Tryst With IIM Kozhikode

Julius Caesar wrote ‘Veni Vidi Vici’ i.e ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ to his senate after having won a war. I have known this phrase for quite some time now but, It was the evening of 1^st may 2014 when the feelings behind these three words dawned on me. Yes, I got the final offer letter from admissions committee of IIMK. The next one month would go into living the life of Julius Caesar, since parents, friends, and neighbors started treating me like never before, giving me unwanted-undivided attention, letting me sleep till I woke myself up etc. The next few days went into planning the trips to the adventurous hills of Leh-Ladakh, enjoying the nature’s beauty which I had only seen before in yash chopra movies. Little did I know that this trip would be the last activity I would be doing at my own discretion and not under the threat of any SACROSANCT DEADLINES.

It was 16^th may when I landed to IGI airport new delhi from the leh trip and got the news that ‘Achche Din aa gaye’ , yes modi had risen to the astounding victory with a hefty margin. The only thought that came to my mind was ‘wow!!! What a coincidence Modi and I achieved the victory in the same month’. As soon as I reached home and was going through my emails, I found myself inundated with assignments from the student council whose deadlines only god could afford to miss. I called up my seniors from b.tech grad school to ask how serious are these deadlines and they asked to take nothing else but this seriously.

Then came the registration day and I landed in the God’s Own Country and headed to his Kampus with my future peers in the college bus. The first night at kampus made me feel young all of a sudden. It was a déjà vu moment from 7 years back as the seniors had launched what we call Interactions at the kampus. It took me a while to recuperate and pinch myself to realize that it was actually happening. On my way to turn into an insomniac, next two weeks made me feel like a zombie with no control on feelings and emotions whatsoever. I have always been told that an esteemed B-school is a place where one explores the self and hidden talents and believe me in just a span of few days i discovered some very peculiar talents which of course you the reader wouldn’t want to know. Then came another evening of condescension when student council called the batch for another meet. By now we all had got used to the idea that we are nothing but a big bunch of nincompoops who can’t follow simple instructions and are headed to a DARK future.

Just when I started thinking that I am actually headed for an impending doom, studcom and the entire senior batch called off THE HOAX. It was jaw dropping to see such a closed knit community, full of fantastic actors who pulled off such a huge set up. In just a matter of few minutes a place where even a pin would think twice before falling in order to avoid any noise that it might make, was filled with enchantments and slogans and gradually we stepped into a night of euphoria. The senior batch warmly opened their hearts and pockets for a grand welcome party and our induction into the IIM Kulture. Then came the hullaballoo of Robaroo, the most fun filled days of a week of preparation for the 3 day event. Every time we think we have seen it all, the place throws something surprising on our faces. Fingers are still crossed, hoping there is a lot more to come. 

WE FOR PEOPLE

Be the change you want to see in the world, a quote by a man,  whom millions have revered
 for his deeds,his thinking,his genuine will to bring about a change but also a man whom unfortunately people have forgotten ,yes i am talking about Mahatma Gandhi.We have all become practical in this 21st century the so called age of capitalism where every one is surrounded by and yearn for all those expensive and gaudy products like smartphones,branded apparels,big cars,houses etc etc. Every one is so busy making money that they just can't see that we are living in a country where 500 million people earn less than $2 a day and go to bed every night with an empty stomach. The count of uneducated,under nourished,disease ridden children and adults is increasing day after day. People knowing these conditions take no time in blaming the government, overlooking the fact that the responsibility lies on every shoulder of this country but thankfully certain people have realized, that to see the change, they have to be the one. One such organization               "We For People" an NGO driven by the young and bright individuals have taken this task up on itself to improve and empower  the lives of the downtrodden.The Unique Selling Proposition(USP) of the organization is that it is a non profit entrepreneurial venture which doesn't just aim at providing elementary education to the slum children or giving them basic knowledge about sanitation ,cleanliness but  also to impart vocational training to the people, like teaching them the art of making designer envelopes,registers and other Stationary products which solves the dual purpose of raising funds to invest back in those children and to make them skillful enough so that they can earn their own bread by dignified means rather than begging on the streets.We For People is building itself ,going against all the odds and teaching the new  idea of Social Entrepreneurship to the society.The volunteers of this organization are truly passionate,diligent,selfless and dedicated to this one cause of helping the helpless and giving them a life of dignity.They have got the vision and the hunger to achieve that vision .
Congratulations to all the volunteers for achieving yet another successful visit to slum and a step ahead towards completing the project Aarambh.
  Keep up the good work folks.

