Brands That Surprise Me

 Either with good product quality, or with service, I mean.

Dabur Red toothpaste. It looks good, tastes good, and I have the same kind of loyalty to it (my wife discovered it, to be fair) that I once had for Colgate. But Colgate was in a monopolistic situation, with not much of competition. Dabur is also a home-grown brand.

Polo. I have grown fond of the mint with a hole since the pandemic began, and I usually have it around me in office and at home. It's comfort food, and doesn't do much harm.

Airtel has improved its service over the years. Now, it's pretty good. Pre-sales and after-sales, particularly. 

Wion, among TV channels that I watch for news, is pretty decent. Also, I am now a regular watcher of some films and serials 3 days a week on TV 5 Monde (Asie), which has no ads, and decent evening content with English subtitles. 

Branded clothes, I was never a great fan of, I care more about fit and comfort, which no brand seems consistent with. So I am a switcher, and stick to a budget.

The deliverers and their back-end have improved a lot. The food deliverers are a deliverance for many during the pandemic times.

Bookstores. I am now a fan of Blossoms and Bookworm, both on Church Street, Bangalore. I recently found a few Nero Wolfe (by Rex Stout) books at Blossoms, so doubly a fan. 

Sayaji at Indore used to be consistently good with food. Barbeque Nation is their brand, though I haven't seen much of that.

Park hotel in Belapur was pretty good with its service, and I spent a lot of time there. The breakfast buffet was very good, better than a lot of others. In Kolkata, I liked the Peerless Inn. The Adamas Hotel in Hanoi was a good international one I stayed at. 

ANA, the Japanese airline, and Sri Lankan were two that surprised me pleasantly. Almost everything about Sri Lanka as a destination, actually. 

Moods- Blues and Greens

 Just through pics.. many moods.

The Art of Writing a Blog

 I have seen a lot of ads on my social media pages that offer training on making films, giving speeches, and the like. This is not an attempt to enter into that territory, but just to make some confessions. I used to read a lot of blogs, regularly. Now, that regularity is reduced. No wonder, because anyone reading anything regularly is now an exception more than a rule. But I wanted to simply share my thoughts about writing. A blog is only one part of it. If you think you have something to say, you say it. Not always true. You may be an introvert, wonder if the boss (or anyone else) will like what you are going to say, and NOT say it.

But social media in general, and blogs in particular, allow you to write down your thoughts about various things. In my case, my thoughts about books, films (when I was still watching), people (students, colleagues, bosses!), TV anchors, Air hostesses, and of course, management education. And, of course, funny stuff, witticisms, or PJs included-that, some say, is my forte. Well, it's a natural talent, so I won't deny it. 

But my point was this..that you can pretty much write in any style (it's the closest thing to a democracy), and about what pleases you most. I have always admired those who can write long pieces, for example. Mostly, I cannot. Some are good with words, some others with visuals, and some equally facile with both. I use visuals to enhance the written word, if at all. Many of my posts are all-text. 

Readership, you can let it build naturally, and also help people find you through promotion on other media that you use. People can subscribe to your blog if you use a mainline blogging platform, and write regularly. 

Year 2 of The Coronavirus Pandemic

 It was around a year ago that we first heard about this new virus. Never imagined that it could have such a profound impact on lives. Historically, humankind has lived in jungles with predators, ill-equipped to deal with them. The way our ancestors survived was by using their brains to develop tools that they could use to protect themselves and also to hunt for food-non-vegetarian food. Today, with an excess of humans on the planet, nature may want to restore the balance-and man is helping, with chemical or other weapons, biological ones too. These have been used in parts of the world, to carry out mass killing.

Anyway, the point is, this is not the only pandemic we have to worry about. We have a few vaccines, and will invent more, and it will pass-in a year, maybe. At least the life-threatening part will. It may morph into another virus like the common cold virus, which also has no cure. But it has forced us to re-evaluate what is important for Nature and for Humankind, I hope. Why can't governments around the world concentrate their energies on Healthcare for all, at a low cost, even if it's not free? Why are natural disasters man-made, more often than not? Why do we almost always focus on the non-essentials, except in a pandemic or other emergencies/disasters? Are exams really important? This last is a question for the education sector, particularly in India. Learning can happen without necessarily having so many exams. At least, that's my theory, and it can be tested. I once worked in an institute of management where, due to time pressure, we admitted students without an entrance exam, only through a personal interview and they were as good as any other subsequent batch of students. Prior academic performance indication was already available through some other certificates they had. Just an example of how it did work.

