting examples from corporate world and asking the students to discuss it rather than merely listen! one way traffic always createse congetion and blocks the flow of thoughts thus,resulting in a yawn. So thats it.

Teachers need to equip themselves with something new everytime they enter a class room for a session of 45 minutes or 90 minutes. It means that they should be consistently be updating themselves about anything and everything happening around them so that the concept of a boring faculty is wiped out!

The interactions how ever ,need to be simple and least complex so that the students who are poor in english donot stay open mouth throughout the session. this means that the faculty should be understanding each students requirement like a successful marketer!

Being a faculty does not mean,according to me,a stern face and a grim look which would make the class go silent and shudder when one enters the class room.

Rather a faculty should be transparent as a glass where in a student can look for so(u)lutions -personal/career related!

well....thats for the day..

be a teacher,be some one different!

JUSt ImaGine!

A CEO mounted on a horse, the Prime minister on an Elephant, and a common man back on cycles!

Automobile manufacturers shutters down,petrol bunks deserted, cycle industry reviving,small and cotton industry flourishing!

Mobile towers searching for network, agriculture space used for apartments,farming and cultivation done on roof top gardens,

vegetables dearer,pay cheque miniscule,ciggarettes cheaper,hard drinks available for all,water taxed and priced!

house rents 6 digits,land prices reserved for the rich, richie rich living sky high,commoners living on pavements!

THINKING WHAT ALL THIS IS ABOUT?

DONT THINK....THIS WILL BE INDIA,GEN-NEXT!

Act now,Talk later!