  Visit We For People at ::
  http://www.weforpeople.in

Indians As Electorate

In the 21st century,the information age, where we are surrounded by these loud mouth economists,analysts and politicians claiming that India has arrived,India to become a superpower by 2030,India soon to surpass japan in terms of gdp(ppp) etc etc .a big question arises-- Are we really prepared to assume the responsibility of a world leader or to take important international decisions ,when India's very own citizens are not proving to be a responsible electorate. Almost every third person in our country is heard cribbing about the central government,state government or the municipal corporations for various reasons be it the law and order problem in the area,sanitation and drainage problems,dilapidated conditions of the area they are living in etc,but not once do we realize that it's in the hands of the common people to make or break the leaders,a power which we are not exploiting very efficiently.It's a shame,that people especially the 74% literate ones don't even know the names of the leaders contesting the elections.In the MCD Elections(2012) for the three recently divided zones ,i personally witnessed a highly disappointing scenario .On april 15,2012 in ward number 108 (Khyala region),standing in the queue to exercise my right to vote,i noticed that even the educated people especially the youth was more interested in discussing the things like, the features of  recently launched IPAD v3 rather than pondering over whom to vote or which candidate is genuinely interested in solving the area's problems.And when they arrived at a stage where they had to press one of the buttons on Electronic voting Machine(EVM) ,without thinking much about the candidates they preferred to choose one of the popular parties randomly.People are hardly interested in taking the pains and just have a look at the manifestos of the parties and its future plans and that what are the problems of their respective areas and how the prospective candidates plan to solve those problems.If the so called responsible citizens of this country are not even thinking over above mentioned basic questions before electing their leaders ,then how can we expect our leaders to perform their duties responsibly, If we are not much bothered about the problems then we don't have the right to criticize the governments or the leaders.

RELIGION:: The Most Intelligent Tool Ever Created

Before getting into the details I just want to clarify that neither am i an atheist nor an agnostic person , I am just a normal guy who is trying to convey a different perspective prevailing in this world.I am as much a believer of GOD and Religion as any other regular guy but it's just that i am quite open to new perspectives and So i apologise to those who considers this as impious and request them not to read any further if they are not ready for such a perspective.
                      We have been witnessing this Great rivalry between Science and Religion for ages, with the proponents of each side making arguments to refute  the claims of their opponents.While scientists keep demanding for some concrete evidences for someone called GOD who is all pervasive and the most powerful,and at the same time the other side i.e. religious saints, sages etc denouncing and slandering their opponents by calling them as blasphemous.Although i am not going to get indulged in any such quarrel, i do want to say that Religion is one of the most powerful and intelligent tools ever created by humanity.
                     Most of us might have given a lot of thought to the questions like Who gave birth to religion?,
Why was it created in the first place?,Who is god? etc but not once have we come across a clear and concise answer to these questions. What i think is , Religion in first place was created so as  to bring some order with in the society, so that humans perform their actions in a civilized manner, as it is absolutely inevitable to expect all the homo sapiens ,who have got brains , to behave in a socially acceptable manner.It is similar to the case of a small child who is constantly being told by his mother to hit the sack or else a man called GABBAR SINGH who is standing outside the door will come inside and take him along with him ,well  for adults this gabbar singh is none other than GOD, who supposedly is watching our every move and action and punishes us in one or the other way when we commit something wrong, who controls our destinies , still some how having a fondness for money.So the man fears God and to avoid persecution which might be inflicted if he does something bad ,he behaves in a civilized manner.This very thought of someone up there, watching our every action has made us slaves into the hands of  few ,who are well aware with this reality and are exploiting the rest of the humanity to fill up their pockets.Politicians be it autocrats , theocrats or those who claim to be running a democracy are using this weapon quite efficiently and are controlling our lives by keeping us divided in the name of  religion ,as the divided world  is much easier to conquer.Economics,Politics,Religion,Monetary Systems all are interdependent and our easily manipulated by those few."We are living in a democracy ", is a cliche, as we have not realized it's true value yet, the real freedom would be the one when our minds , thoughts , conscience is free from the prejudices and we are able to think without having any mental barriers. Only then we will be able to unmask those hiding behind the curtains ,running big nations by firing the bullets of slavery on the masses  through different means.