I also wonder how the world, with so many resources-particularly human resources-at its disposal, cannot organise itself to focus on the essentials. Among world leaders of this century and the last, I can only recall Gandhiji advocating simple living. What would he have thought of the world in 2021? I wonder...

One-time Experiences in Life

 Some experiences are once-in-a-lifetime ones, like a visit to a particular place, out of your normal circuit. Here are a few of my experiences.

Scuba-diving. That too, in an exotic place, the Bahamas. Went there with friends in 1987 or so. We got trained by the company's instructor, and then were taken out into the Ocean, where we could do the real thing. Thailand, near Pattaya offers the same, as do a few other destinations. It's worth doing, at least once. Bungee jumping, I don't think I have the stomach for. 

Acting in a play. I had never done it before, but for some reason, my friend Harish, who was directing, called me for an audition, and gave me one of the two lead (male) roles. That remains a cherished experience, back in 1983/84, at IIM Bangalore during my MBA. Since then, I have been a spectator. Watched a couple of excellent plays at IIM Indore staged by another good friend, Shweta Kushal. 

The only other time I have come close to acting was in a video I did on Personal Branding recently. And it was not all acting. At IIMB, I also did Radio Jockeying or RJing (in today's terminology) for a show that my friends had put on the Bangalore Youth channel of All India Radio.

Some destinations that I only visited once have been Brussels, Northwest France (Brittany), Greece, Cambodia, Vietnam and Ladakh and Kashmir in India.

Faculty Development at NMIMS Bangalore

 For some reason, I have talked at a lot of Faculty Development Programs, either ones that we organised institutionally, or some that others did. I find it interesting to talk about research strategy, methodology, case writing and pedagogy for learning. Many diverse views generally emerge. So it was that we had a recent FDP at NMIMS Bangalore which I joined in late November. We primarily discussed Publication strategy, but also a bit of everything else that teachers contend with. Some pics from the FDP. 

Some of us in the classroom.

One presentation by Deepak Sharma, who also draws great caricatures- one is in the pic below

Above- a video case on Golftripz that I discussed. Below, Prof. Neelima Watve talks about Research Methods and Scale Development

World Class Destinations in India

 I have a long list, but this is a start..

Mandu, M.P.

Konarak, Orissa

Hampi, Karnataka

Belur- Halebid, Karnataka

Ajanta-Ellora, Maharashtra

Ladakh, Ladakh.

Srinagar, Kashmir

Coonoor, Tamilnadu

Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu

Any of the Kerala Backwaters

Zoom on Zoom-An Award to a Distinguished Alum

 Good things do happen to nice people. Kusum, better known as Zoom, was a livewire we had who fought for Women's Rights- to be allowed to move in to the Bilekahalli campus on Bannerghatta road. way back in 1982, along with us- the boys. She won, and they moved, to our delight. She made her presence felt, in every way, and was one of the most liked-girl or guy- in the batch. She recently won the Distinguished Alum award from IIMB, not a surprise at all. She is a professor of marketing at Tuck, Dartmouth for the past many years. Some pics from the event held online due to Corona pandemic.. 

Some other winners, first.. many have gone into social causes with entrepreneurship or support of various kinds..heartening to know.

Revathy Ashok, among other things, runs a political incubator with a 9-month flagship program to train people for public service.Sameer Nair, below, runs Gram OOrja, to provide electricity to rural areas which never had it-while keeping it commercially viable!

Laxmana Rao has done wonders for manufacturing in India, with advanced toolrooms, building robots, and IML (in-mould labeling) for FMCG, pharma industries, among other innovations, with many manufacturing plants.

Ramesh 'Hassled' Srinivasan is also a classmate, and a past winner of the award. Gopal Mahapatra is currently with IIMB as  professor of practice, and is a classmate too- he got his FPM from Bangalore, was with us in the first two years. He also worked with me at Indore more recently.

Here is Kusum, remembering her profs., and friends, and the anda bhurji she was famous for making in our mess.

She was awarded a bit late due to Cornoa-strike last year. 