Islamophobia

It was a fine friday morning as usual, Everything seemed quite normal .People got busy in their usual jobs being totally oblivious to what was destined to happen in the next few hours, Yes Folks i am talking about the recent atrocious and malevolent act by a misanthrope who fired the opening volley of the shooting excursion thereby taking the lives of atleast 85  innocent natives of a  country (NORWAY) which hadn't witnessed such apocalyptic act  since the second world war.
                                       As soon as the news disseminated around the country and henceforth around the globe, most of the people had already made their judgments about the perpetrator and certified him as a follower of islam..Even though there was no official confirmation by the oslo police about the man behind it, the woman in burqas and the muslim men soon sensed the imminent threat they were going to face in the city of oslo,when the native norwegians started seeing  these immigrants through the spectacle of suspicion and contempt.
                  Such is the fear and hatred which islam is facing today .The pre-conceived notions and prejudices against mulsims and islam are buried deep down in the minds and hearts of the people.This animosity was primarily born 10 years ago when the world witnessed attack on the twin towers of america .The Bush government then, retaliated with a great hostility towards muslims in US .This feeling was aggravated subsequently when iraq and afghanistan was invaded by the US.and since then the innocent muslims around the world have been going through  this great ordeal as every time a terrorist activity occurs the suspect on radar is always an islam follower, had the bush administration handled this case 10 years back with a better insight and less aggression , the situation would have been  much better .Kudos to norwegian PM ,Jens Stoltenberg who has handled the situation in a far better manner and has repeatedly requested people not to
 let the racism take the hold of their conscience and stressed looking at every such issue as an act promoted by individuals or the extremist groups and not by religion or a race.This thinking is what is necessary in today's era as the otherwise will just provoke more and more ostracized islamists and make them vulnerable to take violent paths..

Black Money

Black Money , the two of the most talked about words which have been holding the nerve of the nation for the past few days.The country's roads have witnessed outrage of the common people, provoked sometimes by social activists like Anna Hazaare  and the other times by the highly unplanned agitations led by the Industrialists cum yoga guru Swami Ramdev  ,but all these protests had one common issue and primarily wanted the authorities to bring back the Black Money  to India from the so called tax havens of the world. A lot of fuss is being created by the opposition parties whose primary interests lie in slandering the ruling party and the news channels that are flooded with the people blabbering about the figures (of which there is no authentic source)of the black money roosting in foreign banks but what about the source of this problem prevailing at home.

                       The black money is born with the desire to evade taxes and the under the table incomes but there is hardly any attention given to these dynamics.Government has formed SIT(special investigation team) to tackle this issue which surely has the potential to act as an antidote, but the sole focus is being diverted  on how to bring those illegal deposits to the country.We need to take notice of the sluggish policies prevailing in the system and authorities must exercise it's powers to reform the system. 

                      In order to take a leap forward against the unaccounted money ,Indian property market needs to be reformed as it accounts for the major volume of the black money generated. Buyers and Sellers clandestinely make deals over the counter with government being totally oblivious to the ground realities or should i say pretend to be totally oblivious to these facts, out of the total daily transactions in the property market , maximum deals involve more than half of the money being paid in cash ,thereby depriving the state of capital gains tax and stamp duty etc.All these transaction can be accountable , but just need a few reforms. SIT must keep up the work of bringing money from abroad but at the same time should exercise it's powers and push for the reforms so as to solve the problem at the grass root level .

MEHENGAAI

Mehengaai or in economically sound language i should say "Inflation ", the word which alone is suffice to give goose bumps to bourgeois , as any alterations in the inflation levels badly affects the whole monthly budget of these proletarians, you must be wondering why am i giving so much emphasis on the working middle class, well, i am just talking here of the ground realities because they are the one's who are most badly affected when inflation levels surge, because for them a penny saved is a penny earned ,while the tier 1 and 2 societies who are quite well off ,are not that much affected.
                            In this hostile world where almost every corner  is inflicted  with one or the other problems like terrorism,contagious diseases, sky high debt levels pushing the countries into the abysmal recession , horrendous earthquake cum tsunamis etc the recent Arab spring was absolutely uncalled for.The middle east tensions which are worsening every day and there is no hope of this political turmoil coming to an end anytime soon , has raised the concerns over inflation as these tensions have disrupted oil supplies thereby leading to the surge in oil prices ,though india doesn't depend much on libya or other neighbouring countries but still , the ramifications on economy are quite palpable. Every second week government is heard anouncing the petrol/ diesel hikes by 2-3 rs.Crude prices alone are not concerns among the people but also the food inflation which has not come below 9% mark for over 2-3 months.
                                     The government and central bank i.e RBI need to bring their synergies to tackle this problem.Although RBI has been trying to curb inflation levels for quite a long time by increasing the repo and reverse repo rates ,and government intervenes when supply side factors are concerned ,but the government and RBI needs to work in tandem and introduce some monetary  instruments which they are able to refine when necessary.Realistic growth estimates and greater cohesion between the government and central bank are the key ingredients to keep inflation in control.