DD Saxena is a pioneer-entrepreneur in Australia, and from an earlier decade at IIMB, when they operated from the city. He also battled cancer and won, and runs multiple ventures. He recounted his days at Hindustan Lever, Thapar and a gherkin export venture he set up, which has grown in scale.

Anopheles and Me- A Conversation

 My winged friend, a female mosquito called Anopheles, had not visited in a long time. I asked her, "Were you quarantined?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's when you get sick, and other people-sorry, mosquitoes- are in danger of catching that sickness from you. They isolate you and don't let you mingle." I said.

"No chance, buddy. We have wings, in case you haven't noticed," she pointed out.

I had to agree that she did, and we didn't. Seemed like no one could lock up a mosquito as easily as we could lock down humans. That gave me some perspective on crime and punishment too.

"We have this pandemic, and we have lockdowns and quarantines, and we work from home." I continued my explanation.

"We could never work from home, unless it was your home," she said cheerfully. I understood, immediately, though not cheerfully.

"Election fever seems to be on," she observed. "It's as bad as malarial fever," I told her my view. "But IPL fever is even worse," I added.

"You mean that travesty of the Gentleman's Game?" she caught on at once.

"What gentlemen?" I asked. "The last recognised gentleman is now rebranded as Indiranagar ka gunda," I said, explaining what admen had done to Mr. Dravid of Indiranagar.

"Well, things change, you know, and not always for good." She was philosophical. 

I said, "Sure they do. A pandemic need not occur in your lifetime, but one did. Before this we only had to tackle mosquito--borne or water-borne diseases, mostly. Now, it's we who are the carriers, and maybe inventors..as if wars and gun laws weren't bad enough.." I trailed off.

"Hey, cheer up, you survived so far, didn't you? I'm sure you will get over this. Humans do, most of the time, I have observed." She was quite perceptive, like a good friend, and understood I needed cheering up. So I thanked her for her kind words, and extracted a promise to meet again, soon, before saying goodbye.

How Times Have Changed

For the better, I mean.  In my student days, we generally maintained (a safe) distance between ourselves and our teachers..most of the time. I don't remember teachers who were very friendly, either, with one or two exceptions. After my MBA, though, I found Dr. JD Singh who taught us just one course at IIMB, and he was great fun to be with, whenever we met..he went out of his way to meet us whenever any of us visited Delhi. He was the founding Director and Director General of the Jaipuria Institute, NOIDA. After a long stint at IMI, where also I had met him. When I left Ghaziabad/Delhi, I met him last, just before I went to IIM Indore. He was his jolly self, full of beans and humour!

I find my own students a lot more open than I was, to meet and spend time with. I have enjoyed meeting them whenever possible, at a restaurant or at their home or mine. Some, like Tosha Dubey, planned multiple meetings for me and reintroduced me to her IMT mates. Anshita also managed to draw a big crowd of friends when we met last -in Bangalore! Good managers, I'd say! Of course, in ones and twos I have met at least 30-40 students in just the last few years. Some groups in alumni meets too. The pandemic has made it more difficult, but still I met a couple of them one on one, though less often.

I enjoy online banter with quite a few. Great fun to share stories of yesteryears, and of the present, and their future plans..I feel twenty years younger when I am with them. Just had a long phone call with Nishka, a student of Batch 4, from KIAMS, Harihar! She's a (ghost) writer of repute.

Placement Brochures and PES

 Placement brochures, like Yearbooks, are a storehouse of information, and memories. I recently chanced on this one from PES, Bangalore (now a University under Karnataka State) where I was between 2005 and 2008. Lots of these students are still in touch, on social media. Here are some excerpts from the Placement Brochure of one batch.. 

PESIT Days

 PES is now a university. It was not when I worked there. Affiliated to a university, VTU, it was a typical management department, with zero autonomy. We tried getting autonomy from VTU, but for some reason, did not get it. However, in our mind we functioned as if we were.

Lots of bright students made it easier. Also a faculty team that went beyond their mandate, and got into research, MDP (training), and industry outreach through seminars and the like. I have met some of the bright students since then, online and off, and it's a pleasure to see them doing well. A pic of some from those times that I found online.

Another pic or two from a brochure I found after 15 years.. Prof. Venugopal Naidu is with us in the second.

A second campus was coming up near the Hosur highway, electronic city at the time. It is now a full-fledged campus. We also collaborated with IUP, USA to do an innovative MBA program that found takers in Bangalore.